Popejoy Hall at the University of New Mexico announced its 2021-22 season on Friday, Feb. 26, with many canceled shows, including “Hamilton,” being rescheduled to the following season.
“Hamilton” is now set for 24 performances from Jan. 27 through Feb. 13 of next year.
Another slight change in schedule is the cancellation of “Hairspray,” which is being replaced with “Mean Girls” in its first national tour. Current “Broadway in New Mexico” subscribers won’t have to pay any extra fees because of the change and will automatically be signed up for “Mean Girls,” which will play from Dec. 7 through Dec. 12.
“We worked closely with the producers to give our patrons something we think they’ll enjoy,” Tom Tkach, director of Popejoy, said. “It’s a high quality show, and it’s the first time it’s come to Popejoy, so we’re kind of lucky (we got) to be first out of the gate for a national tour of a new show. We’re very fortunate to be able to bring it to Albuquerque.”
The other two shows in the “Broadway in New Mexico” series are “Jersey Boys,” scheduled for Nov. 4 through Nov. 7, and “Anastasia,” scheduled for March 3 through March 6 next year. All Broadway in New Mexico subscribers are promised seats to both “Hamilton” and “Anastasia.”
Twenty-three “Ovation Series” shows are also set to perform during the 2021-22 season. Tkach said some new titles, including “Piano Battle,” “The Great Gatsby” and more, are on the list to make up for previous show cancellations.
All dates are still subject to change as the pandemic proceeds. Tkach said Broadway shows are particularly expensive to take on the road, and producers can make an executive decision to pull the show if it’ll be too expensive to put on.
“There’s always a possibility of a change, but we’re hoping that we can go forth with our new plan and have a season starting next fall,” Tkach said.
Tkach said Popejoy staff have been keeping in contact with health officials and following UNM, state and local standards to safely reopen.
All current ticket holders for the 2020-21 season don’t need to renew their subscriptions for the 2021-22 season and will automatically be transferred to the rescheduled dates.
“It’s nice to be able to come out to the public and say, ‘Okay, this is our best shot for this coming fall to start the season. We hope things will stay in place,’” Tkach said. “People miss going to the theater and being there, staff as well as patrons.”
Tickets for new subscriptions will go on sale for the general public on March 23, starting at $185 for the four main Broadway shows and $60 for four shows of the “Ovation Series.” Any other amount of shows may also be added. Single tickets for all shows will go on sale in fall 2021.
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The rescheduled shows for the “Ovation Series” include “Killer Queen” on Sept. 25, “Canadian Brass” on Jan. 9, “Broadway Princess Party” on March 10, “Drum Tao” on April 3 and “Come From Away” from May 11 through May 15.
Megan Gleason is the culture editor at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @fabflutist2716
