BOOK OF MORMON, EVITA, ONCE, FLASHDANCE and More Set for PPAC's 2013-14 Broadway Season

J.L. "Lynn" Singleton, President of the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), has announced PPAC's 36th Anniversary Broadway season and welcome Taco/The White Family Foundation as the returning Broadway Series title sponsor. From the creators of South Park and winner of nine Tony Awards, THE BOOK OF MORMON will play a limited two-week engagement April 28 - May 11, 2014.

The 2013/2014 Taco/The White Family Foundation Broadway Series features the national tour openings of EVITA, ONCE, and Cameron Mackintosh's spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, along with the Providence premieres of GHOST THE MUSICAL, WE WILL ROCK YOU, and FLASHDANCE.

The 2013/2014 Contemporary Classics Series features a return engagement of WICKED for the holidays, followed by PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, and MAN OF LA MANCHA.

Singleton said, "Our 36th Broadway Season features an exceptional line-up of top notch shows from Broadway and London. Opening three major National Tours in the fall of 2013 is BIG! We are very pleased to have WICKED return to PPAC for a three-week engagement. We are grateful for Taco/The White Family Foundation's continued sponsorship of our Broadway Series and we are equally appreciative to WPRI 12, who is our media sponsor for the Broadway Series, and to Cox, the media sponsor of our Contemporary Classics Series."

Joseph W. Walsh, Esq., Chairman of PPAC's Board of Trustees, said, "Kudos to the leadership at PPAC and their staff for assembling this roster of great shows. We have had a wonderful track record at the Theatre of presenting terrific productions, and next year will be one of the best ever!"

John Hazen White, Jr., President and CEO of Taco, Inc., said, "Taco and The White Family Foundation are pleased that we can continue to support the outstanding productions in the Broadway Series at PPAC. It is incredible that three National Tours will open at PPAC next season and that PPAC is also hosting the Providence premieres of other Broadway productions. All of us at Taco are looking forward to it."

The renewal deadline for current subscribers for the 2013/2014 season is Friday, April 26, 2013. Current subscribers are asked to watch for their renewal packets in the mail in late March/early April. For information about new subscriptions, call the Box Office or Sharon Corcoran in Direct Response at (401) 574-3136. For information on Group Sales, call Paul Hiatt at (401) 574-3162.

The 2013/2014 Taco/The White Family Foundation Broadway Series kicks off with the National Tour opening of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's EVITA September 8 -14, 2013. Eva Perón used her beauty and charisma to rise meteorically from the slums of Argentina to the presidential mansion as First Lady. Adored by her people as a champion for the poor, she became one of the most powerful women in the world - while her greed, outsized ambition, and fragile health made her one of the most tragic. EVITA tells Eva's passionate and unforgettable true story, and features some of theatre's most beautiful songs, including "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," "Another Suitcase in Another Hall," and "High Flying, Adored." This stunning new production of EVITA is directed by Michael Grandage and choreographed by Rob Ashford, that Channel 4 New York calls "THE HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN!"

Winner of eight 2012 Tony Awards including Best Musical and winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, ONCE launches its National Tour at PPAC October 1 - 6, 2013. A truly original Broadway experience, featuring an impressive ensemble of actor/musicians who play their own instruments onstage, ONCE tells the enchanting tale of a Dublin street musician who's about to give up on his dream when a beautiful young woman takes a sudden interest in his haunting love songs. As the chemistry between them grows, his music soars to powerful new heights...but their unlikely connection turns out to be deeper and more complex than your everyday romance. Emotionally captivating and theatrically breathtaking, ONCE draws you in from the very first note and never lets go.

GHOST THE MUSICAL coming to PPAC October 22 - 27, 2013, based on the Oscar-winning film, features an original pop score from multiple Grammy Award-winners Dave Stewart, one half of the 80s pop duo the Eurythmics, and Glen Ballard, co-writer with Alanis Morissette on the multi-platinum album Jagged Little Pill, among many other notable credits and collaborations. Adapted from the hit film by its Academy Award-winning screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin, GHOST THE MUSICAL follows Sam and Molly, a young couple whose connection takes a shocking turn after Sam's untimely death. Trapped between two worlds, Sam refuses to leave Molly when he learns she is in grave danger. Desperate to communicate with her, he turns to a storefront psychic who helps him protect Molly and avenge his death.

Cameron Mackintosh's spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA will launch a North American tour at PPAC November 27 - December 7, 2013. With newly reinvented staging and stunning scenic design, this new version of PHANTOM, the most successful musical of all-time, has been hailed as "an intense and spectacular new production with a stunning new design, fresh drama, and added momentum." THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; lyrics are by Charles Hart (with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe) and the book is by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Orchestrations are by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the classic novel Le Fantôme de L'Opéra by Gaston Leroux, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA tells the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with an innocent young soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star by nurturing her extraordinary talents and by employing all of the devious methods at his command.

Celebrating its 30th Anniversary, the pop culture phenomenon of FLASHDANCE comes to PPAC March 25 - 30, 2014. FLASHDANCE - THE MUSICAL features a score that includes the biggest hit songs from the movie, including the Academy Award-winning title song "Flashdance - What a Feeling," "Maniac," "Gloria," "Manhunt," and "I Love Rock & Roll." In addition to these hits, 16 brand new songs have been written for the musical with music by Robbie Roth and lyrics by Robert Cary and Robbie Roth. FLASHDANCE-THE MUSICAL features a book by Tom Hedley (co-writer of the original screenplay), and Robert Cary with direction and choreography by Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, Memphis).

WE WILL ROCK YOU, at PPAC April 15 - 20, 2014, features the greatest hits of the legendary British rock group, Queen. Now in its 11th year in London and seen by a staggering 15 million people worldwide, this multi-award winning musical boasts a fantastic score of killer Queen tunes that you just can't resist singing along to, such as "Another One Bites The Dust," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," "We Are The Champions," "Bohemian Rhapsody," and of course, "We Will Rock You."

The Taco/The White Family Foundation Broadway Series concludes with THE BOOK OF MORMON April 28 - May 11, 2014*. Ben Brantley of The New York Times calls it "the best musical of this century." Entertainment Weekly says it's "the funniest musical of all time." From South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, it's THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical. Jon Stewart of The Daily Show calls it "a crowning achievement. So good it makes me angry." Contains explicit language.

*The week of April 28th is PPAC's subscription week.

The 2013/2014 Contemporary Classics Series opens with a three-week engagement of one of Providence's most "popular" musicals, WICKED, December 26, 2013 - January 12, 2014. Variety calls WICKED "a cultural phenomenon," and when it last played Providence in 2009, it broke box office records and sold out in record time. Winner of 35 major awards, including a Grammy and three Tony Awards, WICKED is "Broadway's biggest blockbuster" (The New York Times). Long before that girl from Kansas arrives in Munchkinland, two girls meet in the Land of Oz. One - born with emerald green skin - is smart, fiery, and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious, and very popular. How these two grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good makes for "the most complete - and completely satisfying - new musical in a long time" (USA Today).

Winner of five Tony Awards, PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, at PPAC February 25 - March 2, 2014, takes a hilarious romp through the Neverland you never knew. Hailed by The New York Times as the "most exhilarating storytelling on Broadway in decades," this swashbuckling prequel to Peter Pan will have you hooked from the moment you let your imagination take flight. PETER AND THE STARCATCHER is the innovative and imaginative musical play based on the best-selling Disney-Hyperion novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. A company of twelve actors plays more than a hundred unforgettable characters, all on a journey to answer the century-old question: How did Peter Pan become The Boy Who Never Grew Up?

The third production in the Contemporary Classics Series is the beloved classic MAN OF LA MANCHA, with a score featuring songs like "The Impossible Dream," "Dulcinea,"and "A Little Gossip." Based on Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth-century novel Don Quixote, MAN OF LA MANCHA tells the adventures of the knight Don Quixote and his sidekick Sancho. Dates and more information will be announced.

Subscribers receive first choice of seating, advance order options, and a host of other subscription benefits. For more information on how to subscribe to the 2013/2014 Taco/The White Family Foundation Broadway Series and the 2013/2014 Contemporary Classics Series, please contact the PPAC Box Office at (401) 421-ARTS (2787) or Sharon Corcoran in Direct Response at (401) 574-3136.

Direct Response Hours are Monday through Friday, 10A to 5P. Regular Box Office Hours are Monday through Friday, 10A to 5P; Saturday, 10A to 2P; and through curtain time(s) on performance days.

Performance Schedule for PPAC's 2013/2014 Broadway Season
Taco/The White Family Foundation Broadway Series

EVITA: September 8 - 14, 2013
ONCE: October 1 - 6, 2013
GHOST THE MUSICAL: October 22 - 27, 2013
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: November 27 - December 7, 2013
FLASHDANCE: March 25 - 30, 2014
WE WILL ROCK YOU: April 15 - 20, 2014
THE BOOK OF MORMON: April 28 - May 11, 2014

Contemporary Classics Series

WICKED: December 26, 2013 - January 12, 2014
PETER AND THE STARCATCHER: February 25 - March 2, 2014
MAN OF LA MANCHA: Dates TBA

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