Ordway's 2014-15 to include 'Evita,' 'A Christmas Story,' 'Grease'

A little Gilbert & Sullivan, a big Argentine diva and an interactive celebration of the music of "Grease" are all on tap at the Ordway next season.

Announced Monday, the St. Paul venue kicks off its 2014-15 theater slate with "Sing-a-Long-a Grease," which invites audience members to lend their voices to a screening of the John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John film (July 30-31).

That will be followed by a return engagement of "Evita," the Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber show that recently concluded a successful run at the Orpheum in Minneapolis (Aug. 14-19).

Autumn will bring "Nice Work If You Can Get It," a new musical comedy set in the 1920s and using the music of George and Ira Gershwin (Oct. 14-19).

In the holiday slot, the Ordway will produce its own version of "A Christmas Story: The Musical," which had a limited Broadway run in 2012. Adapted from the popular 1983 film, the show focuses on a boy who wants a BB gun for Christmas (Nov. 29-Dec. 28).

The next three shows are all touring productions: "The Illusionists," a show by seven magicians (March 24-29, 2015); Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance" (April 7-12, 2015), and Lerner & Loewe's "Camelot" (May 12-17, 2015).

The theater season will conclude with an Ordway staging of "Damn Yankees," the classic retelling of Faust, translated to the world of Major League Baseball (June 16-21, 2015).

There is a strong focus on Cuba, starting with Twin Cities transplant Nachito Herrera and His Cuban Orchestra (Oct. 5) and continuing with the Creole Choir of Cuba (Oct. 22) and Contra-Tiempo, the Afro-Cuban dance theater company (Feb. 7, 2015).

The music lineup also features charismatic Côte d'Ivoire singer-songwriter Dobet Gnahoré (Jan. 11, 2015) and the traditional Irish group Cherish the Ladies (March 17, 2015).

The Ordway's dance card includes a concert by virtuosic dancer and choreographer Camille A. Brown, known for telling stories with bodies. That show will be presented at St. Catherine University's O'Shaughnessy Auditorium (Feb. 21, 2015).

The dance season ends with a performance by Diavolo, a company whose acrobatic choreography is influenced by martial arts, hip-hop, gymnastics and ballet (April. 18, 2015).

Subscription packages are now on sale, with individual tickets offered beginning June 23. Tickets may be purchased at www.ordway.org, by phone at 651-224-4222 or in person at the Ordway Center box office.