WELCOME BACK THEATER TO THE BUSHNELL

Spring is in the air and vaccination shots are in the arm. Could this mean a touch of normalcy is in the offing? Yes, as Hartford’s Bushnell Theater Broadway series has just announced a season of shows starting this fall. To shake off the dust of quarantine, what better medicine could you get than a visit to the Caribbean sunshine with that tropical favorite Jimmy Buffett and his enticing “Escape to Margaritaville” from October 12 to 17, 2021. Don a flowered shirt and flip-flops and dip your margarita glass in rainbow sprinkles, orange zest and sugar, spicy chili powder and sea salt for a musical adventure in paradise. The doctor has prescribed getting away from it all and Margaritaville is surely the place to leave your inhibitions behind and dance your troubles away. Get your cocktail shaker ready to party! Winning ten Tony Awards, including Best Musical, “The Band’s Visit” centers around an Arab musical group that has come to Israel to perform at an Arab center. Due to a misunderstanding in language, they end up at an out of the way Israeli village where the residents find little to color their world with joy. The unexpected arrival of these strangers sets off a series of encounters that excite the souls on both sides, enlivened by the tantalizing music that is carried by the breeze of the desert air and changes lives forever. “The Band’s Visit” will make you laugh through your tears from November 16 to 21. Follow the true journey of a teenage girl Heidi who crosses the country entering debate competitions to earn her college tuition in the Tony nominated and Pulitzer Prize finalist “What the Constitution Means to Me” from January 26 to 30, 2022. Written by Heidi Schreck, it follows four generations of women as they react to this document that has shaped our history, This may offer you a unique opportunity to examine the impact the Constitution has on our freedoms, what we have sought to preserve, and what is so worth fighting to maintain. You will feel as if you could have danced all night when one feisty Cockney flower girl raises herself from the gutter, Eliza Doolittle, and takes on the formidable Professor Henry Higgins who claims he can make her a princess. This is truly great theater and a musical gift for the ages. Buy a posey of violets and follow Eliza as she is transformed into a “proper lady” In the incomparable “My Fair Lady” by Lerner and Lowe from March 8-13, 2022. Get ready to participate in an all new and definitely quirky evening of entertainment as Blue Man Group comes to town with its giant bag of tricks to surprise and delight. Join the 35 million guests from all over the globe who are already dedicated fans of these man in blue who play music and pulsate with originality, engaging the audience with their gags and gimmicks and joyful craziness. From March 17-20, you are invited to lose your inhibitions and just have fun. Evan Hansen is a troubled, unhappy teenager who writes a personal letter that is misplaced and then he compounds it with a lie, all in his attempt to be liked and accepted. Deeply emotional “Dear Evan Hansen” by Steven Levenson for book and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul for music, follows Evan and his need to be part of the community and the mistakes he makes trying to fit in and find friendship. From March 29 to April 3, 2022, you will find yourself swept along in Evan’s journey of self discovery as he works to gain the life he so desperately wants to live. Will he repair the bridges he needs to cross to become the young man he needs to be? What starts out as a business arrangement takes a curve to the left when wealthy entrepreneur Edward Lewis hires provocative prostitute Vivian Ward to be his “date” for a series of social events. In “Pretty Woman: The Musical” we get a glimpse into their intriguing relationship, one that will engage your heart strings and make you want to cheer them on to the wedding chapel. A captivating movie, it is now a Broadway sweetheart, complete with musical charm. From April 26 to May 1, you are invited to catch the romance and maybe even the bouquet. Here it comes again, the show by Lin-Manuel Miranda that has captured the country by historical storm. With a diverse blend of musical genres, from jazz to hip-hop, rhythm and blues to Broadway tunes, “Hamilton” is a pure genius of a theatrical event that tells the powerful story of one of our founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, based on Ron Chernow’s illuminating biography. From June 22 to July 10, appropriately over the 4th of July, our country’s history is retold as a moment in revolutionary time. See it for the first time, see it for the fifth time, but don’t miss this remarkable epic tale. This remarkable slate of theatrical delights has two more additions yet to be announced, “Hadestown” and “Mean Girls.” Prepare to go to the underworld where two Greek myths collide in musical splendor, the young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice as well as King Hades and his wife Persephone. The harsh and cold realities of winter propel Eurydice to fall under the spell of King Hades when he works to gain her love and trust and follow him to the underground where he rules with an iron fist. Orpheus pursues her and sings his special song to win her back. Will he succeed? Return to all the spitefulness and jealousy of high school when “Mean Girls” spreads its net over the new girl in town who does not begin to appreciate the viciousness that is stacked against her. Growing up on the savannah of Africa, with lions and tigers and gorillas, oh my, does not start to prepare her for the savage beasts of suburban Illinois. Can Cady Heron tame the wild ones and secure a place for herself without getting permanently injured? The Bushnell Broadway Series is co-sponsored by Aetna, a CVS Health Company, and Travelers. It includes eight postponed productions from the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 Broadway seasons. The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford can be reached at 860-987-5900 or online at bushnell.org/bushnellbroadway. Now is the time to place your order for entertainment and bring color and excitement back into your world.