Big time Broadway is back at The Playhouse on Rodney Square. The 2015-2016 season begins with the ever-popular “Annie” (Dec. 1-6) followed by “Chicago—The Musical” (Jan. 2-17), “Mama Mia!” (March 4-6), “Blue Man Group” (March 17-20), “Forty-Second Street” (April 19-24) and “Jersey Boys” (May 10-15).
The Playhouse is now managed by The Grand Opera House. Steve Bailey, managing director of programming at both venues, says, “We recognize The Playhouse on Rodney Square as a community asset that we are managing on their (DuPont’s) behalf.” Executive director Mark Fields points out that “The former 102-year-old DuPont Theatre is the longest continuously operating Broadway touring house in the country.”
Because it’s also one of the smallest, the budget for the new season represents a 25 percent increase over last year’s expenditures, before the new theater’s leadership teamed up with Innovation Arts & Entertainment of Chicago to make sure it could book the best Broadway has to offer. Adam Epstein, the firm’s head, “has the connections, and quite frankly, the clout to deliver a Broadway series in Wilmington that you want and that we think you deserve,” Fields says.
Season tickets are now on sale at www.theplayhouse.org, by calling 888-0200 and at the box office. Packages range from $140 for four shows to $590 for premium weekend seats for all six shows. Individual show tickets will go on sale soon. In addition to the six Broadway plays, the 1,240-seat Playhouse will also serve as an alternate venue for concerts. If the 1,208-seat Grand is not available, event sponsors now have the option to book at The Playhouse.
