‘Beetlejuice,’ ‘Book of Mormon’ among the shows included in new Broadway in Wichita series

Broadway in Wichita has landed what its scheduler calls “the hottest ticket in touring Broadway right now” for its 2024-25 season.

“Beetlejuice” will take the stage April 2-6, 2025.

The musical version of Tim Burton’s 1988 comedy-horror film was nominated for eight Tony Awards in 2019.

“It’s made from the film.. It’s tweaked from the original film a little bit, so it’s not like it’s a retelling of what you saw on screen,” said Craig Aikman, director of programming for American Theatre Guild, which sets the Broadway in Wichita season. “It digs a little more into the characters.”

Aikman called the stage version “ridiculously funny.”

“It withstands the hype,” he said.

The 2024-25 Broadway in Wichita season is “gonna be a little bit of everything, a little something for everyone,” Aikman said.

The season kicks off in Century II’s Concert Hall a few days before Christmas with the return of “Chicago,” which Aikman said topped the choices for patrons in a survey of potential shows for Wichita.

“People still are excited about ‘Chicago,’ and it’s proved why it’s the longest-running show on Broadway,” he said of the Bob Fosse musical. “Chicago” was originally staged in 1975, and its 1996 Broadway revival — which spawned an Oscar-winning 2002 movie musical — is still alive.

“Chicago” was last in the former Broadway Theatre League schedule in 2015. Music Theatre Wichita staged a successful run in 2019.

Not long after the holidays, “Pretty Woman: The Musical” sets down for a three-day weekend.

Although it ran only a year on Broadway, Aikman said it has become successful on the touring circuit. The book was co-written by Garry Marshall, director of the 1990 hit Julia Roberts-Richard Gere movie, and its score is by rocker Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, who co-wrote many of Adams’ hits.

“Everything you loved about the film, everything people loved about the Julia Roberts feature is on stage, alive and in front of you rather than seeing it on a screen,” Aikman said.

Nearly 9 ½ years after it last played Century II, “The Book of Mormon” will return beginning on Valentine’s Day.

The religious musical satire, from the creators of “South Park” and “Avenue Q,” won nine of the 14 Tonys it was nominated for in 2011.

“It’s relevant and fun, and the music is incredible,” Aikman said. “Those are things that propel an audience to see it, just as amazing now as it was when it first opened.”

The season concludes with “The Cher Show” in late April. In the two-time Tony winner from 2019, three actresses play the pop diva at various stages of her career.

“It’s just a ton of fun,” Aikman said. “From her story and rise to fame and the costumes and the music – it is a complete blast from start to finish.”

Amy Hamm, president and executive director of the American Theatre Guild, said her nonprofit feels a sense of excitement about the upcoming season.

“This season will offer something for both current and new fans of Broadway,” the El Dorado native said in a news release.

Aikman, who was raised in Wichita and spent the last three years of high school at Haven, is also among several south central Kansas natives working for the Kansas City-based American Theatre Guild, which programs Broadway season series in 12 cities nationwide.

“We’re lucky in that Wichita is a very supportive market,” said Aikman, a 17-year veteran of American Theatre Guild. “They know their titles; they know their stuff. They support Broadway, they support Music Theatre Wichita, they support the arts in general.

“That makes it possible to get some of those newer shows in,” he added, “which is why we were lucky enough to get ‘Beetlejuice’ into the market, why we got ‘Book of Mormon’ back in the market. We didn’t have to wait five or six years for something.”

Aikman said his company feels like Broadway tours have made a near recovery from COVID, which canceled the 2020 and ’21 seasons.

“The good news about all of that, the most enjoyable part of that, is that we are back. And then some,” he said. “Audiences are ready for it.”

He said Broadway in Wichita and other performing arts organizations have heard from their audiences about how much seeing live performances means to fans.

“We’re listening to our patrons more now, as an industry, than we ever have, trying to bring the shows they’re interested in,” Aikman said. “They want a stake – a place where they can forget what the world is like sometimes and feel that energy, that give-and-take that happens on stage. That’s the rewarding part. We get them what they need, get them what they want, so they can have that experience.”

Aikman said he’s had to convince producers that their shows will be well-received by the Broadway in Wichita audiences.

“The surprising thing about Wichita is that they’re very savvy about the shows, about art. It’s a very eclectic city, and the arts play a big part in that,” he said. “I don’t think people outside the Midwest or even outside Wichita understand how important the arts are in that community.

“There’s more to the middle of Kansas than wheat fields and cowboys and that kind of stuff,” Aikman added. “That’s the idea people have, but Wichita is more metropolitan than that.”

BROADWAY IN WICHITA SEASON

Season tickets, ranging from $279-$565, are available at broadwaywichita.com or the Century II box office. Shows will be performed in Century II’s Concert Hall.

“Chicago,” Dec. 20-22

“Pretty Woman,” Jan. 3-5

“The Book of Mormon,” Feb. 14-16

“Beetlejuice,” April 2-6

“The Cher Show,” April 25-27