OKC Broadway 2020-21 season to include 'Wicked,' 'Dear Evan Hansen,' 'Mean Girls,' 'Frozen,' 'Oklahoma!' and more

"Dear Evan Hansen," "Mean Girls" and "Pretty Woman," as well as an encore presentation of "Wicked" will be among the titles for OKC Broadway's 2020-21 season.

OKC Broadway – a presentation of The Nederlander Organization and Civic Center Foundation - announced its eagerly awaited new season at an event tonight at the Civic Center.

The acclaimed new production straight from New York's Lincoln Center Theatre of Lerner & Lowe’s "My Fair Lady" also is on the slate, along with previously announced launch of the national tour of the new Tony-winning revival of "Oklahoma!" and a two-week run of the latest Disney stage smash, "Frozen."

“The 2020-21 season is unprecedented. There is no other word for it. Not only are OKC Broadway and the Civic Center Music Hall honored to launch the national tour of the Tony Award-winning 'Oklahoma!,' but this season’s shows are all either currently playing on Broadway or have just closed within the last year—which speaks directly to our mission to bring the very best of Broadway to the Civic Center Music Hall and OKC patrons as soon as possible,” said Elizabeth Gray, executive director of the Civic Center Foundation and general manager of OKC Broadway, in a statement.

The 2020-21 season begins with "Mean Girls," the hilarious hit musical direct from Broadway with the award-winning creative team. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Broadway musical adaptation of the 2004 teen comedy is being adapted into a feature film by Paramount, with Lorne Michaels returning to produce with Tina Fey. Fey, who wrote the book for the Broadway show, will write the feature script, with music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin.

The OKC Broadway 2020-21 season continues with the national tour bow of director Daniel Fish's radical reimagining of Rodgers & Hammerstein's beloved "Oklahoma!," which just closed earlier this month on Broadway.

"Oklahoma City to launch it was the dream, that was the pipe dream. What better idea for the whole narrative of the tour in terms of being able to start where it matters most?" said producer Eva Price told me in a recent phone interview.

"You know, most theater people are superstitious or sentimental about things. I am especially and I have been working on this entire production. ... There’s a sentimentality to the roots of the show, so for me, there’s nothing more rooting in 'Oklahoma!' than the state of Oklahoma. It’s literally what it’s about, it’s where it takes place, it’s what speaks to what happens in the show. So, it had been a pipe dream, and I had no idea how the presenters in Oklahoma would think about launching the tour. Whether they loved that idea or didn’t love the idea, I don’t get to decide that, they do.

"But when I invited them to come see it, and they saw it and they loved it, saw the vibrancy and the importance of this production, we just sort of looked at each other and said, 'Well, let’s kick off the tour from here. This is how we do it.'"

The acclaimed new production of Lerner & Lowe’s "My Fair Lady" is next, followed by six-time Tony Award winner (including the 2017 victor for best musical) "Dear Evan Hansen," the theatrical phenomenon that has taken not only Broadway and the entire country, but the world, by storm.  

Disney Theatrical Productions is legendary for bringing spectacular productions to the stage, its musical adaptation of the beloved film "Frozen" will sweep into OKC in the spring.

The spring also will bring to the Civic Center "Pretty Woman: The Musical," an adaptation of the iconic 1990 film brought to life by a powerhouse creative team representing the best of music, Hollywood, and Broadway.  

Back in OKC by popular demand will be the enduring Broadway sensation "Wicked" to complete the 2020-21 season subscription package.  

A new tour of the beloved Blue Man Group will come to the Civic Center in November as an added special production, and tickets to that show can be added to a season subscription.

Current 2019-2020 season ticket holders will automatically have the opportunity to renew their current date/time/seat locations for the 2020-21 season. Visit OKCBroadway.com now and log onto ‘My Account,’ look for your renewal information in the mail and via email in the next week, or call the OKC Broadway Season Ticket Office at 877-737 BWAY (2929).

New subscribers can visit okcbroadway.com and join the mailing list to receive the latest news and updates, email info@okcbroadway.com or call 877-737-BWAY (2929).

Most OKC Broadway performances run Tuesday through Sunday evenings, with Saturday and Sunday matinees. For more information, go to www.okcbroadway.com.

OKC Broadway is the presenter of the nationally touring Broadway shows and is a partnership between the Nederlander Organization, known for presenting live theatre and concerts worldwide, and the Civic Center Foundation, who in its 19-year history has donated millions to the Civic Center Music Hall for improvements to heighten the performance experience for both performers and audiences.

The 2020-2021 OKC Broadway season

"MEAN GIRLS"

Sept. 8-13

Direct from Broadway, "Mean Girls" is the hilarious hit musical from an award-winning creative team, including book writer Tina Fey (“30 Rock"), composer Jeff Richmond (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), lyricist Nell Benjamin ("Legally Blonde") and director Casey Nicholaw ("The Book of Mormon").

Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. Soon, this naïve newbie falls prey to a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.

Recommended for ages 10 and older.

Rodger’s & Hammerstein’s "OKLAHOMA!"

Sept. 27-Oct. 3

“How is it that the coolest new show on Broadway is a 1943 musical?” says The New York Times.  This is 'Oklahoma!' you’ve never seen or heard it before—reimagined for the 21st century, and now the Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Musical. Funny and sexy, dark and jolting, this acclaimed production of "Oklahoma!" “lets us experience Rodgers and Hammerstein’s greatness anew.” (The New Yorker).

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.                           

Recommended for ages 12 and older.

To read my interview with "Oklahoma!" producer Eva Price, click here.

Lerner & Loewe’s "MY FAIR LADY"

Oct. 27-Nov. 1

From Lincoln Center Theater and director Bartlett Sher comes “a sumptuous new production of the most perfect musical of all time” (Entertainment Weekly), Lerner & Loewe’s "My Fair Lady." Boasting such classic songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” and “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” "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?

Recommended for ages 8 and older.

BLUE MAN GROUP (Added Season Event)

Nov. 13-15

More than 35 million people around the world have experienced the smash hit phenomenon that is Blue Man Group, returning to Oklahoma City for a limited engagement on their new North American tour. It’s promising everything fans know and love about Blue Man Group —signature drumming, colorful moments of creativity and quirky comedy — plus, the men are still blue but the rest is all new. The all-ages show features pulsing, original music, custom-made instruments, surprise audience interaction and hilarious absurdity.

Recommended for all ages.

"DEAR EVAN HANSEN"

Feb.2-7, 2021

The winner of six 2017 Tony Awards, including best musical, as well as the 2018 Grammy Award for best musical theater album, "Dear Evan Hansen" centers on 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.

Declared “One of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history” by the Washington Post and “an anthem resonating on Broadway and beyond” by NBC Nightly News,  "Dear Even Hansen" has struck a remarkable chord with audiences and critics alike, including New York Times who called it a “gorgeous musical for anyone with a beating heart.”

"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").      

Recommended for ages 12 and older.

Disney’s "FROZEN"

March 11 - 21, 2021

From the producer of "The Lion King" and "Aladdin," "Frozen," a Tony nominee for best musical, is now on tour across North America, and the critics agree, “It’s simply magical!” (LA Daily News). Heralded by The New Yorker as “thrilling” and “genuinely moving,” "Frozen"  features the songs fans know and love from the original Oscar-winning film, plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers by the film’s songwriters, Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez. Joining them on a creative team that has won a cumulative 16 Tony Awards are Oscar winner Jennifer Lee (book), Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage (director), and Tony winner Rob Ashford (choreographer). An unforgettable theatrical experience, it is filled with sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances.

Recommended for ages 6 and older.

"PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL"

April 20-25, 2021

After a record-breaking run on Broadway, Audience Choice Award winner "Pretty Woman: The Musical" is coming to Oklahoma City. "Pretty Woman: The Musical" is brought to life by a powerhouse creative team representing the best of music, Hollywood, and Broadway. it features 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.

Recommended for ages 12 and older.

"WICKED"

May 12-30, 2021

So much happened before Dorothy dropped in, and "Wicked," the enduring 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 friendship - 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.”                                                                                                                            

Recommended for ages 8 and older.

-BAM