FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 22, 2016 CONTACT: Paul Bilyeu, 813.222.1050 paul.bilyeu@strazcenter.org or Salwa Mansour, 813.222.1059 salwa.mansour@strazcenter.org The Straz Center for the Performing Arts announces the 2016-2017 Bank of America Best of Broadway Tampa Bay season Shows include An American in Paris, Roundabout Theatre Company s Cabaret, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Finding Neverland, Into The Woods, Rodgers & Hammerstein s The King and I and Something Rotten! Plus an intimate production of Forbidden Broadway, a new production of Disney s The Little Mermaid and the returns of Motown The Musical and Wicked Tampa, FL The Straz Center for the Performing Arts 2016-2017 Bank of America Best of Broadway Tampa Bay season is filled with Tony Award -winners, audience favorites and magnificent classics. The Broadway series features the 2015 Tony Award-winning Best Play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and the 2015 Tony Award-winning Best Revival of a Musical Rodgers & Hammerstein s The King and I. Also on the 2016-2017 slate are the Tony-winning productions of An American in Paris and Roundabout Theatre Company s Cabaret, as well as audience and critical favorites Something Rotten!, Finding Neverland and Into the Woods. The series also includes a production of Forbidden Broadway in the Straz Center s Jaeb Theater. In addition to the eight-show Broadway series a new production of Disney s The Little Mermaid, produced by Pittsburgh CLO and Kansas City Starlight, will visit the Straz Center. Back by popular demand is recordbreaking smash hit Motown The Musical as well as the triumphant return of Broadway s biggest blockbuster, Wicked, the story of what happened before Dorothy dropped in on Oz. Season ticket holders will be able to add any or all of these three shows to their package. Our Broadway season will offer theater audiences in the Tampa Bay area the opportunity to experience a vast array of top-notch, award-winning productions, said Judith Lisi, president and CEO of the Straz Center. This entertaining and compelling series has something for everyone and showcases the very best that theater has to offer.
The 2016-2017 Bank of America Best of Broadway Tampa Bay season is presented in the Straz Center s acoustically perfect Carol Morsani Hall, the largest on the west coast of Florida, with more than 2,600 seats. The season features: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Nov. 8-13, 2016 The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time, winner of five 2015 Tony Awards including Best Play, is coming to Tampa! Hailed as One of the most fully immersive works ever to wallop Broadway by The New York Times, this dazzling (Associated Press) adaptation is the Tony Award-winning new play by Simon Stephens, adapted from Mark Haddon s best-selling novel and directed by Tony winner Marianne Elliott. Fifteen-year-old Christopher has an extraordinary brain; he is exceptionally intelligent but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. When he falls under suspicion for killing his neighbor s dog, he sets out to identify the true culprit, which leads to an earth-shattering discovery and a journey that will change his life forever. Into the Woods Nov. 29-Dec. 4, 2016 Venture back Into the Woods as the Dodgers (Jersey Boys, Matilda) team up with Networks (Phantom, War Horse, South Pacific) to present the acclaimed Fiasco Theater production that became New York s surprise hit of this season. Unanimously acclaimed, extended twice at the Roundabout s Laura Pels Theater, the Tony Award-winning musical classic by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine has been mounted with boundless imagination. This witty and wildly theatrical re-invention is Into the Woods like you ve never seen it before! Including dazzling songs like Children Will Listen and No One Is Alone, this thrillingly clever new version made Ben Brantley of The New York Times fall head over heels. Mind the wolf, heed the witch and honor the giant in the sky at this extraordinary musical about the power of wishes and what really happens after they come true. An American in Paris Dec. 20-25, 2016 An American in Paris in the new Tony Award-winning musical about an American soldier, a mysterious French girl and an indomitable European city, each yearning for a new beginning in the aftermath of war. Acclaimed director/choreographer and 2015 Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon brings the magic and romance of Paris into the perfect harmony with unforgettable songs from George and Ira Gershwin in the show that earned more awards than any other musical in the 2014-15 season! The New York Times raves An American in Paris is a triumph! Pure joy! and the Wall Street Journal declares, Once you ve seen it, you ll find it hard to settle for less ever again. Don t miss this stunning Broadway hit when it arrives in Tampa on its first national tour!
Forbidden Broadway Jan. 10-March 12, 2017 Forbidden Broadway is the longest-running musical revue in the world and the funniest show in New York (New Yorker Magazine). A favorite of all Broadway lovers, this cabaret revue sharply spoofs show tunes, characters and plots of contemporary and classic Broadway musicals, and it will have audiences rolling in the aisles. The original version of the revue opened in New York in 1982 and ran for more than 2,300 performances. Presented in the intimate Jaeb Theater and unlike anything seen at The Straz before, this version of Forbidden Broadway has been reincarnated and modernized to include parodies of newer shows. Roundabout Theatre Company s Cabaret Jan. 24-29, 2017 Direct from Broadway, the acclaimed masterpiece returns to Tampa! As part of their 50 th Anniversary Season, the critically acclaimed and award-winning Roundabout Theatre Company is proud to present Sam Mendes (Skyfall, American Beauty) and Rob Marshall s (Into the Woods and Chicago, the films) Tony Award-winning production of Cabaret. Welcome to the infamous Kit Kat Klub, where the Emcee, Sally Bowles and a raucous ensemble take the stage nightly to tantalize the crowd and to leave their troubles outside. But as life in pre-wwii Germany grows more and more uncertain; will the decadent allure of Berlin nightlife be enough to get them through their dangerous times? Come hear some of the most memorable songs in theater history, including Cabaret, Willkommen and Maybe This Time. Leave your troubles outside life is beautiful at Cabaret, John Kander, Fred Ebb and Joe Masteroff s Tony-winning musical about following your heart while the world loses its way. Something Rotten! March 7-12, 2017 Something Rotten! is Broadway s big, fat hit! (New York Post). Set in 1595, this hilarious smash tells the story of Nick and Nigel Bottom, two brothers who are desperate to write a hit play. When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world s very first musical! With its heart on its ruffled sleeve and sequins in its soul, Something Rotten! is The Producers + The Book of Mormon x The Drowsy Chaperone. Squared! (New York Magazine). Rodgers & Hammerstein s The King and I May 2-7, 2017 Lincoln Center Theater s critically acclaimed production of Rodgers & Hammerstein s The King and I directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher won four 2015 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical. Bartlett Sher is reunited with the award-winning creative team from South Pacific and The Light in the Piazza. The King and I features sets by Michael Yeargan; costumes by Catherine Zuber; lighting by Donald Holder, sound by Scott Lehrer and choreography by Christopher Gattelli based on the original choreography by Jerome Robbins. One of Rodgers & Hammerstein s finest works, The King and I boasts a score which 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. Finding Neverland May 30-June 4, 2017 Finding Neverland is Broadway s biggest new hit and the winner of Broadway.com s Audience Choice Award for Best Musical! This breathtaking smash captures the kid-at-heart (Time). Vogue cheers, it s a must-see you ll remember for years to come! Directed by visionary Tony-winner Diane Paulus, Finding Neverland tells the incredible story behind one of the world s most beloved characters: Peter Pan. Playwright J.M. Barrie struggles to find inspiration until he meets four young brothers and their beautiful widowed mother. Spellbound by the boys enchanting makebelieve adventures, he sets out to write a play that will astound London theatergoers. With a little bit of pixie dust and a lot of faith, Barrie takes this monumental leap, leaving his old world behind for Neverland where nothing is impossible and the wonder of childhood lasts forever. The magic of Barrie s classic tale springs spectacularly to life in this heartwarming theatrical event. Finding Neverland is far and away the best musical of the year! (NPR) Broadway encore Wicked Feb. 1-26, 2017 Wicked, the Broadway sensation, looks at what happened in the Land of Oz but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another girl, born with emerald-green skin smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships until the world decides to call one good, and the other one wicked. With a thrilling score that includes the hits Defying Gravity, Popular and For Good, Wicked has been hailed by The New York Times as the defining musical of the decade. Time cheers, if every musical had the brain, the heart, and the courage of Wicked, Broadway really would be a magical place. Broadway special Disney s The Little Mermaid July 11-16, 2017 In a magical kingdom beneath the sea, the beautiful young mermaid Ariel longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. Based on one of Hans Christian Andersen s most beloved stories, with music by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken, it s a hauntingly beautiful love story for the ages. Come fall in love with the magic for the first time or all over again with classics such as Under the Sea, Kiss the Girl, Part of Your World and more! Disney s The Little Mermaid is produced by Pittsburgh CLO and Kansas City Starlight. One of the most ravishing things I have ever seen on a Broadway stage. - Time
Broadway encore Motown The Musical Aug. 8-13, 2017 It began as one man s story became everyone s music and is now Broadway s musical. Motown The Musical is the true American dream story of Motown founder Berry Gordy s journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson and many more. Motown shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat. Featuring classic songs such as My Girl and Ain t No Mountain High Enough, experience the story behind the music in the record-breaking smash hit Motown The Musical! The 2016-2017 Bank of America Best of Broadway Tampa Bay series is presented by the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. Current season ticket holders will receive renewal invoices in late February. Those renewals will be handled before new subscriptions are processed, but patrons can sign up now to become new season ticket holders. Straz Center Annual Members are given first priority for new season tickets. New season ticket orders will be handled in the order they are received. For more information, email the Straz Center at tickets@strazcenter.org or call the Straz Center Ticket Sales Office at 813.229.STAR (7827) or outside the Tampa Bay area at 800.955.1045 or visit www.strazcenter.org. Group tickets are also on sale now and individual show tickets will go on sale at a later date to be announced. Events, days, dates, times, performers and prices are subject to change without notice. PAC2017-001 The David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts and its programs are funded in part by the City of Tampa; the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners; the Tourist Development Council/Hillsborough County; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts