Paramount Theatre announces its 2022-23 Broadway Series

Paramount Theatre announces its 2022-23 Broadway Series—and the beginning of its second decade—starting this September.

“The promise of Season Eleven is a theatrical panorama of magnificent orchestras and a rock ‘n’ roll romp telling tales of making music and family on the merits of some of the most popular Broadway shows ever written for the stage,” said Paramount Artistic Director Jim Corti. “At once classical and contemporary, there is something for everyone here gathering us together, laughing and loving in sync, discovering loss and joy and what perhaps we have most in common: ‘No one is alone.’”

The complete series is as follows:

Dreamgirls

August 31st – October 16th, 2022
Opening Night: Friday, September 9th, 8 p.m.

Book and Lyrics by Tom Eyen
Music by Henry Krieger
Original Broadway production directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett
Orchestrations by Harold Wheeler
Produced on Broadway by Michael Bennett, Robert Avian, Geffen Records, and The Shubert Organization
Directed by Christopher Betts

It’s the 1960s where the sound of Motown is on the rise. Meet the Dreamettes, Effie, Deena and Lorrell, three women trying to break their way onto the music scene. When car salesman Curtis Taylor Jr. signs the trio to a record label, he sets in motion a series of events that will forever change their lives, for better and for worse. Join the Dreamgirls as they navigate the highs and lows of life, love and fame. And remember, all you gotta do is dream.

Dreamgirls was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Originally from Chicago, director Christopher Betts makes his hometown debut with Dreamgirls. Betts is a New York-based writer, director and professor, currently earning his MFA at Yale School of Drama. He was the 2017-18 Julie Taymor World Theater Fellow, and received his BFA in drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

The Sound of Music

November 9th, 2022–January 8th, 2023
Opening Night: Friday, November 18th, 8 p.m.

Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
Directed by Amber Mak

When Maria, a prospective nun is sent to be the governess of seven children for a captain of the Navy, she finds herself unexpectedly questioning her life path as she falls in love with the entire family. Music is at the heart of what unites them as they face tough decisions as Austria, their homeland, is on the brink of World War II. Do they stay or do they leave?

Director Amber Mak has staged so many unforgettable Paramount blockbusters, including Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, nominated for six Jeff Awards including Best Musical, The Wizard of Oz, which earned seven Jeff nominations including Best Musical and Best Director. Just wait until you experience Mak’s staging of The Sound of Music, a nine-time Tony Award nominee and winner of Best Musical. Bring the family for a holiday outing at Paramount Theatre, where the lobby will be decked out in Christmas decorations and a two-story Christmas tree.

Into the Woods

February 1st–March 19th, 2023
Opening Night: Friday, February 10th, 8 p.m.

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Originally directed on Broadway by James Lapine
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Original Broadway production by Heidi Landesman, Rocco Landesman, Rick Steiner, M. Anthony Fisher, Frederic H. Mayerson, and Jujamcyn Theaters
Originally produced by The Globe Theater, San Diego, CA
Directed by Jim Corti

A red cape, a strand of yellow hair, a golden shoe and a white cow. It’s these four items that send a baker and his barren wife through the woods on a magical journey to reverse a spell cast by an evil witch. Throw in Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella and you have one of the most astounding and original fairytale retellings the stage has ever seen. If you’ve seen The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast or Cinderella on Paramount’s stage, then you know the spectacle and extravagance that awaits you in Stephen Sondheim’s brilliant reimagining, nominated for ten Tony Awards, and winner, Best Score.

Paramount’s trip Into the Woods will be staged by Artistic Director JIm Corti, Chicago’s only theater artist to have won Jeff Awards as an actor, choreographer and director, responsible for such Paramount past hits as Newsies, The Producers, Sweeney Todd and Les Misérables.

School of Rock

April 12th–May 28th, 2023
Opening Night: Friday, April 21st, 8 p.m.

Based on the Paramount movie by Mike White
Book by Julian Fellowes
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by Glenn Slater
Directed by Trent Stork

From the genius mind of Andrew Lloyd Webber comes a rousing, feel-good and inspirational story of kids at a prestigious prep school. Wannabe rocker, Dewey Finn, has just been kicked out of his band, he can’t pay rent and his life is falling apart. When he scams his way into a teaching job meant for his roommate, Dewey turns a class of straight-A pupils into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band. Dewey’s love of music and rock soon inspires the kids to pursue what they love. 

Based on the hit movie starring Jack Black, School of Rock was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The director of School of Rock is Trent Stork, who staged Paramount’s hit productions of Kinky Boots and Legally Blonde.

About Paramount Theatre

Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., is the center for performing arts in Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois. The beautiful, 1,843-seat theater, graced with a strong 1930s Art Deco influence and original Venetian décor, nationally known for its high-quality productions, superb acoustics and historic grandeur, has been the anchor of downtown Aurora since 1931.

After launching its own Broadway Series in 2011, Paramount Theatre grew to be the second largest subscription house in the U.S. Before Covid, more than 41,000 subscribers from all over Chicagoland and the Midwest were enjoying Paramount’s critically acclaimed, 2019-20 Broadway-caliber productions. In addition, Paramount also presents an array of internationally known comedians, musicians, dance troupes and family shows annually.

Paramount Theatre is one of four live performance venues programmed and managed by the Aurora Civic Center Authority. ACCA also oversees downtown Aurora’s newly renovated 165-seat Copley Theatre, home to Paramount’s new BOLD Series, along with the Paramount School of the Arts, RiverEdge Park, the city’s 6,000-seat outdoor summer concert venue, and Stolp Island Theatre, an immersive space opening in summer 2023.

Paramount Theatre continues to expand its artistic and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Tim Rater, President and CEO, Aurora Civic Center Authority; Jim Corti, Artistic Director, Paramount Theatre; a dedicated Board of Trustees and a devoted staff of live theater and music professionals.

For the latest updates, visit ParamountAurora.com or follow @ParamountAurora on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.