Las Vegas’ Smith Center unveils Broadway musicals for 2019-20 season
For Myron Martin, the importance of this season’s Broadway sequence is obvious: “Las Vegas is now one of the most important cities in the country when it comes to Broadway tours.”
The 2019-20 lineup at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts boasts an eclectic mixture of Broadway debuts, Smith Center returns and Tony Award winners.
“We got everything we went after,” stated Martin, president and CEO of The Smith Center.
Center officers unveiled the lineup Tuesday night at Reynolds Hall earlier than an viewers of season ticket holders. SiriusXM On Broadway’s Seth Rudetsky hosted the announcement, which included performances by forged members of upcoming exhibits together with “Wicked,” “Mean Girls” and “The Band’s Visit.”
This season, The Smith Center noticed greater than 11,000 subscribers because of the drawing energy of hits corresponding to “Dear Evan Hansen.”
Paul Beard, vice chairman and COO of The Smith Center, caught a efficiency of “Dear Evan Hansen” earlier than it was a success. “(Martin) and I knew it would be a huge show. So we went to the agent immediately and said we’ll commit to this now,” he stated. “Six months after we did that, it was a feeding frenzy. That’s what we try to do is be proactive and get the best shows committed here and put a season together so we don’t disappoint audiences.”
This season options returning numbers together with “Wicked” and “The Book of Mormon,” each of which is able to make their third run at The Smith Center.
“Someone not bringing ‘Wicked’ back is dropping the ball,” Martin stated. “It’s just too big and too popular and too good.”
Season ticket holders are in a position to reserve tickets for all 10 exhibits however also can select to soak up as few as seven. However, Las Vegas audiences have confirmed they’re not so desperate to miss a present. This yr, 70 % of Broadway subscribers purchased tickets to all 10 exhibits.
Quite a few family-friendly exhibits are included within the season’s lineup. Among them, “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” is making its Smith Center debut.
“We have a tradition here of around Thanksgiving, we have a Broadway show,” Martin stated. Most years, the venue sells out throughout Thanksgiving week. Extra “Grinch” performances ought to meet this yr’s calls for.
While Martin received’t spill on his favorites of the newly introduced season — he compares it to a father or mother selecting a favourite youngster — he does share his daughter’s high picks.
“She’s 15, so she’s looking forward to ‘Mean Girls,’ ” he says. “She’s also looking forward to ‘Anastasia.’ And she loved, loved, loved ‘Once on This Island.’ ”
Tony-nominated “Mean Girls,” written by Tina Fey and tailored from the 2004 titular film, made its Broadway debut final April. “Anastasia,” one other film-to-Broadway Tony nominee, boasts the whole lot that Beard stated Smith Center audiences will love. “It has great sets, great costumes, music. It’s a wonderful story.”
Love story “Once on This Island” is bringing an immersive set design replete with sand and water to Reynolds Hall. “It won best revival in a really tough field,” Beard stated. “It’s a brilliantly realized production.”
Another revival taking the stage this season is “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
“It’s an Andrew Lloyd Webber show that’s stood the test of time,” Beard stated. “This time, it’s staged similarly to the one on NBC with John Legend.”
Legend nabs a writing credit score alongside Sara Bareilles, Lady Antebellum, Panic! At the Disco and Steven Tyler and Joe Perry in Tony winner “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical.”
“The Band’s Visit,” which landed 10 Tony Awards in 2018, will make its first go to to Las Vegas, rounding out the season in June 2020.
“That’s the most different show we have,” Martin stated. “It’s an interesting book, and the arc of the story and type of music and where it takes place make it different to me from the rest.”
Another first is “Escape to Margaritaville,” for which Martin thinks audiences can anticipate these namesake cocktails to make an look within the theater foyer.
Most exhibits on the 2019-20 lineup, which kicks off with “The Book of Mormon” on July 30, will keep for one week aside from “Wicked,” which is able to keep for two and a half weeks.
As demand for The Smith Center’s Broadway season grows, the impact is just not misplaced on Martin. “We’re about to start year seven,” he stated. “I knew in my heart of hearts that there was pent-up demand for these shows. I’ll be honest — we dreamed really big when we dreamed about what The Smith Center would be. And the reality is bigger than any dream I ever had.”
Contact Janna Karel at jkarel@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jannainprogress
on Twitter.