Paramount's new Broadway season: Familiar musicals, recent plays

Paramount Theatre's 2009 Broadway Across America season of touring shows will have no new Broadway musicals, but a couple of recent Broadway plays are featured in the lineup.

The scheduled slate of productions in the Paramount's season subscription package:

"Disney's The Lion King": A return run of Julie Taymor's blockbuster show based on the animated Disney cartoon (Feb. 11-March 15, 2009).

"Frost/Nixon": The national touring edition of Peter Morgan's Tony Award-nominated play about David Frost's famous post-Watergate TV interview with former U.S. President Richard Nixon will star Stacy Keach as Nixon (May 6-10, 2009).

"Wicked": An extended, encore run of the ongoing Broadway hit about the witches from "The Wizard of Oz" (Sept. 2-Oct. 4, 2009).

"August, Osage County": The Tracy Letts play about a wildly dysfunctional Oklahoma family was the recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for drama (Oct. 27-Nov. 1, 2009).

"Fiddler On the Roof": The perennial musical set in the tiny Russian-Jewish village of Anatevka will star Topol, the film's iconic Tevye (Nov. 27-Dec. 5, 2009).

In addition to the subscription series, the Paramount will present a run of Andrew Lloyd Webber's long-touring feline extravaganza, "Cats" (April 15-19, 2009), and another stand of the rock musical "Rent," starring original cast members Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal (June 16-21, 2009).

The season reflects the paucity of fresh Broadway musicals available for the road, and the unusual (for Seattle) prospect of getting the first national tour of contemporary plays, which would usually be first produced here by one of the city's larger professional playhouses.

Season packages are on sale now for returning and new season-ticket holders (more information: 888-451-4042 or www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com/Seattle). Single tickets for most shows will go on sale at a later date.

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com