Joan Marcus
"Wicked" returns! Carrie St. Louis (left) as Glinda, and Alyssa Fox as Elphaba.
The 10-year-old Overture Center calls its 2015-16 schedule the “biggest Broadway season Madison’s ever seen.” The lineup includes 88 Broadway performances and 33 limited-engagement shows, ranging from cirque to comedy.
Disney reigns this season, as three of its Broadway classics will hit the stage. September gives audiences a peek into the world of 1890s Manhattan newsboys fighting the corporate powers of Pulitzer and Hurst in Newsies. Beauty and the Beast has a run in January, followed by a four-week reprise of The Lion King in May and June. The tween favorite Wicked returns in October, and a new version of The Sound of Music will appear in February. The season rounds out with Motown the Musical, the story of Detroit musical legend Barry Gordy based on his relationships with Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson. Finally, Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein’s Tony award-winning show Kinky Boots will light up Overture Hall in July.
In addition to the Broadway mainstays, Overture will also host a number of vocal powerhouses. In October, Kristin Chenoweth in Concert showcases the star best known for originating the role of Glinda in Wicked. Original RENT cast member Adam Pascal follows in April. Overture will also welcome a variety of large group performances, including the Vienna Boys’ Choir, “Vocalosity: The Aca-Perfect Musical Experience” and a limited run of STOMP.
Overture’s popular Cabaret Dinner Theater also returns in November, with Sam Fazio offering a tribute to the greats of the Chicago cabaret scene. Chris Mann of The Voice fame is booked for March, and Tony DeSare will perform the best of American music in June.
Glee star Jane Lynch will kick off Overture’s comedy offerings in September, followed by “Whose Live Anyway?” with comedy kings Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Jeff B. Davis and Joel Murray. Aisha Tyler, host of Whose Line Is It Anyway and voice of Lana Kane in Archer, will round out the comedians in January.
“Madison has a great audience,” says Robert Chappell, director of strategic communications for Overture. He says the city’s appetite for shows has grown since Overture opened 10 years ago, which allows the center to book newer shows for longer runs. “They are engaged, they are informed, they know what they want to see, they know what’s happening in New York.”
Patrons can subscribe online to the Broadway season for tickets to Newsies, The Sound of Music, Motown the Musical, The Lion King and Kinky Boots. Options to add Wicked, Beauty and the Beast or other shows are also available. Individual tickets go on sale this summer with a select few shows going on sale later in the year.
