‘Back to the Future,’ ‘Some Like It Hot’ lead Pantages 2024-25 season
“Back to the Future†and “Some Like It Hot†are the upcoming offerings from Broadway in Hollywood, which announced on Friday the eight national tours that will play the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in its 2024-25 season.
After the previously announced return engagement of “Hamilton†(Sept. 4-Oct. 13), the Hollywood venue welcomes the life-affirming musical comedy “Kimberly Akimbo†(Oct. 15-Nov. 3), which swept last year’s Tony Awards with five wins. The critical darling from Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire centers on a bright New Jersey teen looking for happiness while grappling with her rare aging condition.
“This offbeat show has a sharp satiric surface that exposes the casual cruelty and hypocrisy of family life and the torturous mind games of high school,†wrote Times theater critic Charles McNulty of the show last year. “But its tender interior brings an acute awareness of life’s ephemeral nature, the fluctuating tide of joy and sorrow and the inevitability of loss.â€
The Pantages then makes way for “Back to the Future: The Musical†(Nov. 5-Dec. 1), which brings Marty McFly, Doc Brown and that time-traveling DeLorean to the stage. The Broadway and West End hit show features a book by Bob Gale, the co-creator and co-writer of the film trilogy, and songs from the beloved 1985 film like Huey Lewis and the News’ “The Power of Love†and Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,†plus new tunes by Glen Ballard and the films’ score composer Alan Silvestri.
Musicals have come to follow a Broadway run with a national tour. ‘The Wiz,’ starting Tuesday at the Pantages, is doing the opposite — and the strategy is paying off.
Following the previously announced return engagement of “Wicked†(Dec. 4-Feb. 2) is a 19-week run of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child†(Feb. 13-June 22, 2025), complete with its thrilling in-person versions of the magic made famous in the books and films. Based on an original new story by franchise author J.K. Rowling, playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany, the hit sequel takes place decades after the final “Harry Potter†installment, when Harry, Ron and Hermione are parents of children who are now attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
“A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical†(July 8-27) also stops at the Pantages, recounting the rise of the “Sweet Caroline†singer while highlighting his hit songs, including “America†and “Cracklin’ Rosie.†That’s followed by “Some Like It Hot†(July 29–Aug. 17, 2025), based on the 1959 movie in which two musicians, after witnessing a murder, seek cover as part of an all-female band. The comedy features a book by Matthew López and Amber Ruffin, and swing tunes by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
Closing out the season is “Shucked†(Aug. 19–Sept. 7, 2025), a pop-country romantic comedy set in a small town whose crop of corn has mysteriously gone awry. The uplifting new musical features a book by Robert Horn and a score by the multi-Grammy-winning Nashville songwriting team Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally.
The announcement also noted that theatergoers who purchase a six-show 2024-25 season package, which is available online or by phone, will have priority access to the return engagements of “Wicked†(immediately) and “Hamilton†(beginning March 18).
The Los Angeles Philharmonic announces the 2024 Hollywood Bowl summer season featuring loads of Hollywood movie magic, the West Coast’s first-ever Roots Picnic and plenty of Gustavo Dudamel.
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