In front of a packed house at the KeyBank State Theatre on April 16, Playhouse Square revealed the seven show titles that will make up the new 2024-2025 KeyBank Broadway Series. This year’s announcement event marks the first return to an in-person reveal in four years.
“We’re thrilled to be able to host a live audience for this event again,” said Playhouse Square President & CEO Craig Hassall. “The energy of the crowd reacting to the show titles as they are unveiled is something that cannot be replicated.”
This year’s lineup includes: A Beautiful Noise (October 8 – 27, 2024), Some Like it Hot (November 5 – 24, 2024), Life of Pi (January 7 - 26, 2025), Parade (February 4 – 23, 2025), & Juliet (March 4 – 23, 2025), Shucked (April 22 – May 11, 2025) and Kimberly Akimbo (July 15 – August 3, 2025).
Several of this season’s titles received accolades at the 2023 Tony Awards®. Kimberly Akimbo was the most celebrated show of the season, with eight Tony nominations and five wins, including Best Musical. Others included Parade (Best Musical Revival and Best Direction of a Musical), Life of Pi (Best Scenic Design of a Play, Best Lighting Design and Best Sound Design), Shucked (Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical), and Some Like it Hot (Best Orchestrations, Best Choreography and Best Costume Design).
Contemporary music lovers will also find much to like about this season, with two titles offering up a host of familiar song titles in their repertoire. A Beautiful Noise uses more than 30 of Neil Diamond’s hit songs to tell the story of his rise to American rock icon, while the new original musical & Juliet curates a playlist of top pop anthems as it flips the script on the ending of one of the world’s most famous love stories.
One of the premier markets for touring Broadway in the country, Playhouse Square continuously boasts more than 44,000 season ticket holders annually. No other touring Broadway venue in North America has a larger season ticket holder community than Playhouse Square.
“Our season ticket holders are the reason we’re able to book these sought-after titles so early on in their tours,” said Hassall. “Their loyalty and enthusiasm are critical to our ability to build a season like this, which makes Cleveland a premier destination for Broadway.”
Season ticket holders to the KeyBank Broadway Series enjoy a host of benefits, including the ability to set up monthly payment plans, exchanging tickets within the run of the performance, and exclusive pre-sales on tickets to other shows at Playhouse Square. Purchasing a season ticket package also means saving up to 55% compared to purchasing shows individually.
Season tickets for the 2024-2025 KeyBank Broadway Series at Playhouse Square are now available by phone at 216-640-8800 or online at playhousesquare.org/broadway. Season ticket plans range from $154 - $758 per seat, with monthly payment plans available.
The website playhousesquare.org is the official online source for tickets to performances at Playhouse Square. Buying directly from Playhouse Square guarantees the authenticity of tickets.
The 2024-2025 Key Bank Broadway Series Lineup Includes:
A BEAUTIFUL NOISE
October 8 – 27, 2024
ABeautifulNoiseTheMusical.com
THE UNTOLD TRUE STORY OF A BROOKLYN KID WHO BECAME A CHART-BUSTING, SHOW-STOPPING, AWARD-WINNING AMERICAN ICON. Created in collaboration with Neil Diamond himself, A BEAUTIFUL NOISE is the uplifting true story of how a kid from Brooklyn became a chart-busting, show-stopping American rock icon. With 120 million albums sold, a catalogue of classics like "America," "Forever in Blue Jeans," and "Sweet Caroline," an induction into the Songwriters and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame, a Grammy® Lifetime Achievement Award, and sold-out concerts around the world that made him bigger than Elvis, Neil Diamond's story was made to shine on Broadway-and head out on the road across America.
Like Jersey Boys and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical before it, A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL is an inspiring, exhilarating, energy-filled musical memoir, that tells the untold true story of how America's greatest hitmaker became a star, set to the songs that defined his career.
SOME LIKE IT HOT
November 5 – 24, 2024
SomeLikeItHotMusical.com
Winner of 4 Tony Awards®, including Best Choreography and Best Costumes, and the Grammy Award® for Best Musical Theater Album, SOME LIKE IT HOT is “A Super-Sized, All-Out Song-And-Dance Spectacular!” - The New York Times
Set in Chicago when Prohibition has everyone thirsty for a little excitement, SOME LIKE IT HOT is the “glorious, big, high-kicking” (Associated Press) story of two musicians forced to flee the Windy City after witnessing a mob hit. With gangsters hot on their heels, they catch a cross-country train for the life-chasing, life-changing trip of a lifetime.
And what a trip it is! With its irresistible combination of heart and laughs, song and dance, SOME LIKE IT HOT won more theater awards than any show this season, and was named Best Musical by the Drama Desk, The Drama League, and the Outer Critics Circle. No wonder Deadline calls it “a tap-dancing, razzle-dazzling embrace of everything you love about musical theater.”
LIFE OF PI
January 7 – 26, 2025
LifeOfPiBway.com
A THEATRICAL EVENT UNLIKE ANYTHING ELSE!
Winner of three Tony Awards® and the Olivier Award for Best Play, the Broadway and West End sensation LIFE OF PI is “an exhilarating evening of theater” (The Wall Street Journal).
Based on the novel that sold more than 15 million copies and became a worldwide phenomenon, LIFE OF PI is an epic story of perseverance and hope that speaks to every generation and “gives new life to Broadway” (The Today Show).
After a shipwreck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi survives on a lifeboat with four companions— a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a Royal Bengal tiger.
Told with jaw-dropping visuals, world class puppetry and exquisite stagecraft, LIFE OF PI creates a breathtaking journey that will leave you filled with awe and joy.
PARADE
February 4 – 23, 2025
ParadeBroadway.com
Winner of the 2023 Tony Award® for Best Revival of a Musical, PARADE has been proclaimed as “a work of art! As commanding as any musical revival to hit Broadway in years” (Deadline).
Leo and Lucille Frank are a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in the old red hills of Georgia. When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion. Riveting and gloriously hopeful, PARADE reminds us that to love, we must truly see one another.
PARADE has received overwhelming acclaim since its debut. The New York Times said, “this revival, filled with deft flourishes by director Michael Arden, recalls an era of big casts, big stories, and big talent – a time when musicals actually felt like events.” Entertainment Weekly called PARADE “the most gorgeous production on Broadway.” Time Out New York stated that “PARADE will echo for a long time to come. See it before the parade passes by.”
PARADE is directed by Tony Award® winner Michael Arden, with book by two-time Tony Award® winner, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Academy Award® winner Alfred Uhry, music and lyrics by three-time Tony Award® winner Jason Robert Brown, and co-conceived by 21-time Tony Award®-winning legend Harold Prince.
& JULIET
March 4 – 23, 2025
AndJulietBroadway.com
Created by the Emmy®-winning writer from “Schitt’s Creek,” this hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told. & JULIET asks: what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as she ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love—her way.
Juliet’s new story bursts to life through a playlist of pop anthems as iconic as her name, 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!"—all from the genius songwriter/producer behind more #1 hits than any other artist this century. Break free of the balcony scene and get into this romantic comedy that proves there’s life after Romeo. The only thing tragic would be missing it.
SHUCKED
April 22 – May 11, 2025
ShuckedMusical.com
SHUCKED is the Tony Award®–winning musical comedy The Wall Street Journal calls “flat out hilarious!” And nobody knows funny like economists. Featuring a book by Tony Award winner Robert Horn (Tootsie), a score by the Grammy® Award–winning songwriting team of Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally (Kacey Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow”), and directed by Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien (Hairspray), this corn-fed, corn-bred American musical is sure to satisfy your appetite for great musical theater.
KIMBERLY AKIMBO
July 15 – August 3, 2025
KimberlyAkimboTheMusical.com
WINNER - BEST MUSICAL
THE MOST TONY AWARD-WINNING SHOW OF THE SEASON
A new musical about growing up and growing old (in no particular order), KIMBERLY AKIMBO is the winner of 5 Tony Awards including BEST MUSICAL. It features Tony Award-winning book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire (Shrek), a Tony Award-winning score by Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home), choreography by Danny Mefford (Dear Evan Hansen) and direction by Tony-nominated director Jessica Stone.
Kimberly is about to turn 16 and recently moved with her family to a new town in suburban New Jersey. In this “howlingly funny heartbreaker of a show” (The New Yorker), Kim is forced to navigate family dysfunction, a rare genetic condition, her first crush … and possible felony charges. Ever the optimist, she is determined to find happiness against all odds and embark on a great adventure.