PIONEER THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES 2023-2024 SEASON
Lineup includes the 2022 Tony Award winner for Best Play, an exclusive new musical adaptation of a classic holiday film, and a much-requested electropop immersive spectacle

Pioneer Theatre Company (PTC), Utah’s premier professional theatre, announces its 2023-2024 season lineup, marking the theatre company’s 62nd season. The offerings include PTC’s signature mix of contemporary works, Utah premieres, and re-imagined classics.

“For our 2023/2024 season, we’re inviting audiences on a journey; actually, a series of journeys. It’s a joy to announce a new season because we are essentially unveiling seven new worlds in which PTC audiences can revel in the unexpected and re-examine the familiar,” said Pioneer Theatre Company Artistic Director Karen Azenberg. “We are so proud of the 60+ year journey PTC has enjoyed thus far. We hope that with recent successes, like being the first Utah-based theatre company to produce an out-of-town tryout for a Broadway musical (Shucked), audiences will continue to journey back to Pioneer Theatre Company and see it as a destination for unparalleled professional theatre in Utah.” 

Kicking off the season, from September 22—October 7, is Ken Ludwig’s new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. Considered one of America’s greatest comedic playwrights for his work on classics such as Lend Me a Tenor and Crazy for You, Ludwig captures the glamour and intrigue (with a dose of humor) of one of the world’s most beloved whodunnits in an adaptation specially-commissioned by the Agatha Christie Estate.

PTC will then celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the cult classic: The Rocky Horror Show. After previously presenting two concert versions of the glam rock musical in 2014 and 2015, Pioneer Theatre Company brings a fully-staged, fully-interactive version to its audiences in a limited run from October 20—31.

To celebrate the Christmas season from December 1—16, PTC will be home to a new musical adaptation of the classic 1945 film, Christmas in Connecticut. The musical comedy had its world premiere at Goodspeed Musicals in 2022. PTC’s production marks the second-ever staging of the still-in-development-musical, and the exclusive staging in the US during the 2023 holiday season. 

From January 12—27, 2024, PTC will present the Utah premiere of Native Gardens by Karen Zacarias. The contemporary comedy—currently one of the most-produced plays in the country— sees two sets of well-intentioned neighbors in a hilarious downward spiral over a property line dispute. 

After presenting the U.S. premiere of The Count of Monte Cristo in 2016, PTC once again brings the work of Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel) to the stage with Bonnie & Clyde. Wildhorn and lyricist Don Black’s Tony Award-nominated score is a celebration of quintessential American musical artforms: blues, gospel, and rock & roll. The electrifying true tale of one of America’s most notorious couples will run February 23—March 9, 2024.

From March 29—April 13, 2024, PTC will present the five time Tony Award-winning play, The Lehman Trilogy. The new work, which enjoyed runs in London, Los Angeles, and New York, will receive its Utah premiere as the inaugural production in the (still-under-construction) Meldrum Theatre at the Einar Nielsen Fieldhouse.

Concluding the season, from May 10—25, 2024, is one of the most requested titles (by PTC patrons) in recent years: the Utah premiere of the 12-time Tony Award-nominated Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. The electropop opera, inspired by a scandalous slice of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, will receive an immersive staging never before seen in PTC’s 60-year history.

SEASON TICKETS & ELIMINATION OF TICKETING FEES

Tickets to the 2023/2024 Pioneer Theatre Company season will be made available to new and returning subscribers beginning Monday, April 10. PTC will once again offer its signature 7-Play, Pick-5, 35-and-Under, and Senior Citizen subscriptions. The Pick-3 package, formerly for musicals only, will now be open to any three productions of the season. PTC’s Rush Pass subscription will also be made available, but at a later date. 

Also new to the 2023/2024 season is the elimination of ticket fees for both single ticket patrons and season subscribers. All prices listed moving forward represent the final amount owed for each ticket. Season subscriptions, which offer the biggest discount to patrons, range from $114 to $357.

New and returning subscribers are encouraged to renew/subscribe via PioneerTheatre.org, by calling 801-581-6961, or in person during the upcoming production, What the Constitution Means to Me (playing at PTC from April 7-22). Single ticket sales for the 23/24 season will be announced at a later date.

PRESS KIT

INTERVIEWS: Artistic Director Karen Azenberg can be made available for additional commentary, should that be of interest. Please contact Joshua Black to arrange.

VENUE INFORMATION

Pioneer Theatre Company (PTC) is located in the 

Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre

300 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City 

Box Office: 801-581-6961 

Open 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM., Mon. - Fri. 

ABOUT PIONEER THEATRE COMPANY (PTC) 

Kicking off its 62nd season in September 2023, the award-winning PTC is Utah's premiere professional theatre company and a leading arts organization of the West. Led by Artistic Director Karen Azenberg and Interim Managing Director Diane L. Parisi, PTC presents world-class productions that celebrate diversity in culture and society, and serve as the connecting bridge between art and scholarship as an affiliate of the University of Utah. For more information, visit PioneerTheatre.org.

Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
Adapted for the Stage by Ken Ludwig
September 22 — October 7, 2023

PTC kicks off its 62nd season with the spellbinding excitement and intrigue of one of Agatha Christie’s greatest whodunnits. Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer – in case they decide to strike again.

BroadwayWorld calls Ken Ludwig’s adaptation “A love letter to the original material, with a swift moving script...Everything you could want – broadly drawn characters, exotic settings, and a spectacular murder with no shortage of suspects.” All aboard!

The Rocky Horror Show
Music, Lyrics, and Book by Richard O’Brien
October 20 — 31, 2023
Limited Engagement

Pioneer Theatre Company’s favorite way to celebrate Halloween! A groundbreaking cult musical and beloved glam rock tribute to B-horror films, The Rocky Horror Show returns with some of the most iconic characters in musical theatre history: squares Brad and Janet, mad scientist Dr. Frank N. Furter, his “monster,” and, of course, a swath of drive-in usherettes and creepy sidekicks.

Join PTC for a full throttle Rocky Horror experience in all of its interactive, campy glory—celebrating the landmark musical’s 50th anniversary. Let’s all do the time warp again!

Christmas in Connecticut
Book by Patrick Pacheco and Erik Forrest Jackson
Music by Jason Howland
Lyrics by Amanda Yesnowitz
Based upon the Warner Brothers Picture
December 1 — 16, 2023
2023 US Holiday Exclusive

From the bucolic paradise of her Connecticut farm, famed Smart Housekeeping columnist Liz Lane dishes out advice on marriage, cooking, and homemaking to eager housewives across the country. There are just a few small details of which her readers aren’t aware: Liz actually lives in a tiny New York City apartment, she has never been married, and she can’t cook. When a beloved war hero (and fan of Liz’s column) is invited by Liz’s publisher to Christmas on the nonexistent farm, a musical comedy of errors ensues!

With lyrics by Jonathan Larson Award recipient Amanda Yesnowitz, music by Grammy Award winner Jason Howland (composer of Paradise Square and Little Women—not to mention a PTC alum as Musical Supervisor/Orchestrator on the world premiere of Shucked), and a book by Emmy Award winner Patrick Pacheco and celebrated entertainment journalist Erik Forrest Jackson, this new musical adaptation of the classic 1945 Warner Brothers film had its debut during the 2022 holiday season at Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut (naturally). PTC audiences will be among the first in the nation to experience the still-in-development musical that is destined to become a magical holiday tradition!

Native Gardens
by Karen Zacarias
January 12 — 27, 2024
Utah Premiere

From award-winning playwright Karen Zacarias (The Book Club Play) comes a contemporary comedy that reminds us: we can’t always choose our neighbors. Rising attorney Pablo and his doctoral candidate (and very pregnant) wife Tania, have just purchased a D.C. home next to a well-established couple with a prize-worthy English garden. But an impending barbeque for Pablo’s colleagues and a delicate disagreement over a long-standing fence line soon spirals into an all-out border dispute, exposing both couples’ notions of race, taste, class, and privilege. Zacarias’ hilariously biting play sees well-intentioned neighbors turned into feuding enemies in a garden party culture clash for the ages.

Bonnie & Clyde
Book by Ivan Menchell
Lyrics by Don Black
Music by Frank Wildhorn
February 23 — March 9, 2024

Adventure and romance await in the larger-than-life true tale of one of history’s most notorious couples. During the height of the Great Depression, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow captured the nation’s imagination with their infamous rise from small-town West Texas nobodies to American legends. Featuring a book by Emmy nominee Ivan Menchel and a Tony-nominated score by composer Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Count of Monte Cristo) and Oscar and Tony Award-winning lyricist Don Black (Sunset Boulevard), Bonnie & Clyde is a celebration of quintessential American musical genres: blues, gospel, and rock & roll. An electrifying story of fame, a life of crime, and love!

The Lehman Trilogy
by Stefano Massini, Adapted by Ben Power
March 29 — April 13, 2024
Utah Premiere

On a cold September morning in 1844, a Bavarian immigrant arrives in New York City, with his sights set on creating a new life in the new world. When his two brothers join his side, fates are sealed and a 163-year chain of events is set into motion as the family and company they form, Lehman Brothers, forever change the finance world. Told in three parts over the course of a single evening, The Lehman Trilogy is a not-to-be-missed American tale of epic proportions.

Winner of five Tony Awards (including Best Play) and following sold out runs in Los Angeles, New York, and London, The Lehman Trilogy receives its Utah premiere as PTC’s inaugural production in the newly-built Meldrum Theatre at the Einar Nielsen Fieldhouse.

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
Music, Lyrics, Book, and Orchestrations by Dave Malloy
Adapted from War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
May 10 — May 25, 2024
Utah Premiere

The much-anticipated Utah premiere of a recent Broadway favorite! Nominated for 12 Tony Awards, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 is an electropop opera based on a scandalous slice of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Young and impulsive, Natasha Rostova arrives in Moscow to await the return of her fiancé from the front lines. When she falls under the spell of the roguish Anatole, it is up to Pierre, a family friend in the middle of an existential crisis, to pick up the pieces of her shattered reputation.

This award-winning musical, with its daring score and bold storytelling, is one of the most requested titles from PTC audiences in recent memory and will be presented in an immersive format never before seen in our 60-year history!