WGN Morning News Blog

Just announced this morning is the 2008 Broadway In Chicago series for next season. BIC is the companies that brings the big, Broadway shows to Chicago. This coming season has quite a few shows that were HUGE in New York that are making their Chicago premiere.

MY FAIR LADY

January 22 – February 3, 2008

Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.

Lerner & Loewe’s legendary musical premieres in the United States direct from its 50th Anniversary London production and U.K. national tour. Starring are acclaimed British theatre actors Christopher Cazenove and Lisa O’Hare who earned rave reviews for their dynamic performances as Professor Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, and featured as Mrs. Higgins will be acclaimed theatre and film star Marni Nixon (singing voice of Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” feature film). Based on the Cameron Mackintosh/National Theatre of Great Britain’s award-winning London sensation, and hailed as “the revival against which all others will be measured” this glorious, new production features one of Broadway’s most beloved scores including The Rain in Spain, I Could Have Danced All Night and Get Me to the Church on Time.

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE

April 1 – 13, 2008

Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.

Get ready to be transported to a magical, wonderful world! A world where the critics are in awe, the audiences are in heaven and the neighborhood is buzzing with excitement. Welcome to THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, the new musical comedy that is swooping into town with tons of laughs and the most 2006 Tony Awards of any musical on Broadway! It all begins when a die hard musical fan plays his favorite cast album, a 1928 smash hit called “The Drowsy Chaperone,” and the show magically bursts to life. We are instantly immersed in the glamorous, hilarious tale of a celebrity bride and her uproarious wedding day, complete with thrills and surprises that take both the cast (literally) and the audience (metaphorically) soaring into the rafters.

SWEENEY TODD

April 23 – May 4, 2008

Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.

Innovative, intimate and ingenious, this revolutionary new production of SWEENEY TODD “is an event theatergoers will be talking about for years,” claims The Wall Street Journal. The legendary demon barber, hell-bent on revenge, takes up with his enterprising neighbor in a delicious plot to slice their way through London’s upper crust. Justice will be served – along with lush melody, audacious humor and bloody good thrills. Directed by Tony Award-winner, John Doyle, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler, this dazzling reinvention of a magnificent musical thriller is set to stun theatergoers as never before.

AVENUE Q

May 21 – June 7, 2008 (additional week added!)

Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.

Broadway's smash hit and 2004 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book will make its Chicago premiere this spring. A hilarious show full of heart and hum-able tunes, AVENUE Q is about trying to make it in NYC with big dreams and a tiny bank account. Called “one of the funniest shows you're ever likely to see” by Entertainment Weekly, AVENUE Q features a cast of people and puppets who tell the story in a smart, risqué and downright entertaining way. The New Yorker calls it “SUBVERSIVE and UPROARIOUS!”

DIRTY DANCING – The Classic Story On Stage

Limited Engagement Begins September 2, 2008

Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.

The U.S. Premiere! “That was the summer of 1963, when everybody called me Baby and it didn’t occur to me to mind...” A movie seen by millions, with an unforgettable soundtrack and a story which touched the heart of a generation is now a record breaking stage show – DIRTY DANCING - The Classic Story On Stage. “The biggest live theatre sensation of all time,” declares the UK Observer. Exploding with heart-pounding music, pure dance energy and breath-taking emotion, this timeless story of first love “will give keen pleasure to DIRTY DANCING addicts and to newcomers alike” (Independent - UK). This acclaimed production experiences all the excitement and romance as never before with brand new scenes written especially for the stage. Now with more Baby and Johnny, more sensational dancing and even more classic songs – you're sure to have ‘the time of your life!’

The line-up will also feature the opportunity for priority purchase of the following 2008 off-season specials:

RENT

February 12 – 17, 2008, Off-Season Special

Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.

RENT is more than a show, it's a phenomenon. A theatrical experience that transformed how a generation feels about musicals, changed Broadway forever, and inspired a major motion picture. Whether it's your 1st time or your 100th time, it's time you checked out RENT. The winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize, RENT is about being young, learning to survive, falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. RENT has made a lasting mark on Broadway with songs that rock and a story that really resonates and now the smash-hit sensation of RENT is returning to Chicago.

THE SPARROW

Starts September 26, 2007, Off-Season Special

Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave.

Created by the award-winning team at The House Theatre of Chicago, THE SPARROW – one of the most original and acclaimed new works to emerge from the local theatre scene in decades – returns by popular demand in a new production at the Apollo Theater. The play, intertwined with music and dance, tells the story of Emily Book, a small town girl returning home ten years after a tragic accident claimed the lives of her entire class. As the town struggles to accept the strange girl who reminds them of what they lost, Emily attempts to hide special powers that make her different. Following record-breaking runs at both The Viaduct and Steppenwolf, audiences have a new opportunity to see THE SPARROW, a show that continues to soar beyond all expectations.

2008 Walgreens Broadway In Chicago Season Series ticket holders will receive a multitude of special benefits, including savings up to 25%, priority seating at each venue, ticket exchange privileges, pre-paid and discounted parking, access to gift cards to give tickets as gifts, as well as the first opportunity to purchase additional tickets to future Broadway In Chicago productions, including those not currently listed in the Season Series. Season ticket packages, which range in price from $93- $435.50, go on sale Friday, October 12 at 10:00 a.m., and are available by calling Season Ticket Services toll free at (877) 890-0174 or by visiting www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

The 2008 Walgreens Broadway In Chicago Season Series subscribers not only have the opportunity of purchasing tickets before the general public to off-season specials – RENT and THE SPARROW – but have an exciting new benefit from American Express. Any season package purchased with an American Express card will be automatically upgraded to include a ticket to THE SPARROW for each package purchased at no additional charge.

Group tickets are currently available for all of the season shows. Groups of 20 or more may receive a discount on most shows by calling (312) 977-1710. Single tickets to each individual production will go on sale at future dates to be announced. Broadway In Chicago gift certificates, which can be redeemed for any production or for season ticket packages, can be obtained at Broadway In Chicago box offices, www.BroadwayInChicago.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (312) 902-1400.