Hobby Center Poised to Reopen

Broadway at the Hobby Center will officially bring Houston’s protracted intermission to a close when the acclaimed Lincoln Center production of Lerner & Loewe’s MY FAIR LADY takes the Hobby Center stage September 14-19, 2021, marking the beginning of its 2021-22 season. 

The 2021-22 Season will feature four Houston premieres, as well as winner of eight 2019 Tony® Awards including Best Musical, HADESTOWN. Additionally the season brings Tina Fey’s hilarious new musical comedy MEAN GIRLS, the beloved FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, the hilarious Broadway smash TOOTSIE, the aforementioned production of MY FAIR LADY, the musical that is melting hearts, FROZEN and Broadway mega-sensation HAMILTON. Also included are two season options, the inspiring true story BEAUTIFUL – THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL and Houston’s most “popular” musical WICKED.

"Houston is more than just a top four market; it’s a community of passionate theatergoers and cultural tastemakers. It happens to be my hometown, and it delights me to no end to think of patrons returning to the Hobby Center to experience these great shows,” Broadway League Chair Lauren Reid said. “Equally important is the economic impact of getting these productions back out on the road. Not only are we getting artists back on stage, but also putting production teams, crews, venue staff, and so many others back to work. We know that a one-week engagement can infuse more than $3M in local economic impact, bringing business to a range of sectors including restaurants, hotels, and retailers. We have all waited a long time for this moment, and I know that no theater lover will take it for granted."

Early ticket purchasing data indicates a renewed enthusiasm for live theatre from both new patrons and life-long theatre fans.

"Everyone in the entertainment sector was unsure how quickly live audiences would return, but the response proves people are longing for it. Approximately 25% of current Broadway at the Hobby Center 21-22 subscribers are first time subscribers. And based on sales trends, we expect that percentage to continue to grow," said Fran Macferran, President and CEO of the Hobby Center Foundation. "I think folks recognized the importance of the arts during this past year and that nothing can replace the shared experience of live performance."

The Hobby Center Foundation has been working very hard to prepare the venue for reopening. Integral in this process has been the establishment of a partnership with Houston Methodist as a health care advisor. Audiences can rest assured the Foundation has taken thoughtful steps to provide a healthy and safe environment for all subscribers, ticket holders, staff, volunteers, artists and all those who make up the Foundation’s community.

Broadway at the Hobby Center 2021-22 Season

MY FAIR LADY

September 14 –19, 2021

From Lincoln Center Theater that brought you The King & I and South Pacific, comes Lerner & Loewe’s MY FAIR LADY. Boasting such classic songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” “Wouldn’t It Be Lovely” and “On the Street Where You Live,” MY FAIR LADY tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady.”  But who is really being transformed?

TOOTSIE

November 16-21, 2021

This laugh-out-loud love letter to the theatre tells the story of Michael Dorsey, a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until one show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime.  Featuring a hilarious Tony®-winning book by Robert Horn and an outrageously clever score by 2018 Tony winner David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), this New York Times Critics Pick is a delight.

HADESTOWN

January 4-9, 2022

Come see how the world could be. Welcome to HADESTOWN, where a song can change your fate.  Winner of eight 2019 Tony® Awards including Best Musical and the 2020 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Theater Album, this acclaimed new musical by celebrated singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell and innovative director Rachel Chavkin (Natacha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) is a love story for today…and always. HADESTOWN intertwines two mythic tales – that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone – as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back.  Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love.  Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers and singers HADESTOWN is a haunting and hopeful theatrical experience that grabs you and never lets go.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

April 26-May 1, 2022

Tony Award®-winning director Bartlett Sher brings his fresh take on a beloved masterpiece to life.  Rich with musical hits you know and love, including “Tradition,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “If I Were A Rich Man,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “To Life (L’Chaim!),” this new production is “entirely fresh, funny and gorgeous” (New York Magazine).

Disney’s FROZEN

June 30-July 17, 2022

FROZEN, the Tony-nominated Best Musical is melting hearts on Broadway and across the country in an all-new production created for the stage by an award-winning team.  Heralded by The New Yorker as “thrilling” and “genuinely moving,” FROZEN features the songs you know and love from the original Oscar®-winning film, plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers by the film’s songwriters, Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez.  Joining them on a creative team that has won a cumulative 16 Tony Awards are Oscar winner Jennifer Lee (book), Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage (director), and Tony winner Rob Ashford (choreographer). An unforgettable theatrical experience filled with sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances, FROZEN is everything you want in a musical: It’s moving.  It’s spectacular.  And above all, it’s pure Broadway joy.

MEAN GIRLS

August 16-21, 2022

Direct from Broadway, MEAN GIRLS is the hilarious hit musical from an award-winning creative team, including book writer TINA FEY (“30 Rock), composer JEFF RICHMOND (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), lyricist NELL BENJAMIN (Legally Blonde) and director CASEY NICHOLAW (The Book of Mormon). Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois.  Soon, this naïve newbie falls prey to a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George.  But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.

7-SHOW SEASON ADD-ON

HAMILTON

February 22-March 20, 2022

HAMILTON is the story of America's Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation’s first Treasury Secretary.  Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B, and Broadway, HAMILTON is the story of America then, as told by America now.  

SEASON OPTIONS

BEAUTIFUL – THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL

June 3 – 5, 2022

BEAUTIFUL – The Carole King Musical tells the inspiring true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history.  Along the way, she made more than beautiful music, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation. Featuring a stunning array of beloved songs written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil, including “I Feel The Earth Move,” “One Fine Day,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “You’ve Got A Friend” and the title song, BEAUTIFUL has a book by and Tony® Award-nominee and Academy® Award-nominated writer Douglas McGrath, direction by Marc Bruni, choreography by Josh Prince, and took home two 2014 Tony® Awards and a 2015 Grammy® Award.

WICKED

May 31-July 2, 2023

So much happened before Dorothy dropped in. WICKED, the Broadway sensation, looks at what happened in the Land of Oz…but from a different angle.  Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another young woman, born with emerald-green skin-smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent.  When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships…until the world decides to call one “good,” and the other one “wicked.” From the first electrifying note to the final breathtaking moment, WICKED–the untold true story of the Witches of Oz–transfixes audiences with its wildly inventive story that USA Today cheers is “a complete triumph! An original musical that will make you laugh, cry, and think.”