Hennepin Arts has gone both supersized and supernatural with its upcoming roster of touring Broadway shows. The 2025-26 lineup boasts five weeks of “Wicked,” four weeks of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and three weeks of “The Phantom of the Opera.”
‘Wicked,’ ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Phantom’ dominate Hennepin Arts’ touring Broadway roster for 2025-26
Regional premieres in the upcoming season also include the suffragist musical “Suffs,” the cornpone-themed “Shucked,” and the soulful “Wiz.”
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 7, 2025 at 1:05AM
While those blockbusters dominate, the schedule includes the Amber Ruffin-infused revival of “The Wiz,” which riffs on “The Wizard of Oz” — the same source material as “Wicked.”
The lineup also features regional premieres of Shaina Taub’s suffragist musical “Suffs,” the corn-punny “Shucked,” “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical,” and the circus-themed “Water for Elephants.”
Throw in a musical version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” and encore performances of Kander and Ebb’s “Chicago” and Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil’s “Les Misérables,” and Minnesota is getting some 20 weeks of touring Broadway shows.
“Our average season is 12 to 13 weeks with an economic impact of $60 million,” said Hennepin Arts’ president and CEO Todd Duesing. “It’s a positive step for us [to offer more shows] and we hope that it will lead to a trend where we will be a two-week [minimum] market.”
Duesing’s tally doesn’t include a carryover from the current season, and that is the world premiere of “Purple Rain,” the Prince musical that is slated to run for at least four weeks at Minneapolis' State Theatre starting mid-October.
The Hennepin Arts season kicks off with “Beautiful Noise,” the bio musical of “Sweet Caroline” singer Diamond. The show finds the sequined star on the stage and on his therapist’s sofa (Sept. 30-Oct. 5).
“Phantom,” a beloved title backed by Cameron Mackintosh, has been reimagined with new glitz and glamor in Maria Björnson’s 2021 design for the London stage. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical tells the story of a disfigured figure who kidnaps his favorite opera singer (Nov. 21-Dec. 7).
In 2024, “The Wiz” was revived 40 years after it last played Broadway, with Ruffin adding new material to the book and Schele Williams staging the soulful show that is now easing on down the road across America (Dec. 16-21).
A musical comedy about a con man preying on the innocent people of small-town Corn Cob County, “Shucked” included Minnesotan Caroline Innerbichler as Maizy on Broadway. The tour cast has not yet been announced (Jan. 6-11, 2026).
Both Kander and Ebb’s murder musical “Chicago” (Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 2026) and “Les Misérables” (Feb. 17-22, 2026) are fan favorites, Duesing said.
And while “Elephants” (March 3-8, 2026) and “Suffs” (April 7-12, 2026) are both new, they have inspired dedicated fan followings.
A best play Tony winner, “Harry Potter” has been condensed into one act. Because of its bevy of theatrical wizardry and magic, the play has inspired upgrades at theaters across the country (April 25-May 23, 2026).
“Gatsby” has received tepid reviews for essentially losing the thrust of Fitzgerald’s tragedy but has been praised for individual performances (June 2-7, 2026).
The Hennepin Arts season closes with “Wicked,” which is riding the wave of a successful movie starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. The film captured the first part of the musical. “Wicked: For Good,” which captures the second part, comes out just ahead of the return of the musical to Minneapolis (July 8-Aug. 9, 2026).
Season ticket packages, $384-$1,259, are on sale. Single tickets go on sale later. HennepinArts.org/Broadway.
Regional premieres in the upcoming season also include the suffragist musical “Suffs,” the cornpone-themed “Shucked,” and the soulful “Wiz.”
