Paramount announces four new musical productions for 2013-14

The Paramount Theatre in Aurora's 2013-14 Broadway Series season includes four self-produced musicals, each set for an expanded four-week run.

The lineup features the first Chicago-area professional regional staging of the Tony Award-winning contemporary Latino musical “In the Heights” (Sept. 11-Oct. 6), the “Madame Butterfly”-inspired Vietnam War tragedy “Miss Saigon” (Oct. 30-Nov. 24), the tap dance-heavy Depression-era backstage musical “42nd Street” (Jan. 15-Feb. 9) and the 1996 Pulitzer Prize-winning “La Boheme”-inspired drama “Rent,” about the lives of young New York artists in the age of AIDS (March 12-April 6, 2014).

Paramount Theatre artistic director Jim Corti (the only person to win Jeff Awards in the three categories of direction, choreography and acting), is set to stage “Miss Saigon” and “Rent.” Staging “In the Heights” and “42nd Street” is Jeff Award-winning director Rachel Rockwell, whose recent Paramount staging of “Annie” was deemed by some critics to be better than the current Broadway revival.

Launched just two years ago, the Paramount Theatre's self-produced season of Broadway musicals has grown from strength to strength. The run of each show next season will be extended from three to four weeks to help accommodate the Paramount's more than 20,000 subscribers.

Current Paramount subscribers can renew their Broadway series tickets starting Monday, April 15, while new subscribers can buy starting Monday, June 3. Call (630) 896-6666 or visit paramountaurora.com for more information.

In other Paramount Theatre news, understudy David Girolmo will be performing the role of Tevye during opening weekend of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Originally cast Tevye, Peter Kevoian, has been ill with a bad cold.