The Straz Center for the Performing Arts has announced the 2020-2021 Bank of America Broadway at The Straz season, sponsored in part by the Tampa Bay Times. The slate includes To Kill A Mockingbird, Escape to Margaritaville, the hilarious Tootsie, the 2019 Tony Award® winner for Best Musical Hadestown, the 2018 Tony Award® winner for Best Musical The Band’s Visit, The Prom and Cats.
The series also includes the hilarious whodunnit Shear Madness (February 16-April 4, 2021) in the Straz Center’s intimate Jaeb Theater.
In addition to the eight-show Broadway series, The Straz will also present return engagements of Wicked, Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton.
“We have a tremendous season ahead, truly a remarkable line-up of fantastic shows,” says Straz Center President and CEO Judy Lisi. “When we say the best of Broadway, we mean it. The 2020-2021 season has brand-new hit shows that really electrified New York. Plus, we’re bringing several shows that are on people’s all-time-favorites list. The mix represents all that the musical can accomplish: from quieter, more thought-provoking stories to the rafter-shaking spectacle of blockbusters. This season will be a very interesting emotional ride for our Broadway audiences.”
Current Bank of America Broadway at The Straz season ticket holders will receive renewal invoices the week of Feb. 10 and must renew by March 20 to guarantee their seats. Patrons also can sign up now to become new season ticket holders. New season ticket orders will be limited and will be handled in the order they are received. Prices for the eight-show season package range from $229 to $798. For more information, 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.
SHOWS
To Kill A Mockingbird | October 6-11, 2020
All rise for Academy Award® winner Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 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).
Escape to Margaritaville | October 27 – November 1, 2020
Welcome to Margaritaville, where people come to get away from it all — and stay to find something they never expected. With a book by Emmy Award winner Greg Garcia (“My Name is Earl,” “Raising Hope”) and Emmy Award nominee Mike O’Malley (“Survivors Remorse,” “Shameless”) Escape to Margaritaville is the musical comedy featuring both original songs and your most-loved Jimmy Buffett classics, including “Fins,” “Volcano,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” and many more. 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.
Tootsie | November 17-22, 2020
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.”
Hadestown | December 1-6, 2020
Welcome to Hadestown, where a song can change your fate. Winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, this acclaimed new show 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 Band’s Visit | December 29, 2020 – January 3, 2021
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.
Wicked | January 13-31, 2021
So much happened before Dorothy dropped in.
Wicked, the Broadway sensation, looks at what happened in the Land of Oz…but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another young woman, born with emerald-green skin—smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships…until the world decides to call one “good,” and the other one “wicked.”
From the first electrifying note to the final breathtaking moment, Wicked—the untold true story of the Witches of Oz—transfixes audiences with its wildly inventive story that USA Today cheers is “a complete triumph! An original musical that will make you laugh, cry, and think.”
The Prom | February 9-14, 2021
Everyone’s invited to the joyous Broadway hit that New York Magazine calls “smart and big-hearted” and The New York Times declares a Critic’s Pick! The Prom is a new musical comedy about big Broadway stars, a small town, and a love that unites them all. The Prom features direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (Mean Girls, The Book of Mormon), a book by Tony Award winner Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone) and Tony Award nominee Chad Beguelin (Aladdin), music by Tony Award nominee Matthew Sklar (Elf) and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Chad Beguelin.
Dear Evan Hansen | March 23-28, 2021
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.
Dear Evan Hansen has struck a remarkable chord with audiences and critics everywhere, including The Washington Post who says Dear Evan Hansen is “one of the most remarkable shows in musical theatre history.” The New York Times calls it “a beautiful musical for anyone with a beating heart.” And NBC Nightly News declares the musical “an 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).
Cats | April 27 – May 2, 2021
Cats, the record-breaking musical spectacular by Andrew Lloyd Webber that has captivated audiences in more than 30 countries and 15 languages, is now on tour across North America!
Audiences and critics alike are rediscovering this beloved musical with breathtaking music, including one of the most treasured songs in musical theater — “Memory.” Winner of seven Tony Awards® including Best Musical, Cats tells the story of one magical night when an extraordinary tribe of cats gathers for its annual ball to rejoice and decide which cat will be reborn. The original score by Andrew Lloyd Webber (The Phantom of the Opera, School of Rock, Sunset Boulevard), original scenic and costume design by John Napier (Les Misérables), all-new lighting design by Natasha Katz (Aladdin), all-new sound design by Mick Potter, new choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton) based on the original choreography by Gillian Lynne (Phantom) and direction by Trevor Nunn (Les Misérables) make this production a new Cats for a new generation!
Hamilton | June 1-27, 2021
Hamilton is the story of America then, told by America now. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway, Hamilton has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre—a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education. 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 acclaimed biography. It has won Tony®, Grammy®, and Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an unprecedented special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors.