Broadway Is Back
March 3, 2003
Academy Of Music Will Host National Broadway Tours For 2003-2004 Season Beginning This Spring
Subscription Series Tickets Available March 3
For the first time in 20 years, Broadway returns to the Academy of Music stage this spring when Kimmel Center Presents launches its Broadway at the Academy theater series featuring seven different national touring productions for the 2003-2004 season.
The inaugural season of Kimmel Center Presents: Broadway at the Academy series will feature three special presentations this spring and summer: Elaine Stritch at Liberty (May 13-18), GREASE (June 17-22) and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (July 23-27); plus a traditional fall/spring season including Starlight Express (September 10-14), Urinetown (November 18-23), Oliver! (January 6-11, 2004) and Les Misérables (March 2-7, 2004).
"We are thrilled to announce this extraordinary lineup of Broadway shows at the historic Academy of Music," said Kimmel Center, Inc. President and CEO Janice Price. "We believe Broadway belongs on the Academy stage and we intend to offer the best Broadway musicals and theatrical productions currently touring the country."
Operated by Kimmel Center, Inc., the Academy of Music has undergone extensive renovations over the past several years. Part of the plan to renovate the 146-year-old building, which functioned as the home of The Philadelphia Orchestra for more than a century, was to improve the Academy’s capabilities to host a broad variety of events. New rigging equipment, changes in the Academy’s stage and pit areas, enhanced acoustics, backstage improvements and expansion of dressing rooms are just some of the upgrades completed or underway in an effort to enhance the Academy’s ability to host touring Broadway musicals, solo artists backed by extravagant stagings, and staged productions given by the Opera Company of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Ballet.
Kimmel Center, Inc. Director of Theatrical Presentations Jordan Fiksenbaum said, "We have an incredible lineup of first-rate touring productions scheduled for our first season. We believe that we are giving Philadelphians the opportunity to see more theatrical productions in our city than ever before, in the most perfect environment-the historic Academy of Music. This is just the beginning of our efforts to bring the best of Broadway to the Academy. It is our goal to provide a full schedule of shows on a regular basis for years to come. We are extremely excited to offer this spectacular opportunity to our Philadelphia audiences."
According to Larry Wilker, co-producer of the 2002 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical comedy Urinetown, "The Academy of Music is a fabulous venue for Broadway shows. We are excited to be one of the first touring productions to play the Academy this fall and look forward to bringing many more productions to the Academy stage in the near future."
Elaine Stritch at Liberty, winner of the 2002 Tony Award for Special Theatrical Event, will take center stage with an evening of the songs and stories from her legendary career. She dated Brando, covered Merman and performed Coward. From her start as an aspiring actress living in a New York City convent to her signature rendition of "The Ladies Who Lunch," at long last, Elaine Stritch is At Liberty to tell it and sing it like it is - and was - in the theater, and her life.
Philly native Frankie Avalon, the singing sensation of the ‘50’s, will reprise his movie role as "Teen Angel," when the fabulous fifties musical GREASE brings its hot new production to the Academy. Written by Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs, GREASE brings back the kids of Rydell High along with classic hits such as "We Go Together," "Summer Nights," "You’re The One That I Want," and "Beauty School Dropout."
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Broadway’s smash hit musical, was nominated for nine Tony Awards including Best Musical. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature film, Disney’s musical extravaganza is filled with technical wizardry, special effects and illusions, and dazzling production numbers. The Academy Award-winning musical score by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman features all the unforgettable songs and favorite characters from the movie.
After years of entertaining the world with unforgettable melodies and record-breaking stage productions, Andrew Lloyd Webber has written new, never before heard music for an all new production of the triumphant international musical Starlight Express. Developed by London’s original creative team, this production fuses state-of-the-art technology, electrifying music, dazzling sets & costumes, and a hi-tech set including 3-D film sequences that transforms the roller skating performers into wildly careening trains, each with its own unique personality.
Urinetown, the story of two kids who fall in love in a city in the middle of a water shortage, has triumphed as Broadway’s unexpected phenomenon. The Winner of 2002 Tony Awards Triple Crown for Best Direction, Best Book, and Best Music & Lyrics, this musical comedy is a tale of greed, corruption, love, and revolution in a city where water is worth its weight in gold. Urinetown features book and lyrics by Greg Kotis, music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann and direction by John Rando. A show that both celebrates and spoofs the best of Broadway traditions, The New York Times calls it "a great musical ... extraordinary, hilarious and entirely original. It is simply the most galvanizing theater experience in town."
Dickens’ greatest characters will spring to life on the Academy stage when Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Lionel Bart’s Oliver! comes to town. The classic stage musical captures Oliver’s magical spell with unforgettable songs including "Food, Glorious, Food," "Consider Yourself," "Where Is Love?" "As Long As He Needs Me," "You’ve Got to Pick-a-Pocket or Two" and many more.
The legendary award-winning musical Les Misérables, now in its 16th year on Broadway, has won 50 major awards internationally and is one of the most successful musicals in theater history. Produced by Cameron Mackintosh and based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel, Les Misérables is an epic saga that sweeps through three turbulent decades of 19th century France. The production is one of the most costly and elaborate shows ever mounted for touring and replicates the Broadway production in its entirety.
Broadway at the Academy subscription packages are on sale now and will include the four-show Broadway series beginning in the fall of 2003 including Starlight Express, Urinetown, Oliver! and Les Misérables. Subscribers will also receive advance ticket priority and ticket discounts for the spring-summer series beginning in May including Elaine Stritch at Liberty, GREASE and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Subscription ticket prices range from $83 - $210 for weekday performances on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; and $88 - $252 for weekend performances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Subscribers will receive a variety of exclusive privileges and benefits including first chance at best seats in the house; special discounts on tickets; discounts on all Kimmel Center Presents performances; a special 50/50 payment plan; discounts on shopping at Intermission, the Kimmel Center gift shop, and dining at the K. Lounge; a Kimmel Card entitling ticket holders to discounts at more than 50 restaurants and shops throughout Philadelphia; as well as special discount offers and privileges on other performances throughout the year. To order tickets or for more information on subscription packages call 215-893-1955 or visit online at www.kimmelcenter.org/broadway.
Kimmel Center, Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center. Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association. The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Academy of Music serve as home to eight Resident Company performing arts organizations, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, American Theater Arts for Youth, PHILADANCO, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops®. Kimmel Center, Inc.’s mission also includes arts in education, community outreach and a rich diversity of programming through its Kimmel Center Presents and Broadway at the Academy series of performances.
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