After a one year hiatus, the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center and Nederlander National Markets are getting ready for the upcoming Broadway in the Basin season.
Last year’s season did not happen due to COVID-19.
This season will feature four titles plus two rescheduled performances that were originally supposed to take place during the 2019-20 season but were moved due to the pandemic.
“It’s exciting to have Broadway back out on the road,” Wagner Noël General Manager Stephanie Rivas said. “These tours had to stop abruptly across the country. There were lots of unknown factors. They did take that time off. We were all very concerned about when and how they would all come back. Luckily, they are all back out and getting back to rehearsal so it’s very exciting. It’s very encouraging to see that happen.”
This year’s lineup will begin Nov. 28 with An Officer and A Gentleman, followed by STOMP on Dec. 13.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical will take place Feb. 7 with The Simon and Garfunkel Story on March 4.
The rescheduled performances that were postponed from two years ago will be Rain: A tribute to The Beatles on April 24 before Waitress takes place on May 26.
“We’re very excited to have a lineup after taking a break,” Rivas said. “We have four great shows. An Officer and a Gentleman is a fairly new touring product but a title that so many people will recognize. STOMP is another amazing family show. Beautiful: The Carole King musical and the Simon and Garfunkel Story are both great musicals about great music and the life of those musicians. There’s a lot to offer families here in West Texas when it comes to a theatrical season. We still have our two rescheduled performances with Rain: A tribute to the Beatles and Waitress.
“So many people were anticipating Waitress, and we were able to reschedule it. There’s a lot of variety there even though it’s not as big as a season as we’re used to announcing, but it’s still a strong season.”
This year will be a milestone season for the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center. It will be the 10th season of Broadway in the Basin.
“It’s really wonderful because prior to Wagner Noël’s existence, if you wanted to see Broadway, you were going to Dallas, San Antonio or Austin,” Director of Marketing for the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center Ginny Van Doren said. “There wasn’t something in the market close by that you could see these touring acts. One of the great things about our particular Broadway partner is that they’re bringing the acts that you would see in New York on Broadway touring around the country and bringing them to places like the Wagner. … That goes back to our core mission over here at the Wagner Noël, providing quality life entertainment for the Permian Basin and surrounding communities.”
Normally a Broadway in the Basin Season will consist of six to eight shows.
This year, limitations forced the Wagner Noël to have fewer shows due to the concerns across the country with large groups and tour acts, Van Doren said.
“We have a smaller season this year, but we like to think of it as small and mighty,” Van Doren said. “We have a little bit of everything.”
An Officer and a Gentleman is based on the Oscar-winning film from 1982 that celebrates triumph over adversity.
The new musical features an iconic score including the Grammy and Oscar-winning hit “Up Where We Belong.”
STOMP, created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas continues its strong run with four global productions including the sell-out production at New York’s Orpheum Theatre, a permanent London company and North American and European tours.
The show has continued to change by creating new material and will incorporate two new pieces.
STOMP was also featured in the first season of Broadway in the Basin back in 2011-12.
“It’s exciting to have them back,” Rivas said.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical tells the true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history.
The Simon and Garfunkel Story chronicles the journey shared by the folk-rock duo, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.
It tells the story from their beginnings as Tom and Jerry to their success as one of the top music groups of the 1960s to their split in 1970.
“We’re really looking forward to having our Broadway patrons back in the building and hopefully inspiring some new Broadway fans,” Van Doren said.
Rain: A tribute to the Beatles comes on the celebration of Abbey Road.
It will allow fans to experience the iconic band and come celebrate the best of Abbey Road.
The performance of Waitress centers around the character Jenna, a waitress and pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage.
“It does feel great to have those shows that we didn’t have to cancel (two years ago),” Rivas said. “There was so much uncertainty (but) to have those dates still on the calendar, we’re grateful for that.”
As far as when the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center would be able to return with Broadway in the Basin, Rivas said it was mostly about playing the waiting game but that they knew this season wouldn’t be in jeopardy.
“We knew that we would come back,” Rivas said. “It was just a matter of when and how we were all able to come back. The Wagner Noël was very fortunate. We closed our doors in March (2020) like everyone else had done. By September (2020), we were back in the building. We’ve been in the building and been socially distant. We’ve been able to have events. We have been very grateful. The community has been very supportive of all of the changes and adjustments we’ve had to make. We’re at full capacity and facemasks optional, currently. We’re excited to continue to have shows in West Texas.”
Tickets for individual performances will go on sale Oct. 1 and can be purchased at https://www.wagnerNoël.com/events.
If you go
- >> What: An Officer and a Gentleman
- >> When: Nov. 28
- >> Where: Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center
- >> Ticket prices: $59-$99 (student and group rates available)
- >> What: STOMP
- >> When: Dec. 13
- >> Where: Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center
- >> Ticket prices: $59-$99 (student and group rates available)
- >> What: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
- >> When: Feb. 7
- >> Where: Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center
- >> Ticket prices: $59-$99 (student and group rates available)
- >> What: The Simon and Garfunkel
- >> When: March 4
- >> Where: Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center
- >> Ticket prices: $54-$99 (student and group rates available)
- >> What: Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles
- >> When: April 24
- >> Where: Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center
- >> Ticket prices: $57-$97
- >> What: Waitress
- >> When: May 26
- >> Where: Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center
- >> Ticket prices: $57-$97
