ASU Gammage announces 2017-2018 Broadway season

ASU Gammage has announced its historic 2017-2018 Desert Schools Federal Credit Union Broadway Across America – Arizona season. The season is anchored by "Hamilton" and includes award-winning musicals, classics and the newest hits from Broadway.

The season features the last two Tony Award winners for Best Musical, "Hamilton" and "Fun Home," as well as Best Revival winners "The Color Purple" and "The King and I." The season also includes 2016’s Tony Award-winning Best Play "The Humans" along with other favorite musicals "The Bodyguard," "Something Rotten!" and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s "School of Rock."

The season also includes two special engagements with favorites Rodgers and Hammerstein’s "Cinderella" and the classic "Les Misérables." 

“We have a winning combination of shows on our biggest season ever,” said Colleen Jennings-Roggensack executive director of ASU Gammage and ASU vice president for cultural affairs. “It’s a season of firsts — with it being the largest season subscription in ASU Gammage history and the honor of bringing "Hamilton" to the Valley for its first engagement on a college campus. We pride ourselves in being innovative by presenting something for everyone.This season is an embarrassment of riches, and we’re loving every minute of it.” 

Current season ticket holders can renew their subscription now. New season subscriptions go on sale Monday, May 15 and start at $190 available at asugammage.com and ticketmaster.com.

The best way to guarantee tickets to "Hamilton" is to purchase a season subscription. Subscribers who renew their subscription for the 2017-2018 season will be able to guarantee their seats for the premiere Tempe engagement of "Hamilton" before tickets become available to the general public. 

The 2017-2018 season includes:

"Fun Home" Sept. 5–10, 2017

The winner of five 2015 Tony Awards including Best Musical, "Fun Home" is based on Alison Bechdel’s best-selling graphic memoir. This groundbreaking production introduces us to Alison at three different ages, revealing memories of her uniquely dysfunctional family that connect with her in surprising new ways.

"Something Rotten!" Oct. 31–Nov 5, 2017

Direct from Broadway, "Something Rotten!" is a “big, fat hit!” according to the New York Post. Set in the ‘90s — the 1590s — it tells the story of Nick and Nigel Bottom (Tony nominee Rob McClure and Broadway’s Josh Grisetti), two brothers who are desperate to write their own hit play while the "rock star" Shakespeare (Tony nominee Adam Pascal) keeps getting all the hits. When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theater involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first "Musical!" 

"The Bodyguard" Nov. 28–Dec. 3, 2017 

Based on the smash hit film, the award-winning musical tells the story of former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, who is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge; what they don’t expect is to fall in love. "The Bodyguard" features classics including "Queen of the Night," "So Emotional," "One Moment in Time," "Saving All My Life," "Run to You," "I Have Nothing," "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and one of the biggest selling songs of all time — "I Will Always Love You."

"Hamilton" Jan. 30–Feb. 25, 2018

"Hamilton" is the story of America's founding father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation’s first treasury secretary. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B, and Broadway, "Hamilton" is the story of America then, as told by America now.  

"Hamilton's" creative team previously collaborated on the 2008 Tony Award-winning Best Musical "In the Heights."

"Hamilton" features scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Paul Tazewell, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe, and casting by Telsey & Company, Bethany Knox, CSA.

The musical is produced by Jeffrey Seller, Sander Jacobs, Jill Furman and The Public Theater.

"The King and I" March 20–25, 2018

From Rodgers and Hammerstein, "The King and I" boasts a score that features such classics as "Getting to Know You," "Hello Young Lovers," "Shall We Dance," "I Have Dreamed" and "Something Wonderful." 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 modernist King, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children. 

"The Color Purple" April 17–22, 2018

"The Color Purple" is the 2016 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical Revival. Directed by Tony-winner John Doyle, its a re-imagining of an epic story about a young woman’s journey to love and triumph in the American South. With a score of jazz, gospel, ragtime and blues, "The Color Purple" gives new spirit to this Pulitzer Prize-winning story. 

"The Humans" May 29–June 3, 2018

Stephen Karam’s "The Humans," is an uproarious, hopeful and heart-breaking play that takes place over the course of a family dinner on Thanksgiving. Breaking with tradition, Erik Blake has brought his Pennsylvania family to celebrate and give thanks at his daughter’s apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside the ramshackle pre-war duplex, and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the Blake clan’s deepest fears and greatest follies are laid bare. Our modern age of anxiety is keenly observed, with humor and compassion, in this new American classic that won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Play.

"School of Rock" June 19–24, 2018 

"School of Rock" is a New York Times Critics’ Pick. Based on the hit film, this musical follows Dewey Finn, a wannabe rock star turned substitute teacher who transforms a class of straight-A students into grade-A rockers. It features 14 new songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber, all the original songs from the movie and musical theater’s first-ever live kids rock band

Season special engagements include: 

"Cinderella" Dec. 19–24, 2017

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s "Cinderella" is the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical from the creators of "The Sound of Music" and "South Pacific." The production features an incredible orchestra, jaw-dropping transformations and all the moments you love — the pumpkin, the glass slipper, the masked ball and more — plus some surprising new twists. Be transported back to your childhood as you rediscover some of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most beloved songs, including "In My Own Little Corner" "Impossible/It's Possible" and "Ten Minutes Ago."

"Les Misérables" May 15–20, 2018

Cameron Mackintosh presents a brand new 25th anniversary production of Boublil and Schönberg’s musical, "Les Misérables" with new staging and reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. This new production has been acclaimed by critics, fans and new audiences and is breaking box office records wherever it goes. The New York Times calls this "Les Misérables" “an unquestionably spectacular production from start to finish.” The London Times hails the new show “a five star hit, astonishingly powerful.”