Submitted by Carol Giroux
(October 19, 2023) — Two-time Tony Award-winning Goodspeed Musicals proudly announces its 2024 season at the Goodspeed Opera House. It will be an exciting and memorable season with stories that range from a hilarious whodunit to a holiday favorite and everything in between. The season will open with the musical comedy whodunit, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, a musical by Rupert Holmes, directed by Rob Ruggiero, which will run from April 5, to June 2, 2024.
Next will be the long-awaited Goodspeed premiere of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific, a Golden Age classic, directed by Chay Yew. With music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan, it is adapted from the Pulitzer Prize- winning novel Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener and will run June 14 – August 11, 2024.
The fall production will be the American premiere of Maggie, a new musical inspired by the true story of a Scottish mother’s unbreakable love for her sons, directed by Mary Francis Moore. This soul-stirring musical, featuring book by Johnny Reid and Matt Murray; music by Johnny Reid, Matt Murray and Bob Foster; and lyrics by Johnny Reid and Matt Murray, will run August 23 – October 20, 2024.
Closing the season is a nostalgic holiday treat, A Christmas Story, The Musical, with book by Joseph Robinette and music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Based on the motion picture A Christmas Story, distributed by Warner Bros., written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown and Bob Clark, and upon In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, written by Jean Shepherd, A Christmas Story, The Musical will run November 1 – December 29, 2024. Beginning her fourth season as Goodspeed’s Artistic Director, Donna Lynn Hilton shared, “I am grateful to welcome this lineup of great musicals, and the artists who will create them expressly for our audience, to The Goodspeed. The Mystery of Edwin Drood will be right at home in our beautiful Victorian theatre and in Rob’s hands is sure to thrill; Chay Yew’s South Pacific will reveal Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic for a contemporary audience; the new musical Maggie, from a Canadian creative team, will continue our tradition of world premieres while providing the opportunity to engage in an exciting international collaboration; and A Christmas Story – well, who doesn’t love a delightful holiday romp with family and friends?”               Advance season ticket packages are on sale through the Goodspeed Box Office. Single tickets go on public sale beginning February 11, 2024. More information can be found at goodspeed.org. Â
