No Hamilton, no problem for the AT&T Performing Arts Center, which unveiled this week a 2017-2018 season of touring Broadway productions that get along just fine without featuring the country’s first Treasury Secretary, thank you very much.
One high point is The Humans, the 2016 Tony Award winner for best play and Pulitzer finalist, a Thanksgiving-set family drama that goes deep on American pathos and has inspired near-Hamiltonian rave reviews. Other shows on the docket include Fun Home, the 2015 Tony Award winner for best musical, the always reliable The King and I, and Bright Star. The two add-ons to the five-season package are the 20th anniversary tour of Riverdance and the returning Jersey Boys.
“The quality of these shows plus the quality of our venue equal a year of experiences that no theatre lover should miss,”Doug Curtis, president and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center, says in a press release. “You won’t find a better place in North Texas to see the best that Broadway has to offer,” he continues in a statement that we can only read as a subtweet aimed at ATTPAC’s crosstown rival at the Music Hall at Fair Park.
Here’s the schedule:
FUN HOME – September 13 – September 24, 2017
DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL: December 5 – December 17, 2017
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I: December 19 – December 31, 2017
THE HUMANS: May 8 – May 20, 2018
BRIGHT STAR: June 12 – June 24, 2018
NON-SUBSCRIPTION SPECIALS
RIVERDANCE The 20th Anniversary World Tour: March 20 – March 25, 2018
Back by popular demand & returning to Dallas for a third engagement,
JERSEY BOYS: May 22 – May 27, 2018
Performances are at the Winspear Opera House. Season packages are on sale now, with passes costing from $145 to $625. The two add-on shows will cost from $25 to $135, each. For more info or to buy a subscription, go here.
Summaries of each show have been copied from the ATTPAC press release, and pasted below:
FUN HOME
September 13 – September 24, 2017
Every once in a while a Broadway musical comes along that surprises, moves and excites audiences in ways only a truly landmark musical can. The “groundbreaking,” “exquisite” and “unforgettable” new musical FUN HOME was the event of the Broadway season, receiving raves from critics and audiences alike, winning five 2015 Tony Awards including BEST MUSICAL and making history along the way. Based on Alison Bechdel’s best-selling graphic memoir, FUN HOME introduces us to Alison at three different ages as she explores and unravels the many mysteries of her childhood. A refreshingly honest musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes, “FUN HOME is extraordinary, a rare beauty that pumps fresh air into Broadway.” (The New York Times)
“A RARE BEAUTY THAT PUMPS FRESH AIR INTO BROADWAY.” – Ben Brantley, The New York Times
“EXQUISITE. AN EMOTIONAL POWERHOUSE.” – Chicago Tribune
“A LANDMARK PRODUCTION THAT WILL FOREVER CHANGE WHAT IS POSSIBLE IN MUSICAL THEATRE.” – The Huffington Post
- SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL
December 5 – December 17, 2017
Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical is the record-setting Broadway holiday sensation which features the hit songs “You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch” and “Welcome Christmas” from the original animated special. Max the Dog narrates as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is “two sizes too small,” decides to steal Christmas away from the Holiday-loving Whos. Magnificent sets and costumes inspired by Dr. Seuss’ original illustrations help transport audiences to the whimsical world of Whoville and helps remind us of the true meaning of the holiday season. Don’t miss what The New York Times calls “AN EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCE! 100 times better than any bedside story.”
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I
December 19 – December 31, 2017
Two worlds collide in the Lincoln Center Theater production of this “breathtaking and exquisite” (The New York Times) musical, directed by Bartlett Sher. One of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s finest works, THE KING AND I boasts a score that features such beloved classics as “Getting To Know You,” “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Hello Young Lovers,” “Shall We Dance” and “Something Wonderful.”
Set in 1860’s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist King, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children. Winner of the 2015 Tony Award® for Best Musical Revival, THE KING AND I is “too beautiful to miss” (New York Magazine).
“I doubt I’ll see a better production in my lifetime.” – Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal
“SOMETHING WONDERFUL indeed. THE KING AND I is a five-handkerchief masterpiece.” – Ben Brantley, The New York Times
“Five stars. Grand and glorious.” — TIME OUT NEW YORK
“A landmark production and a shot of purest rapture. I never wanted it to end.”
— THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
“An astonishing achievement. Too beautiful to miss!” — NEW YORK MAGAZINE
“Absolutely stunning.” — VARIETY
“Magnificent. A sweepingly romantic production. How good to be getting to know the show all over again.” — NEWSDAY
RIVERDANCE – The 20th Anniversary World Tour
March 20 – March 25, 2018
“The show is quite simply incredible. A phenomenon of historic proportions”
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
“As for the flaws? Well, there simply aren’t any. Here’s to another 20 years!”
THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS
The international Irish dance phenomenon is back by popular demand in Riverdance – The 20th Anniversary World Tour. Drawing on Irish traditions, the combined talents of the performers propel Irish dancing and music into the present day, capturing the imagination of audiences across all ages and cultures in an innovative and exciting blend of dance, music and song. Of all the performances to emerge from Ireland – in rock, music, theatre and film – nothing has carried the energy, the sensuality and the spectacle of Riverdance.
Riverdance – The 20th Anniversary World Tour is composed by Bill Whelan, produced by Moya Doherty and directed by John McColgan, and comes directly to North America from a sold-out run across Europe and Asia.
www.riverdance.com
THE HUMANS
May 9 – May 20, 2018
Stephen Karam’s The Humans is an uproarious, hopeful, and heartbreaking play that takes place over the course of a family dinner on Thanksgiving. Breaking with tradition, Erik Blake has brought his Pennsylvania family to celebrate and give thanks at his daughter’s apartment in Lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside the ramshackle pre-war duplex and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the Blake clan’s deepest fears and greatest follies are laid bare. Our modern age of anxiety is keenly observed, with humor and compassion,
in this new American classic that won the 2016 Tony Award® for Best Play.
“The best play of the year. Blisteringly funny; scorching and indelible. ‘The Humans’ is altogether wonderful.”
– Charles Isherwood, The New York Times
JERSEY BOYS
May 22 – May 27, 2018
Directed by two-time Tony® Award-winner Des McAnuff, JERSEY BOYS is written by Academy Award-winner Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and choreography by Sergio Trujillo.
JERSEY BOYS is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. This is the true story of how a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide – all before they were thirty. The show features all their hits including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Oh What A Night,” “Walk Like A Man,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and “Working My Way Back To You.”
BRIGHT STAR
June 12 – June 24, 2018
2016 OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNING & 2016 TONY AWARD NOMINATED BEST MUSICAL
“A gorgeous anthem to optimism!” – Variety
From Dallas native Grammy award-winning Edie Brickell and Grammy, Emmy and Academy-award winning Steve Martin comes BRIGHT STAR, the five-time Tony-Nominated new Broadway musical that the New York Times called “a shining achievement.”
Directed by Tony winner Walter Bobbie and inspired by a real event, this original musical tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and ‘40s. Propelled by an ensemble of onstage musicians and dancers, the story unfolds as a rich tapestry of deep emotion, beautiful melodies and powerfully moving performances. BRIGHT STAR, as refreshingly genuine as it is daringly hopeful, is “Broadway’s most beautiful show.” (WABC)
