After delivering fan fave Jersey Boys, new musicals We Will Rock You, Sister Act and Ghost as well as the three-week return of Wicked, we didn’t think things could get any hotter.
While you can catch the smoldering embers of this year’s season with Million Dollar Quartet playing May 6 – 11 and the exciting War Horse as it gallops into Nashville next month, Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) is lighting a bonfire with an explosive mix of classics and contemporary Broadway hits with its 2014-15 season announcement.
The 2014-15 HCA/TriStar Health Broadway at TPAC Series kicks off with Once, September 16-21. You’ll recognize the story of _Once_ from the 2007 independent film of the same name starring (at the time) real-life musical duo Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. The production’s swan song “Falling Slowly” won an Academy Award and is the centerpiece in this Dublin-based musical that impressively has its entire ensemble not only acting and singing, but playing the instruments too.
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.
We had it coming, we had it coming. Following Once is Chicago with John O’Hurley. The six-time Tony Award-winning musical will provide all that jazz October 21 to October 26. So if you’ve only seen the big-screen Hollywood version, you’re missing out on some incredible dance sequences. Make sure to add Chicago with John O’Hurley to your TPAC checklist.
Don’t cry for us Nashville, the truth is we’ve always loved you. Although we took some artistic license there, we’re excited that Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony Award-winning musical Evita returns November 4 - 9. Sure, Madonna starred as Eva Perón in the 1996 film Evita, but you should really jump at the chance to hear “some of theater's most beautiful songs” in person.
Next in the HCA/TriStar Health Broadway at TPAC Series, is probably our most anticipated show: Kinky Boots, which will drag itself to Nashville February 3 to 8, 2015.
Winner of six Tony Awards, including Cyndi Lauper’s award-winning score (the first Tony Award for a female written score), Kinky Boots’ inspirational story follows a struggling shoe factory owner who works to turn his business around with help from Lola, a fabulous entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos. Together, this unlikely pair finds that they have more in common than they ever dreamed possible—proving that when you change your mind about someone, you can change your whole world.
Rounding out the season announcement are Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat which will include American Idol finalists (and couple) Diane DeGarmo and Ace Young (February 17-22, 2015), Pippin who won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival (March 10- 15, 2015) and the straight from Broadway, high-energy, hit-musical Newsies, which will deliver headlines May 26-31, 2015.
But that’s not all. TPAC has plenty more surprises up their sleeve with their special presentation shows that include a new holiday classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical and The Blue Man Group.
And we cannot forget, the hotly-anticipated national tour of The Book of Mormon.
Called “the best musical of this century,” by The New York Times and “the kind of evening that restores your faith in musicals” by The Washington Post, we’re thankful The Book of Mormon, the nine-time Tony Award-winning musical from the creators of South Park, makes a Nashville stop on it national tour November 18-23, 2014.
For more information, including season tickets and packages, click here.