(St. Louis, MO) – The Fabulous Fox Theatre is thrilled to announce its spectacular 2023-2024 Broadway season featuring a mix of Broadway’s biggest hits and St. Louis favorites. Made up entirely of Fabulous Fox premieres, the 2023-2024 Broadway Subscription will include the Broadway smash-hit BEETLEJUICE, the electrifying TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, the heartfelt MRS. DOUBTFIRE, the dazzling musical comedy FUNNY GIRL, thegroundbreaking COMPANY, the spectacular MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL, and the most Tony Award®-winning musical of the season MJ. An eight show package is also available to subscribers with the addition of the magical ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE… by Cirque du Soleil®. Off-Series specials include the anticipated St. Louis returns of COME FROM AWAYDisney’s ALADDINRUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: The MusicalMAMMA MIA! and the nine-time Tony Award®-winning Best Musical, THE BOOK OF MORMON, as well as the St. Louis premiere of JAGGED LITTLE PILL.

BEETLEJUICE | October 10-22, 2023

He earned his stripes on Broadway… now the ghost-with-the-most is coming to St. Louis. Based on Tim Burton’s dearly beloved film, this hilarious musical tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager whose whole life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a demon with a thing for stripes. With an irreverent book, an astonishing set, and a score that’s out of this Netherworld, BEETLEJUICE is “Screamingly good fun!” (Variety). And under its uproarious surface (six feet under, to be exact), it’s a remarkably touching show about family, love, and making the most of every Day-O!


TINA – The Tina Turner Musical | November 14-26, 2023

There is only one. Her voice is undeniable. Her fire is unstoppable. Her triumph is unlike any other. An uplifting comeback story like no other, TINA – The Tina Turner Musical is the inspiring journey of a woman who broke barriers and became the Queen of Rock n’ Roll. Set to the pulse-pounding soundtrack of her most beloved hits, this electrifying sensation will send you soaring to the rafters. One of the world’s best-selling artists of all time, Tina Turner has won 12 Grammy Awards® and her live shows have been seen by millions, with more concert tickets sold than any other solo performer in music history. Featuring her much loved songs, TINA – The Tina Turner Musical is written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Katori Hall and directed by the internationally acclaimed Phyllida Lloyd.

MRS. DOUBTFIRE | December 26, 2023 – January 7, 2024

Everyone’s favorite Scottish nanny is headed to St. Louis in an internationally acclaimed new hit musical critics call “wonderful, heart-warming, and laugh-out-loud funny” (Manchester Evening News) and “a feel-good, family-friendly comedy that delivers” (The Hollywood Reporter). Based on the beloved film and directed by four-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Zaks, MRS. DOUBTFIRE tells the hysterical and heartfelt story of an out-of-work actor who will do anything for his kids. It’s “the lovable, big-hearted musical comedy we need right now,” raves the Chicago Tribune – one that proves we’re better together.

FUNNY GIRL | January 23 – February 4, 2024

Welcome to musical comedy heaven! Featuring one of the most iconic scores of all time by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, an updated book from Harvey Fierstein based on the original classic by Isobel Lennart, tap choreography by Ayodele Casel, choreography by Ellenore Scott, and direction from Michael Mayer, this love letter to the theatre has the whole shebang! The sensational Broadway revival dazzles with celebrated classic songs, including “Don’t Rain On My Parade,” “I’m the Greatest Star,” and “People.” This bittersweet comedy is the story of the indomitable Fanny Brice, a girl from the Lower East Side who dreamed of a life on the stage. Everyone told her she’d never be a star, but then something funny happened—she became one of the most beloved performers in history, shining brighter than the brightest lights of Broadway.

COMPANY | February 27 – March 10, 2024

Winner of 5 Tony Awards® including Best Revival of a Musical, COMPANY “strikes like a lightning bolt. It’s brilliantly conceived and funny as hell” (Variety).  Helmed by three-time Tony Award®-winning director Marianne Elliott (War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Angels in America), this revelatory new production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s groundbreaking musical comedy is boldly sophisticated, deeply insightful and downright hilarious. It’s Bobbie’s 35th birthday party, and all her friends keep asking, Why isn’t she married? Why can’t she find the right man and isn’t it time to settle down and start a family? As Bobbie searches for answers, she discovers why being single, being married, and being alive in the 21st-century could drive a person crazy. COMPANY features Sondheim’s award-winning songs You Could Drive a Person Crazy, The Ladies Who Lunch, Side by Side by Side and the iconic Being Alive. Let’s all drink to that!

MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL | April 30 – May 12, 2024

Pop the champagne, MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL is the winner of 10 Tony Awards® — including Best Musical! Enter a world of splendor and romance, of eye-popping excess, of glitz, grandeur, and glory! A world where Bohemians and aristocrats rub elbows and revel in electrifying enchantment. Welcome to MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL! Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film comes to life onstage, remixed in a new musical mash-up extravaganza. Directed by Tony Award® winner Alex Timbers, MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL is a theatrical celebration of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and — above all — Love. With a book by Tony Award® winner John Logan; music supervision, orchestrations, and arrangements by Tony Award® winner Justin Levine; and choreography by Tony Award® winner Sonya Tayeh, MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL is more than a musical — it is a state of mind.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 31: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) (L-R) Tavon Olds-Sample, Myles Frost and Christian Wilson during the one-time only special “Thriller” curtain call at the 2022 Halloween performance of the hit Michael Jackson musical “MJ” on Broadway at The Neil Simon Theater on October 31, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage) Photo credit: Bruce Glikas social media credit is @bruglikas /@broadwaybruce_ @mjthemusical

MJ | May 28 – June 9, 2024

The music. The moves. The icon. Now, the unparalleled artistry of the greatest entertainer of all time comes to St. Louis as MJ, the multi-Tony Award®-winning new musical centered around the making of the 1992 Dangerous World Tour, begins a tour of its own. Created by Tony Award®-winning Director/Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, MJ goes beyond the singular moves and signature sound of the star, offering a rare look at the creative mind and collaborative spirit that catapulted Michael Jackson into legendary status. MJ is “startin’ somethin’” as it makes its St. Louis premiere at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in May of 2024.

‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE… by Cirque du Soleil® I November 29-December 10, 2023

‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE… is Cirque du Soleil’s first Christmas show, based on the classic poem “A Visit from Saint Nicolas” by Clement Clarke Moore. Memorable lines from this cherished classic inspired Cirque’s story about a jaded young girl who rediscovers the magic of Christmas. A festive flurry of love and cheer created especially for families, ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE…features thrilling acrobatics, lovable characters – and a soundtrack including Christmas favorites re-invented by Cirque du Soleil. The show was conceived and is directed by Cirque du Soleil Senior Artistic Director James Hadley, a 25-year veteran of circus productions and live theater.

Come From Away

Series Specials

Six additional Broadway shows will be offered as specials to 2023–2024 season ticket holders for priority seating before their public on-sale dates. The breathtaking musical COME FROM AWAY will bring back the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them to the Fox stage November 3-5, 2023. Discover a whole new world of unforgettable magic, comedy and breathtaking spectacle at Disney’s ALADDIN December 12-17, 2023. The longest-running and highest-rated holiday television special, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: The Musical, will fly into St. Louis December 23, 2023 for three performances only. Based on Alanis Morissette’s world-changing music, JAGGED LITTLE PILL will rock the Fox stage January 18-21, 2024. Beautifully told through the timeless hits of ABBA, MAMMA MIA!  will be a trip down the aisle you’ll never forget February 13-18, 2024. Back by popular demand, the nine-time Tony Award®-winning Best Musical THE BOOK OF MORMON will play the Fox April 9-14, 2024!

New seven and eight-show season ticket packages will go on sale Wednesday, June 21. Current Broadway season ticket holders will receive their renewal information in the coming weeks. On-sale dates for individual shows will be announced later. For more information, please visit FabulousFox.com or for production photos, 

Jagged Little Pill

2023 – 2024 U.S. Bank Broadway Series Shows and Specials:

(The Season Ticket Package shows are in bold)

BEETLEJUICE * October 10-22, 2023

COME FROM AWAY * November 3-5, 2023

TINA – The Tina Turner Musical * November 14-26, 2023

‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE… by Cirque du Soleil® * November 29-December 10, 2023

Disney’s ALADDIN * December 12-17, 2023

RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: The Musical * December 23, 2023

MRS. DOUBTFIRE * December 26, 2023 – January 7, 2024

JAGGED LITTLE PILL * January 18-21, 2024

FUNNY GIRL * January 23 – February 4, 2024

MAMMA MIA! * February 13-18, 2024

COMPANY * February 27 – March 10, 2024

THE BOOK OF MORMON * April 9-14, 2024

MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL * April 30 – May 12, 2024
MJ * May 28 – June 9, 2024

By Lynn Venhaus

A tragic day that we will never forget in America inspired our Far North neighbors, the Canadian town of Gander in Newfoundland, to provide overwhelming needs over the course of five days for 7,000 world travelers, the “come from aways,” stranded on 38 international planes diverted to the airport there.

That raw reminder of our shared humanity has been turned into an unforgettable work of art, the award-winning, big-hearted, crowd-pleasing musical “Come From Away.”

If ever we needed to be uplifted and reminded of people’s capacity for empathy, it is now.

What an enduring and fitting tribute to 9-11 that a recording of the staged musical will be released on the eve of the 20th anniversary.

In the aftermath, the FAA had closed the airspace in the U.S. and those passengers had nowhere to go.

This Canadian musical with book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein tells what transpired in the week that followed when the Gander residents sprung into action and provided clothing, food and housing for 7,000, which doubled the town’s population — and there were 19 animals in cargo too. This is the true story of some of the real people who were caregivers and passengers then.

It premiered on Broadway in March 2017 and this remarkable example of the kindness and generosity of strangers in the face of great adversity struck a chord. The musical is a celebration of how resourceful and resilient we can be when we all come together. A community stepped up when they were called upon to do so.

Even in the darkest of times, people experienced beacons of light. Some of them even formed lifelong friendships and would return 10 years later to Gander for a reunion.

Looking back, the mayor said: “Tonight we honour what was lost, but we also commemorate what we found.”

It was filmed, with multiple cameras, before a live audience – some were 9-11 survivors and frontline workers — in May at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City, where it had become the longest-running Canadian musical in Broadway history.

Originally planned as a feature film adaptation on location in Newfoundland, the coronavirus pandemic impact shifted it to a live recording in the theatre.

Full of memorable characters, a script brimming with humor, and a tuneful score using folk, country and pop to bring on lumps in the throat, the filmed recording retains the vitality of this one-act musical that had been playing to sold-out audiences until the pandemic forced its shutdown in March 2020.

The musical returns to Broadway on Sept. 21, and will resume its national tour in October, which began in the fall of 2018.

When it played at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis in May 2019, I was prepared for its emotional wallop, but I didn’t realize how much these characters would touch my soul.

The film reminded me of all the good the play had spotlighted. It truly is one of the best musicals of the past five years, destined to be a classic, and grabs one immediately with the rousing “Welcome to the Rock” opening number. I still get goosebumps every time I hear their big voices, and their passion and pride about their community.

The cast also brought out the bridging of various cultures, and the memories of how we all felt that day was put back into focus. The ensemble is a mix of the original and current Broadway casts.

The original cast starring in this work include Petrina Bromley as Bonnie Harris, Jenn Colella as pilot Beverley Bass, Joel Hatch as the mayor Claude Elliott, Caesar Samayoa as Kevin Jung and Ali, W. Smith as Hannah O’Rourke, Astrid Van Wieren as Beulah Davis and Sharon Wheatley as Diane Gray.

New are De’Lon Grant as Bob, Tony LePage as Garth and Kevin T., Emily Walton as Janice Mosher, Jim Walton as Nick Marson and Doug, and Paul Whitty as Oz Fudge. Everyone plays multiple roles. Dressed like ordinary people and displaying various personality types, the cast is relatable and familiar.

The execution of all the elements to make it a vibrant live theater experience is another reason it stands out. Besides a committed cast who honors every real person or composite character that they are asked to play, we have innovative, fluid staging by director Christopher Ashley and vivacious choreography by Kelly Devine.

The singers showcase exceptional harmonies in these emotionally wrought songs by Sankoff and Hein that provide context and advance the action.

A Celtic-influenced band stays on stage and entertains the crowd after the show has ended with an instrumental “Screech Out.” Their enthusiasm is contagious.

Ashley, who oversaw the filming, won the Tony Award for directing in 2017, when the seven-times nominated show had lost mostly to the juggernaut that is “Dear Evan Hansen.” including Best Musical. His staging is clever and conveys intimacy and connection – from the plane’s close quarters to the cozy town settings.

As we were transfixed to television sets watching the horror unfold that beautiful fall day in 2001, we did not think about the passengers that were stranded by the shutdown of flights, and the challenges they faced trying to get home. What a compelling story!

The composers met the people affected in Gander in 2011, at the 10-year reunion, and they shared their stories. We, in turn, get to know Claude the mayor, Oz the police constable, Beulah the teacher and Bonnie the SPCA worker.

The passengers were kept on the planes for hours – 14 becomes 28 – and in the dark about what happened in New York City, Washington D.C. and Shanksville, Penn. Once permitted to leave the planes, they watched the news – as stunned as we were. Frightened, they try to reach their families, including the mother of a New York firefighter who is unable to locate her son.

The fear and tensions ease somewhat as the townsfolk make them welcome and comfortable, and in the company of these quirky islanders, they bond. Some let their hair down at a local bar, and even participate in an initiation rite involving kissing a codfish.

The gravity of the situation is never far from people’s minds – and they eventually are allowed to leave, but the world is different, and so are they. One couple develops a romance while another breaks up under the stress. A Muslim chef faces growing prejudice and is forced to endure a humiliating search before boarding for home.

Jenn Colella, Tony-nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, is impressive as the first woman pilot for American Airlines. She beautifully sings “Me and the Sky” about how her love of aviation drove her career aspirations, but now her workspace has been weaponized.

Ten years later, the crew and passengers reunited to celebrate these friendships forged during the worst of times, a forever band of brothers. We experience these people at their best. Their makeshift hospitality at an unspeakably grim, fearful and anxious time will make you cry, laugh and marvel at how kindness can be a tonic.

Cast from “Come from Away”

Like the documentary on Mister Rogers, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”, this heartwarming tale makes you want to become a better person.

“Come From Away” is a musical recorded as a live theatrical production on a Broadway stage, directed by Christopher Ashley. The cast includes original and current cast members. It is rated TV-MA and runs 1 hour, 46 minutes. It is streaming on Apple TV + beginning Sept. 10. Lynn’s Grade: A.

C

By Joe GfallerContributing WriterIt is often said that crisis brings a community together. Too often in recent years real or manufactured crisis in our communities seem to have done the opposite, deepening dividing lines, bringing out the worst and not the best in people. Perhaps that is why the joyous and poignant national tour of “Come from Away,” now playing at the Fox Theatre is so refreshing and beautiful: it gives hope that on our worst day, we are all capable of finding our best selves.

The worst day in question here is September 11, 2001. The idea that a musical could be written about such an enormous tragedy and contain even a note of laughter may be surprising to some. But “Come From Away” is less about the events of that day and more about our collective memory of them. The events of 9/11 are indelibly burned into our minds, and those memories come forward whenever anyone asks “Where were you when…” We each have our story. Each is incomplete. As you begin to put them together, the picture gets fuller and richer. Eventually, with enough stories in the picture, it almost feels whole.

That kind of intentional story telling is very much the model of “Come From Away.” Like The Laramie Project or House of Cards, the musical establishes a narrative device that allows each character to tell you their first-person accounts of the events – and then slip right into the events themselves.

When their accounts converge into one common idea (the uncertainty of being on a grounded jet for hours, the search for hope in prayer, the escape of party in a pub), their stories turn into full ensemble numbers that seamlessly weave those many voices together, not as a traditional chorus – but as a community in action.

If you were to ask each of the people whose stories are told in “Come From Away,” “Where were you when…” they would all have the same answer: Gander, Newfoundland. For it’s here that around 7,000 airline passengers were stranded for nearly five days, starting on September 11, once the United States closed its borders to airline travel.

For the 9,000 people already there, for nearly a week, they played unexpected host to the world. “Come From Away” lets us see how both the Islanders and the “Plane People” were changed by that brief encounter – and changed, refreshingly, for the better.

To tell this story, “Come From Away” uses an ensemble of only 12 actors. At times, their virtuosity moving from character to character on a moment’s notice with just the change of a hat or a jacket makes you assume that there are far more people on stage. It’s a marvel to behold. Director Christopher Ashley and musical staging supervisor Kelly Devine deserve high praise for the ever-nimble staging and the sharp, clear character choices that differentiate the many roles each actor plays.

Within the ensemble, no one role is designed to be a star
turn. Rather, we get story lines that develop as each of the characters build
relationships during their five days together.

Diane, played with heart and zeal by Christine Toy Johnson, is a divorced mother on her way home to Dallas who happens to be sitting next to a well-intentioned but socially awkward Brit named Nick, given a deeply endearing rendering by Chamblee Ferguson. Together, stuck on their American Airlines plane on the Gander tarmac, both feeling alone and “so damn helpless,” they start to get to know each other. Once off the plane, their paths continue to cross until (after perhaps one too many drinks) Diane is given the choice to either kiss a cod or kiss Nick. You can guess which she picks.

Ferguson’s gentle awakening to the fact that he might have feelings for this stranger is touching – particularly in the moment that he finds out that the father of Diane’s child in Dallas is her ex-husband and not currently her husband. And the freedom which Johnson embraces to be the best version of herself in a place where no one knows her is exhilarating — even if the only reason her hair looks so different is that she hasn’t been able to shampoo for 3 days).

That very freedom is what wears upon the other central couple in the show, Kevin T and Kevin J. While Kevin T, played with giddy enthusiasm and a casual charm by Andrew Samonsky, is ready to embrace the adventure of meeting new people in a new place, the longer Kevin J, given a grounded, if slightly arch performance by Nick Duckart, stays in Gander, the more he realizes the place he wants to be is Brooklyn, where he grew up, with the family who needs him. Kevin T never seems to grasp his partner’s struggle – and while it comes as no surprise their relationship does not last until the end of the show, it is certainly a disappointment.

Danielle K. Thomas gives a heartfelt performance as Hannah, a mother whose son is a New York City firefighter. Her struggle to reconcile the fact she cannot be with him is expressed movingly in one of the show’s few true solo numbers “I Am Here.”

The friendship she builds with Newfoundlander Beulah, in a stern but kind performance from Julie Johnson, becomes her lifeline when her son’s voicemail becomes too full to accept new messages and increasingly the worst seems to be around the corner.

But love takes many forms in “Come From Away.” For Beverley, a pilot, her love is flying, despite all odds. Based on a real person, she was the first female pilot to be made captain by American. Her heartbreak comes in “Me and the Sky,” when she realizes now that the one thing she loves most has been turned into a bomb, she can never love it the same way again. Becky Gulsvig gives Beverly strength and conviction in equal parts, a complete 180 degree turn from her other role, a naïve school teacher who seems to find the prospect for love in every male Plane Person she meets. The characters are so different, it took me almost until the end of the show to realize they were played by the same actress.

If Beverly is trying to find order on her plane, Gander’s mayor Claude, played with a twinkle in his eye by Kevin Carolan, and police officer Oz (Harter Clingman, in one of the show’s smaller roles) are trying to create order in the town. Carolan gets to play not just one mayor, but all four mayors in the area with the quick changes of a hat, a moustache, and a pair of glasses. Presiding over a fanciful ritual to turn the Plane People into Newfoundlanders, he gets to lead one of the most delightful sequences in the show and does it with plenty of aplomb.

Emily Walton, as Gander’s new TV anchor Janice, is a breath
of fresh air throughout – no more so than when she makes a desperate plea to
the extremely generous people of Gander: “For the love of God, stop bringing
toilet paper to the Lion’s Club.” As Bonnie, Megan McGinnis balances humor with
heartfelt concern for the animals left with the checked luggage in the
airport’s 38 airplanes.

As Bob, an African-American New Yorker separated from his family, James Earl Jones II finds humor in some very complicated dynamics about race. Sent by one of Carolan’s many mayors to collect grills from people’s yards for a cookout, he expects to get shot by angry homeowners – and instead is offered tea. When asked back in New York if he was “OK” during those five days in Gander, he realizes that “I wasn’t just OK. I was somehow better.”

Over the course of this crisp one-act musical, that seems to be the message. If it’s possible to be better in a time of crisis, can’t it be possible to be better without the crisis? You don’t need to have a lot of resources to do the right thing. The people of Gander certainly don’t.

There seems to be some intentional alignment between this idea in the script and the way the design of the musical is so eloquently and simply delivered. The set, by Beowulf Boritt, consists of two tables and many chairs, contained within a series of trees that — like the actors themselves — play double duty, in this case, both as set pieces and light trusses. The costumes, by Toni-Leslie James, couldn’t be more simple and effective for the litany of each actor’s many character changes. The same could be said for Howell Binkley’s lighting, which moved us from air traffic control to the interior of an airplane to a Tim Horton’s with remarkable speed and clarity.

The orchestrations are wildly resourceful as well, with only eight musicians serving as the band for a musical in such an enormous theater. Cynthia Kortman Westphal conducted, while also playing keyboard, accordion, and harmonium – with almost every other musician doubling on two or more instruments throughout the show. The musicians sit at the periphery of the stage and join the cast for “Screech In,” the party sequence at a bar – integrating seamlessly into (and then back out of) the action. As part of the curtain call, it was a real treat to see them take center stage to play a joyful sendoff for everyone.

For the finale of “Come From Away,” we jump ahead 10 years to 2011 and to the anniversary of these men and women arriving in Gander. No longer is fear of the unknown present as it was in 2001 – Islanders not knowing if they are prepared to take care of so many unexpected temporary migrants, Plane People not knowing when or how they would see their families again. Instead, the mood is one of joy. “We honor what was lost, but we commemorate what was found,” says the mayor.

By this point, with all the doubling of roles, we in the audience lose track as to which of the twelve actors are supposed to be which characters. Are they Plane People or are they Islanders? In our own lives, we can each have moments when we are the Plane People – the unsettled, the displaced. But we can all have moments when we chose to be the Islanders – radically generous, supportive, welcoming. So as “Come From Away” ends with the chorus of “I am an Islander,” you realize it doesn’t matter if you were a Plane Person or an Islander at the start. Every character in the musical has become an Islander by the end.

And one wonders if by the end, each of us the audience has cultivated our potential to become more of an Islander ourselves.

The Fox Theatre presents the Tony Award-winning musical, “Come from Away,” now through May 26. For tickets or more information, visit www.fabulousfox.com. Call Metrotix at 314-534-1111.