'Jersey Boys,' 'Legally Blonde,' 'Nine' among 2024-25 Short North Stage lineup
Building on this season’s record-breaking runs, Short North Stage will focus next season on fresh interpretations of favorite musicals.
“How we’ve been able to grow over the past decade is listening to what our audience wants to see, but also challenging them with some new shows,” Artistic Director Edward Carignan said.
What musicals are generating the most buzz?
Perhaps the most-awaited show of the company’s 13th season is the first Columbus professional production of “Jersey Boys,” the Broadway mega-hit about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
“It’s been at the top of our list of wanted shows for several years,” said Carignan, noting that rights only recently became available.
Meanwhile, Associate Artistic Director Dionysia Williams Velazco is excited about the important and trendy themes of the summer musical opening the company’s 2024-2025 season: “Legally Blonde.”
“It’s about women’s discovery and empowerment and centers on Elle, who wears pink, her signature color. Similar to the movie 'Barbie,' this musical leaves audiences with a boost of energy,” she said
A mission of inclusion
“Legally Blonde” fulfills a key aspect of the troupe’s artistic mission, also reflected this season in “Kinky Boots,” “The Color Purple” and “The Prom.”
“Musicals are often written off as simple, but these have deeper themes about inclusivity, an important value at Short North Stage,” Carignan said.
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The artistic directors will co-direct and co-choreograph the regional professional premiere of their next production: “The Prom” (March 14 to April 14). The musical comedy revolves around four liberal Broadway stars who visit a conservative town to help young lesbians overcome prejudice and attend their high school prom.
“Both parties learn something in ‘The Prom,’ which does a good job of balancing both sides of liberal and conservative culture,” Carignan said.
What will fill the summer and fall seasons?
All 2024-2025 productions will be presented on the Garden Theater’s MainStage, 1187 N. High St.
• “Legally Blonde” (July 11 to Aug 11): Based on the 2001 film comedy, the Broadway musical follows sorority girl Elle Woods, who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend but quickly exceeds expectations.
• “Ain't Misbehavin'” (Sept 5-22): The jazzy revue, winner of the 1979 Tony for best musical, pays tribute to the music of Black artist Fats Waller. Among the songs: “Black and Blue,” “Honeysuckle Rose,” “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and “The Joint is Jumpin’.”
• “The Rocky Horror Show” (Oct. 5-29): The troupe’s seventh production of Richard O’Brien’s sci-fi/horror musical, which invites fans to dance along to the “Time Warp,” returns by popular demand for Halloween season.
• “Jersey Boys” (Nov. 21 to Dec 29): “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Sherry” and “Walk Like a Man” are among the Top-40 songs in the jukebox musical about the lives and careers of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.“I love that we’re doing ‘Jersey Boys’ for Christmas, because it’s a family show with the story told in such a fun, fast way,” Williams Velazco said.
‘Nine’ rescheduled for early 2025 run
• “Nine” (Jan. 23 to Feb. 16): Adapted by composer-lyricist Maury Yeston (“Titanic”) and playwright Arthur Kopit from Fellini’s semi-autobiographical film “8½”, the rarely staged 1982 Tony best-musical winner revolves around an Italian director haunted by the women in his life as he struggles amid midlife crisis to make his next movie.
“We didn’t get to do it last year, but it’s a passion project for us,” said Williams Velazco, who will play the director’s wife.
Initially announced for this season, “Nine” was postponed, sparking “a lot of pushback from patrons,” Carignan said.
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“We have a reputation for producing edgy material that hasn’t been revisited in a while, but we were concerned ‘Nine’ would be a tricky sell, too edgy for some... We’re glad so many people wanted to see it,” he said.
Other musicals planned for 2025
• “A Chorus Line” (March 20 to April 19, 2025): Choreographer-director Michael Bennett and composer Marvin Hamlisch’s Pulitzer-winning 1975 musical, previously staged by the troupe in 2015, follows 17 dancers in real time auditioning for eight jobs in the chorus of a new musical, in the process revealing their histories and hopes.
• “The Drowsy Chaperone” (May 8 to June 1, 2025): The clever musical-within-a-play, winner of 2006 Tonys for book and score, is framed by a die-hard musical-theater fan playing a record of his favorite 1920s-era musical comedy show, which comes to life in his cramped apartment.
“It’s one of my favorite shows, with no special point, just a perfect love letter to theater with so much humor, spirit, fun, singing and dancing,” said Carignan, director of the co-production with Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre.
Furthering growth
Short North Stage leaders agreed their 2024-2025 season should extend an “upswing” in the troupe’s visibility and success.
“We’re in a growth mindset right now,” Williams Velazco said.
“Especially since the pandemic, we’re building, building, building — in audiences, talent, production values, staff, the board, a new scene shop and more interesting titles,” she said.
More 2023-2024 shows have been breaking box-office records, with more performances selling out than previous seasons and more productions attracting larger audiences, Carignan said, pointing most notably to “Kinky Boots,” a holiday production boosted by the company’s first six-week run.
The 2023-2024 budget, just under $2 million, will rise to just over $2 million next season, he said.
The 2023 MainStage expansion from 235 to 275 seats, involving reconfiguration of the rear mezzanine area and sound booth, helped open the door to higher ticket sales.
To meet demand when performances sell out, Short North Stage also has extended runs and added Wednesday performances — strategies expected to continue next season.“We’re attracting people,” Williams Velazco said, “who’d never visited the theater before.”
@mgrossberg1
At a glance
Short North Stage will present “The Prom” at 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays (except March 31) from March 14 through April 7 at the Garden Theater, 1187 N. High St. Tickets start at $33.33. Subscriptions to the 2024-2025 season cost $320 to $400. Renewals begin March 16, with new subscriptions available May 6. Single tickets, available June 4, cost $36 to $80, or $20 for students. (www.shortnorthstage.org)
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: The 2024-25 Short North Stage schedule includes 'Jersey Boys,' 'Nine'
