Broadway in the Hood plans ambitious season
You've seen "The Wiz Live!" on TV.
Next September, you can see "The Wiz" live — onstage at The Smith Center.
The Tony-winning musical will lead off Broadway in the Hood's 2016-17 Smith Center season, its second at the downtown performing arts complex.
Other season highlights include the Las Vegas premiere of the award-winning "The Mountaintop," set on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination; the Tony-winning musical "Ain't Misbehavin' "; the popular "Steel Magnolias"; and a new works festival.
Broadway in the Hood's current Smith Center season continues with the Pulitzer Prize-winning"Driving Miss Daisy" (Jan. 15-17) and a pair of Tony-winners: "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" (Feb. 12-14) and "Dreamgirls" (May 28).
Broadway in the Hood's complete 2016-17 Smith Center schedule:
"The Wiz" (Sept. 2-3, Reynolds Hall) — Ease on down the road with Dorothy and her friends in this Tony-winning adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz," powered by a rock-, gospel- and soul-flavored musical score.
"Steel Magnolias" (Nov. 11-13, Troesh Studio Theater) — A small Louisiana beauty parlor provides the backdrop for playwright Robert Harling's comedy-drama about six strong Southern women.
"The Mountaintop" (Jan. 8-10, Troesh) — Returning from a prophetic speech, an exhausted Martin Luther King Jr. returns to his room at Memphis' Lorraine Motel, where he's visited by a mysterious maid in playwright Katori Hall's award-winning account of King's final hours.
"Ain't Misbehavin' " (Feb. 5-7, Cabaret Jazz) — The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and '30s comes alive in this Tony-winning musical salute to Thomas "Fats" Waller, featuring timeless tunes from "Honeysuckle Rose" to "This Joint Is Jumping."
Writers Block New Works Festival (March 24-26, Troesh) — Four original plays or musicals, chosen from submissions by up-and-coming or accomplished playwrights.
For tickets and more information on the current and upcoming Broadway in the Hood productions, call 702-749-2000 or visit www.thesmithcenter.com.
For more stories from Carol Cling go to reviewjournal.com. Contact her at ccling@reviewjournal.com and follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.
