Kimmel Center announces 2016-2017 Broadway season

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts has announced its 2016-2017 Broadway season, which includes four Philadelphia premieres. The shows on the schedule have won 29 Tony Awards and numerous other prominent prizes.

Among the premieres, An American in Paris (Nov. 22-27, Academy of Music), the season opener, is Christopher Wheeldon's newly choreographed version of the beloved 1951 film, itself based on the 1928 suite composed by George Gershwin. The show, replete with famed George and Ira Gershwin tunes, won the most Tonys of any production last year, and this is its first time in Philly.

Starring Grammy-nominated singer Deborah Cox, The Bodyguard (Feb 21-26, 2017, Academy of Music) is a musical based on the popular 1992 Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner film about a superstar and the man hired to guard her. It features several classic pop tunes associated with Houston, including "Saving All My Love," "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," and "I Will Always Love You."

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Feb. 28-March 5, 2017, Academy of Music), which won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Play, is Simon Stephens' adaptation and reworking of the award-winning best-seller by Mark Haddon; it's a play-within-a-play, a detective story, and an exploration of inner space. And Fun Home (June 13-18, 2017, Forrest Theatre), which won the 2015 Tony for Best Musical, is an adaptation by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori of Alison Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir. It's an emotional, tuneful family saga and a coming-of-age story.

The calendar is also full of returning Broadway favorites, including Mamma Mia! (Dec. 27-31, Merriam Theater), The King and I (March 22-April 2, 2017, Academy of Music), Cabaret (Apr. 4-9, 2017, Academy of Music), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Apr. 18-23, 2017, Forrest Theatre), Motown the Musical (May 30-June 11, 2017, Academy of Music), and Wicked (July 26-Aug. 27, 2017, Academy of Music).

The Broadway Philadelphia season is a collaborative presentation by the Kimmel Center and the Schubert Organization, which has produced or coproduced hundreds of Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals since 1900.

Subscription packages: $147-$629. Information: 215-893-1955 or kimmelcenter.org/bwy1617. Group (10 or more) sales: 215-790-5883 or 866-276-2947; also kimmelcenter.com/groupsales or telecharge.com/sales. Individual tickets go on sale at a later date.