Two of Salt Lake City's biggest theater entities — Pioneer Theatre Company and the newly reorganized NewSpace Entertainment, the local link for the "Broadway Across America" touring shows — have announced their 2007-08 seasons.PIONEER THEATRE COMPANY, which is closing its current season with the record-breaking "Les Miserables," has a lineup that will include the world premiere of a newly revised version of the Lerner and Loewe classic, "Paint Your Wagon," being co-produced with Las Vegas-based producer Christopher Allen and is being touted as the potential jumping-off point for either a Broadway revival or a national tour.
PTC will also have the Utah premiere of John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, "Doubt," and is the first regional theater in the country to obtain the rights to Mel Brooks' musical version of "The Producers."
Utahns will also get their first look at British playwright David Hare's "The Vertical Hour," first staged in 2006 on Broadway about a young American war correspondent teaching political studies at Yale.
The season also includes a few classics — Ruth and Augustus Goetz' 1947 dramatization of Henry James' "Washington Square," the late Larry Shue's "The Foreigner" and Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
Here's the season line-up:
—Paint Your Wagon, Sept. 28-Oct. 13
—Doubt: A Parable, Nov. 2-17
—The Foreigner, Dec. 7-22
—The Vertical Hour, Jan. 11-26
—A Midsummer Night's Dream, Feb. 15-March 1
—The Heiress, March 14-29
—The Producers, April 25-May 10
Season ticket packages include a full seven-play option, a pick-5 option and a flex pass option. Bargain-hunters may opt for the seven play upper balcony option (all seven plays for a total of $70) or the $99 "rush pass," for the best available seats one hour prior to curtain (581-6961 or www.pioneertheatre.org).
THE ZIONS BANK BROADWAY ACROSS AMERICA season during 2007-08 will include such hot Broadway shows as "The Drowsy Chaperone," "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and "Disney's High School Musical," along with an all-new touring musical revue, "I Love a Piano," showcasing more than 60 Irving Berlin tunes.
The season also includes an off-Broadway hit, "Menopause, the Musical," a new revival of "Annie," a repeat engagement of "Mamma Mia!," performances by Kurt Bestor and Jim Brickman and a new one-woman comedy, "Around the World in a Bad Mood," written and performed by Rene Foss, a real-life flight attendant.
Subscribers will also be first in line for "Wicked, scheduled to run during the 2008-09 season.
The five mainstage touring shows are:
—I Love a Piano, Nov. 13-18, Capitol Theatre
—The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Feb. 26-March 2, Kingsbury Hall
—Annie, April 8-13, Kingsbury Hall
—The Drowsy Chaperone, June 25-29, Capitol Theatre
—Disney's High School Musical, July 29-Aug. 10, Capitol Theatre
Eight additional shows that are not part of the regular season (but which subscribers can sign up for now as "priority" events), are:
—Mama Mia!, July 31-March 5, Capitol Theatre
—Around the World in a Bad Mood, Oct. 23-Nov. 11, Leona Wagner Black Box Theatre, Rose Wagner Center
—A Kurt Bestor Christmas, Dec. 5-8, Abravanel Hall
—Riverdance, Feb. 5-10, Kingsbury Hall
—Jim Brickman, Feb. 14-15, Kingsbury Hall
—Menopause the Musical, Jan. 30-March 2, Jeanne Wagner Theatre
—Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy, March 4-5, Kingsbury Hall
—Stomp!, June 3-8, Capitol Theatre
Five-show season ticket packages range from $141 to $379, depending on performance (www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com). For group rates, call 355-5502. Single tickets will be available at a later date.
E-mail: ivan@desnews.com