Blockbuster Disney’s Aladdin and record-breaking new musical comedy Mean Girls will make their Orlando premieres as part of the 2019-2020 Fairwinds Broadway in Orlando series at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The season also includes audience favorites Escape to Margaritaville: The Jimmy Buffett Musical, A Bronx Tale and The Play That Goes Wrong, along with Tony Award-nominated revivals Miss Saigon and Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady. The season will also feature the return of the musical phenomenon Les Misérables, for one week only.
“The 2019-2020 season builds on the excitement and success of last year, our biggest season yet,” said Dr. Phillips Center President and CEO Kathy Ramsberger. “The opportunity to bring the best of Broadway to our community in both the performances on our stage and the ‘backstage’ educational experiences like Master Classes and Cast Chatbacks, is a way to invite everyone to experience our vision of Arts For Every Life.”
2019/20 Fairwinds Broadway in Orlando series:
Escape to Margaritaville: The Jimmy Buffett Musical
November 12–17
Welcome to Margaritaville, where people come to get away from it all—and stay to find something they never expected. Get ready for a hilarious and heartwarming musical with the most unforgettable songs from one of music’s greatest storytellers. USA Today calls it “A little slice of paradise!” and Entertainment Weekly raves, “It will knock your flip-flops off!” So don’t let the party start without you.
The Play That Goes Wrong
December 3–8,
What would happen if Sherlock Holmes and Monty Python had an illegitimate Broadway baby? You’d get The Play That Goes Wrong, Broadway & 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) that is “Tons of fun for all ages” (HuffPost)
Disney’s Aladdin
January 22–February 9, 2020
Discover a whole new world at Aladdin, the hit Broadway musical. From the producer of The Lion King comes the timeless story of Aladdin, a thrilling new production filled with unforgettable beauty, magic, comedy and breathtaking spectacle. It’s an extraordinary theatrical event where one lamp and three wishes make the possibilities infinite.
Hailed by USA Today as “Pure Genie-Us,” Aladdin features all your favorite songs from the film as well as new music written by Tony and Academy Award winner Alan Menken (Newsies) with lyrics penned by the legendary Howard Ashman (Beauty and the Beast), Tony Award winner Tim Rice (The Lion King, Aida), and book writer Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer). Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Something Rotten!), this “Fabulous” and “Extravagant” (The New York Times) new musical boasts an incomparable design team, with sets, costumes and lighting from Tony Award winners Bob Crowley (Mary Poppins), Gregg Barnes (Kinky Boots), and Natasha Katz (An American in Paris). See why audiences and critics agree, Aladdin is “Exactly What You Wish For!” (NBC-TV).
Mean Girls
February 25–March 1, 2020
“By far the funniest musical of the year!” – Chicago Tribune
Direct from Broadway, Mean Girls is the hilarious hit musical from an award-winning creative team, including book writer Tina Fey (“30 Rock”), composer Jeff Richmond (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), lyricist Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde) and director Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon).
Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. Soon, this naïve newbie falls prey to a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.
New York Magazine cheers, “Mean Girls delivers with immense energy, a wicked sense of humor and joyful inside-jokery.” USA Today says, “We’ll let you in on a little secret, because we’re such good friends: Get your tickets now!”
Miss Saigon
March 31–April 5, 2020
“A dynamite Broadway revival.” – The New Yorker
Experience the acclaimed new production of the legendary musical Miss Saigon, from the creators of Les Misérables. This is the epic story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim. In a bar run by a notorious character called The Engineer, Kim meets an American G.I. just before the fall of Saigon. That encounter will change their lives forever. Featuring stunning spectacle, a sensational cast of 42, and a soaring score including Broadway hits like “Last Night of the World,” “The Movie in My Mind,” and “American Dream,” this is a theatrical event you will never forget.
A Bronx Tale
April 28–May 3, 2020
“Jersey Boys meets West Side Story.” – amNewYork
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 Alan Menken, the songwriter of Beauty and the Beast, A Bronx Tale is an unforgettable story of loyalty and family.
Three years ago, Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri teamed up with Academy Award winner Robert De Niro, Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks and Tony Award nominee Sergio Trujillo to create this streetwise musical – based on Palminteri’s true life story.
The New York Times hails A Bronx Tale as “A Critics’ Pick! The kind of tale that makes you laugh and cry.”
My Fair Lady
May 26–31, 2020
From Lincoln Center Theater comes “a sumptuous new production of the most perfect musical of all time” (Entertainment Weekly), Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady, directed by Bartlett Sher. Boasting such classic songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” and “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” My Fair Lady tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady.” But who is really being transformed?
“Thrilling! Glorious and better than it ever was! A marvelous and transformative revival.” – The New York Times
Les Misérables will be presented as a Season Option playing for one week only October 22-27, 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).
“We could not be more proud to partner with the Dr. Phillips Center and FTA to bring the best of Broadway right here to downtown Orlando. The upcoming season is a real treat for Central Florida audiences with a balance of some of the biggest hits in recent years alongside gorgeous revivals of legendary musicals,” said Susie Krajsa, President of Broadway Across America.
FAIRWINDS Broadway in Orlando is presented in partnership with Broadway Across America and Florida Theatrical Association. FTA is a non-profit civic organization with a volunteer board of trustees established to ensure the continued presentation of quality touring Broadway productions and the promotion of arts education throughout the state of Florida. For more information, visit FloridaTheatrical.org.
For more information visit OrlandoBroadway.com or DrPhillipscenter.org