There's been plenty of tea-leaf reading, including in this space, about the next season of Broadway touring shows for Hennepin Theatre Trust. But a couple more clues have surfaced with a season announcement from Seattle.
We already know "Hamilton" will be in the season that HTT is likely to announce some time in the next month, but what else will be in it? Some of the shows announced for Seattle have already been here ("Waitress") or will be soon ("School of Rock" opens at the Orpheum Theatre in March). But the Seattle season also includes some shows that are likely next on the horizon for Minneapolis.
Among them is the Broadway blockbuster, "Dear Evan Hansen," which has flirted with the same high demand and high prices as "Hamilton" has in New York. From the Oscar-winning songwriting team behind "La La Land" and "The Great Showman," "Evan Hansen" will open in Seattle in January 2019 as part of a tour that begins this October in Denver.
Another likely candidate is the Gloria and Emilio Estefan jukebox musical, "On Your Feet," which is currently on tour (it's in Des Moines next month) but which has not announced Twin Cities dates, and "Bright Star," a bluegrass show with music by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, is currently in Salt Lake City but has only announced a few other dates. The Roald Dahl adaptation, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," which opened on Broadway earlier this year, and a pared-back revival of "The Color Purple" are also headed to Seattle. And, perhaps, Minneapolis?
Meanwhile, a touring show to stop keeping your eyes peeled for is the musical version of "Groundhog Day." The Broadway flop had announced a tour to begin later this year, but its creators tweeted that the tour is canceled.
