New Broadway in Worcester season features Tony winners Jessie Mueller and Santino Fontana
The Broadway in Worcester series will feature Tony Award winners Jessie Mueller and Santino Fontana in its 2023-24 season.
Mueller ("Beautiful: The Carole King Musical") will team up with host pianist Seth Rudetsky for a one-night special event concert at 8 p.m. Sept. 22 in Luth Concert Hall at the Prior Performing Arts Center at the College of the Holy Cross.
Fontana ("Tootsie") will perform at 8 p.m. March 1, 2024, in the BrickBox Theater at at the Jean McDonough Arts Center, 20 Franklin St.
Broadway in Worcester, a new initiative launched by Eric Butler, has previously brought in Tony Award winners Laura Benanti, Chita Rivera and Kelli O'Hara to Worcester in separate shows in 2022 and 2023.
“I am thrilled to welcome Jessie and Santino to our series this year," Butler said. "Both represent a new generation of theater stardom and have been recognized as the best of the best in their acclaimed and awarded Broadway roles. I am humbled to have both a recognized ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Actress’ as part of our programming this year. I am confident the talent, warmth, and energy of these stars will win over Worcester audiences."
Mueller won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her performance as Carole King in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical." She has also received Best Actress in a Musical Tony Award nominations for her leading roles in "Waitress" (2016) and the Broadway revival of "Carousel" (2018).
Rudetsky, who has spent many years on Broadway as a pianist and conductor and is a Sirius XM Radio host, accompanied Chita Rivera in her Broadway in Worcester appearance last September.
Fontana starred on Broadway in his tour de force dual role in "Tootsie," for which he received the 2019 Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Tony Awards. He is perhaps best known to audiences as the voice of villainous Prince Hans in the Academy Award winning Disney film "Frozen." Television audiences saw him on the most recent season of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” His numerous other Broadway credits include "Act One," "Brighton Beach Memoirs" (Drama Desk Award), and "Hello, Dolly!" On March 1 he will present and evening of his favorite songs "intermixed with hilarious showbiz tales about everything from James Earl Jones to Ryan Gosling."
Butler said Broadway in Worcester also fosters collaboration between Broadway talents and the area’s local high school and college students and their arts educators through educational programming. Mueller and Fontana will each participate in a free master class or workshop for students and educators prior to their performances.
Meanwhile, Broadway in Worcester has expanded its season to include two venues with the addition of the new Prior Performing Arts Center which opened last fall. “In addition to the hip downtown BrickBox that our audiences have known and loved, we look forward to introducing our patrons to a second venue this year, the state-of-the-art facilities at the Prior Performing Arts Center on the campus of The College of the Holy Cross. The Prior will offer our audiences as intimate a theater-going experience as the JMAC — which is a big draw for those seeking the rare opportunity to see their favorite Broadway performers up close and personal — in addition to the center’s stunning architectural designs by Diller Scofidio + Renfro," Butler said.
Tickets are now on sale for Jessie Mueller with host and pianist Seth Rudetsky at 8 p.m. Sept. 22. Tickets are $50 and $75 depending on seat location, with a limited number of VIP tickets for $100. To purchase tickets, visit www.broadwayinworcester.com.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Broadway in Worcester has Tony winners Jessie Mueller, Santino Fontana
