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Hoping for ‘Hamilton’ for Broadway 2016

With 36 plays and musicals on the Broadway lineup for this season, many of which have amazing reviews or big names to dazzle you as much as the theater lights, it can be hard to choose what performances your group would most enjoy.

To help narrow the choices on your list, we’ve picked five new shows that are sure to be great for any group. These shows come to the Broadway stage already supported by an impressive list of credentials.

‘Hamilton’

“Hamilton” tells the life story of Alexander Hamilton, the founder of the Federalist Party, and the person responsible for the Federalist Papers and the nation’s financial system. What sounds like another grade school history lesson is instead an exciting hip-hop musical that has captivated audiences since its debut last year.

Brenden Rogers, senior marketing and creative director for Broadway.com and Group Sales Box Office, described “Hamilton” as “the perfect storm, with incredible lighting, and incredible production and an incredible cast,” all coming together into a whirlwind that is making its mark on theater history.

“Hamilton” brings the story of our Founding Fathers to the Broadway stage in a theatrical performance that has been nominated for a record-setting 16 Tony awards at the 2016 ceremonies airing this month. The show has already received a Grammy for the Best Musical Theater Album and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, in addition to numerous off-Broadway awards.

“Hamilton” is now showing at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, and the show’s immense popularity has made tickets notoriously difficult to get. Fortunately, another staging will open at the PrivateBank Theatre in Chicago this September. A national tour is scheduled to start in select cities in 2017, with more showings yet to be announced.

www.hamiltonbroadway.com

Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Paramour’

“Paramour” is a show unlike any other: For the first time, Cirque du Soleil is combining its acrobatic feats with musical theater to tell the story of Indigo, a young actress caught in a love triangle in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

The show combines Cirque’s trademark acrobatic achievements and traditional theater elements, seamlessly bringing acrobats and actors together in multiple scenes. The show will feature 10 original songs with choreographed dance and acrobatic performances including a hand-to-trapeze act, a contortionist and aerial acrobatics over the heads of the audience.

Over the course of its six preview shows, Paramour grossed more than $1 million in sales for a strong start to what promises to be another well-received show.

“As with any of the shows from the Cirque brand, it’s a perfect fit for anyone young or old and all types of groups,” Rogers said.

Paramour is now showing at Broadway’s Lyric Theater.

www.cirquedusoleil.com/paramour

Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – The New Musical’

A childhood favorite of many will be brought to life on the American stage with “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” in 2017. Willy Wonka has invited the recipients of five golden tickets, as well as Broadway audiences, to see the inner workings of his factory, including its chocolate waterfalls and the great glass elevator.

In December 2013, the show broke the record for grossing the most — more than $1 million — in a single week; it has been seen by more than 1.8 million people since its London opening in June 2013. The production has been reworked for the American stage. Among the additions for the New York version is puppeteer Basil Twist, who will bring to life characters like Oompa Loompas and add special effects to numerous scenes, such as the transformation of Veruca Salt into a blueberry.

Now showing in London’s West End, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” will begin its U.S. run in March at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontaine Theatre.

www.charlieonbroadway.com

‘Anastasia’

“Anastasia,” the story of the lost Russian princess that has captivated the world for decades, is now a Broadway musical adaptation of the 1997 film. Sadly, Rasputin and Bartok the bat do not make an appearance. But fans that enjoyed the children’s story will not be disappointed with this more grown-up and historically accurate retelling of Anya’s meeting with Dmetry and the subsequent quest to uncover her identity and find where she belongs.

Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the duo that composed many of the famous songs from the 1997 film, have joined the creative team to bring elements from the movie to the stage. An original score incorporates some of the songs from the movie, among them “Once Upon a December” and “Rumor in St. Petersburg,” which have been reworked for the theater setting. Composers will create additional new songs for the stage adaptation.

The show had its world premiere in May at the Hartford Stage in Connecticut and will appear on Broadway in 2017.

www.hartfordstage.org/anastasia

‘Miss Saigon’

The much beloved “Miss Saigon” is set to return to New York in spring 2017, with a U.S. national tour to follow.

A reimagining of the well-known opera “Madame Butterfly,” the musical is set during the Vietnam War. An American soldier, Chris Scott, meets and falls in love with Kim, a Vietnamese barmaid, in 1970s Saigon shortly before the end of the war. The plot follows the story of the couple’s doomed romance until they are tragically reunited years later.

“Miss Saigon” is one of the most popular shows to hit the London stage; it is one of the top three longest-running West End productions of the last 50 years alongside “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “42nd Street.” It is also the 13th-longest-running show on Broadway, with 4,092 shows from its first New York appearance in 1991 to 2001.

www.miss-saigon.com