Their arrival is a year away. But for those who like to plan ahead, here is news of two recent hit Broadway musicals that will be making their way to Chicago next summer in national touring productions.
First up will be director Bartlett Sher’s acclaimed Lincoln Center Theater production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, “The King and I” (June 13 – July 9, 2017 at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph), which won four 2015 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical and Best Costume Design of a Musical. The national tour will launch in Providence, Rhode Island this November.
Casting for this large-scale show will be announced at a later date, but the creative team – veterans of Lincoln Center Theater Productions’ “South Pacific” and “The Light in the Piazza” – includes Michael Yeargan (sets), Catherine Zuber (costumes), Donald Holder (lights), and Scott Lehrer (sound). It is choreographed by Tony Award-winner Christopher Gattelli (based on the original by Jerome Robbins), and uses the musical’s original 1951 orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett, with dance and incidental music arranged by Trude Rittmann.
Set in 1860’s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher whom the modern-minded King brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children. The score includes such classics as “Getting To Know You,” “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Hello Young Lovers,” “Shall We Dance” and “Something Wonderful.”
Group tickets for 10 or more are available now. Call (312) 977-1710 or visit http://www.BroadwayInChicago.com. Individual tickets will go on sale at a later date.
Following “The King and I” onto the Oriental stage will be the new hit Broadway musical comedy, “Something Rotten!” (running July 11 – 23, 2017). Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (“Spamalot,” “The Book of Mormon,” “Aladdin”), it features music and lyrics by Grammy Award winner Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, and a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and best-selling author John O’Farrell. “Something Rotten!” will be part of the next Broadway In Chicago Season, with subscriptions to go on sale later this fall.
“Something Rotten!,” which opened in April, 2015 on Broadway, tells the story of brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom, two playwrights stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rockstar Will Shakespeare. When a soothsayer foretells that the next big thing in theater will involve singing, dancing and acting at the same time, the Bottom brothers set out to write the world’s very first musical.
The show’s award-winning design team of Broadway veterans includes Scott Pask (scenic design), Gregg Barnes (costumes), Jeff Croiter (lighting), Peter Hylenski (sound), Josh Marquette (hair design), Phil Reno (music direction/conductor), Glen Kelly (arrangements), Larry Hochman (orchestrations).
Casting is still to be announced. For additional information visit http://www.RottenBroadway.com.