Broadway San Diego ~ A Nederlander Presentation is thrilled to announce that this season, San Diego will be home to Broadway’s most talked about productions and biggest winners at last year’s Tony Awards®, coming straight from New York to the San Diego Civic Theatre, and sponsored by San Diego County Credit Union®.
The 2020-2021 season begins this Fall with Grammy & Tony Award®-winner for Best Musical, The Band’s Visit. Next up is the Diane Paulus directed pre-Broadway run of the American classic, 1776. Followed by Hadestown, a haunting and hopeful journey to the underworld and back – earning eight 2019 Tony Awards®, including Best Musical. San Diego welcomes the Tony Award®-winning musical, The Cher Show honoring six decades of stardom told through 35 smash hits, before the premiere of two major screen-to-stage productions, the fan-favorite musical comedy that’s “even funnier than the movie” (New York Post), Tootsie, and one of Hollywood’s most beloved stories, Pretty Woman: The Musical. And finally, Aaron Sorkin’s To Kill A Mockingbird, directed by Bartlett Sher, based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer prizewinning masterwork. Added season events this year include the return of all-time favorites: Disney’s The Lion King, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, and Les Misérables.
“We are thrilled to start the new year by announcing another exciting line up of shows for our 20-21 Season,” said Vanessa Davis, General Manager of Broadway San Diego. “We have everything from the shows currently still playing on Broadway, fresh national tours, and returning San Diego audience favorites. The road from Broadway to San Diego is shorter than ever, and that has everything to do with the incredible support of our audiences, our sponsors, and the trust we’ve earned in our community.”
For more information, visit www.broadwaysd.com
2020-2021 Season
THE BAND’S VISIT | September 8-13, 2020
The critically acclaimed smash-hit Broadway musical The Band’s Visit is the winner of 10 Tony® Awards, including Best Musical, making it one of the most Tony-winning musicals in history. It is also a Grammy Award® winner for Best Musical Theater Album.
In this joyously offbeat story, set in a town that’s way off the beaten path, a band of musicians arrive lost, out of the blue. Under the spell of the desert sky, and with beautiful music perfuming the air, the band brings the town to life in unexpected and tantalizing ways. Even the briefest visit can stay with you forever.
With a Tony- and Grammy-winning score that seduces your soul and sweeps you off your feet, and featuring thrillingly talented onstage musicians, The Band’s Visit rejoices in the way music makes us laugh, makes us cry, and ultimately, brings us together.
1776 | October 6-11, 2020
They knew they would make history, but not what history would make of them. Fed up with living under the tyranny of British rule, John Adams attempts to persuade his fellow members of the Continental Congress to vote in favor of American Independence and sign the Declaration. But how much is he willing to compromise in the pursuit of freedom? And to whom does that freedom belong?
Direct from the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, visionary director Diane Paulus reexamines a pivotal moment in American history in a re-imagining of the Tony Award®-winning musical 1776 prior to its Broadway engagement at Roundabout Theatre Company.
HADESTOWN | January 19-24, 2021
COME SEE HOW THE WORLD COULD BE.
Welcome to Hadestown, where a song can change your fate. Winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards® including Best Musical, this acclaimed new musical by celebrated singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and innovative director Rachel Chavkin (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) is a love story for today… and always.
Hadestown intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love.
Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers and singers, Hadestown is a haunting and hopeful theatrical experience that grabs you and never lets go.
THE CHER SHOW | March 16-21, 2021
Superstars come and go. Cher is forever. For six straight decades, only one unstoppable force has flat-out dominated popular culture — breaking down barriers, pushing boundaries, and letting nothing and no one stand in her way. The Cher Show is the Tony Award-winning musical of her story, and it’s packed with so much Cher that it takes three women to play her: the kid starting out, the glam pop star, and the icon.
This hit Broadway musical features a book by Tony Award winner Rick Elice, direction by Tony Award nominee Jason Moore and choreography by Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli. Rolling Stone raves “The Cher Show is an explosion of fabulous excess,” and The New York Times calls it a “a blindingly sparkly celebration of Cher’s life.”
The Cher Show is 35 smash hits, six decades of stardom, two rock-star husbands, a Grammy®, an Oscar®, an Emmy®, and enough Tony Award-winning Bob Mackie gowns to cause a sequin shortage in New York City, all in one unabashedly fabulous new musical that will have you dancing in the aisles!
TOOTSIE |May 11-16, 2021
It’s “far and away the funniest musical of the season” (Daily News). It’s “the most uproarious new show in years” (The Hollywood Reporter). It’s “the best comedy on Broadway” (Forbes). No matter how you say it, Tootsie is unanimously funny! It’s a laugh-out-loud love letter to the theatre, based on the Oscar®-nominated film. Featuring a Tony®-winning book by Robert Horn and an outrageously clever score by 2018 Tony® winner David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), this New York Times Critic’s Pick is a “hilarious, thoroughly modern Tootsie” (People Magazine) that’s “even funnier than the movie!” (New York Post). “In these turbulent times, with the world out of balance, we need a place to let the good times roll,” says Rolling Stone, “Tootsie is it.”
PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL | June 1-6, 2021
After an incredible record-breaking run on Broadway, Audience Choice Award-winner Pretty Woman: The Musical is coming to San Diego! One of Hollywood’s most 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 (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. “If you love the movie, you’ll love the musical!” (BuzzFeed News).
Featured in the musical is Roy Orbison and Bill Dee’s international smash hit song “Oh, Pretty Woman,” which inspired one of the most beloved romantic comedy films of all time. Pretty Woman the film (produced by Arnon Milchan, New Regency Productions) was an international smash hit when it was released in 1990. Now, 30 years later, Pretty Woman: The Musical still “Dazzles!” (Deadline) and is “Big romance and big fun!” (Broadway.com). “Irresistible! A romantic fantasy. A contemporary fairy tale,” says the Hollywood Reporter. Pretty Woman: The Musical delivers on all the iconic moments you remember. Get ready to experience this dazzling theatrical take on a love story for the ages.
Are you ready to fall in love all over again?
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD | June 22-27, 2021
All rise for Academy Award® winner Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prizewinning 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 5 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).
Added Season Events
Disney’s THE LION KING | August 12-30, 2020
More than 100 million people around the world have experienced the phenomenon of Disney’s The Lion King, and now you can, too, when San Diego’s best-loved musical returns to the San Diego Civic Theatre. Winner of six Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, this landmark musical event brings together one of the most imaginative creative teams on Broadway. Tony Award®-winning director Julie Taymor brings to life a story filled with hope and adventure set against an amazing backdrop of stunning visuals. The Lion King also features some of Broadway’s most recognizable music, crafted by Tony Award®-winning artists Elton John and Tim Rice. There is simply nothing else like The Lion King.
IRVING BERLIN’S WHITE CHRISTMAS | November 24-29, 2020
This holiday season discover the perfect gift for everyone on your list! Start with a timeless tale of joy and goodwill, fill it with classic Irving Berlin songs, top it off with glorious dancing and lots of snow and head on over to the San Diego Civic Theatre to see Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. Performances begin November 24th for this must-see classic in a lavish new production that the New York Times says to “put on your wish list.” Irving Berlin’s White Christmas tells the story of a song-and-dance team putting on a show in a magical Vermont inn and falling for a stunning sister act in the process. Full of dancing, laughter and some of the greatest songs ever written! Give everyone the gift they’re dreaming of with this merry and bright holiday musical.
LES MISÉRABLES | March 2-7, 2021
By popular demand, Cameron Mackintosh’s acclaimed production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Tony Award-winning musical phenomenon, Les Misérables returns to San Diego. 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, hailed as the “Les Miz for the 21st Century.”