The Straz Center for the Performing Arts is proud to announce the Broadway musical, Hamilton will play its premiere Tampa engagement, Feb. 12-March 10, 2019, and anchor the 2018-2019 Bank of America Broadway at The Straz season. The Broadway series is also headlined by the 2017 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Dear Evan Hansen.
Also on the 2018-2019 slate is the 2017 Tony Award-winning Best Revival of a Musical Hello, Dolly! along with productions of The Play That Goes Wrong, A Bronx Tale, Anastasia and Come From Away. The series also includes a yet-to-be-determined production in the Straz Center’s intimate Jaeb Theater.
In addition to the eight-show Broadway series and back by popular demand, Les Misérables will return for a limited engagement.
“Each season we bring the best of Broadway to Tampa, and every so often we land a season like this one: perfect in every way,” said Judy Lisi, president and CEO of the Straz Center. From Hello, Dolly! to Hamilton, we have a classic of the Golden Age and the most extraordinary musicals onstage now—including Come From Away, a heroic look at a remote hamlet who welcomed the majority of re-routed planes on 9/11 and Dear Evan Hansen, the phenomenon that won the 2017 Tony for Best Musical. Our capstone this season is, of course Hamilton, which will be an experience for the ages.”
The season features:
THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG
Oct. 16-21, 2018
What would happen if Sherlock Holmes and Monty Python had an illegitimate Broadway baby? You’d get The Play That Goes Wrong, Broadway and London’s award-winning smash comedy! Called “a gut-busting hit” (The New York Times) and “the funniest play Broadway has ever seen” (HuffPost), this classic murder mystery is chock-full of mishaps and madcap mania delivering “a riotous explosion of comedy” (Daily Beast). Welcome to opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), it’s “tons of fun for all ages” (HuffPost) and “comic gold” (Variety) – sure to bring down the house!
Hello, Dolly!
Dec. 4-9, 2018
Winner of four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival, Broadway’s most beloved musical is back where it belongs! Directed by Tony winner Jerry Zaks and featuring choreography by Tony winner Warren Carlyle, Hello, Dolly! is “the best show of the year” (NPR). Breaking box office records week after week and receiving thunderous critical raves on Broadway, this “gorgeous” new production (Vogue) pays tribute to the original work of legendary director/choreographer Gower Champion – hailed both then and now as one of the greatest stagings in musical theater history. Rolling Stone calls it “a must-see event. A musical comedy dream. If you’re lucky enough to score a ticket, you’ll be seeing something historic. Wow, wow, wow indeed!”
A Bronx Tale
Jan. 29-Feb. 3, 2019
Broadway’s hit crowd-pleaser takes you to the stoops of the Bronx in the 1960s where a young man is caught between the father he loves and the mob boss he’d love to be.
Bursting with high-energy dance numbers and original doo-wop tunes from the songwriter of Beauty and the Beast, A Bronx Tale is an unforgettable story of loyalty and family.
Academy Award winner Robert De Niro and Tony winner Jerry Zaks direct this streetwise musical – based on Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri’s story that The New York Times hails as “A Critics’ Pick! The kind of tale that makes you laugh and cry.”
Hamilton
Feb. 12-March 10, 2019
Hamilton is the story of America’s Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington’s right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation’s first Treasury Secretary. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B and Broadway, Hamilton is the story of America then, as told by America now.
With book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton is based on Ron Chernow’s biography of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.
Dear Evan Hansen
April 9-14, 2019
Winner of six 2017 Tony Awards including Best Musical!
A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, a life he never dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he’s always wanted: a chance to finally fit in. Dear Evan Hansen is the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it.
“One of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history,” says The Washington Post. Rolling Stone calls Dear Evan Hansen, “a game-changer that hits you like a shot in the heart” and NBC News calls the musical “an inspiring anthem resonating on Broadway and beyond.”
Dear Evan Hansen features a book by Tony Award winner Steven Levenson, a score by Grammy, Tony and Academy Award winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land, The Greatest Showman), and direction by four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif (Rent, Next to Normal).
The original Broadway cast recording of Dear Evan Hansen, produced by Atlantic Records, made an extraordinary debut at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 – the highest charting debut position for an original cast album since 1961 – and went on to win the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. A special edition coffee table book authored by Levenson, Pasek and Paul, Dear Evan Hansen: through the window (Grand Central Publishing/Melcher) is now available, offering an in-depth, all-access look at the musical, including never-before-seen production photos and cast portraits, behind-the-scenes stories, and a fully annotated script by the authors.
Anastasia
May 7-12, 2019
Inspired by the beloved films, the romantic and adventure-filled new musical Anastasia is on a journey to Tampa at last!
From the Tony Award-winning creators of the Broadway classic Ragtime, this dazzling show transports audiences from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past. Pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer determined to silence her, Anya enlists the aid of a dashing conman and a lovable ex-aristocrat. Together, they embark on an epic adventure to help her find home, love and family.
Anastasia features a book by celebrated playwright Terrence McNally, a lush new score by Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) with direction by Tony Award winner Darko Tresnjak.
Come From Away
June 4-9, 2019
The true story of the small town that welcomed the world.
The New York Times Critics’ Pick takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.
Don’t miss this breathtaking new musical written by Tony nominees Irene Sankoff and David Hein, and helmed by 2017’s Tony-winning Best Director, Christopher Ashley. Newsweek cheers, “It takes you to a place you never want to leave!”
On 9/11, the world stopped. On 9/12, their stories moved us all.
Broadway encore
Les Misérables
Jan. 15-20, 2019
Cameron Mackintosh presents the new production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Tony Award-winning musical phenomenon, Les Misérables, direct from an acclaimed two-and-a-half-year return to Broadway. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an unforgettable story of heartbreak, passion and the resilience of the human spirit. Featuring the beloved songs “I Dreamed A Dream,” “On My Own,” “Stars,” “Bring Him Home,” “One Day More” and many more, this epic and uplifting story has become one of the most celebrated musicals in theatrical history. With its glorious new staging and dazzlingly reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo, this breathtaking new production has left both audiences and critics awestruck. “Les Miz is born again!” (NY1).
Tap Dogs
MAR 29 -31, 2019
The global dance sensation Tap Dogs hits the road on an international tour of jaw-dropping new surprises. Experience the thrill of a revitalized genre of dance. For seventy-five action-packed minutes of part theater, part dance, part rock concert and part construction site, an adrenaline-pumped cast turns traditional tap dancing upside-down and into the ultimate night out.
Tap Dogs premiered at the Sydney Theatre Festival and success quickly followed with seasons in London, New York, Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Shanghai and around the world. Created by Oliver Award-winning choreographer Dein Perry, and originally directed by Nigel Triffitt, with music by Andrew Wilkie and lighting by Gavin Norris. Tap Dogs is set to electrify the stage as they jump through scaffold, tap upside down, grind steel and tap on water in Tampa.
Kinky Boots
MAY 17-19, 2019
Winner of six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Choreography, Kinky Boots, Broadway’s huge-hearted, high-heeled hit returns to the Straz Center. With songs by Grammy and Tony award-winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper, this joyous musical celebration is about the friendships we discover and the belief that you can change the world when you change your mind. Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots takes you from a gentlemen’s shoe factory in Northampton to the glamorous catwalks of Milan. Take a step in the right direction and discover that sometimes the best way to fit in is to stand out!
Rock of Ages
June 11-16, 2019
It’s 1987 on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip when a small-town girl meets a big city rocker. As they fall in love in L.A.’s most famous rock club, Rock of Ages allows fans to rock out once again to their favorite hits from the ‘80s. Featuring the music of iconic bands such as Styx, Poison, Twisted Sister and Whitesnake among many others, this tenth anniversary production features a dynamic new cast revisiting the larger-than-life characters and exhilarating story that turned Rock of Ages into a global phenomenon.
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And this important bit of info, the 2018-2019 Broadway season tickets are sold out. Single ticket on-sale dates for Hamilton and Dear Evan Hanson have not yet been announced. To be notified of on-sale dates, sign up for the Straz Center’s email newsletter, follow the Straz Center on social media or download the Straz To Go app for your mobile device.
New season ticket orders will be limited and will be handled in the order they are received. For more information, email the Straz Center at tickets@strazcenter.org or call the Straz Center Ticket Sales Office at 813.229.STAR (7827) or outside the Tampa Bay area at 800.955.1045 or visit www.strazcenter.org. Individual show tickets will go on sale at a later date(s), to be announced.
