A spectacular, spectacular Tony Award-winning best musical is set to can-can its way onstage at the Fox Theatre as part of the newly announced 2022-2023 season of Broadway in Atlanta.
The Broadway hit “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” a 2019 adaptation of the Baz Luhrmann film featuring tons of pop hits, great dancing and dazzling set design, will run April 19-30, 2023. The show won 10 Tonys, including prizes for its book, music and choreography.
Courtesy of Matthew Murphy
Courtesy of Matthew Murphy
The lineup of other shows for the season is equally impressive, also featuring “Hadestown,” “Wicked,” “Riverdance,” “Hairspray,” “Chicago” and “A Soldier’s Play,” directed by longtime Atlantan and Tony winner Kenny Leon.
The full lineup:
“Pretty Woman: The Musical” (September 13-18) - Based upon the 1990 Julia Roberts-Richard Gere romantic comedy, this musical features music and lyrics by pop star Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance.
“Chicago” (October 21-23) - This Kander and Ebb musical about singing murderers Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly will bring the razzle-dazzle back to Atlanta this fall.
“Anastasia” (December 6-11) - Based upon the 1997 animated film, this musical tells the story of an amnesiac woman who claims to be a missing Russian grand duchess and who may have escaped the execution of her family during the revolution as a child.
“Hadestown” (January 10-15, 2023) - Another winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, “Hadestown” is based upon the myth of lovers Orpheus and Eurydice, whose love outlasts death itself, yet its music is tinged with the jazz and blues of New Orleans.
“Riverdance 25th Anniversary Show” (January 27-29, 2023) - This Irish dancing extravaganza has been stomping its way around the world for two and a half decades, and its high energy presentation and music have garnered a United Nations of fans.
“Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” (February 21-26, 2023) - This jukebox musical tells the story of pop star Tina Turner, featuring music from her extensive catalog of hits.
“A Soldier’s Play” (March 28-April 2, 2023) - Leon again directs this Tony Award-winning revival of Charles Fuller’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play.
“Moulin Rouge! The Musical” (April 19-30, 2023) - This musical features songs from the original film, plus several medleys of more current pop hits, including songs by Lady Gaga, Adele, The White Stripes, Rihanna, Pink, Britney Spears and Outkast.
“Hairspray” (May 30-June 4, 2023) - This favorite musical based on the John Waters comedy, which also won the Tony Award for best musical, brings Tracy and Edna Turnblad back to dance for equality in the 1960s.
“Wicked” (July 5-30, 2023) - This origin story for the Wicked Witch of the West from “The Wizard of Oz” returns to defy gravity onstage once again.
Visit broadwayinatlanta.com for information about season ticket packages.
Courtesy of Aneesa Folds
Courtesy of Aneesa Folds
Alliance announces “Trading Places” cast
The Alliance Theatre has announced the cast of its world premiere musical “Trading Places,” loosely based upon the 1983 Eddie Murphy-Dan Aykroyd film. Directed by Kenny Leon and featuring music from Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner and a book from Thomas Lennon, the musical is a contemporary reimagining of the original material, still set in the 1980s. It will be staged from May 25 to June 26.
The musical will star Broadway actors Aneesa Folds (”Freestyle Love Supreme”) as con artist Billie Rae Valentine and Tony nominee Bryce Pinkham (”A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”) as financier Louis Winthorpe III. In the story, Valentine and Pinkham are manipulated into switching jobs and fortunes after two rich brothers mess with the characters’ fate.
Co-stars include Tony nominee Marc Kudisch, Lenny Wolpe, McKenzie Kurtz, Josh Lamon, Joe Montoya and Don Stephenson. The ensemble will include Benjamin Howes, Raymond J. Lee, Michael McCorry Rose and Nyla Watson.
The show will be choreographed by Fatima Robinson. Its scenic design will be done by Tony winner Beowulf Boritt.
“I am so excited to come home with this world-class cast and creative team and a new musical that I know will resonate and be embraced by the Atlanta community,” Leon said in a release. “With ‘Trading Places’ we’re exploring the idea of what would happen if we all traded places with someone else, even for a day, literally putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. It’s relevant; it’s uplifting; everyone will feel heard and represented. And you’re going to laugh, a lot! It’s the perfect play for right now.”
Aurora event honors Indigenous community
Aurora Theatre will host a free event April 4 at 6:30 p.m. to honor the Indigenous community. “Trail of Resilience: The Beginning of Understanding” will take place in the grand lobby of the new Lawrenceville Arts Center in downtown Lawrenceville.
Courtesy of Andromeda Grimm
Courtesy of Andromeda Grimm
It will feature the unveiling of an art piece, “Rocky Boy,” by Indigenous artist Andromeda Grimm, that honors the spirit of the artist’s grandmother, who was taken from her home in the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation at a young age and placed in boarding school and made to conform to the behaviors and customs of her non-Indigenous classmates. The program also will include a proclamation from Nicole Love Hendrickson, chairwoman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, declaring April 4 as Trail of Resilience Day.
This event will acknowledge that the land in the area was part of the Muscogee Creek Nation and will honor their contribution as the original storytellers and storymakers on Georgia soil.
For more information, visit auroratheatre.com/trail-of-resilience.
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