Lions and tigers...and ABBA... & Juliet — oh my! Theater programming announcement season is upon us, and first up is Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center, which just dropped its 2024-2025 lineup filled with direct-from-Broadway smash hits, along with some surprise classic revivals.
Many of the shows on the lineup are recent Tony Awards nominees or winners, like & Juliet, Shucked, and Life of Pi. But, the roster also contains some timeless classics getting 21st-century refreshes, including Peter Pan, Parade, The Wiz, and Mama Mia! And with the revolutionary Hamilton back for a third stop in Houston, there might be a show for absolutely everyone.
“From intimate plays to big, bold musicals — some with original composition and others that weave beloved songs into new narratives — this season showcases a thrilling scope of work,” notes Hobby Center CEO Mark Folkes in press materials. “We'll journey from the joy-filled exuberance of Mamma Mia to the breath-taking spectacle and masterful use of puppetry in the play Life of Pi and the important, powerful storytelling of Parade. Combine those with in-demand new musicals, popular revivals, and the return of perennial audience favorites and the 2024-2025 season offers something for every audience member to fall in love with.”
While we’ve still got plenty of shows to go this spring for the rest of the 2023-2024 season, we can’t wait for Hobby's new lineup.
Peter Pan (October 1-6)
The season opens with the first of several revivals. The story of the high-flying, pirate-fighting boy who refuses to grow up gets a new adaptation from acclaimed playwright Larissa FastHorse and new direction from Emmy Award winner Lonny Price with choreography from Lorin Latarro. The classic songs from the original musical will remain, including I’m Flying,” “I Gotta Crow,” “I Won’t Grow Up,” and “Neverland.”
Shucked (November 19-24)
If Broadway shows could mate and the two legendary oldies — Brigadoon and The Music Man — ever had a Gen Z baby, that baby would be this award-winning musical.
Shucked centerson a lost, magical farming town that needs the help of a Florida (con)man to save its dying corn harvest. It features an original book by Robert Horn and an original score by Grammy Award–winning songwriting team of Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally filled and with numbers like the “Corn” song, the “Corn (reprise)” song and the finale showstopper, “Corn Mix.”
Tis is one musical that loves four things: love stories, down home dance numbers, corn, and every corny pun it can sow and reap.
The Book of Mormon (January 7-12, 2025)
Start the 2025 with this season option add-on, one of the most outrageous musicals to grace a Broadway stage from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with Frozen songwriter and EGOT winner, Robert Lopez.
The explicit language-laced comedy with a heart of gold follows the adventures of a mismatched pair of Mormon missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word.
& Juliet (January 21-26, 2025)
The smart, hilarious book from Emmy-winning Schitt’s Creek writer, David West Read, along with a banger of a playlist from songwriter producer Max Martin made this vivacious jukebox musical a smash on Broadway and London’s West End.
The premise: What if Anne (Shakespeare’s wife, not the actress) Hathaway has editorial notes for her hubby as he writes Romeo & Juliet — and what if that includes Juliet ditching dead Romeo and living her best life in Paris?
As both Anne and Will insert themselves into the narrative, Juliet finds her groove singing songs you’ll likely know every lyric, from "Since U Been Gone” to “It’s My Life,” “Stronger” to “I Want It That Way.”
Hamilton (March 4-23, 2025)
Photo by Matthew Murphy
A new Peter Pan takes flight.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s revolutionary show that changed musical theater makes its way back to Houston for a three-week stay. Based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography, the hip hop historical retelling of founding father Alexander Hamilton’s story redefined what a musical can be.
Hamilton still manages to pack into three hours of onstage singing, rapping and hip-hop dancing some essence of the promise and tragedies of America, as both the real country we live in today and a diverse dream of millions of immigrants and citizens across 200 years.
Mamma Mia! (April 8-13, 2025)
Expect a new production of the feel-good musical that sets sail to that Greek island paradise where the sun always shines and everyone’s a dancing queen.
On the eve of her wedding, a daughter’s quest to discover the father she’s never known brings three men from her mother’s past back to the island they last visited decades ago. Set to the music of ABBA hits, this “Super Trouper” show is always an audience fav.
The Wiz (April 29-May 4, 2025)
The Wiz eases down the road “home” to stages across America in an all-new Broadway tour, the first one in 40 years. This groundbreaking twist on The Wizard of Oz changed the face of Broadway – literally — from its iconic score packed with soul, gospel, rock, and ’70s funk, to its stirring tale of Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world.
This revival is directed by Schele Williams (The Notebook, revival of Disney’s Aida), choreography by JaQuel Knight (Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies,” Black is King) with new additional material by Tony and Emmy-nominated writer and TV host Amber Ruffin.
The Wiz’s dynamic infusion of ballet, jazz, and modern pop brings a “Believe in Yourself” philosophy we’ll all take home.
Parade (July 15-20, 2025)
The last revival of the season just happens to be the winner of the 2023 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. It also boasts an award-heavy creative team including revival director, Tony-winning Michael Arden; a book written by Pulitzer Prize winner and Oscar winner, Alfred Uhry; music and lyrics by three-time Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown; and it's co-conceived by Broadway legend, Harold Prince.
Set at the turn of the 20th century, the dramatic and still very timely story depicts newlywed Jewish couple, Leo and Lucille Frank, struggling to make a life in the old red hills of Georgia. When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion.
Riveting and gloriously hopeful, Parade reminds us that to love, we must truly see one another.
Life of Pi (August 19-24, 2025)
Based on the internationally award-winning novel and visually arresting film, this show won three Tony Awards and the Olivier Award for Best Play.
After a shipwreck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a 16-year-old boy named Pi survives on a lifeboat with four companions— a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Royal Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.
Told with jaw-dropping visuals, world-class puppetry, and exquisite stagecraft, this stunning show creates a breathtaking journey filled with drama, awe and joy.
