Theatrical presenter Celebrity Attractions is waiting for the reopening of the rebuilt Robinson Center Music Hall for the start of its 2016-17 Broadway Season, culminating in the first Little Rock performances of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom of the Opera, March 8-19.
Cameron Mackintosh's new, supposedly bigger and better production will arrive as part of a first-time North American Tour.
It will also be the first show to fully show off the new capabilities of the renovated venue, which had previously been -- through lack of onstage and backstage space and too few loading docks -- unable to handle productions of this magnitude (it features a cast and orchestra of 52 and, of course, the falling chandelier).
The Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau and Celebrity Attractions broke the news about Phantom at a news conference in September, so it's not a total surprise for theatergoers.
Robinson Center is reportedly on time and on budget for a November reopening and will once again also be the home not just for Celebrity Attractions but of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Ballet Arkansas' annual production of The Nutcracker.
While Robinson has been in the midst of reconstruction, the three organizations have been putting on performances at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center.
The rest of the season (all performances at Robinson):
• Dec. 3-4 with Elf the Musical (songs by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin)
• Jan. 13-15: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella
• April 14-16: Riverdance -- The 20th Anniversary World Tour, composed by Bill Whelan, produced by Moya Doherty, directed by John McColgan.
Season subscriptions are $114-$345. Call (501) 244-8800 or visit the website, CelebrityAttractions.com.
Style on 04/17/2016