The Peace Center has scheduled another season of Broadway blockbusters, spotlighting a mix of audience favorites, new shows and beloved classics.
The 2022-23 Broadway Series is bookended by the return of two crowd-pleasers, “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Wicked.”
In between those shows, fans can enjoy the recent Broadway smash hit “Six,” newer musicals such as “Beetlejuice” and “Jagged Little Pill,” a new revival of “1776,” and the returning favorites “Cats,” “Come From Away” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”
In addition to those musicals, one play will be featured: Aaron Sorkin’s acclaimed adaptation of “Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird,” with Richard Thomas (best known as John-Boy from TV’s “The Waltons”) taking on the beloved role of Atticus Finch.
“You won’t find a more stellar lineup of touring Broadway than the 2022-23 Peace Center Broadway Season,” said Megan Riegel, Peace Center president and CEO.
If there’s one centerpiece to the season, it would be “Six,” the hard-charging musical that offers an edgy, contemporary slant on the six wives of Henry VIII, Riegel said. “I’m particularly excited about ‘Six,’” she said. “It’s a big deal to get it so early in the tour. Everyone who has seen it on Broadway is loving it.”
Nine of the national touring shows will be featured in week-long runs while “Wicked,” returning to the Peace Center for the third time, will play for three weeks.
“Dear Evan Hansen” returns for an encore run, October 11-16, after selling out most every Peace Center performance in 2019. With a rock-inflected score and a story about the trials and tragedies experienced by a group of high school students, the musical is particularly popular with younger theater-goers.
“When these tours want to come back because they’ve done so well in this community in the past, we welcome them with open arms,” Riegel said. “We like to please the crowd.”
An acclaimed revival of “Fiddler on the Roof,” running November 15-20, spotlights Broadway classics such as “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “Tradition.”
The poignant “Come From Away,” set in a small Canadian town against the backdrop of September 11, 2001, returns to the Peace Center, January 24-29, after a highly successful run in 2019.
“‘Come From Away’ is one of the best pieces of theater I’ve ever seen,” Riegel said. “It’s such a great story. It makes you laugh, it’s makes you cry. It so incredibly welldone.”
“Beetlejuice,” based on Tim Burton’s 1988 comedy ghost film, tell the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange teenager whose life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a quirky though likeable demon. It plays at the Peace Center February 28-March 5, 2023.
A revival of “Cats,” scheduled to play at the Peace Center in 2020 but canceled due to the pandemic, struts into the Peace Center on April 4-9, 2023. Winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical about singing-and-dancing felines last played at the Peace Center back in 2007.
Fresh off of Broadway, Aaron Sorkin’s poignant and powerful adaption of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which gives the play a contemporary resonance, has been playing to sold-out houses and garnering top awards. It comes to the Peace Center April 18-23, 2023.
“Jagged Little Pill,” featuring a Grammy Award-winning score, is based on the music of Alanis Morissette. The musical about a perfectly imperfect American family plays at the Peace Center May 23-28, 2023.
Tony Award-winning director Diane Paulus, known for her innovative productions, takes a contemporary look at “1776,” the Sherman Edwards/Peter Stone musical about the founding of America. Scheduled to arrive at the Peace Center in 2020 but postponed due to the pandemic, it will now run June 13-18, 2023.
The ribcage-rattling musical “Six” gives voice, with a very contemporary slant, to the six wives of Henry VIII. The female cast is backed by a hard-charging all-female band, “The Ladies in Waiting.” It runs July 18-23, 2023.
“Wicked,” Stephen Schwartz’s musical about the witches of Oz, returns for the third time to the Peace Center after having enjoyed two three-week, sold-out runs at the Peace Center in the past. The musical, which last played at the Peace Center in 2015, runs August 2-20, 2023.
“’Wicked’ is an audience favorite,” Riegel said. “It continues to be as strong on the road as when it opened. It’s one of those shows about which everyone asks, ‘When is it coming back?’”
Banner season
Like most arts organizations, the Peace Center was hit hard by the pandemic. The pre-pandemic full-time staff of 54 was reduced to 15. But now the Peace Center is back up to 39 full-time and 108 part-time staff, Riegel said. And they’re hiring.
As the pandemic subsides, the Peace Center’s current Broadway Series is enjoying a banner season. A recent two-week run of the dazzling “Frozen” sold more than 29,000 tickets out of a possible 30,000, Riegel said. The upcoming two-week return of “Hamilton” to the Peace Center, June 7-19, has almost completely sold out.
“We never in our wildest dreams thought we’d go from zero to 100, but we absolutely went from zero to 100,” Riegel said. “We came back strong with Broadway this year, so we’ve got this springboard to go into another great season.”
Tickets
Ten- and eight-show season ticket packages range from $327 to $1002 and are now available to both renewing and new subscribers. Packages may be purchased online at peacecenter.org or by calling the Box Office at 864-467-3000.
Paul Hyde, a longtime Upstate journalist and instructor of English, writes about the arts for the Greenville Journal.
