Web-Evan-04-14-2020
"Dear Evan Hansen" is an emotional rollercoaster that touches a nerve for audiences of many ages.
There are some situations that call for optimism, and right now planning for Overture Center’s reopening and the debut of the 2020-2021 season calls for those positive thoughts by the truckload. But VP of Programming & Community Engagement Tim Sauers is up for the challenge. “We’re looking forward. We’re planning for the future, for a time when we can finally all come together again.”
To announce the upcoming roster of performing arts experiences, Sauers normally hosts a celebratory evening in Overture Hall for hundreds of Broadway fans and regular arts center patrons. In between video clips and mini performances he regales the enthusiastic crowd with personal recommendations and testimonials about the lineup of music, dance, theater, comedy, classic film and children’s programming. This year, due to the current shelter-at-home order, he chatted about the upcoming season via Facebook on April 13, interacting only digitally with fans across southern Wisconsin.
“It’s important right now for everyone to remember that we’re here and we’re still operating,” he said, reflecting on the “new normal.”
“The work that we’re planning is relevant — maybe more relevant than ever. I mean, look at what the arts do for us, especially in times like these. If there’s one thing we’ve all learned from watching performances on our screens, it’s that there’s nothing like being in the room together for a live show. And we will happen again.”
With more than 40 events planned, kicking off in mid-September, Overture has indeed programmed a lot of great shows to look forward to. Here are some of the highlights:
Most eagerly anticipated Broadway show: Dear Evan Hansen
At the top of Sauers’ list, and also mine, is the 2017 Tony- and Grammy Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen, which made Ben Platt a star and introduced social media as an important character in a story about searching for social acceptance. With a dynamite score, compelling interpersonal complications, a real look at parent/child relationships, and the consequences of a white lie going viral, it’s an emotional rollercoaster that touches a nerve for audiences of many ages. And its anthem, “You Will be Found,” is a message that we all need to hear. Sauers says the subject matter is “super relevant” and that this title was at the top of the wish list in Broadway Across America’s audience surveys.
Most surprising tour: Oklahoma!
This is not your mom’s quaint piece of Americana where the “wind comes sweeping down the plain,” and the farmer and the cowman do a hoedown celebrating manifest destiny. It’s the highly acclaimed production that both shocked and energized Broadway in 2018, updated to the 21st century and directed through a decidedly modern lens by Daniel Fish. While some audiences were astounded by the imaginative take, others may bristle at the departure from tradition. “It’s definitely polarizing,” Sauers admits. “But the stripped-down version really lets the audience look at these people and their relationships in a new way…. This production tells the story in a completely different way, but nothing in the source material is changed. They stripped the cast down, changed the orchestrations, and put the band onstage as a character in the show. But it’s the same lyrics, the same music, the same lines.”
The most charming musical you’ve probably never heard of: The Prom
Sauers grins as he describes this hot fudge sundae of a show. The Prom is a musical comedy about four fading Broadway stars who try to boost their cred by helping an Indiana teenager who was banned from bringing her girlfriend to her high school prom. “It is charming,” says Sauers. “With a book by Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone) it’s full of offbeat humor. And it’s got a powerful message that’s important and relevant right now. A beautiful show. The music is fun, the choreography is great and the story is important.” Even with all this going for it, The Prom is not going to every midsize city in the country. “Madison was chosen as a good audience for this show due to its progressive nature,” says Sauers. With a movie version in the works, featuring Meryl Streep, James Corden, Andrew Rannells, Nicole Kidman and Kerry Washington, Madison will be one of the lucky places where theatergoers can see it live before it hits the big screen.
The unlikeliest Broadway hit: What the Constitution Means to Me
Playwright Heidi Schreck’s semi-autobiographical play examines the laws and governing documents that created this country and how they fundamentally left women out of the equation. A quiet, mostly one-person show, the narrator weaves in tales of her own coming of age, along with sad histories of her mother and great-grandmother as she traces the history of America and the evolution of its principles. In an interesting, audience participation section at the end of the performance, she engages in a debate with a current high school student about whether to scrap the Constitution altogether. It’s a fascinating, thought-provoking evening that is as far from a Broadway musical extravaganza as it can possibly be. Audiences will be glad they investigated this counterpoint to kick lines and tap numbers.
Diversity of cultures and styles
“One of the things that stands out for me, in preparing for the season announcement, is this year’s strong emphasis on multicultural offerings,” says Sauers. For example, Mariachi Herencia de Mexico is back. This Latin Grammy-nominated group of young Mexican American musicians from Chicago will perform songs from their latest album. Doodle POP is a children’s take on K-pop. “From South Korea, they do all this amazing doodling and non-verbal storytelling, along with animation and live music,” Sauers explains. Ranky Tanky, a Grammy Award-winning, Charleston-based quintet, will perform music from the Gullah culture of the southeastern Sea Islands. A Quest for Freedom, performed by Nai-Ni Chen and the Ahn Trio, uses music and dance to explore the common roots of Asian American immigrants and women artists developing innovative work in America. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is coming back for a one-night engagement and Afrique en Cirque will showcase circus-based acrobatics integrated with African music.
Looking ahead
Check out Overture’s complete season on its website and absorb some of the optimism that is required to imagine 2,000 people in one auditorium, being awed by a singular experience that is impossible to replicate on a screen.
