A home for Broadway, right here in your own back yard. welcome to the biggest season yet with seven Blockbuster shows! Five shows are coming straight from New York City to Northwest Arkansas on their first national tours, and the season includes the 2018 Tony winner for Best Musical and Best Musical Revival.
Bringing the best of Broadway to the heart of Northwest Arkansas, Walton Arts Center’s 2019-20 season includes Escape to Margaritaville, The Play that Goes Wrong, A Christmas Story: The Musical, Once on This Island, Anastasia, Fiddler on the Roof and The Band’s Visit.
Escape to Margaritaville
Set your mind to island time and get away from it all – you may find something you never expected in Jimmy Buffett’s Escape To Margaritaville, packed with Buffet’s iconic hits and a story line that ties them all together.
USA Today calls it “A little slice of paradise!” and Entertainment Weekly raves, “It will knock your flip-flops off!” So don't let the party start without you.
Parrotheads, unite! Hear the songs that define a star’s career, including “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” “Son of a Son of a Sailor,” “Margaritaville” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise.”
The Play That Goes Wrong
Wrong moves have never been so right in the funniest and longest-running play on Broadway, THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG. A mashup of Monty Python and Sherlock Holmes, this Oliver Award®-winning comedy was called “a gut-busting hit” by The New York Times.
Welcome to opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), it’s “A riotous explosion of comedy!” (The Daily Beast) and “Tons of fun for all ages!” (HuffPost). The New York Post has just one word for you: “GO!”
A Christmas Story: The Musical
Based on the perennial holiday movie favorite, A Christmas Story, The Musical chronicles young and bespectacled Ralphie Parker as he schemes his way toward the holiday gift of his dreams, an official Red Ryder® Carbine-Action 200-Shot Range Model Air Rifle (“You’ll shoot your eye out kid!”). An infamous leg lamp, outrageous pink bunny pajamas, a maniacal department store Santa and a triple-dog-dare to lick a freezing flagpole are just a few of the distractions that stand between Ralphie and his Christmas wish.
Hailed by The Associated Press as “a joyous Christmas miracle,” The New York Times writes “I was dazzled. You’d have to have a Grinch-sized heart not to feel a smile spreading across your face.” A Christmas Story, The Musical is a triple-dog-dare of a good time and it is sure to warm your heart this holiday season!
Once on This Island
“What a delight it is to enter the world of Once on This Island!” raves The New York Times. Time Out New York cheers, “After seeing this imaginative and dynamic musical, you may feel once is not enough!”
Rain falls, fire burns, wind blows and hearts soar. Set on a stunningly detailed re-creation of a sea-swept Caribbean village, this Tony Award-winning Best Musical Revival Once on This Island surrounds the audience with the vibrant story of a woman who travels far and wide to reunite with the man who has captured her heart.
Anastasia
Journey to the twilight of the Russian Empire when the stunningly beautiful Anastasia takes the stage. Inspired by the beloved film of the same name, the story follows a brave young woman as she sets out to discover the mystery of her past. This is an epic quest to find love, family and home.
With its opulent settings, dazzling costumes and a soaring score including the song favorites from the hit animated film, “Journey to the Past” and “Once Upon a December,” Anastasia is the spectacular new musical about discovering who you are and defining who you’re meant to be.
Fiddler on the Roof
Rich with musical hits you know and love, including “Tradition,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “If I Were A Rich Man,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “To Life (L’Chaim!),” Fiddler on the Roof is the heartwarming story of fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, and life, love and laughter.
Tony®-winning director Bartlett Sher and the team behind South Pacific, The King and I and 2017 Tony-winning Best Play Oslo, bring a fresh and authentic vision to this beloved theatrical masterpiece from Tony winner Joseph Stein and Pulitzer Prize winners Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. Featuring a talented cast, lavish orchestra and stunning movement and dance from Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter, based on the original staging by Jerome Robbins, Fiddler on the Roof will introduce a new generation to the uplifting celebration that raises its cup to joy! To love! To life!
The Band’s Visit
The Band’s Visit is the winner of 10 Tony Awards, making it one of the most Tony-winning musicals in history. It is also a 2019 Grammy Awards® winner for Best Musical Theater Album. In this delightfully offbeat story, set in a town that’s way off the beaten path, a band of musicians arrive lost, out of the blue. Under the spell of the desert sky, and with beautiful music perfuming the air, the band brings the town to life in unexpected and tantalizing ways. Even the briefest visit can stay with you forever.
With a score that seduces your soul and sweeps you off your feet, and featuring Tony-winning performances and thrillingly talented onstage musicians, The Band’s Visit rejoices in the way music makes us laugh, makes us cry and ultimately, brings us together.
Add Ons to Your Broadway Season
Blue Man Group
NOW, LET’S GET STARTED. Blue Man Group will rock your world. Blow your mind. And unleash your spirit. As three bald and blue men explore our world, together we’ll discover music, laughter and surprises at every turn.
35 million people of all ages, languages and cultures have experienced
the unexpected with Blue Man Group. Now it’s your turn to see what all the hype is about!
The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon follows two young missionaries who are sent to Uganda. One missionary, Elder Price, is an enthusiastic go-getter with a strong dedication to his faith, while his partner, Elder Cunningham, is a socially awkward but well meaning nerd whose tendency to embroider the truth soon lands him in trouble. Upon their arrival in Africa, Elders Price and Cunningham learn that in a society plagued by AIDS, poverty and violence, a successful mission may not be as easy as they expected.
Take Your Seat
You don’t have to take a trip to New York City to see the best of Broadway. Season subscriptions are available now!
Call 479.571.2785 to talk with a Subscriber Concierge or visit waltonartscenter.org for more information.
*Single tickets will go on-sale later in the summer.