Milwaukee’s famed Marcus Performing Arts Center has it all: A snow pile! Rapidly-spinning advertising cubes! World-class musicals! Though the multi-faceted venue ably wears a lot of different hats, let’s focus on the last thing we mentioned for a moment.
Last night, Marcus Center announced the schedule for its 2023-2024 Broadway season. The series, which runs from this coming October through next May, features a total of seven acclaimed musicals. Here’s the full Broadway schedule:
Disney’s Aladdin — October 17-22, 2023
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird — November 7-12, 2023
Funny Girl — January 9-14, 2024
Mamma Mia! — February 20-25, 2024
Clue — March 12-17, 2024
TINA – The Tina Turner Musical — April 23-28, 2024
Moulin Rouge! The Musical — May 14-26, 2024
Ticket packages for the 2023-2024 season are on sale now. There are also some tickets for the remaining shows in Marcus Performing Arts Center’s 2022-2023 season (including Disney’s Frozen and Hadestown) available.
In addition to Monday night’s Broadway Series unveiling, Marcus Performing Arts Center also announced lineup for its new MPAC Presents Dance series and MPAC Presents Jazz series. Here are the 2023-2024 MPAC Presents lineups, complete with show descriptions courtesy of a Marcus Performing Arts Center press release.
Dance Theatre of Harlem — February 14, 2024
A singular presence in the ballet world, the Dance Theatre of Harlem presents a powerful vision for ballet in the 21st century. The 18-member company’s forward-thinking repertoire includes treasured classics, neoclassical works by George Balanchine and resident choreographer Robert Garland, and innovative contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture. Through performances, community engagement, and arts education, the Company carries forward Dance Theatre of Harlem’s message of empowerment through the arts for all.
Hubbard Street Dance Company — March 9, 2024
For 46 years, Hubbard Street Dance Company has been one of the most original forces in contemporary dance – bringing top choreographers and works to Chicago and beyond. Hubbard Street’s ever-evolving repertory, created by today’s leading choreographic voices, introduces audiences to original, cutting-edge contemporary dance. Their mission is to bring artists, art, and audiences together to enrich, engage, educate, and change lives through the experience of dance.
MOMIX: Alice in Wonderland — April 11, 2024
Seamlessly blending illusion, acrobatics, magic, and whimsy, MOMIX sends audiences flying down the rabbit hole in Moses Pendleton’s newest creation, ALICE, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice in Wonderland. “I don’t intend to retell the whole Alice story” Pendleton says, “but to use it as a taking off point for invention.” Join this dazzling company on a mind-bending adventure, as Alice encounters time-honored characters including the undulating Caterpillar, a lobster quadrille, frenzied White Rabbits, a mad Queen of Hearts, and a variety of other surprises. Filled with visual splendor and startling creative movement, Alice reveals that nothing in MOMIX’s world is as it seems!
Pat Metheny — October 5, 2023
Jazz guitar pioneer and tireless musical innovator, Pat Metheny is one of the brightest stars of the jazz community. His acclaimed style blends loose and flexible articulation with an advanced rhythmic and harmonic sensibility – a way of playing and improvising that is grounded deeply in the jazz tradition of melody, swing, and the blues. It is one thing to attain popularity as a musician, but it is another to receive the kind of acclaim Metheny has garnered from critics and peers. Over the years, Metheny has won countless polls as “Best Jazz Guitarist” and awards, including three gold records and 20 GRAMMY® Awards. Throughout his career, Metheny has continued to redefine the genre by utilizing new technology and constantly working to evolve the improvisational and sonic potential of his instrument.
Cécile McLorin Salvant — January 27, 2024
Acclaimed jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant is a composer, singer, and visual artist. Three-time GRAMMY® winner for “Best Jazz Vocal Album,” Salvant has a deep passion for storytelling and finding the connections between music spanning genres and decades. An eclectic curator, Salvant unearths rarely recorded songs with strong narratives, interesting power dynamics, unexpected twists, and humor. Described by the late Jessye Norman as a “unique voice supported by an intelligence and full-fledged musicality, which light up every note she sings,” Salvant is a must-see artist. In 2020 she received the MacArthur Fellowship and the Doris Duke Artist Award, two of the most coveted recognitions in art.
Delfeayo Marsalis & The Uptown Jazz Orchestra — February 29, 2024
Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra are a highly entertaining ensemble, focused on maintaining important jazz traditions such as riff playing, New Orleans polyphony, and spontaneous arrangements. Formed by Marsalis in 2008, the Uptown Jazz Orchestra stretches the boundaries of what is expected from big bands, playing with an extraordinary sense of joy and fun that could only come from New Orleans. Featuring up to 18 accomplished musicians, the Uptown Jazz Orchestra sets the global standard for celebrating jazz in its authentic musical form, inspiring the next generation of jazz musicians and promoting a culture of diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in the arts.