Written by Carol Kassie
The Playhouse 2024-2025 Season will feature top-tier performers, classic musicals, comedy, and nostalgia.
DELRAY BEACH, FL: The Delray Beach Playhouse announced its lineup for the 2024-2025 season today, and once again the beloved venue will offer a wide variety of programming designed to please its long-time patrons, as well as to attract new and diverse audiences to what is often referred to as ‘the gem of a theatre on the shores of Lake Ida.’
“Our historic theater enters its 78th season with a jam-packed lineup of big-name musicals, mysteries and cabaret acts sure to please everyone,” says Playhouse Executive Director Kevin Barrett. “We will host over 250 performances next season in Delray Beach, making us the premier theater destination in this popular city to enjoy the best intimate live performances in music, theater, drama and comedy.”
This year’s Main Stage Play Series will begin in November with Mel Brooks’ multiple Tony Award-winning musical comedy The Producers. It will be followed, in January, by Jimmy Buffet’s Escape to Margaritaville. Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express is on track for March, and the season will conclude in May with the lushly romantic musical, The Bridges of Madison County.
The Best of Broadway Cabaret proved to be a popular addition to the Playhouse lineup last season; the series’ second season will begin in December with Bachelors of Broadway/Gentlemen of the Theatre. In January, Broadway/television/film star Tovah Feldshuh will return to the Playhouse with her one-person tour-de-force Tovah is Leona! This Could Be the Start, starring singer/actress Linda Purl is scheduled for February, John Lloyd Young, Broadway’s Jersey Boy will perform classic hits of the 50’s and 60’s in March, and in May South Florida’s own Michael Ursua will present an all-new musical revue, Sing Me a Showtune.
The nostalgic concert series Feelin’ Groovy will also return to the Playhouse next season. Starring Joan Friedenberg and Bill Bowen, who perform as The PinkSlip Duo, the series will pay tribute to folk icons Peter Paul & Mary, perform pop hits by Jewish artists, and celebrate women singer songwriters of the 60s and 70s.
After a highly successful debut season at the Playhouse Boca Stage will return with four diverse theatrical presentations in the Off Broadway Series; the popular Playhouse Presents lineup of 35 plus concerts, comedy shows, and special engagements will be announced later this summer. Subscriptions for all series are on sale now. The individual ticket sales date is still to be announced. Ticket prices will vary, and group rates will be available. More information about all these productions, including show descriptions and logos, is available on the theatre’s website: delraybeachplayhouse.com.
The Delray Beach Playhouse is located at 950 NW 9th Street, in Delray Beach, 33444. (561-272-1281). For more information about The Delray Beach Playhouse visit delraybeachplayhouse.com.
Delray Beach Playhouse Mainstage Productions:
The Producers – A Mel Brooks Musical
November 22 – December 15, 2024
Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks
Bialystock and Bloom! Those names should strike terror and hysteria in anyone familiar with Mel Brooks’ classic cult comedy film. A misfortuned Broadway producer and his mild-mannered accountant come up with a scheme to produce the most notorious flop in history, scamming their investors, all elderly ladies, out of millions of dollars. Only one problem: the show is a smash hit! Follow Max and Leo as they fecklessly maneuver finding a show, hiring a director, raising the money and eventually going to prison for their misdeeds. At the core of the insanely funny adventure is a poignant emotional journey of two very different men who become friends.
Escape to Margaritaville
January 31 – February 23, 2025
Book by Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley
Music and Lyrics by Jimmy Buffett
Welcome to Margaritaville, where people come to get away from it all and stay to find something they never expected! Tully is a part-time bartender, part-time singer and full-time charmer who thinks he’s got life all figured out—until a beautiful tourist steals his heart and makes him question everything. The hilarious and Heartwarming show, ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE is the new musical comedy featuring both original songs and your most-loved Jimmy Buffett classics, including “Fins,” “Volcano,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and any more. With a book by Emmy Award winner Greg Garcia and Emmy Nominee Mike o’ Malley, this hilarious, heartwarming and relatable love story is the party you’ve been waiting for! So, ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE at the Delray Beach Playhouse this winter. It’s more than a musical, it’s a way of life!
Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
March 21 – April 13, 2025
Adapted from the book by Agatha Christie by Ken Ludwig
Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer – in case he or she decides to strike again.
The Bridges of Madison County
May 9 – May 25, 2025
Book by Marsha Norman
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Adapted from the book by Robert James Waller
Developed by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World) and Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norma, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY captures the lyrical expanse of America’s heartland along with the yearning entangled in the eternal question, “What if…?” Francesca Johnson, a beautiful Italian woman who married an American soldier to flee war-ravaged Italy, looks forward to a rare four days alone on her Iowa farm when her family heads to the 1965 State Fair. When ruggedly handsome, National Geographic photographer, Robert Kincaid, pulls into her driveway seeking directions, though, what happens in those four days may very well alter the course of Francesca’s life. This sweeping romance about the roads we travel, the doors we open and the bridges we dare to cross will leave audiences breathless!
Best of Broadway Cabaret Series:
Bachelors of Broadway/Gentlemen of the Theatre
December 16 – 18, 2024
Tovah is Leona! Starring Tovah Feldshuh
January 6 – 10, 2025
This Could Be the Start – Starring Linda Purl
February 10 – 13, 2025
Broadway’s Jersey Boy – Starring John Lloyd Young
March 24 – 27, 2025
Sing Me a Showtune – Created by Michael Ursua
May 12 – 15, 2025
Nostalgic Concert Series: Feelin’ Groovy:
The Story and Songs of Peter, Paul & Mary
December 3 & 4, 2024
Pop Hits by Jewish Artists
February 4 & 5, 2025
Celebrating Women Singer-Songwriters of the 60s & 70s
April 1 & 2, 2025
