PARAMOUNT THEATRE ANNOUNCES NEW SEASON INCLUDING KINKY BOOTS
Eight seasons. 32 productions. 1,362 performances. 41,000+ subscribers.
Today, Aurora’s Paramount Theatre – now the second largest subscription house in the nation – announced the four blockbuster musicals on tap for the company’s ninth Broadway Series:
Newsies, the rousing, David versus Goliath, Disney family musical ripped straight from the headlines about newsboys who take on a greedy news tycoon, is Paramount’s 2019-20 season opener, directed by Artistic Director Jim Corti, September 4-October 20, 2019;
Beauty and the Beast, the family-friendly, enchanting Disney classic storybook musical fantasy that proves beauty isn’t always what it appears, will be another holiday season spectacle staging by Paramount’s Amber Mak, November 13, 2019-January 19, 2020;
The Secret of My Success, a world premiere musical based on the hit 1987 Universal Pictures film starring Michael J. Fox, featuring a book by acclaimed writers Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, score by Chicago’s own Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler, and direction by Gordon Greenberg, February 12-March 29, 2020;
And, the Midwest regional premiere of the high kicking musical Kinky Boots, book by Harvey Fierstein, lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, directed by Paramount’s Trent Stork, April 29-June 14, 2020.
Just as it has since it launched its first Broadway Series in 2011, Paramount will offer the same “Buy Two Shows, Get Two Shows Free” subscription offer. Broadway Series packages start as low as $72. In fact, Paramount subscribers pay no more than $37 per show, and that’s the most expensive ticket. Fees not included.
Renewals begin today, Monday, February 4 at 10 a.m., with current subscribers given first chance to secure their seats for all four shows. During the renewal process, new subscribers can pre-order before the general public to get in line for seats. Pre-order reservations can be made online only at ParamountAurora.com, for the first week. Starting Monday, February 11 at 10 a.m., new subscribers can pre-order over the phone or in person as well. Single tickets go on sale in June. For information, visit ParamountAurora.com, call
(630) 896-6666 , or visit the Paramount Theatre box office, 23 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora.
Behind the scenes of Paramount Theatre’s 2019-20 Broadway Series:
“From the streets of Victorian New York during the newsboys strike, to an 18th century French fairytale’s enchanted castle, to a present day New York romp about the meteoric rise of a corporate climbing upstart, to a failing British shoe factory rescued by a drag queen, there’s something for everyone in our soul-stirring, heart-pounding Season Nine of Paramount’s Broadway Series,” said Jim Corti, Artistic Director, Paramount Theatre.“Our ninth season is looking to be the most exciting yet,” said Tim Rater, President and CEO, Paramount Theatre. “I truly hope our patrons love the shows as much as I do. I’m particularly excited about our regional premiere of Kinky Boots and world premiere of The Secret of My Success.”
Following are more details about Paramount’s 2019-20 Broadway Series line-up:
Newsies
September 4-October 20, 2019
Directed by Jim Corti
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Jack Feldman
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Based on the Disney film written by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White
Originally produced on Broadway by Disney Theatrical Productions
Suggested for ages 8 and up, includes some adult language and mild violence
Want good news? Then you want Newsies – refreshing, inspirational, a huge feel-good show for the whole family, and the perfect opener for Paramount’s ninth season.
Straight from the headlines of turn of the century New York comes the true story that had Broadway roaring before it even opened. Featuring unforgettable songs audiences have fallen in love with again and again and a story that will make audiences want to stand up and cheer.
High in the skyscrapers of New York City, Joseph Pulitzer is plotting a way to increase the revenue of his declining newspaper, while down in the streets, newsboys hawk papers on corners barely making enough to survive. When Pulitzer raises the price of the paper, delivery boy Jack Kelly organizes a strike to show the news tycoon and his gang of cronies they’re not going to be pushed into the gutter.
Based on the 1992 movie, Newsies is a rousing musical nominated for eight Tony Awards, winning Best Choreography and Best Score. It features music from Alan Menken, the eight-time Oscar-winning genius behind scores from some of the most popular Disney films of all time including Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas and Beauty and the Beast. At the helm is Paramount Artistic Director Jim Corti, who recently directed three consecutive Jeff Award winners for Best Production-Musical-Large (Paramount’s Les Misérables, West Side Story and Sweeney Todd) and won Best Director for two (Les Misérables and Sweeney Todd.)
Beauty and the Beast
November 13, 2019-January 19, 2020
Directed by Amber Mak
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice
Book by Linda Woolverton
Originally directed by Bob Roth
Originally produced by Disney Theatrical Productions
Suggested for ages 5 and up, includes some scary moments
What is beauty? Join Paramount and step inside this classic storybook tale and discover that beauty isn’t always what it appears.
Once upon a time on a bitter winter’s night, a young, selfish and vain prince finds a beggar woman asking for shelter. Disgusted by her appearance, he sends her far away. The old woman transforms into a magical enchantress who places a curse upon the prince to appear as hideous on the outside as he is on the inside. Given a magical rose, he must learn to love and find love in return before the last petal drops, or he is doomed to remain a beast forever. But who cold ever learn to love a beast?
One of Disney’s most beloved animated films comes to life on stage with all the enchanted castle characters in a holiday extravaganza that will thrill, entertain and amaze young and old alike. Mak has delighted thousands of families with her holiday season Paramount blockbusters The Wizard of Oz, Elf The Musical and Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Great dancing candlesticks… just wait to see what Mak has in store for yet another spectacle staging of a beloved family musical boasting unforgettable song-and-dance numbers like “Be Our Guest,” “Belle” and “Beauty and The Beast.”
Be our guest this holiday season. Celebrate the power and wonder of theater at the majestic Paramount Theatre where a two-story Christmas tree and a spectacular lobby await, decorated to create memories for a lifetime.
The Secret of My Success
A World Premiere Musical!
February 12-March 29, 2020
Directed by Gordon Greenberg
Music and Lyrics by Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler
Book by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen
Based on the Universal Pictures film The Secret of My Success, story by A.J. Carothers
Suggested for ages 10 and up, includes some sexual content and adult language
Is success money? A powerful job? A happy marriage? Join Paramount for the world premiere of The Secret of My Success, a hilarious, heartfelt new musical based on the Universal Pictures film.
Brantley Foster, a young ambitious Midwesterner, moves to New York City to start his dream job at a major corporation, only to be laid off on the very first day. In his relentless enthusiasm to succeed Brantley finds himself tangled up in a sidesplitting scheme in which he assumes the identity of rising executive Carlton Whitfield.
As he climbs the corporate ladder, tirelessly concealing his identity, Brantley soon falls in love with a beautiful colleague named Christy Mendez and discovers that his definition of success might be all wrong. Will he get the job, win at love or just get caught?
Adapted from the smash hit 1987 Michael J. Fox movie that stayed at the top of the box office for five consecutive weeks, The Secret of My Success is a wild look at corporate culture, ambition and making your own way in life, all told with big production numbers, a book that will have you laughing all the way home, and an outstanding score by Chicago’s own Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler, the same talented duo behind the musicals Diary of a Wimpy Kid and How Can You Run with a Shell on Your Back?
Note: Under development for several years, The Secret of My Success received a weeklong workshop in September 2017 at Paramount Theatre through Paramount’s New Works Initiative.
Kinky Boots
A Midwest Regional Premiere!
April 29-June 14, 2020
Directed by Trent Stork
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper
Based on the Miramax motion picture written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth
Suggested for ages 12 and up, includes sexual content and adult language
This flashy, sassy, sexy story of big heels invading a small town shook Broadway and was universally adored by critics and audiences. Now it’s Paramount’s turn to try these shoes on for size, with the first Midwest regional theater premiere of Kinky Boots.
Charlie Price is a reluctant shoe maker. Lola is a fierce drag queen. These two could not be more different, but when they find common ground in shoes, they see a whole new world of possibilities open up to them that will turn their small town upside down, and just might save Charlie’s failing shoe factory.
No show on Broadway has captured what it means to do what you love and love what you do more than Kinky Boots. Director Trent Stork, who triumphed last season in his Paramount debut with Legally Blonde, returns to strut his directorial stuff with Kinky Boots. With his fierce take, a Tony Award-winning score by Grammy Award-winner Cyndi Lauper, a book by Harvey Fierstein (Tony-winning star of Broadway’s Hairspray), from its glorious costumes to its dizzyingly tall heels, Paramount’s Kinky Boots promises to tear up the stage and never let go.
Subscribe now to Paramount’s 2019-20 Broadway Series
The rewards of subscribing to Paramount’s 2019-20 Broadway Series are ample – four amazing, Broadway-quality musicals at one of the most glamorous Art Deco theaters in the Midwest, all for less than the price and hassle of seeing just one show downtown.
In addition to the lowest major theater subscription prices in Illinois, exclusive benefits for Paramount Broadway subscribers are first choice of the same seats for all four shows, free ticket exchange privileges and first notice of added shows and special events, all delivered with a smile by Paramount’s Subscriber Services Staff. Broadway subscribers also receive first notice and exclusive pre-sale discounts of 10% off single tickets for Broadway performances and other select shows at Paramount, including concerts by internationally acclaimed music artists, comedy, dance, holiday shows, movies and family presentations. Look for an announcement of the balance of the Paramount’s 2019-20 season in the summer.
Paramount’s 2019-20 Broadway Series is sponsored by BMO Harris Bank, Dunham Fund, ComEd and City of Aurora.
About Paramount Theatre
Paramount Theatre (ParamountAurora.com), 23 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora, is the center for performing arts, entertainment and arts education in the second largest city in Illinois. Paramount opened on September 3, 1931. It was designed by renowned theater architects C.W. and George L. Rapp and is graced with a beautiful Venetian decor with a strong 1930s Art Deco influence. It also was the first air-conditioned building outside of Chicago. From silent films to the first “Talkies,” from Vaudeville to Bobby Vinton, from Dionne to Donny and Marie, Paramount Theatre has provided Aurora and the Fox Valley the best of entertainment for generations.
In 1976, the Aurora Civic Center Authority (ACCA) restored Paramount to its original grandeur. Paramount Arts Centre reopened in 1978, offering a variety of touring theatrical, musical, comedy, dance and family programming. In 2006, a 12,000-square-foot, two-story Grand Gallery lobby was added, including a grand staircase, new box office, café and art gallery.
In 2010, ACCA hired Tim Rater as President and CEO of Paramount Theatre. Rater’s mission was to boost the theater’s programming and audience base by transforming Paramount into one of Chicago’s top self-producing, professional Equity musical theaters. Rater hired award-winning Chicago director Jim Corti as Paramount’s first-ever artistic director. In 2011, Paramount introduced its inaugural four-play Broadway Series with Corti’s critically acclaimed production of My Fair Lady. In just eight blockbuster seasons since, Paramount has leapt to the top of Chicago’s musical theater scene, winning unanimous audience and critical acclaim, and an unprecedented number of Joseph Jefferson nominations and awards, including Best Musical-Large three years in a row.
Today, the 1,855-seat Paramount Theatre remains nationally renowned for the quality and caliber of its presentations, historic beauty and superb acoustics. More than 41,000 subscribers from throughout the city and suburbs enjoy Paramount’s Broadway-quality productions at highly affordable prices, making Paramount the second largest subscription house in the nation. In addition to its Broadway Series, Paramount continues to present an eclectic array of internationally known comedians, music stars, dance events and family shows, and on most Mondays, screens a classic movie for just $1.
Paramount is one of three live performance venues programmed and managed by the ACCA, which also oversees Paramount’s “sister” stage, the intimate 173-seat Copley Theatre located across the street from the Paramount at 8 E. Galena Blvd., as well as RiverEdge Park, downtown Aurora’s summer outdoor concert venue at 360 N. Broadway.
Rater and his team also are preparing to open the new Paramount School of the Arts in the John C. Dunham Aurora Arts Center, currently under construction adjacent to Paramount. Paramount’s new school will encourage and train young actors, dancers and musicians for a culture-filled life, nurture the arts in Chicago’s western suburbs and add to the excitement, cultural and economic activity in downtown Aurora. Courses for children as young as six months will be offered with opportunities for adults and seniors, as well. Registration is currently scheduled to open soon for a full roster of classes, private lessons and camps in acting, music and dance to launch in 2019.
Paramount Theatre continues to expand its artistic and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Tim Rater, President and CEO, Aurora Civic Center Authority; Jim Corti, Artistic Director, Paramount Theatre; a dedicated Board of Trustees and a devoted staff of live theater and music professionals.
For more, visit ParamountAurora.com or call (630) 896-6666.