Miller Auditorium announces full 2012-13 event lineup

Contact: Tonya Durlach
Artwork from Broadway musical Wicked.

"Wicked" returns to Miller Auditorium in 2013.

KALAMAZOO--Western Michigan University's Miller Auditorium has added the Lake Michigan Mailers Spotlight Series and Broadway Plus events to its 2012-13 lineup, joining the previously announced PNC Broadway in West Michigan Series of "West Side Story," "Les Misérables," "Hair" and "Wicked."

Available now, season subscriptions are the best way to receive discounted tickets and priority seating. Subscriptions range from $109 to $239 and include tickets to all four PNC Broadway in West Michigan Series shows, with an optional add-on of "Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles" and "American Idiot." Add-on prices range from $18 to $48 per show.

Flex Pass subscriptions are also available and include at least four shows from any of the 2012-13 season offerings. Prices vary depending on seating preference and the number of shows purchased.

Returning subscribers must renew by June 7 to retain preferred seats.

Single-show tickets will go on sale several weeks before each performance. For more information about individual performances, group discounts or subscription options, visit millerauditorium.com or call the Miller Auditorium Ticket Office at (269) 387-2300 or (800) 228-9858.

2012-13 PNC Broadway in West Michigan Series

  • "West Side Story"
    Nov. 13-14
    --More than 50 years ago one musical changed theatre forever. Now it's back and mesmerizing audiences once again. From the first note to the final breath, West Side Story remains one of the greatest love stories of all time. The Bernstein and Sondheim score is considered to be one of Broadway's finest and features such classics of the American musical theatre as "Something's Coming," "Tonight," "America," "I Feel Pretty" and "Somewhere." As the Associated Press says, "West Side Story remains Broadway's best dance-driven musical. Five decades have not dimmed the extraordinary choreography or the score that pulsates throughout."
  • "Les Misérables"
    Jan. 29-Feb. 3, 2013
    --Cameron Mackintosh presents a new 25th anniversary production of Boublil and Schonberg's legendary musical, "Les Misérables," with redesigned staging and scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. The new production has been acclaimed by critics and fans alike, breaking box office records. The New York Times hails the new show as "an unquestionably spectacular production from start to finish."
  • "Hair"
    Feb. 26-27, 2013
    --The Public Theater's new production of "Hair" won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival. The new production about a group of young Americans searching for peace and love in a turbulent time has struck a resonant chord with audiences young and old. "Hair" features an extraordinary cast and unforgettable songs, including "Aquarius," "Let the Sun Shine In," "Good Morning, Starshine" and "Easy to be Hard."
  • "Wicked"
    April 24-May 5, 2013
    --Long before that girl from Kansas was dropped into Munchkinland, two girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and popular. How these two grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good makes for what USA Today called "the most complete--and completely satisfying--new musical in a long time." Winner of 35 major awards, including a Grammy and three Tony Awards, "Wicked" has been shattering box-office records around the globe. When it last played at Miller in 2010, it broke box office records and sold out in record time.

2012-13 Broadway Plus Series

  • "Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles"
    Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, 8 p.m.--"Rain," the internationally acclaimed Beatles concert, returns by popular demand. In a show the Associated Press calls "the next best thing to seeing the Beatles," the award-winning tribute band will perform the full range of Beatles' discography live on stage, including such classics as "Yesterday," "Hey Jude"  and "Come Together," as well as songs recorded in the studio but never performed for an audience. Together longer than the Beatles, the "Rain" cast has mastered every song, gesture and nuance of the legendary foursome, delivering a totally live, note-for-note performance that is as infectious as it is transporting.
  • "American Idiot"
    Tuesday, March 26, 2013, 7:30 p.m.--The smash-hit musical "American Idiot" tells the story of three lifelong friends, forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia. Based on Green Day's Grammy Award-winning multi-platinum album and featuring the hits "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "21 Guns," "Wake me up When September Ends," "Holiday" and the blockbuster title track, "American Idiot" boldly takes the American musical where it has never gone before. The result is an experience Charles Isherwood of the New York Times declares "thrilling, emotionally charged and as moving as any Broadway musical I've seen this year!"

2012-13 Lake Michigan Mailers Spotlight Series

  • Capitol Steps
    Friday, Oct. 19, 8 p.m.
  • "Cirque Chinois"
    Friday, Oct. 26, 8 p.m.
  • In The Mood
    Sunday, Oct. 28, 3 p.m.
  • Jazz Masters with New York Voices, featuring the University Jazz Orchestra and Gold Company
    Thursday, Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m.
  • "Menopause the Musical"
    Friday, Nov. 2, 8 p.m.
    Saturday, Nov. 3, 2 and 8 p.m.
    Sunday, Nov. 4, 2 p.m.
  • Step Afrika!
    Tuesday, Nov. 27, 7:30 p.m.
  • "Mannheim Steamroller Christmas" by Chip Davis
    Wednesday, Nov. 28, 7:30 p.m.
  • Handel’s "Messiah" with the WMU Grand Chorus and the University Symphony Orchestra
    Sunday, Dec. 2, 3 p.m.
  • "The Nutcracker" with the Grand Rapids Ballet and Raymond Harvey, conductor
    Saturday, Dec. 8, 8 p.m.
    Sunday, Dec. 9, 3 p.m.
  • Bill Cosby
    Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013, 8 p.m.
  • Gold Company's 35th Anniversary Spectacular with Dr. Steve Zegree, director
    Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, 2 and 8 p.m.
  • Kathleen Madigan
    Friday, Feb. 15, 2013, 8 p.m.
  • Cornell Gunter’s Coasters, Bobby Hendricks Drifters and The Platters
    Friday, March 8, 2013, 8 p.m.
  • Peter Gros of "Wild Kingdom"
    Sunday, March 24, 2013, 3 p.m.
  • Celtic Woman's "Believe"
    Friday, April 5, 2013, 8 p.m.