IN THE HEIGHTS, SHREK, CHICAGO & More Part of Broadway Grand Rapids' '10-'11 Season

The 2010-2011 season for Broadway Grand Rapids (BGR), while marking the company's 23rd year, raises the curtain on an impressive new level of performance. The stage was set with the exciting news that Broadway Grand Rapids and Michigan State University's Wharton Center for Performing Arts have established a partnership that is dramatic - literally and figuratively. For theater lovers throughout West Michigan, this pairing creates an enhanced opportunity to secure top-notch shows for the DeVos Performance Hall venue. The new season reflects the power and the theatrical magic that the organizations have been able to conjure up together. This includes the return to a 5 show subscription series and the additional of 4 special events, the most offered in a BGR season. The subscription series will include Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific, Legally Blonde The Musical, In The Heights, Grease and Shrek The Musical. In addition to the subscription series, BGR will also offer CHICAGO, STOMP, New Shanghai Circus, and The Aluminum Show.

SUBSCRIPTION SERIES:
Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC - September 7-12, 2010
"Simply Wonderful! Beguiling Theatrical Magic!" hails the New York Post for Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC. A stunning reinvention produced by Lincoln Center Theater, SOUTH PACIFIC swept the 2008 Tony Awards, winning seven honors including Best Musical Revival and Best Director for Bartlett Sher. The breathtaking new production features a cast of 34 and a full orchestra of 26 members - the largest orchestra of any touring Broadway production. Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices. The beloved score's songs include "Some Enchanted Evening," "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair," "This Nearly Was Mine" and "There is Nothin' Like a Dame." USA Today cheers, "????! Gorgeous! SOUTH PACIFIC doesn't just float; it soars!" Based on James Michener's Pulitzer Prize winning book Tales of the South Pacific, Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC has music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, a book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan and is directed by 2008 Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher.

LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL- November 23-28, 2010
It's here, and it's "AN ELLE OF A SHOW" (TIME Magazine). The hilarious MGM film is Broadway's new smash hit musical, and now LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL is coming to you. Legally Blonde follows sorority star Elle Woods, an underestimated blonde who doesn't take "no" for an answer. When her boyfriend dumps her for someone more "serious," Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style. After turning Broadway and MTV hot pink, this "Feel-Good Song and Dance Juggernaut" (New York Magazine) is "The Best New Musical Around!" (WOR).

IN THE HEIGHTS-January 4-9, 2011
IN THE HEIGHTS, winner of four 2008 Tony Awards including BEST MUSICAL!, is a sensational new show about chasing your dreams and finding your true home. With an amazing cast, incredible Tony Award-winning dancing and a thrilling Tony Award-winning score, IN THE HEIGHTS is an exhilarating journey into a vibrant Manhattan community - a place where the coffee is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. Experience the next chapter of the classic American story at the most joyous, exciting and award-winning new musical on Broadway. Find out what it takes to make a living, what it costs to have a dream, and what it means to be home...IN THE HEIGHTS.

GREASE-March 1-6, 2011
The one that you want is back! GREASE, TIME magazine's 2007 pick for "#1 musical of the year," is rockin' across the country in this new production direct from Broadway. Take a trip to a simpler time of poodle skirts, drive-ins, and T-birds. "Bad boy" Danny and "the girl next door" Sandy fall in love all over again to the tune of your favorite songs: "Summer Nights," "Greased Lightnin'" and "We Go Together" as well as additional songs from the hit movie: "Grease," "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "You're the One That I Want." So throw your mittens around your kittens and Hand Jive the night away with the show that'll make you want to stand up and shout, "A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop A-wop-bam-boom!," GREASE!

SHREK THE MUSICAL-June 21-26, 2011
SHREK THE MUSICAL, based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks film that started it all, brings the hilarious story of everyone's favorite ogre to life on the stage. In a faraway kingdom turned upside down, things get ugly when an unseemly ogre - not a handsome prince - shows up to rescue a feisty princess. Throw in a donkey who won't shut up, a bad guy with a SHORT temper, a cookie with an attitude and over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you've got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there's one on hand... and his name is Shrek. Featuring a terrific score of 19 all-new songs, big laughs, great dancing and breathtaking scenery, USA Today proclaims SHREK THE MUSICAL, "ALTOGETHER IRRESISTIBLE. A BIG FAT HIT!" SHREK THE MUSICAL is part romance, part twisted fairy tale and all irreverent fun for everyone!

SPECIAL EVENTS:
CHICAGO-April 5-7, 2011
There's never been a better time to experience CHICAGO, Broadway's razzle-dazzle smash. This triumphant hit musical is the recipient of six Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, a Grammy and thousands of standing ovations. A sensational tale of sin, corruption and all that jazz, it's no surprise that CHICAGO has wowed audiences from Mexico City to Moscow, from Sao Paulo to South Africa. And now it's coming to your town! If you're looking for your first Broadway musical CHICAGO has everything you could want: knockout dancing, an edge-of-your seat story and one showstopper after another. If you loved the Academy Award-winning film, nothing beats the live show, and if you are already intimately acquainted with the musical, experience that sizzle again, CHICAGO always delivers. Come on, babe! Head to CHICAGO, we're hotter than ever.

STOMP-May 20-22, 2011
STOMP is explosive, provocative, sophisticated, sexy, utterly unique and appeals to audiences of all ages. The international percussion sensation has garnered an armful of awards and rave reviews, and has appeared on numerous national television shows. The eight-member troupe uses everything but conventional percussion instruments - matchboxes, wooden poles, brooms, garbage cans, Zippo lighters, hubcaps - to fill the stage with magnificent rhythms. As USA Today says, "STOMP finds beautiful noises in the strangest places." STOMP. See what all the noise is about.

SPECIAL ONE-NIGHT EVENTS:
NEW SHANGHAI CIRCUS-February 15, 2011
Astonishing athletes defy gravity and execute breathtaking feats as they stretch the limits of human ability in this spellbinding show. Fearless performers with boundless energy bring you more than two thousand years of Chinese circus traditions. If it's humanly possible - and even if it's not - Shanghai's acrobats, jugglers and contortionists do it with spectacular flair!

THE ALUMINUM SHOW-February 20, 2011
A sensational hit around the world, The Aluminum Show is a theatrical experience that is totally unique. Through the use of amazing special effects, creative mechanisms and acrobatic dance, inanimate objects come to life with energy, emotion and even personality, as silver industrial materials create a luminous and reflective world. This new performance combines movement, dance and visual theater to thrill audiences of all ages!

Broadway Grand Rapids offers a 5-Show Subscription package that gives members a 10% price discount from single-show tickets, as well as personalized service, privileges, and the same reserved seats for each show. The Subscription Series package price ranges from $163.90 to $371.40, depending on seating section and performance day and time. The 2010-2011 Subscription Series may be renewed or purchased from Broadway Grand Rapids by calling 616-235-6285, at the office at 122 Lyon Street NW in downtown Grand Rapids or by filling out the order form located in the season brochure. BGR office hours are 9 to 5 Monday through Thursday, and 9 to 4 on Fridays. The subscription renewal deadline is Friday, May 7th.
Broadway Grand Rapids 2010-2011 Subscription Season

Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC
September 7 - 12, 2010
Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Friday at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday at 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL
November 23-28, 2010
Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Friday at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday at 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

IN THE HEIGHTS
January 4-9, 2011
Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Friday at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday at 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

GREASE
March 1-6, 2011
Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Friday at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday at 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

SHREK THE MUSICAL
June 21-26, 2011
Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Friday at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday at 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

All performances at DeVos Performance Hall located at  303 Monroe Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT: www.BroadwayGrandRapids.com

 

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