Column: Paramount officials believe new Broadway Series season to offer ‘just the right mix' of old and new

Chicago Tribune

04-02-2025

Consider yourself a fan of the Paramount Theatre? Then you are probably like a kid at Christmas when you open up that email around this time of year that announces the schedule for the upcoming season.
This will be number 14 for the Broadway Series, and so far the Paramount has yet to disappoint.
The lineup for the 2025-26 Broadway Series is notable in that the musicals are a remarkable contrast between old school and new(er) works. And Paramount President Tim Rater is extra-enthused about this season for that very reason.
'It feels like just the right mix,' he said on Monday, soon after the new season was revealed. 'It feels like one of the best, if not the best (schedule) we've ever had.'
Which is saying something, considering the success of this downtown Aurora venue has made it the number one subscription-based theater in the country.
'We have two legitimate classics, time tested and proven to be crowd pleasers,' Rater said, 'and two contemporaries that have not been performed anywhere in the region.'
The classics he refers to are, indeed, iconic.
Irving Berlin's 'White Christmas' will, of course, be that family-friendly holiday show, running from Nov. 12, 2025, to Jan. 11, 2026.
It's particularly 'tricky' finding the right show for the holidays, he said, when I pointed out that, unlike most of those previous productions that are kid-focused fantasies ('Frozen,' 'Cinderella,' 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'Mary Poppins' to name a few), 'White Christmas' is an old-fashioned love story from 1952.
'But people have been asking us to do it for a long time,' Rater said, reassuring me there will be plenty of magical moments – think about all that snow, for example – sure to delight kids as much as adults.
'South Pacific' – playing from April 26-June 14, 2026 – is equally time-honored. Even though the musical, which premiered on Broadway in 1949, is older than most folks in the audience, 'it's been a long time' since this show has played anywhere in the Chicago area, Rater pointed out.
Absence, they say, does make the heart grow fonder.
Nostalgia aside, Rater seemed more excited about the two contemporary shows on the schedule, particularly 'Dear Evan Hansen,' which runs Feb. 4-March 22, 2026.
'This might just be the one I'm most looking forward to,' he said of this compelling tale of teen angst that took home six Tonys in 2017, including Best Musical, and likely 'would still be playing on Broadway' had COVID not come along.
'It is a powerful story, and the (Grammy winning) music is beautiful,' Rater said. 'When I saw it, it just wrecked me … it is so moving, so special.'
Certainly the relevancy of this production – Evan Hansen is a lonely, anxious high-schooler looking to fit in – can't be overstated. In fact, Paramount staff just reported to Rater that since the schedule was released, 'we're getting all these calls and emails' from schools inquiring about ticket prices for student groups.
Rater also expressed plenty of praise for the other Chicago-area premiere on the Broadway Series schedule: 'Come From Away,' running Aug. 20–Oct. 12, 2025, tells the true story of Gander, Newfoundland, welcoming 7,000 stranded passengers after American airspace closed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Both those shows are so powerful, 'they will become classics,' he confidently predicted. 'They are not going away.'
And all four, whether new or old, Rater added, 'we get to do the Paramount way.'
The same can be said for the three BOLD Series productions in its new season across the street at the Copley Theatre.
Rater described 'True West' – running July 16-Aug. 31, 2025 – as a Sam Shepard 'American masterpiece' about two siblings' cutthroat rivalry. Playing Oct. 1-Nov. 16, 2025, is the regional premiere of 'Covenant,' a southern gothic horror play; followed by 'Ride the Cyclone,' – March 18-May 31, 2026 – a 'quirky' hit comedy about a group of teens dying in a roller coaster accident who get a second chance by singing their way back to life.
Now in its fourth season, the BOLD series has gone from six- to seven-week runs, and as you can probably gather, strives to live up to its name.
Of course, I couldn't end this interview without checking in on how thing are going at the Paramount's newest venue, Stolp Island Theatre, where ticket sales are now into June for 'Million Dollar Quartet' that opened last summer.
Impressive, to say the least. But even with the popularity of this rock and roll hit, Rater says he and the Paramount staff are 'already actively discussing what is next' for this more intimate immersion theater.
No matter what the venue, no matter what the season, he insisted, 'the ball is always rolling.'
And, all fans can agree, gathering momentum as it goes.