RING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES AT THE BROWARD CENTER

Published: Dec 11, 2024

Audiences will ring in the new year with a host of new and returning favorites this January at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, from family-friendly performances including “Anastasia,” “Pete The Cat,” “Rapunzel” and Harry Potter in concert to the hit Broadway musical “A Beautiful Noise,” music icons Judy Collins, Johnny Mathis, duos Jon McLaughlin and Eric Hutchinson and Al Stewart and Livingston Taylor, hilarious comedy from Paul Mecurio and Jeff Leeson, a special evening with American treasure Josh Gad and so much more.

Slow Burn Theatre Company’s 2024/2025 Season in the Amaturo Theater supported by American National Bank and Visit Lauderdale continues with Anastasia The Musical running through Sunday, Jan. 5. Inspired by beloved films, the musical transports audiences from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past. Pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer determined to silence her, Anya enlists the aid of a dashing conman and a lovable ex-aristocrat. Together, they embark on an epic adventure to help her find home, love and family. With a book by celebrated playwright Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, this spectacular musical, about discovering who you are and defining who you're meant to be, has a soaring score including the song favorites from the hit animated film, "Journey to the Past" and "Once Upon a December." Performance times vary.

The Smart Stage Matinee Series presents the beloved classic Rapunzel in the Amaturo Theater on Friday, January 10 at 10 and 11:30 a.m. Rapunzel’s starving and destitute parents make a pact with a nearby witch to give her their first born child, Rapunzel, in exchange for food. Exiled to a lonely tower, Rapunzel must lower her hair to be visited by the witch, her only visitor, until the dashing Prince Charming discovers her too. This seriously funny tale shows how a possessive mother, a tentative prince and a naive young girl all grow up in a surprising way. Recommend for grade levels 1-3, this event is presented as part of the Smart Stage Matinee Series of performances that are ideal for charter, private, public and parochial school students and home-school networks. These educational performances are curriculum-driven and align with Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards. Free study guides called “Curriculum Connections” are available to download on the Broward Center’s website. This production offers an optional added Smart Stage Plus interactive learning experience, a 30-minute workshop featuring a Broward Center teaching artist.

Grammy^® Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Johnny Mathis brings his The Voice of Romance Tour to the Au-Rene Theater at the Broward Center on Saturday, January 11 at 8 p.m. as part of the Baptist Health Red Carpet Series. Best-known for his six holiday releases and the timeless classics "Chances Are," "It's Not for Me to Say" and "Misty," Mathis has recorded more than 80 albums with his 1958 album, Johnny's Greatest Hits, launching the music industry tradition of greatest hits albums and enjoying a nearly 10-year run on the Billboard Top Albums Chart. With three songs inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, he has sold millions of records and achieved 50 hits on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart.

Grammy^® award-winning singer-songwriter Judy Collins graces the Amaturo Theater stage on Saturday, January 11 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Baptist Health Red Carpet Series. Collins has inspired audiences with her sublime vocals, boldly vulnerable songwriting, personal life triumphs and a firm commitment to social activism. Her luminescent presence shines brightly as new generations bask in the glow of her iconic 55-album body of work, and heed inspiration from her spiritual discipline that has enabled her to thrive in the music industry for half a century. Esteemed for her imaginative interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards and her own poetically poignant original compositions, her stunning rendition of Joni Mitchell's “Both Sides Now” from her landmark 1967 album “Wildflowers” has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Collins’ dreamy and sweetly intimate version of “Send in the Clowns,” a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical “A Little Night Music,” won Song of the Year at the 1975 Grammy Awards.

Drawing inspiration from music from all over the world and crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop, Pink Martini Featuring China Forbes: 30th Anniversary Tour performs in the Au Rene Theater at the Broward Center on Sunday, January 12 at 7 p.m. as part of the Baptist Health Red Carpet Series. Featuring a dozen musicians, with songs in 25 languages, Pink Martini has performed its multilingual repertoire on concert stages on six continents including engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Boston Pops, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, the San Francisco Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall in London. Pink Martini has released 11 studio albums on its own independent label Heinz Records and its song “Sympathique (Je ne veux pas travailler)” was nominated for “Song of the Year” at France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards and remains a mantra for striking French workers to this day ("Je ne veux pas travailler or “I don’t want to work”).

“Little Shop of Horrors” meets “Avenue Q,” pushing the boundaries on sexuality and how to love when “SAW The Musical: The Unauthorized Parody Of Saw” comes to the Amaturo Theater on Sunday, January 12 at 5 p.m. and Tuesday, January 14 at 7 p.m. Hailed as “Hilariously absurd” by NPR and “Absolutely fantastic” by West End Best Friend, “SAW The Musical,” a love story with fluidity (and lots more fluids), hilariously captures the events of one of the most thought-provoking horror films of all time. The first movie parodying the Saw that started it all now is a musical, starting where Lawrence Gordon and Adam Stanheight find each other for the first time in the bathroom trap. Will they follow the rules as they discover each other's secrets? Will they escape the game in time and saw right through? This event contains adult language or content and is not suitable for younger audiences.

Fresh off a sold-out off-Broadway run, the critically acclaimed Paul Mecurio's Permission To Speak comes to the Amaturo Theater as part of the Truist Comedy Series on Friday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m. Featuring hilarious and jaw-dropping stories from audience members co-starring alongside the Emmy & Peabody award-winning comedian, Mecurio punctuates the evening with his own jokes and anecdotes and, in the process, brings people together on stage through shared stories and organic connections. Using his customized multimedia presentation developed by a creative team boasting 33 Emmys, six Peabody and one Grammy^® Award, Mecurio weaves cohesive interactions between audience members in a way that’s never been done before. He fearlessly, but respectfully, uses humor and compassion to create dynamic exchanges that lead to meaningful and unexpected connections. Mecurio has made countless appearances on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “The Tonight Show,” NBC, ABC, MSNBC, as recurring co-host of “StarTalk” with Neil deGrasse Tyson and his own Comedy Central and HBO specials.

Cars fly, trees fight back and a mysterious house-elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of his second year at Hogwarts when the Broward Center and Innovation Arts present the return of The Harry Potter Film Concert Series with “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” in Concert in the Au-Rene Theater on Friday, January 17 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, January 18 at 2 p.m. as part of the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Imagination Series. A live symphony orchestra performs John Williams’ unforgettable score live from the second film in the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” while the entire film plays in high-definition on a 40-foot screen. Warner Bros. Discovery Global Themed Entertainment and CineConcerts created the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, the only official global concert tour celebrating the Harry Potter films. Since the 2016 world premiere of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in Concert, more than three million fans have enjoyed this magical experience from The Wizarding World, which is scheduled to include over 2,973 performances across more than 48 countries worldwide through 2025. WIZARDING WORLD and all related trademarks, characters, names, and indicia are © & TM Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR.

The Bank of America Broadway in Fort Lauderdale series with presenting sponsor Nicklaus Children’s Hospital presents A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical Tuesday, January 21 – Sunday, February 2. Created in collaboration with Neil Diamond himself, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical is the uplifting true story of how a kid from Brooklyn became a chartbusting, show-stopping American rock icon. With 120 million albums sold, a catalogue of classics like "America," "Forever in Blue Jeans" and "Sweet Caroline," an induction into the Songwriters and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame, a Grammy^®Lifetime Achievement Award and sold-out concerts around the world that made him bigger than Elvis, Neil Diamond's story was made to shine on Broadway and head out on the road across America. Like Jersey Boys and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical before it, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical is an inspiring, exhilarating, energy-filled musical memoir that tells the untold true story of how America's greatest hitmaker became a star, set to the songs that defined his career. Performance times vary. The Bank of America Broadway in Fort Lauderdale 2024/2025 season is made possible with the generous support of title sponsor Bank of America and presenting sponsor Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. Bank of America Broadway in Fort Lauderdale is presented by Florida Theatrical Association in partnership with the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

The Broward Center and ATG Entertainment present An Evening With Josh Gad: “In Gad We Trust” on Wednesday, January 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the Amaturo Theater as part of the Baptist Health Red Carpet Series. Known for voicing Olaf in the “Frozen” franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical “The Book of Mormon” and LeFou in the live-action adaptation of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” award-winning actor, singer, and comedian Josh Gad invites audiences down the rabbit hole in his debut tell-some “In Gad We Trust.” Throughout the evening, Gad shares stories ranging from fatherhood to self-image to his career and more, offering a foolproof distraction from the inescapable existential dread of the present day in the form of an adventure. The American treasure’s storytelling will be sure to leave the audience feeling inspired to keep going, even when the chips and doubters are stacked against them. Tickets to this event include access to a moderated conversation between Gad and a special guest as well as a signed copy of “In Gad We Trust.”

In a unique fan experience, The Just the Two of Us Tour with Jon McLaughlin and Eric Hutchinson comes to the Amaturo Theater on Friday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m. for a collaborative night of music that is more than the average co-headline concert, with both artists playing each other’s songs as well as appearing solo on stage. Raised in Indiana and based in Nashville, McLaughlin released his debut album, “Indiana,” in 2007 on Island Def Jam, attracting fans with his heartfelt, hook-laden songwriting and impassioned delivery. He’s released six full-length albums in the years since and revealed a true evolution in both his piano playing and singing. He’s played shows with Billy Joel, Kelly Clarkson and Adele, collaborated with longtime friend Sara Bareilles, co-written with Demi Lovato and even performed at the Academy Awards in 2008. For the past decade, Hutchinson has been mastering the art of his unique, personal songwriting while exploring diverse musical genres like pop, soul, Americana, folk, alt-rock, and jazz. The platinum-selling singer-songwriter recently releasing “Cliff Notes: The Best of 2014-2024,” an essential collection of Hutchinson’s ever-evolving discography. Pulling from fan-favorite albums including “Pure Fiction,” “Sing Along!” and “Easy Street,” the new double-disc vinyl release showcases the varied and dynamic music he has spent the past ten years exploring as he hits the road to perform his most popular songs, such as “Tell The World,” “A Little More,” and “Dear Me” as well as cult-classics like “Forget About Joni,” “a million bucks on a queen motel bed” and more.

The Broward Center and AEG Presents bring Al Stewart and Livingston Taylor to the Amaturo Theater on Saturday, January 25 at 7:30 p.m. Rising to fame during the British folk revival of the 60s and 70s, Al Stewart blends folk-rock with historical tales. Known for his hits "Year of the Cat" and "Time Passages," Stewart's career spans four decades, including performing at the first Glastonbury Festival in 1970, collaborating with Yoko Ono pre-Lennon, and living with Paul Simon. He has released 19 studio albums from "Bedsitter Images" (1967) to "Sparks of Ancient Light" (2008), and a live album "Uncorked" (2009) with Dave Nachmanoff. Livingston Taylor's 50-year career includes performance, songwriting, and teaching. Dubbed "equal parts Mark Twain, college professor and musical icon," he performs more than 100 shows annually, showcasing his 22 albums. Taylor's songs have been recorded by his brother James, and he has performed with Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac and Jimmy Buffet. Versatile across genres, he has taught stage performance at Berklee College of Music since 1989, imparting his extensive road experience to new musicians. Taylor, an airplane-flying, motorcycle-riding storyteller, has charmed audiences for over five decades.

Jeff Leeson brings his stand-up comedy routine to the Abdo New River Room as part of the Truist Comedy Series on Saturday, January 25 at 8:30 p.m. For more than 25 years, Leeson has been astonishing crowds across North America with his off-the-cuff, improvisational style that leaves crowds not only wanting more, but amazed at what they just witnessed. Combining traditional stand-up comedy with long form improv, Leeson creates a unique and personal experience for the audience each and every show. With more than 100 million views of his stand-up clips online, he is quickly becoming one of the most requested acts in North America. In addition to headlining top comedy clubs and theaters, Leeson’s comedy has been featured on Sirius XM, Spotify, iTunes, two comedy specials on Amazon Prime, a DryBar comedy special and a special on Youtube entitled “Sorry I’m Not Kevin Hart.”

That groovy, blue Pete the Cat comes to the Amaturo Theater on Sunday, January 26 at 1 p.m. as part of the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Imagination Series. For Pete, life is an adventure no matter where you wind up, and when he meets The Biddles, he gets the whole family rocking. When Jimmy Biddle, the most organized second grader on Earth, draws a blank in art class during the last week of school, he and Pete set out on an adventure all the way to Paris and back in a VW bus. Along the way, both learn about friendship and inspiration.

Pete the Cat: A Sensory-Inclusive Performance brings the groovy, blue feline to the Amaturo Theater with a post-show meet and greet on Sunday, January 26 at 10:30 a.m. Intended to create a welcoming and supportive environment for children and adults on the autism spectrum as well as individuals with other sensitivity issues or developmental disabilities, this performance features slight adjustments including reduced sound levels, no flashing or strobe lights and minimal special effects. For Pete, life is an adventure no matter where you wind up, and when he meets The Biddles, he gets the whole family rocking. When Jimmy Biddle, the most organized second grader on Earth, draws a blank in art class during the last week of school, he and Pete set out on an adventure all the way to Paris and back in a VW bus. Along the way, both learn about friendship and inspiration. Admission includes complimentary pre-show arts and crafts activities provided by Young at Art Museum. An area adjacent to the theater has been designated as the ABA Centers of Florida Sensory Quiet Room with a specially trained therapist to provide audience support. Patrons may bring their own headphones, fidgets and other calming items into the theater or borrow these items at the theater. The Broward Center's sensory-inclusive programming is made possible through the generous support of ABA Centers of Florida, The Batchelor Foundation, The Gore Family Memorial Foundation Trust, Nicklaus Children's Hospital and The Taft Foundation with special thanks to UM-NSU CARD for their in-kind support.

Also at the Broward Center in January: Shen Yun: A Heavenly Gift (Jan.3-5); #AnniFLO'etry (Jan. 4); Gold Coast Jazz: Shelly Berg Trio, Alegria! Happiness & More (Jan. 8); South Florida Symphony Orchestra: Bernstein’s “Candide” (Jan. 16); Symphony of the Americas: Hope & Triumph (Jan. 21); and Robert Jon & the Wreck (Jan 31).

Ticketmaster is the only official ticketing service of the Broward Center and The Parker. Buy tickets online at BrowardCenter.org, or Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954.462.0222; in person at the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office.

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located at 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. For more information visit BrowardCenter.org, like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BrowardCenter and Facebook.com/BrowardCenterEducation, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BrowardCenter, subscribe to our channel at YouTube.com/user/BrowardCenter and join the conversation with #BrowardCenter.

The Broward Center 2024/2025 season is supported by the Broward Performing Arts Foundation. AutoNation, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, Spirit and Nicklaus Children’s Health System.

About The Broward Center for the Performing Arts

One of America’s premier performing arts venues, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts presents more than 850 performances each year to more than 600,000 patrons, displaying a wide range of exciting cultural programming and events. Guest experiences at the Broward Center include the all-inclusive Spirit Club Level, the Nicklaus Children’s Health System Intermezzo Lounge, special events in the Huizenga Pavilion, waterfront dining at Marti’s New River Bistro and innovative classes and workshops for all ages at the Rose Miniaci Arts Education Center. With one of the largest arts-in-education programs in the United States, the Broward Center serves more than 100,000 students annually. The Broward Center also manages The Parker, an iconic Fort Lauderdale venue, the Rose & Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center on the campus of Nova Southeastern University, and the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center in Miami-Dade County. The Broward Performing Arts Foundation, Inc. receives and maintains funds to sustain, develop and secure the future of the Broward Center. For more information, visit BrowardCenter.org.

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Complete January Schedule at the Broward Center

Through Jan. 5 Anastasia the Musical - Slow Burn Theatre Company

Jan. 3 – 5 Shen Yun: A Heavenly Gift

Jan. 4 #AnniFLO'etry

Jan. 8 Gold Coast Jazz: Shelly Berg Trio, Alegria! Happiness & More

Jan. 10 Rapunzel – Smart Stage Matinee

Jan. 11 Johnny Mathis – The Voice of Romance – Baptist Health Red Carpet Series

Jan. 11 Judy Collins – Baptist Health Red Carpet Series

Jan. 12 Pink Martini – Baptist Health Red Carpet Series

Jan. 12 & 14 Saw the Musical

Jan. 16 South Florida Symphony Orchestra Bernstein’s “Candide”