PPAC Announces 2015/2016 Broadway Season

Watch sneak preview performances from Motown: The Musical and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

March 25, 2015

We got a sneak peek at Providence Performing Arts Center’s upcoming 2015/2016 Broadway season, and it involves hit after hit after hit, and a couple of favorites are back by popular demand. You couldn’t get a lineup like this, unless, of course, you were standing right on Broadway in New York City.

“For our thirty-eighth season, we hope that you will ‘surround yourself with Broadway sounds,’ and experience all of the beautiful music that will fill our theatre, starting in the fall,” says PPAC president J.L. “Lynn” Singleton.

Twelve shows round out the Taco/White Family Foundation Broadway Series, the Encore Series and two specials. The season kicks off with Disney’s Newsies in October, followed by Motown: the Musical in November. December brings Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, followed by the national tour launch of Roundabout Theatre Company’s Cabaret in January 2016, Pippin in February, The Sound of Music in March and If/Then in June. Other must-see musicals in the Encore Series include Annie, coming to the stage in December 2015, Ragtime arriving in April 2016, and Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway in May 2016. Back by popular demand are The Book of Mormon and Jersey Boys.

Disney's Newsies.

Motown: The Musical.

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.

One show I’m really looking forward to seeing is Motown: The Musical. I grew up listening to Motown hits in the car, singing along with my parents (yes, I know all the words to every song, including “Stop in the Name of Love,” “Dancing in the Street” and “Get Ready”). Four cast members from the musical treated the audience to a preview performance on PPAC's stage Tuesday morning for the theater's season announcement.

This Thursday, March 26 at 10 a.m., tickets also go on sale for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which will launch its national tour in Providence in September 2015. PPAC brought in the star of the show, Meggie Cansler, to sing a few songs for the audience that came out yesterday. “It’s a great musical because it’s not just a concert of her songs, you get to see Carole growing up and making her way in the world,” says Cansler. Watch a video of her performance below: