Henry VIII's 'Six' wives are coming to the Ordway and so are 'My Fair Lady' and Patti LuPone

"Six," the electrifying musical about the six queens of Henry VIII, is returning from Broadway to the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, where it had a sold-out pre-New York run in 2019.

The splashy women empowerment show is part of the St. Paul performing arts venue's 2022-23 season that also includes Bart Sher's Lincoln Center production of "My Fair Lady," a homegrown version of "Beauty and the Beast" and the national tour of "A Soldier's Play," Charles Fuller's Pulitzer Prize-winning play that is staged by Tony winner Kenny Leon and stars Norm Lewis.

The Ordway also announced a series of concerts that brings the world to Minnesota and Minnesota to the world.

"We're going to take our audience on a journey," said Ordway president and CEO Chris Harrington, who described the lineup as big, bold and necessary after the nation's shared traumas.

"The Ordway is a community gathering space where people from all walks of life come to be entertained, to connect with friends and meet new people, to heal and escape," he said.

Its Broadway series kicks off with "Six," a pop-rock musical about the six wives of Henry VIII. All must contend with a tyrannical king but each finds strength (Oct. 25-Nov. 6).

"Beauty and the Beast" takes the holiday spot. While a director has not been named, some well-established Twin Cities performers have been announced as cast members, including Rajané Katurah as Belle, Thomasina Petrus as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Max Wojtanowicz as Cogsworth (Nov. 30-Dec. 31).

And "My Fair Lady," whose memorable tunes include "I Could've Danced All Night," "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "Just You Wait," kicks off springtime in Minnesota with its story of a street girl's transformation into a "lady" (March 21-25, 2023).

The Ordway's concert roster includes "Cuba Live," a show by Minnesota-based jazz star Nachito Herrera and the Havana Jazz All Stars (Sept. 24) and Damien Sneed's "Our Song, Our Story." A composer and conductor, Sneed moves easily among opera, art songs and spirituals and is being presented by the Arts Partnership, which includes not just the Ordway but also the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera and Schubert Club (Nov. 18).

The Grammy-winning Sounds of Blackness will present "Music for Martin," a stew of jazz, blues, spirituals, rock, gospel, hip-hop and soul (Jan. 13, 2023).

And Broadway legend Patti LuPone will perform a concert of standards, "Don't Monkey With Broadway." She will draw from the songbooks of Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, Stephen Schwartz, Charles Strouse, Stephen Sondheim and Irving Berlin (April 14, 2023).