Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Something Special
WAC season offers irresistible debuts and returning favorites
Perhaps the best thing about the 2018/19 Broadway season at the Walton Arts Center, according to vice president for programming Scott Galbraith, is the shows’ relatability and their simultaneous transcendence of being niche productions.
“For instance, ‘A Bronx Tale,’ it’s very much a guys’ story. And there’s nothing wrong with that,” he says. “Women will love it, but it’s kind of a guys’ story. ‘Waitress’ is more of a female story. Guys will enjoy it, and anybody who likes pie will enjoy it, but it is a bit more of a female story. ‘School of Rock’ is a little bit more of a kids’ story. So there is a general demographic for Broadway, but then within each show, there are concentric circles of demographics.”
If one were searching for a common thread between the shows in the new season, though, Galbraith readily points to all the young talent emerging from so many of the productions.
“If there’s a theme to this [season], it really is about the celebration of youth performers and the vehicle that [theater] can provide to get kids involved in the arts,” Galbraith shares. “‘On Your Feet’ has a spectacular young male dancer featured in the show. ‘Falsettos’ has a young boy who is one of the main characters. ‘A Bronx Tale’ is about a young boy [whose] story we’re watching. ‘Les Misérables’ has Gavroche. So there’s a significant part of cultivating young talent that is underlying this whole thing.”
And the rocking-est, shredding-est, loudest example of young talent will be seen in October with the Arkansas premiere of “School of Rock.” Inspired by the 2003 Jack Black film, “School of Rock” features musical theater’s first-ever kids rock band playing their instruments live on stage by a group of straight-A students-turned rockers.
Four other debuts — for the WAC as well as the whole state! — bolster Fayetteville’s reputation and serve as a huge point of pride for the venue. With a house made up of 40 percent subscribers, Galbraith says the community warrants a stop for huge productions and brand new tours.
“That’s very impressive to our industry — they love coming to a city that has that kind of support already,” he adds. “The more freshness we can bring in in terms of Arkansas premieres, the more people want to see them, the more the industry says, ‘Wow, look at that. Forty percent load in; that’s terrific!’ Now we warrant having premieres and it’s a self-fulfilling cycle.”
One of those WAC debuts, the Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of “Falsettos,” will also launch its tour from Fayetteville in February as “White Christmas” did during the 2017/18 season. The chance to launch a tour allows both the WAC and the community more chance to engage with the full team.
“We are always actively looking for opportunities to be that town to which the entire production company will come and sit down for two weeks and tech their show, put it together, go through the rehearsal process, and then they’ll open their tour from here,” Galbraith shares.
Walton Arts Center’s commitment to providing audiences fresh experiences while also bringing back time-honored favorites — next season’s being “Jersey Boys,” “Les Misérables” and “CATS” — plus its reputation in the industry as such a community-supported venue allow Northwest Arkansas to compete with cities like Kansas City, Tulsa, Little Rock, even Chicago, Galbraith insists.
“We are absolutely a destination for Broadway; there’s no question about that,” he assures. “We get all of the A-class shows, with the exception of those … big behemoth blockbusters. But otherwise, absolutely everything.”