DISNEY’S THE LION KING AND DEAR EVAN HANSEN ANCHOR PERFORMING ARTS FORT WORTH’S 2020-2021 BROADWAY AT THE BASS SEASON

Dear Evan Hansen. Photo: Matthew Murphy

Performing Arts Fort Worth has announced its 2020-2021 Broadway at the Bass Season at Bass Performance Hall. The seven-show series features exciting new titles direct from Broadway, freshly revamped revivals and multiple Tony Award-winners.

The season is anchored by two of Broadway’s biggest blockbusters: Disney’s The Lion King and Dear Evan Hansen. Winner of six Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, The Lion King has been seen by more than 100 million people around the world and now Fort Worth’s best-loved musical returns to Bass Hall in January, 2021. Called “one of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history” by The Washington Post, pop culture phenomenon Dear Evan Hansen – winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical – makes its Bass Hall debut in February, 2021.

The season also includes the only North Texas appearance of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady, “a sumptuous new production of the most perfect musical of all time” (Entertainment Weekly); an all-new production of Cats, the record-breaking musical spectacular by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida, the Tony Award-winning hit musical from Disney; the Tony Award-winning musical with 35 smash hits through six decades of stardom, The Cher Show; and the reimagined production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, winner of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival.

In addition, Performing Arts Fort Worth will welcome a trio of audience favorites as Season Add-Ons: the global smash hit, The Vagina Monologues; Broadway’s razzle-dazzle sensation, Chicago; and Waitress, an uplifting celebration of friendship, motherhood and the magic of a well-made pie.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to introduce this season to Fort Worth,” says Dione Kennedy, President & CEO of Performing Arts Fort Worth. “These are some of the biggest and most popular titles ever seen on a Broadway stage. Each has been recognized with Tony Award wins, nominations or related awards. It’s truly an outstanding lineup of award-winning productions.”

Season tickets can be renewed through March 6, and new season tickets can be purchased beginning April 15, online at BassHall.com; by phone at 817-212-4450; or in person at the Bass Performance Hall box office at 525 Commerce Street. Box office hours are 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. MondayFriday and 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets to individual shows in the 2020-2021 lineup are not available for purchase at this time. On-sale dates for individual tickets will be announced at a later date.
Patrons can sign up for the new season ticket waitlist now by visiting www.basshall.com/waitlist


2020/2021 SHOWS

The Vagina Monologues | September 1-2, 2020 (add-on)
The show on everyone’s lips this year is The Vagina Monologues. Twenty years after first shocking and empowering audiences, Eve Ensler’s groundbreaking, wildly entertaining phenomenon is returning to the stage in a star-studded National Tour, reminding us all at this monumental time in our history how important it is to laugh, to cry, to come together, raise our voices and speak out before it is too late. Don’t miss your opportunity to think inside the box – and to be a part of something truly revolutionary. Grab ‘em back. VAGINA MONOLOGUES 2020!

My Fair Lady | October 6-11, 2020
From the Lincoln Center Theater that brought you The King & I and South Pacific, comes “a sumptuous new production of the most perfect musical of all time” (Entertainment Weekly), Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady. Director Bartlett Sher’s glowing production is “thrilling, glorious and better than it ever was” (New York Times). “Every so often a revival comes along that reminds you how indispensable great theater can be” (NY1). Boasting such classic songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” and “On the Street Where You Live,” 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?

Chicago | October 13-14, 2020 (add-on)
There’s never been a better time to experience Chicago, Broadway’s razzle-dazzle smash. This triumphant hit musical is the recipient of six Tony Awards®, two Olivier Awards, a Grammy®, thousands of standing ovations and now the #1 longest-running American Musical in Broadway history.
Chicago has everything that makes Broadway great: a universal tale of fame, fortune and all that jazz; one show-stopping song after another; and the most astonishing dancing you’ve ever seen. It’s no surprise that Chicago has wowed audiences from Mexico City to Moscow, from Sao Paulo to South Africa. And now it’s coming to your town!
Whether you’re looking for your first Broadway musical, whether you’ve seen the Academy Award®-winning film and want to experience the show live on stage or whether you’ve seen it before and want to recapture the magic, Chicago always delivers!

Waitress | November 7-8, 2020 (add-on)
Meet Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage. Pouring her heart into her pies, she crafts desserts that mirror her topsy-turvy life such as “The Key (Lime) to Happiness Pie” and “Betrayed By My Eggs Pie.” When a baking contest in a nearby county — and a satisfying encounter with someone new — show Jenna a chance at a fresh start, she must find the courage to seize it. Change is on the menu, as long as Jenna can write her own perfectly personal recipe for happiness.

The Lion King | January 13-31, 2021
More than 100 million people around the world have experienced the phenomenon of Disney’s The Lion King, and now you can, too, when this best-loved musical returns to the you. 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.

Dear Evan Hansen | February 9-14, 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 | June 15-20, 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!

Aida | June 22-27, 2021
The winner of four Tony® Awards returns to the stages of North America!
With a Grammy® and Tony Award-winning score by the legendary Elton John and Tim Rice and a revised book by Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, the hit Broadway musical Aida returns to the stage in a thrilling new production. The producers of The Lion King and Frozen have reunited the original Tony Award-winning design team of Bob Crowley (scenery and costumes) and Natasha Katz (lighting) to reinterpret their designs in the retelling of this passionate and timeless story for today’s audiences.
Directed by Schele Williams, choreographed by Camille A. Brown and musical supervision by Tony Award-winning Jason Michael Webb, Aida is a compelling tale of star-crossed lovers belonging to feuding nations, torn between their conflicted loyalties to their countries and to each other. With its stirring contemporary score and its powerful love story, Aida reveals that we have the power to change history, but only when we make brave choices and embrace our destiny.

The Cher Show | July 27 – August 1, 2021
THE TONY AWARD®-WINNING MUSICAL! HER LIFE. HER STORY. HER LEGEND. 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. 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!

Oklahoma! | August 10-15, 2021
Over 75 years after Rodgers & Hammerstein reinvented the American musical, this is Oklahoma! as you’ve never seen or heard it before – reimagined for the 21st century.
Stripped down to reveal the darker psychological truths at its core, Daniel Fish’s production tells a story of a community circling its wagons against an outsider, and the frontier life that shaped America. Upending the sunny romance of a farmer and a cowpoke, this Oklahoma! allows the classic musical – and our country – to be seen in a whole new light.
Funny and sexy, dark and jolting, “this is the Oklahoma! that was there all along.” (New York Magazine) The Daily Beast says “Forget your traditional idea of Oklahoma! Daniel Fish’s daring, brilliant, utterly absorbing re-interpretation is dark and different—brilliantly so.”