The Bushnell Announces its 2008-2009 Broadway Series
Blockbuster Broadway hits come to Hartford!
April 4, 2008 - HARTFORD, CT – The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts is pleased to announce its 2008-2009 Broadway Series, featuring six Connecticut premieres including Legally Blonde, Avenue Q, A Chorus Line, The Color Purple and Sweeney Todd, plus a three-week engagement of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical of 2006 - Jersey Boys. The seven-show series will also include one additional title as yet undetermined.
David Fay, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Bushnell said, “This will be an incredible year of Broadway with many of the engagements coming to us direct from Broadway and having their Connecticut premieres at The Bushnell. We’re looking forward to hosting our subscribers and the many new patrons that we hope to see at our theater throughout the coming season.”
Current subscribers will receive their renewal packages in May, and new subscriptions will be available in June – however patrons interested in new subscriptions may call the Box Office today to have their name placed on a mailing list.
The 2008-2009 Broadway Series
Sweeney Todd
October 14 - 19, 2008
Mortensen Hall
Innovative, intimate and ingenious, this revolutionary new production of Sweeny Todd "is an event theatergoers will be talking about for years." (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.
Legally Blonde the Musical
December 9 - 14, 2008
Mortensen Hall
It's here, and it's "AN ELLE OF A SHOW" (TIME Magazine). The hilarious MGM film is Broadway's new smash hit musical, and now Legally Blonde the Musical is coming to you. Legally Blonde the Musical follows sorority star Elle Woods, an underestimated blonde who doesn't take "no" for an answer. When her boyfriend dumps her for someone more "serious," Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style. After turning Broadway and MTV hot pink, this “Feel-Good Song and Dance Juggernaut” (New York Magazine) is “The Best New Musical Around!” (WOR)
Avenue Q
January 13 - 18, 2009
Mortensen Hall
Avenue Q is Broadway's smash-hit 2004 Tony Award® winner for BEST MUSICAL, BEST SCORE and BEST BOOK. A hilarious show full of heart and hummable 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, risque and downright entertaining way. The New Yorker calls it "SUBVERSIVE and UPROARIOUS!" Recommended for ages 13 and up.
Jersey Boys
February 3 – 22, 2009
Mortensen Hall
“THE MOST EXCITING MUSICAL PACKAGE BROADWAY HAS SEEN IN YEARS.”
– The Chicago Tribune
“THE CROWD GOES WILD.”
– The New York Times
“TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!” raves the New York Post for Jersey Boys, the 2006 Tony Award®-winning Best Musical about Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. This is the story of how four blue-collar kids became one of the greatest successes in pop music history. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide – all before they were 30! Jersey Boys, winner of the 2006 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album, features their hit songs “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Rag Doll,” “Oh What a Night” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” “IT WILL RUN FOR CENTURIES!” proclaims Time Magazine.
The Jersey Boys creative team comprises two-time Tony Award®-winning director Des McAnuff, book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, composer Bob Gaudio and lyricist Bob Crewe.
A Chorus Line
March 24 – 29, 2009
Mortensen Hall
In an empty theatre, on a bare stage, casting for a new Broadway musical is almost complete. For 17 dancers, this audition is the chance of a lifetime. It's what they've worked for - with every drop of sweat, every hour of training, every day of their lives. It's the one opportunity to do what they've always dreamed -- to have the chance to dance. This is A Chorus Line, the musical for everyone who’s ever had a dream and put it all on the line. Winner of nine Tony Awards®, including “Best Musical” and the Pulitzer Prize for drama, this singular sensation is the longest-running American Broadway musical ever. Now A Chorus Line returns. Come meet the new generation of Broadway’s best. “A Chorus Line is back, and it’s thrilling!” - John Lahr, The New Yorker. www.AChorusLine.com
The Color Purple
June 9 – 14, 2009
Mortensen Hall
OPRAH WINFREY PRESENTS THE COLOR PURPLE, a soul-stirring musical based on the classic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker and the Oscar-nominated film by Steven Spielberg. It is the unforgettable and inspiring story of a woman named Celie, who triumphs over tremendous odds to find joy in life, and her true inner beauty. Nominated for eleven Tony® Awards, THE COLOR PURPLE is a landmark theatrical event. With a joyous GRAMMY®-nominated score featuring jazz, gospel and blues, The Color Purple is capturing the hearts of young and old, and uniting audiences in a celebration of love.
*Plus one more show tbd.
Ticket Information
• Current subscribers will receive their renewal packages in the mail in May.
• If you’re not currently a subscriber and are interested in a subscription, please call The Bushnell Box Office at 860-987-5900. In June, new subscription orders will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis after all renewing subscribers have been accommodated.
• On-sale dates for individual tickets will be announced soon.
About The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
The Bushnell is Connecticut’s premier performing arts center, hosting more than 350 events yearly, including major Broadway tours, symphony orchestras, family presentations, local arts and community events. The Bushnell is home to two theaters- the historic 2,800-seat Mortensen Hall, and the 907-seat Belding Theater, a state-of-the-art performance hall that opened in 2001. The Bushnell’s nationally-recognized arts-in-education program, PARTNERS (Partners in Arts and Education Revitalizing Schools), now in its 14th year, is a cross-community educational effort serving 22 schools in 12 districts throughout the Greater Hartford area. The Bushnell opened in January 1930 and is a non-profit organization. For more information, call The Bushnell at (860) 987-6000, The Bushnell Box Office at (860) 987-5900 or visit our website at www.bushnell.org.