Touring Broadway shows continue to be big-ticket affairs, even as the industry has gotten more risk-averse since the COVID-19 pandemic — with sales for these productions declining a worrying 2.4% during the previous season, according to The Broadway League.
That’s why the industry has moved further into movie adaptations, proven hits and revivals over new material, from “Mean Girls” and “Beetlejuice” to “Funny Girl” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Producing a Broadway show such as “Hamilton” or “The Book of Mormon” costs $11 to $12 million, according to Playbill. Disney’s stage adaptation of “Frozen,” which saw its pre-Broadway run in Denver in 2017 before its official Buell Theatre debut in June, cost a whopping $30 million. It had already closed on Broadway in 2020, The New York Times reported, as an early victim of the pandemic. But it’s making its money back on the road.
Most touring Broadway shows presented by the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) feature a handful of relatively affordable tickets that, while not the best in the house, allow budget-conscious fans to experience the same titles as front-and-center patrons.
Here are five shows coming to Denver Performing Arts Complex that you can see for around $50 — or potentially less, since past ticket lotteries have offered seats for “Hamilton,” “The Book of Mormon,” “Six,” “Wicked,” and other shows for as low as $10. Note: the $50-and-under tickets closely hug the left and right sides of the theater, in both the orchestra and balcony sections, which can result in less-than-ideal stage views (though most action takes place center stage). Not all shows are on sale yet to the general public.
Watch denverpost.com/tag/broadway-theater for the latest ticket lotteries and on-sale dates, and buy passes for Buell Theatre shows at denvercenter.org/tickets-events. All discount tickets are priced at $46.
“Kimberly Akimbo”
Making its national touring premiere at the Buell Theatre Sept. 22-Oct. 5, the road version of this Tony-winning musical promises to be an absurd delight that delves into familiar themes in surprising ways. Comedy and tragedy intermingle (as ever) as the plucky New Jersey adolescent Kimberly readjusts to a family move, social pressures, and a rare genetic condition that causes her to age rapidly. What now? (Exactly.)
“Funny Girl”
Isobel Lennart’s all-time-great musical, which first hit Broadway in 1964, got raves for its New York revival, and now it’s headed for Denver. The new version’s Buell Theatre debut will feature Jule Styne and Bob Merrill’s earworm songs (“Don’t Rain On My Parade,” “I’m the Greatest Star,” and “People”) but also an updated book by Harvey Fierstein and new choreography to tell the tale of Lower East Side hopeful Fanny Brice and her dramatic rise to fame. Runs Dec. 10-22.
“Life of Pi”
This tale of a lifeboat-bound boy and his animal companions is sturdy enough to have morphed from novel to movie to Broadway show with raves at every turn. And if you’ve seen any of them, you’ll know it’s a challenge to bring 16-year-old Pi’s animal companions (a hyena, zebra, orangutan and Royal Bengal tiger) to life — which this production does with puppets. So how did it win a trio of Tony awards? With smart design and being great at everything else. Runs March 18-30, 2025. Tickets are not yet on sale, but a pre-sale is open to subscribers, with $46 general on-sale tickets expected to be available.
“& Juliet”
Revisiting classics from the perspective of different characters is a time-honored move, but “& Juliet” uses Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” as a jumping-off point for a meta-musical about second chances. Playing June 4-15, 2025, “& Juliet” reinterprets the characters with humor and pop music (“Since U Been Gone‚? “Roar,” “Baby One More Time,” “Larger Than Life” — all written or co-written by Max Martin) and asks what her life would be like if she hadn’t ended it over her beau. Tickets are not yet on sale, but a pre-sale is open to subscribers, with $46 general on-sale tickets expected to be available.
“Moulin Rouge! The Musical”
Familiar names abound at the Buell this year this season — see “Mama Mia!,” “Some Like It Hot,” “Addams Family,” “Back to the Future,” and “The Wiz” — but one you shouldn’t miss is “Moulin Rouge.” The second Denver visit from the Broadway adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 movie will be a full-stop triumph that offers everything you could want from a stage production. It’s “remixed,” as DCPA says, with new songs and choreography, and arguably improves upon the romance-heavy, bohemian-vs-aristocrats source material. Running Aug. 5-10, 2025. Tickets are not yet on sale, but a pre-sale is open to subscribers, with $46 general on-sale tickets expected to be available.
