Playhouse Square season includes 'Life of Pi,' '& Juliet,' 'Beautiful Noise,' 'Shucked'

There'll be something for everyone in Playhouse Square's diverse 2024-2025 Broadway Series, from the pop anthems of the new musical "& Juliet" to the danger and drama of the play "Life of Pi."

The new seven-show season was announced Tuesday night at a live event at the State Theatre in Cleveland. As part of the event, Playhouse Square announced that its more than 44,000 season ticket holders make up the largest number for a touring Broadway venue in North America.

"Our season ticket holders are the reason we're able to book these sought-after titles so early on in their tours," Playhouse Square President and CEO Craig Hassall said in a statement. "Their loyalty and enthusiasm are critical to our ability to build a season like this."

One of the new musicals whose national tour will launch in the fall is "A Beautiful Noise," which will land at Playhouse Square Oct. 8-27. The jukebox musical tells the true story of American rock icon Neil Diamond, a kid from Brooklyn who rose to fame with 120 million albums sold and sold-out concerts around the world that made him bigger than Elvis Presley.

The musical score includes Diamond classics "America," "Forever in Blue Jeans" and, of course, "Sweet Caroline." The musical's title comes from Diamond's 1976 album of the same name.

Here are the other shows coming to Playhouse Square next season.

'Some Like It Hot'

The 2022 musical comedy, based on the 1959 movie starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe, will play Nov. 5-24.

"Some Like it Hot" follows two jazz-age musicians on the run after witnessing a mob hit in Chicago. In this story, set near the end of Prohibition, characters Joe and Jerry jump on a cross-country train and assume disguises as "Josephine" and "Daphne" to join an all-female band during their trip of a lifetime.

The classic tale is full of song, dance and razzle dazzle, with music by Marc Shaiman, a book by Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman. The show won four 2023 Tony Awards, including best choreography and costumes, and a Grammy for best musical theater album.

'Life of Pi'

The three-time Tony Award-winning play, which played on Broadway last year, is based on the book by Yann Martel that became a worldwide phenomenon. Its tour, which will begin in the fall, will run in Cleveland Jan. 7-26, 2025.

In "Life of Pi," 16-year-old Pi becomes shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean and survives on a lifeboat with a hyena, zebra, orangutan and Royal Bengal tiger.

The play, which uses elaborate puppetry to portray the creatures on Pi's lifeboat, promises exquisite stagecraft and jaw-dropping visuals. The Broadway play won Tonys for best scenic design, lighting design and sound design.

'Parade'

The musical "Parade," the 2023 Tony winner for best revival of a musical, will run Feb. 4-23, 2025, at Playhouse Square. In this story, Jewish newlyweds Leo and Lucille Frank, struggling to make a life in the south in Atlanta, face the terrifying repercussions of Leo being accused of a terrible crime.

The book by Alfred Uhry, ultimately a love story, is a dramatization of the true story of Leo Frank and his 1913 trial. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1988 and was revived in 2023. Its national tour will begin in January.

'& Juliet'

The jukebox musical "& Juliet," which premiered in England in 2019 and is currently running on Broadway, will run March 4-23. It puts a new twist on the love story "Romeo and Juliet" by asking would happen if Juliet didn't end it all over Romeo.

The Elizabethan musical comedy, which picks up where Shakespeare's play has Juliet waking up, gives Juliet a fresh start and allows her to make her own choice. Its book is by Emmy-winning writer David West Read from the TV show "Schitt's Creek."

The musical's score features pop anthems by Swedish pop songwriter Max Martin, including "Since U Been Gone," "Roar," "Baby One More Time," "Larger Than Life," "That's the Way It Is" and "Can't Stop the Feeling!"

'Shucked'

The Tony Award-winning musical comedy "Shucked" tells the tale of a corn-crazy town in Cob County, where the folks singing the song "Corn" declare, "We were corn-bred, we were corn-fed." Maizy and Beau are planning their wedding. But the town's corn suddenly begins to die and the town decides they can't have a wedding until they fix the corn.

The musical tour will land at Playhouse Square April 22-May 11, 2025. On Broadway, Alex Newell won a 2023 Tony for best feature in a musical for their role as Lulu.

'Kimberly Akimbo'

"Kimberly Akimbo," a musical about growing up and growing old, will run July 15-Aug. 3, 2025. The show won the most Tony Awards of the season, with a tally of five including best musical.

In this comedy, which The New Yorker calls a "howlingly funny heartbreaker of a show," 16-year-old Kimberly must deal with moving to a new town, a rare genetic condition, her first crush and more. It's a carpe diem tale where optimist Kimberly is determined to find happiness against all odds.

The musical, whose Tony-winning book by David Lindsay-Abaire is based on his 2000 play of the same name, also has a Tony-winning score by Jeanine Tesori.

Season tickets for Broadway Series

Season tickets for the 2024-2025 KeyBank Broadway Series are available by phone at 216-640-8800 or see playhousesquare.org/broadway. Season ticket plans cost from $154 to $758 per seat.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'Life of Pi,' 'Some Like It Hot,' more coming to Playhouse Square