DULUTH — Four touring Broadway productions will offer performances at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center's Symphony Hall, the DECC announced Monday.
"Chicago," "Pretty Woman," "Mean Girls" and "Riverdance" will hit Duluth during the first half of 2025.
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"This is very exciting news," said DECC director Dan Hartman at a Monday news conference. "It's been 13 years since a Broadway series has been to not only Duluth, but the region, really."
The Roberts Group, an Indiana-based promoter, is bringing the shows to Duluth under the series title "Broadway at the DECC." Daniel Hampel, The Roberts Group managing director, said the announcement marked the first time in a dozen years that his company had launched a new market for touring shows.
"It's a very competitive situation for promoters to find markets where there's no Broadway that has a beautiful Symphony Hall like this with enough seats, 2,000-plus, to bring these shows in," said Hampel. "This doesn't just happen every day."
Tickets for the shows will initially be sold only in season packages, which will be available starting Friday. Any remaining tickets will go on sale by individual performance sometime later this fall, said Hampel.
"Chicago" (coming to Duluth on Jan. 21) is a classic of musical theater, premiering in 1975 and forming the basis for an Oscar-winning film adaptation in 2002. "Pretty Woman" (Feb. 16) is a 2018 adaptation of the hit 1990 romantic comedy movie.
"Mean Girls" (April 7) is a 2017 adaptation of the 2004 film and was seen this summer in a youth production by Duluth Playhouse. In the touring production, the lead role of Cady Heron is currently played by University of Minnesota Twin Cities graduate Natalie Shaw.
"Riverdance" (May 17), a show spotlighting traditional Irish music and dance, started as an interval act during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. It was expanded into a full-length show the following year and will play Duluth on a 30th anniversary tour that "rejuvenates" the original production.
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Hampel and Hartman said they're already working to schedule a second season, with shows likely to take place between November 2025 and May 2026. While the shows in the upcoming season are popular productions, Hampel said Duluthians can't expect to see the very biggest touring shows — yet.
"'Wicked,' 'Lion King,' 'Hamilton,'" said Hampel, "they are two-week minimum, meaning that we'd have to guarantee that we're going to sell 30,000-plus tickets. ... That doesn't mean I don't think that could happen one day. We want to start with the first year and build this season up."
Hartman said that when a touring production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" played Symphony Hall in February, "it was actually one of the highest-attended (performances) on their route. It really showed that Duluth is ready for this again."
The return of regular stops by touring Broadway shows is part of the DECC's renewed focus on entertainment, said Hartman, who credited the venue's assistant director of events and entertainment, Kimberly Carr, for making the new season a reality.
"From what I can gather," said Hartman, addressing the 13-year gap since the last season of touring shows, "there was definitely an attendance slump at some point, and I think there was just, frankly, less interest in the DECC at the time to do more of this style."
The news conference also included a ceremonial ribbon-cutting presented by the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce. Chamber President Matt Baumgartner said the timing of the shows, which will be playing outside of Duluth's peak summer tourist season, will benefit the local economy.
"These are great things for us to have between January and May," Baumgartner said after the ribbon cutting. "It really helps out our restaurants, our hotels, it helps out our retail and our merchants."
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Hartman pointed out that much of the DECC's audience comes from outside the Twin Ports, with about 15% coming from the Twin Cities metro area.
"I love when they come up here to go on vacation and spend time and their money in Duluth," he said.
According to Hartman, DECC staff have been in regular contact with the organizations presenting touring shows in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
"The folks in the Twin Cities market are very excited about us doing this, because it helps them land future shows," Hartman said.
"Mean Girls," for example, has announced dates at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul from April 8-13. The newly-announced April 7 date in Duluth gives that show another performance to sell while in Minnesota, and thus adds value to the swing through the state.
"The thing that I've been told is very special about this theater is that it actually has a full fly, so the curtains go entirely up, they're not rolled up," said Hartman, standing on the Symphony Hall stage.
"Duluth is an amazing place," said Hampel, "but it's very far north, so routing-wise, it's hard to make everything fit into a season, which is why it takes 12 to 18 months to find the right four or five shows spread out one month apart."
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"When I first connected with you," said Baumgartner to Hampel, "I could feel the enthusiasm and the energy that was coming from you to bring these shows here — which was significant for me, because I'm sitting here talking to Broadway, and so I'm just thrilled that (regular touring shows are) coming back after 13 years."
This story was updated at 9:26 a.m. Nov. 22 to remove an incorrect statement about the distinctiveness of Symphony Hall's fly system. It was originally posted at 2:09 p.m. Sept. 9. The News Tribune regrets the error.
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