Aurora's Paramount Theatre to stage 'Little Shop of Horrors,' 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'
Paramount Theatre in Aurora on Monday announced the lineups for its 2023-24 Broadway Series, which takes place on the main stage, and the Bold Series, staged across the street at the Copley Theatre.
Composed of musicals in which young people realize their potential as artists and entrepreneurs, Paramount's 12th main stage season will commence Aug. 30 with a revival of "Little Shop of Horrors," the Howard Ashman-Harold Menken musical about a nebbishy flower shop employee and the man-eating plant who threatens him and his friends.
That will be followed by "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (Nov. 8-Jan. 14, 2024), adapted from Roald Dahl's novel about a young boy who wins a golden ticket to tour the factory of famed candy-maker Willy Wonka. After that is "Billy Elliot: The Musical" (Feb. 7-March 24, 2024), the coming-of-age tuner by Elton John and Lee Hall about an 11-year-old boy who, to the chagrin of his coal miner father, discovers a love of ballet.
The Broadway Series will conclude with a revival of the bio-musical "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," running April 24 to June 16, 2024.
Performances take place at 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. Buy-two-shows, get-two-shows free subscriptions start at $56.
Paramount also announced the second season of its Bold Series at the Copley Theatre, 8 E. Galena Blvd.
The three-show season includes the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical "Next to Normal" (July 26-Sept. 3), about the impact of bipolar disorder on a suburban mom and her family. That will be followed by Heidi Schreck's "What the Constitution Means to Me" (Oct. 4-Nov. 12), a mostly autobiographical examination of one of the country's foundational documents. The Bold Series will conclude with Tennessee Williams' classic "A Streetcar Named Desire" (March 13-April 21, 2024), about a fading southern belle who goes to live with her sister and her brutish husband.
Three-show Bold Series subscriptions start at $75.
Subscription renewals for both series will begin at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 30. Single tickets for the Bold Series ill go on sale June 2, while single tickets for the Broadway Series will go on sale July 24. Call (630) 896-6666 or visit paramountaurora.com.