The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Playhouse Square offers canceled series
Playhouse Square reshapes canceled Broadway Series into smaller 2020-21 offering, excited to welcome back patrons
The canceled 2020-2021 KeyBank Broadway Series was retooled, scaled down for a 2021-2022 series.
OK, let’s try this again. ¶ A little more than 13 months after unveiling its since-canceled 2020-2021 KeyBank Broadway Series, Cleveland’s Playhouse Square announced a similar-if-scaled-down 2021-22 series.
Four of its five shows were planned for the earlier series, which was scrapped after it became clear the novel coronavirus pandemic would mean a prolonged ban on mass gatherings and the touring theater industry went on pause. The other show, an adaptation of smash-hit Disney animated film “Frozen,” actually was to have brought to a close the 2019-20 series in the summer.
The new series runs from early November to early September 2022.
“Our audiences have been so patient and supportive over the last year. I cannot wait to welcome them back,” said Playhouse Square President and CEO Gina Vernaci in a news release. “There is nothing like the energy that buzzes through our district when a show is on stage – the smiles, the conversations, the lights. Human beings are meant to gather together and it is invigorating to get ready for that to start happening again!”
Season ticket plans range from $80 to $515 per seat, with monthly payment plans available, the release states. Call 216-241-6000 or visit playhousesquare.org/ broadway.
Playhouse Square revealed the season via a video presentation April 7, when the nonprofit organization also announced a new monthly streaming series, “Buzzcast,” which set to debut later this month at playhousesquare.org. Episodes will feature celebrity interviews, news and a look at the excitement happening around the Playhouse Square District, the release states.
Of course, the pandemic isn’t over, and health and safety of patrons is a major priority.
The release states Playhouse Square is collaborating with University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic and state and local health officials to plan for the safe return of audiences and performers. Playhouse Square will enforce a strict masking policy, provide hand sanitizer, follow strict disinfection plans and provide communications prior to arrival and on site to remind guests of health and safety protocols. Furthermore, guests are encouraged to choose digital ticket delivery to their mobile devices for an easy, touch-free experience.
Further details will be shared in advance of the first show opening in November, the release adds.
Without further ado about anything, here’s the schedule:
FROM PAGE 6 ‘The Prom’
Nov. 2 through 21
SAYS PLAYHOUSE SQUARE >> Everyone’s invited to the joyous Broadway hit that New York Magazine hails as “smart and big-hearted” while The New York Times declares it “makes you believe in musical comedy again!” “The Prom” is a new musical comedy about big Broadway stars on a mission to change the world and the love they discover that unites them all.
The show features direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (“Mean Girls,” “The Book of Mormon”), a book by Tony Award winner Bob Martin (“The Drowsy Chaperone”) and Tony Award nominee Chad Beguelin (“Aladdin”), music by Tony Award nominee Matthew Sklar (“Elf”) and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Chad Beguelin.
A movie adaptation directed by Ryan Murphy (“Glee”) debuted on Netflix in December.
‘Pretty Woman: The Musical’
March 8 through 27
SAYS PLAYHOUSE SQUARE >> After an incredible run on Broadway, Audience Choice Award-winner “Pretty Woman: The Musical” is now on tour! One of Hollywood’s most romantic and beloved stories of all time, “Pretty Woman: The Musical” is brought to life by a powerhouse creative team representing the best of music, Hollywood, and Broadway. Featuring direction and choreography by two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell (“Hairspray,” “Kinky Boots,” “Legally Blonde”), an original score by Grammy winner Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance (“Summer of ‘69,” “Heaven”) and a book by the movie’s legendary director, Garry Marshall, and screenwriter J.F. Lawton, “Pretty Woman: The Musical” will lift your spirits and light up your heart.
The release further promises the show “delivers on all the iconic moments you remember.”
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’
April 26 through May 15, 2022 SAYS PLAYHOUSE SQUARE >> All rise for Academy Award winner Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork. The New York Times Critic’s Pick “To Kill a Mockingbird” is “the most successful American play in Broadway history. It has not played to a single empty seat” (“60 Minutes:). Rolling Stone gives it five stars, calling it “an emotionally shattering landmark production of an American classic,” and New York Magazine calls it “a real phenomenon. Majestic and incandescent, it’s filled with breath and nuance and soul.” With direction by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher, “To Kill a Mockingbird” — “the greatest novel of all time” (Chicago Tribune) — has quickly become “one of the greatest plays in history” (NPR).
‘Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations’
July 12 through 31, 2022
SAYS PLAYHOUSE SQUARE >> “Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations” is the electrifying new smash-hit Broadway musical that follows The Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The winner of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Choreography, it’s a thrilling story of brotherhood, family, loyalty, and betrayal during a decade of civil unrest in America. Set to the beat of the group’s treasured hits, including “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” Ain’t Too Proud tells the unforgettable story of the legendary quintet that Billboard Magazine named the greatest R&B group of all time.
‘Disney’s Frozen’
Aug. 11 – Sept. 4, 2022
SAYS PLAYHOUSE SQUARE >> From the producer of “The Lion King” and “Aladdin,” “Frozen,” the Tony-nominated Best Musical, is now on tour across North America, and the critics rave, “It’s simply magical!” (LA Daily News). Heralded by The New Yorker as “thrilling” and “genuinely moving,” “Frozen” features the songs you know and love from the original Oscar-winning film, plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers by the film’s songwriters, Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez. Oscar winner Jennifer Lee (book), Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage (director), and Tony winner Rob Ashford (choreographer) round out the creative team that has won a cumulative 16 Tony Awards. An unforgettable theatrical experience filled with sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances, “Frozen” is everything you want in a musical: It’s moving. It’s spectacular. And above all, it’s pure Broadway joy.