Hennepin Theatre Trust Announces 2016-2017 Broadway on Hennepin Season - Tickets On Sale Now

Hennepin Theatre Trust today announced the 2016-2017 Broadway on Hennepin Season, featuring the best of Broadway with five Minnesota premieres and five returning favorites. Making their Minneapolis premieres are Fun Home, winner of five 2015 Tony Awards including Best Musical; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the 2015 Tony Award-winning Best Play; and Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I, the critically acclaimed 2015 Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Musical.

Also appearing for the first time in Minneapolis are the eagerly awaited 2013 Tony Award winner Matilda The Musical and The Bodyguard, which launches its North American Tour at the Orpheum Theatre. Theater Latté Da and Hennepin Theatre Trust will celebrate the fifth anniversary of their collaborative partnership Broadway Re-Imagined with an encore presentation of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the Stephen Sondheim masterpiece of bloody revenge in 19th century London.

Back by popular demand are the Roundabout Theatre Company's acclaimed Tony Award-winning Cabaret, the blockbuster Wicked for a limited five-week engagement and Motown The Musical, the true American dream story of Motown founder Berry Gordy. Also returning are the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Rent, and everyone's favorite musical, Mamma Mia!.

Season ticket packages for the 2016-2017 Bank of America Broadway on Hennepin Season go on sale to the public at 5 p.m., on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016 with priority seating given to renewing season ticket holders, Trust Donors and group orders. The season opens October 2016 and runs through July 2017 at the historic Orpheum and Pantages theatres. Tickets to individual shows will be made available at a later date.

"We are bringing Broadway's most celebrated Tony Award-winning productions to Hennepin Avenue," says Tom Hoch, President/CEO of Hennepin Theatre Trust. "Because our patrons demand the best in professional, live theatre, we're presenting the hottest new shows direct from Broadway and popular returning favorites. Our Broadway season complements the vibrant downtown experiences for everyone who visits WeDo - the West Downtown Minneapolis Cultural District, and we look forward to another year of celebrating arts, culture and everything that makes our city unique."

The new season begins next fall with John Kander and Fred Ebb's acclaimed masterpiece, Cabaret coming October 18-23 to the Orpheum Theatre. Direct from Broadway as part of the Roundabout Theatre Company's 50th Anniversary Season, the Tony Award-winning Best Revival includes some of the most memorable songs in theatre history including "Cabaret," "Willkommen" and "Maybe This Time." The current Tony Award-winner for Best Play, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, makes its Minneapolis debut at the Orpheum Theatre for one week November 29-December 4. This thought-provoking and dynamic adaptation of Mark Haddon's best-selling novel has been hailed by The New York Times as "one of the most fully immersive works ever to wallop Broadway."

Fun Home, the current Tony Award-winner for Best Musical, debuts at the Orpheum Theatre for one week December 13-18. Based on Alison Bechdel's best-selling graphic memoir, this groundbreaking and uplifting new musical explores and unravels the many mysteries of childhood while seeing your parents through grown-up eyes. Grammy Award-nominee and R&B superstar Deborah Cox will belt out the tunes in The Bodyguard, which launches its North American Tour next year, January 10-15, 2017 at the Orpheum Theatre. Based on the smash hit film of the same name, which starred Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, the romantic thriller features the irresistible classics including "Saving All My Love," "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and one of the biggest selling songs of all time, "I Will Always Love You."

The Trust presents Theater Latté Da's critically acclaimed production of Stephen Sondheim's musical thriller, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the historic Pantages Theatre, March 1-26, 2017. The unjustly exiled barber Sweeney Todd seeks vengeance in 19th century London with his co-conspirator, Mrs. Todd and together they plot a plan of deadly of revenge. Directed by the nationally renowned 2015 Star Tribune Artist of the Year, Peter Rothstein, Sweeney Todd opened to rave reviews earlier last year for a limited engagement at the Ritz Theater with the full celebrated returning including its stars Mark Benninghofen, Sally Wingert and Tyler Michaels reprising their roles as Sweeney Todd, Mrs. Lovett and Tobias Ragg.

The ever-popular Mamma Mia! returns to Minneapolis February 7-12, 2017, for its astonishing eighth engagement at the Orpheum Theatre as a part of its farewell tour. The ultimate feel-good, smash-hit musical combines ABBA's greatest hits with a tale of love and laughter. From the award-winning creative team of South Pacific and The Light in the Piazza, Lincoln Center Theater's production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I is the current Tony Award-winner for Best Revival of a Musical. One of Rodgers and Hammerstein's finest works comes to the Orpheum Theatre for one week only February 28-March 5, 2017, and includes such classics as "Getting to the Know You," "Shall We Dance" and "Something Wonderful."

The eagerly anticipated Matilda The Musical makes its Orpheum Theatre debut March 28-April 2, 2017. Based on the beloved Roald Dahl novel, this Tony Award-winning musical is the story of an extraordinary girl who dares to take a stand to change her own destiny. Return to the land of Oz when Wicked returns for a limited five week engagement April 12-May 14, 2017 at the Orpheum Theatre. Hailed by The New York Times as "the defining musical of the decade," this cultural phenomenon has sold out four previous Minneapolis runs.

Jonathan Larson's Rent returns to the Orpheum Theatre June 6-11, 2017, in a vibrant 20th anniversary touring production. The Pulitzer Prize and 1996 Tony Award-winning masterpiece continues to speak loudly and defiantly to audiences across generations and all over the world.

And finally, Motown The Musical returns by popular demand July 11-16, 2017, at the Orpheum Theatre. Featuring more than 40 classic hits such as "My Girl" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," Motown The Musical tells the story behind the hits as Diana, Smokey, Berry and the whole Motown family fight against the odds to create the soundtrack of change in America. Motown shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat.

SEASON TICKET INFORMATION

Season ticket packages go on sale at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, and can be purchased in person at the State Theatre Box Office (805 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis), online at HennepinTheatreTrust.org or by phone by calling the Broadway Across America Season Ticket Hotline at 1.800.859.SHOW (7469).

The seven-show season ticket package includes Fun Home, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I, The Bodyguard, Matilda The Musical, Cabaret and Wicked, with prices starting at $302. A six-show season ticket package (not including Wicked) is also available with prices starting at $249. Both packages include applicable season ticket discounts, and theater restoration and handling fees. The season options, which can be added to either season ticket package, are Sweeney Todd, Mamma Mia!, Rent and Motown The Musical.

All season ticket holders are guaranteed the same seats for each show in the season ticket package and receive exclusive benefits such as flexible payments, savings when compared to purchasing shows individually, and access to the best seats. Hennepin Theatre Trust Donors at the Associate level and higher receive concierge ticketing services. To become a Donor, call 612.455.9513 or visit HennepinTheatreTrust.org/support. Single tickets for individual productions will go on sale to the general public at a later date. Prices, shows, artists, dates and times are subject to change without notice.

Current season ticket holders are urged to renew immediately to keep their season seats or to request an upgrade. The renewal deadline is Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. Group tickets, with discounts available for many performances, are also on sale now and provide a great way to celebrate family, office or social occasions. Group minimums and discounts vary; please call 612.373.5665 for more information or to make group reservations.

To purchase tickets, for more information or to sign up for email notifications, please visit HennepinTheatreTrust.org.

HENNEPIN THEATRE TRUST, owner of the historic Orpheum, State, Pantages and New Century Theatres, is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to arts-inspired community cultural development. We achieve our mission by presenting a rich mix of live performances, creating inspiring arts education experiences and advancing WeDo - a thriving West Downtown Minneapolis Cultural District. Visit HennepinTheatreTrust.org.

BROADWAY ACROSS AMERICA is part of the Key Brand Entertainment family of companies, which includes Broadway.com, under the supervision of John Gore (Owner & CEO). BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring productions in North America, operating in 38 markets. Current and past productions include On Your Feet, View from the Bridge, Beautiful, Finding Neverland, Million Dollar Quartet, Hairspray and The Producers. BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com; Broadway.com

THEATER LATTÉ DA is an award-winning Twin Cities musical theater company that combines music and story to illuminate the breadth and depth of the human experience. The company seeks to create new connections between story, music, artists and audience by exploring and expanding the art of musical theater.