Five musicals will be presented at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

February 9th, 2024

Currently enjoying a record-breaking season and the receipt of the Bill von Maurer Award bestowed by the Carbonell Awards for the totality of its programming, Slow Burn Theatre Company announces its 2024/2025 Season. Supported by American National Bank, the season in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts features five musicals with enduring stories that have captivated audiences in movie theaters and on stage: The Witches of Eastwick; Anastasia The Musical; Parade; Something Rotten!; and The Bodyguard The Musical.

“We have put together an exciting and eclectic season that is tied together with the common element of each musical delivering highly theatrical, dramatic and engaging experiences,” said Slow Burn Theatre Artistic Director Patrick Fitzwater. “True to our mission, we can’t wait to introduce audiences to the rarely performed The Witches of Eastwick and The Bodyguard The Musical while Parade is a tremendous piece that was recently revived on Broadway. It wouldn’t be a season if we didn’t put our spin on some of the biggest Broadway blockbusters which we’ll do with Anastasia The Musical and Something Rotten!”

Subscriptions to the five-show season are currently on sale with tickets to individual performances going on sale Friday, June 7.  

Just in time for Halloween, Slow Burn Theatre opens the season with The Witches of Eastwick October 19 – Nov. 3. The original West End production was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Musical and is based on the 1984 novel of the same name by John Updike and the basis for the 1987 film starring Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer. In the tiny New England town of Eastwick, three modern day witches innocently plot and conjure over a heady brew of weak martinis and peanut butter brownies. But when their shared desire for “all manner of man in one man” arrives in the form of charismatic stranger Darryl Van Horne, all hell breaks loose. The muscal has book and lyrics by John Dempsey and music by Dana P. Rowe, the creative team behind Zombie Prom and The Fix.

The season unwraps Anastasia The Musical during the holidays Dec. 21 – Jan. 5 with a book by celebrated playwright Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Inspired by beloved films, the musical transports audiences from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past. Pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer determined to silence her, Anya enlists the aid of a dashing conman and a lovable ex-aristocrat. Together, they embark on an epic adventure to help her find home, love, and family. This spectacular musical about discovering who you are and defining who you’re meant to be has a soaring score including the song favorites from the hit animated film, “Journey to the Past” and “Once Upon a December.” 

Winner of the 1999 Tony Awards for Best Score (Jason Robert Brown, who also wrote the lyrics) and Best Book of a Musical (Alfred Uhry) as well as 2023 Tony for Best Revival of a Musical, Parade reminds us around Valentine’s Day (Feb. 8 – 23) that to love, we must truly see one another. The musical follows a newlywed Jewish couple, Leo and Lucille Frank, who are 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. 

Not content with just one day, Slow Burn Theatre delivers two weeks of April foolishness with Something Rotten! March 29 – April 13. Proclaimed “Broadway’s big, fat hit!” by the New York Post and nominated for 10 Tony Awards, this hilarious smash journeys back to 1595 as brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom compete to write a hit play against the popularity of the insufferable superstar Shakespeare. When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, they set out to write the world’s first musical. With its heart on its ruffled sleeve and sequins in its soul, the musical added up to a winner with New York Magazine proclaiming it“The Producers + The Book of Mormon x The Drowsy Chaperone. Squared!” 

Slow Burn Theatre’s 2024/2025 Season culminates with a sizzling summer production of the West End hit The Bodyguard The Musical June 7 – 22.  Former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge; what they don’t expect is to fall in love. This breathtakingly romantic thriller features a host of irresistible classics including “Queen of the Night,” “So Emotional,” “One Moment in Time,” “Saving All My Love,” “Run to You,” “I Have Nothing,” “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” and one of the biggest-selling songs of all time, “I Will Always Love You.”

Major support for the Slow Burn Theatre Company is provided by the Broward County Cultural Division, the Cultural Council and the Broward County Board of County Commissioners and sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

Ticketmaster is the only official ticketing service of the Broward Center and The Parker. Buy tickets online at BrowardCenter.org, or Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954.462.0222; in person at the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office. 

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located at 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. For more information visit BrowardCenter.org, like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BrowardCenter and Facebook.com/BrowardCenterEducation, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BrowardCenter, subscribe to our channel at YouTube.com/user/BrowardCenter and join the conversation with #BrowardCenter.

The Broward Center 2023/2024 season is supported by the Broward Performing Arts Foundation. AutoNation, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, Spirit and UHealth University of Miami Health System. Programs are also sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts.

About The Broward Center for the Performing Arts 
One of America’s premier performing arts venues, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts presents more than 700 performances each year to more than 700,000 patrons, showcasing a wide range of exciting cultural programming and events. Guest experiences at the Broward Center include the all-inclusive Spirit Club Level and UHealth-University of Miami Health System Intermezzo Lounge, special events in the Huizenga Pavilion, waterfront dining at Marti’s New River Bistro and innovative classes and workshops for all ages at the Rose Miniaci Arts Education Center. With one of the largest arts-in-education programs in the United States, the Broward Center serves more than 100,000 students annually. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located at 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. For more information, visit BrowardCenter.org.