Interview: CAPA Unveils its Five Shows for the 2016-17 Season

Rebecca LaChance surprised the 800 attendees of the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts preview on March 30 at the Southern Theatre. LaChance, who performed "Beautiful" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," is expected to play the title role in BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL when the national tour has a six-day stopover in June, 2017 in Columbus.

"The thing we hear show after show is 'I didn't know she wrote that song' and 'I didn't know she wrote that song,'" LaChance said between songs. "During this show, you are hearing those songs in context. It's a great show to go to with the family."

BEAUTIFUL, which will run June 6-11, 2017, was part of the five show season announced at the preview. The season will open with the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic CINDERELLA (Nov. 22-27, 2016) and also features DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID (Jan. 31-Feb. 5, 2017), THE BODYGUARD (Feb. 14-19, 2017) and CABARET (March 28-April 2, 2017). All five shows will be at the historic Ohio Theatre (39 E. State Street in downtown Columbus). CAPA also announced two other season-optional shows, STOMP (March 10-12, 2017) and RIVERDANCE (May 12-14, 2017), will be performed at the Palace Theatre (34 W. Broad Street in downtown Columbus).

"There's no magic like the magic of live theater," said WOSU's Christopher Purdy, who served as the evening's emcee. Among the magical shows for next season are:

*CINDERELLA was the only musical Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote for television. It debuted in 1957 with Julie Andrews playing the lead role.

*LITTLE MERMAID is the theatrical retelling of the 1989 Disney film of the same. It debuted on Broadway in 2007 and received two Tony nominations for Best Original Score and Best Lighting.

*Based on the 1992 movie which starred the late Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, THE BODYGUARD debuted in London in Nov. 2012. It features the blockbuster hit "I Will Always Love You" (written by Dolly Parton) and Houston hits "So Emotional," "One Moment in Time," "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," and "How Will I Know?" which weren't featured in the movie.

*Celebrating its 50th anniversary as a musical this year, CABARET tells the story of love and romance in 1931 Berlin and features such Broadway standards "Willkommen" and the title track.

Bill Conner, the CAPA president and CEO, called the March 30 preview "the largest launch" in CAPA history. The preview also featured video clips of the coming shows as well as the Columbus Gay Men's Chorus' medley of songs from this season's shows including THE GRINCH WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS, MOTOWN, THE SOUND OF MUSIC and KINKY BOOTS.

Five-show packages are available for as low as $160. Please call 800-294-1892 for details or visit BroadwayInColumbus.com for details.