‘Six,’ ‘Come From Away’ among shows on Broadway in Wichita ’23-24 season

There’s no “Hamilton”-sized juggernaut in Broadway in Wichita’s 2023-24 season, but the American Theatre Guild is banking on the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical’s Century II run – 16 performances June 6-18 – to build buzz for the offerings next year.

“That was the pinnacle of being able to get a show,” said Craig Aikman, American Theatre Guild director of programming. “After having ‘Lion King’ (in April 2022) and everything else, it’s just proof of how supportive everyone is in Wichita and in the surrounding area.”

Aikman – who grew up in Wichita, went to Southeast his freshman year before finishing high school in Haven – works with booking agents to bring shows into the 14 cities where the series are managed by ATC.

He said two shows are in contention for being the hottest ticket of next season – “Six” and “Come From Away.”

“Six,” running Sept. 19-24, is a modern telling of lives of the half-dozen wives of King Henry VIII, in a pop concert setting.

“Everyone I’ve talked to who had the opportunity to see it says it is the next hot thing,” Aikman said. “Those women are incredibly talented and are able to do things on stage you’re impressed by. It’s amazing.”

“Six” was nominated for eight Tony Awards, winning for best original score and costume design, in 2022.

“We were actually very fortunate to get that title as quickly as we did,” Aikman said. “It took a conversation, and it worked within the routing of the tour itself. The good thing for us is that we’re a much stronger market right now, and they were looking for a full week and Wichita can support a full week with the title.”

The musical “Come From Away,” scheduled for Jan. 26-28, is based on the true story of 7,000 airline passengers who were stranded in a small town in Newfoundland after the 9/11 attacks.

“’Come From Away’ was one of those titles I thought Wichita should get, because we’re the Air Capital,” Aikman said. “I just felt like it would speak to an audience there that it wouldn’t in a lot of other markets.”

Nominated for seven Tonys in 2017, it won for best direction.

“It’s one of the best-crafted stories I’ve seen on stage in a very long time, and it gives you a sense of hope and uplifts you,” Aikman said. “It’s kind of surprising because you think the subject matter is going to be down, but it’s not. It speaks to the best of us as members of the human race.”

Dec. 1-3, “Annie” will be on the Century II stage.

“It is back to the original, the original book, the original score,” Aikman said of the 1977 stage version of the “Little Orphan Annie” comic strip. “It’s speaking to a larger audience than the newer versions have been.”

The production team for “Annie” is all female, he added, including its director, who played one of the orphans in the original, which won seven Tonys.

The musical biography “On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan” is scheduled for March 15-17.

“If you love Gloria Estefan, you’re going to love this show,” Aikman said. “It talks about family and about where she came from and how she hit that pinnacle in her career. It’s another one of those shows that’s gonna make you feel really good. And it’s going to leave you dancing in the aisles – you can’t not with Miami Sound Machine music going on.”

The season wraps up with the musical version of Tina Fey’s 2004 movie “Mean Girls,” April 19-21, which opened on Broadway in 2018. Although nominated for a dozen Tonys it came up empty but did receive a Drama Desk Award for Fey’s book of the musical.

“’Mean Girls’ is a blast,” Aikman said. “We kind of lucked out on that one too, because it just started doing smaller cities after the larger ones in the first part of the tour. We jumped on that one.”

An add-on performance to the season is the Cirque Musica Holiday Wonderland, set for Dec. 18.

“It’s not your normal Cirque show that we have brought in the past,” Aikman said. “It feels fresher, and it feels new and it’s gonna be real cool. It’s an interesting take on that genre of show.”

Season tickets will go on sale Tuesday, April 18, at BroadwayWichita.com.

Season ticket prices may be a bit higher for 2023-24, Aikman said, reflecting the five shows in the season rather than the usual four.

“I think it’s stacked, to be honest,” he said. “It’s one of those seasons that has a little bit of something for everyone, but it’s also playing to the strengths of the titles we have out right now.”

Aikman said he feels like Broadway in Wichita, as with many organizations, is on the road to recovery after COVID shut down the 2020 and ’21 seasons.

“I feel like we’re still struggling with some things, not necessarily nearly as bad as it was before,” said Aikman, who had to move 89 shows, four times, on the schedules in 12 different cities for the 2021-22 season. “There have been some concerns, some show concerns. The venues have addressed that. Century II staff have been amazing through all of this, and I think we’re ready. It’s starting to come back in a bigger way than it was even earlier last fall.”

Next season’s schedule reflects a change that took place in the current season, with longer runs and performances during the weekend, Aikman said.

“It’s something that people, including me, have wanted for a very long time,” he said.