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McALLEN — The bright lights of Broadway will shine on the McAllen Performing Arts Center stage very soon.
During a news conference held Thursday morning, the city of McAllen announced the line-up of Broadway shows set to debut for the 2023-2024 season.
“We are building upon the previous years of Broadway shows. As you can see, McAllen is really thriving and really pushing for better arts in the city, for better shows, for better quality of life, and this is one of them — bringing Broadway shows,” McAllen District 5 Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Cabeza de Vaca said. “At the end of the day, you don’t have to go to New York to see these quality shows. We’re talking about worldwide productions, and we’re going to have them right here.”
The four shows announced for the 2023-2024 season are “Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience,” which opens on Oct. 24; “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which opens on Nov. 21; “Come From Away,” which opens on March 17, 2024; and “Chicago,” which opens on April 26, 2024.
“We always strive to bring the absolute best quality shows, but equally as important is the educational mission that we have to be able to foster the performing arts within our youths,” McAllen Convention and Performing Arts Center Director Yajaira Flores said. “To be able to do this simultaneously has been a dream, and we’re really excited about it.”
The announcement of the new line-up of Broadway shows came with the announcement of a new partnership with the Nederlander Organization, a New York-based production company.
“They are the gold-standard of audience development and having these premium experiences,” Flores said. “They’re also very ingrained in arts education. The fact that they founded the Jimmy Awards — for us when we founded the Palm Awards — it is absolutely amazing because they are doing what we do at a national level. If we can get our students on the national spotlight, that’s everything because we’re able to foster the new generation of artists.”
“What we ultimately want is to have our students on Broadway,” she added.
Just after the announcements were made, the news conference was concluded with a performance by Katia Dowling, a member of the Sharyland Pioneer High School Alpha Theatre group and Palm Award winner for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Roxie Hart in her group’s production of “Chicago: Teen Edition.”
“I’m super excited,” Dowling said about the upcoming shows after her rendition of the song “Roxie,” which she performed in character and in costume, including the distinctive blonde wig.
“Last year I took a trip to New York and I got to see the Broadway shows live,” she continued. “I think it’s very convenient for them to come down here so you don’t have to travel somewhere to go see them. You can just be in your hometown and see something great come here which is really inspiring.”
Tickets for the shows are already available for purchase, including packages for all four shows starting at $150. To purchase tickets and find out more information about the shows, visit experiencemcallen.com/broadway.
