Broadway fans will have plenty to love during new PPAC season
PROVIDENCE — The Providence Performing Arts Center announced the lineup for the 2024-25 season that will include the launch of two national tours, five shows making their Providence premieres, and an Encore Series featuring three popular productions.
In addition, there are two “Broadway Specials”: a twoweek return engagement of “Hamilton,” and two performances of “The Cher Show.” New this year is a sensory friendly production of “The Vanishing Elephant.”
The season will kick off with the launch of “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” (Sept. 21-28). Like “Jersey Boys,” the show is an inspiring, energy-filled musical memoir that tells the story of how Diamond’s became a star, accompanied by the songs that defined his career.
The first performance of “A Beautiful Noise” will be combined with PPAC’S Gala Celebration, the annual fundraiser, which helps support the theater’s community outreach and engagement events.
“Shucked” is the second national tour that will originate at PPAC (Oct. 20-27).
The story pairs a neurotic New York comedy writer with two music superstars from Nashville for a musical comedy that publicists like to say “is turning musical theater on its ear and is offering a kernel of hope for our divided nation.”
In announcing the shows, J.L. “Lynn” Singleton noted that these two shows are the 23rd and 24th to begin tours at PPAC since 2008.
The Broadway Series continues with:
“MJ” (Jan. 21-26, 2025), a multi-tony Award-winning musical centered on the making of Michael Jackson’s 1992 Dangerous World Tour. Created by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and director/choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, the story goes beyond the star’s vocals and signature dance moves with a look into his creativity and collaborative spirit.
“Life of Pi” (Feb. 11-16, 2025) is based on the novel that sold more than 15 million copies.
After a shipwreck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a 16-year-old boy named Pi survives on a lifeboat with four companions — a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a Royal Bengal tiger. Told with jaw-dropping visuals, puppetry and exquisite stagecraft, “Life of Pi” creates an imaginative journey.
“& Juliet” ((Feb. 25-March 2, 2025), created by the Emmy-winning writer from “Schitt’s Creek,” this hilarious new musical flips the script on the love story and asks what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? With a score comprising a host of iconic pop songs, Juliet goes on a journey as she ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love, her way.
“Some Like It Hot” (April 22-27, 2025) is the story of two musicians forced to flee the Windy City after witnessing a mob hit. With gangsters hot on their heels, they catch a cross-country train for the life-changing trip of a lifetime. With a combination of heart and laughs, song and dance, “Some Like It Hot” was named Best Musical by the Drama Desk, the Drama League, and the Outer Critics Circle.
“Back to the Future: The Musical” (June 10-15, 2025) turns the film classic into a stage musical with a score of new and popular songs.
The story is the same: Marty Mcfly finds himself transported back to 1955 via a time machine built by the eccentric scientist Doc Brown. When he accidentally changes the course of history, he has to race against time to fix the present.
The Encore Series brings back enduringly popular shows to the PPAC stage. The 2024-25 season begins with the ABBA musical “Mamma Mia!” (Nov. 12-17, 2024); moves into 2025 with “Riverdance 30 – The New Generation” (April 4-6), a 30th-anniversary tour featuring performers who weren’t yet born when the show began; followed by “Chicago” (May 2-4), the Jazz Age musical about vaudeville star Velma Kelly and chorus girl Roxie Hart who have been dazzling audiences for 27 years.
Also in the PPAC lineup are two shows designated as Broadway Specials.
First up is Lin-manuel Miranda’s blockbuster “Hamilton” (Dec. 11-22, 2024). Based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography, “Hamilton” is a history lesson set to score that blends hip-hop, jazz, rhythm and blues.
“The Cher Show” (Feb. 5 and 6, 2025) press materials describe this show as “35 smash hits, six decades of stardom, two rock-star husbands, a Grammy, an Oscar, an Emmy and enough Tony Award-winning Bob Mackie gowns to cause a sequin shortage in New York City.)
Something new this year is a sensory friendly performance of “The Vanishing Elephant” (March 15, 2025).
It’s the story of Jenny, an elephant born in the 1900s in Bengal, India, who is captured, separated from her family and sold to a circus in America. Her story includes a friendship with a young boy, Opu, and magician Harry Houdini, who stages a magical vanishing.
The tale of friendship and resilience is inspired by true events and told through largescale puppetry, illusion and magic.
New subscribers can contact the PPAC box office at (401) 421-ARTS (2787). Gala Celebration tickets may be ordered now by emailing Stephanie Santos, director of ticketing at ssantos@ppacri. org.
Ticket on sale dates for the individual shows in PPAC’S 2024/2025 Broadway Season will be announced at a later time.