Hale Centre Theatre’s 2020 season will feature bluegrass music, ballroom dancing, a practically perfect nanny, a sinking ship, a murder, a jungle hero and a holiday classic — along with a “surprise.”
The Sandy theater company announced seven productions Thursday and said it’s keeping an eighth secret “due to the publisher’s request.”
The season will feature “Bright Star,” “Strictly Ballroom,” “Mary Poppins,” “Titanic: The Musical,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Tarzan” and “A Christmas Carol.”
“These productions will really allow us to showcase the staging and artistic capabilities of the two stages in our new home in Sandy, particularly our stage-flooding water features,” said Sally Dietlein, HCT executive producer and co-founder.
The shows will be staged in Hale’s 467-seat Jewel Box Stage and the 911-seat Centre Stage. The schedule is:
• “Bright Star” (Jan. 20-May 2, Jewel Box Stage): This blue-grass musical is about a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who falls in love with a boy from a prominent family. Written and composed by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, it’s set in the 1940s with flashbacks to the 1920s.
• “Strictly Ballroom” (Feb. 5-April 11, Centre Stage): Based on the 1992 movie — directed and co-written by Baz Luhrman — this musical is set behind the scenes of ballroom dance competitions.
• “Mary Poppins” (April 29-July 11, Centre Stage): This adaptation fuses P.L. Travers’ books and the 1964 film, from which it draws several songs.
• “Titanic: The Musical” (Aug. 5-Oct. 17, Centre Stage): This 1997 show set on the doomed ocean liner in 1912 won five Tony Awards, including best musical.
• “Murder on the Orient Express” (Aug. 24-Nov. 14, Jewel Box Stage): Based on Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel, world-famous detective Hercule Poirot is trapped on a snowbound train with a murder victim and a slew of suspects.
• “Tarzan” (Nov. 9-Jan. 16, 2021, Centre Stage): This Disney musical is based on the 1999 animated film, with music by Phil Collins — including the Oscar-winning song “You’ll be In My Heart.”
• “A Christmas Carol” (Nov. 30-Dec. 26, Jewel Box Stage): For the 36th consecutive year, Hale will present its Wilkins and Bradford musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic novel in which Ebenezer Scrooge learns the true meaning of Christmas.
According to Hale, information on ticket sales — including season-ticket renewals — will be announced “soon.” Tickets will be $36-48 for adults and $18-22 for children and teens ages 5-17. No one under the age of 5 is permitted in the theater.
Ticket information is available at 801-984-9000, at hct.org or at the box office at 9900 S. Monroe Street in Sandy.
