‘Mean Girls’ will kick off a Kansas City Broadway season packed with new musicals

After mega-hits “Hamilton” and “Dear Evan Hansen” highlighted the past two seasons, the Kansas City Broadway Series will double down on the trend of bringing recent — or even current — hits to town for its 2020-21 season.

While this year’s season included chestnuts like “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Miss Saigon,” all but one of the musicals in the coming season played on Broadway in 2019.

Three are still running: recent hits “Mean Girls” and “Ain’t Too Proud,” as well as “Wicked,” a Kansas City favorite. “Wicked” is an optional add-on to the season package for people who want to upgrade from six shows to seven, or swap out one of the offerings.

Three other shows closed on Broadway in the past several months: “The Cher Show,” “Tootsie” and “The Band’s Visit.”

The classic “Jesus Christ Superstar” will round out the season.

Amy Hamm, president of the Kansas City-based American Theatre Guild, said it is by design that the series has lined up so many newer shows.

“That’s been a real emphasis this season,” Hamm said, “getting real fresh, award-winning shows to Kansas City. That’s something we’re proud of.”

All the shows except “Wicked” will have one-week runs at the Music Hall or Muriel Kauffman Theatre in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

“Wicked,” which is still going strong after more than 16 years on Broadway, will run for three weeks. It previously played here as part of the Broadway Series in 2008, 2009, 2013 and 2015.

“I think it has been presented here more than any other show,” said Leslie Broecker, president of the Midwest region of Broadway Across America.

Season tickets start at $241 for the core six shows and are now on sale. Tickets to individual shows will be available later in the year. Contact broadwayinkc.com or 816-421-7500. Here’s the full line-up:

“Mean Girls”

Oct. 27-Nov. 1 at Music Hall

Tina Fey of “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock” fame wrote the 2004 “Mean Girls” movie as well as the book for the stage musical about a new girl adapting to the cutthroat world of teen girls at a suburban Illinois high school. “Mean Girls” was nominated for 12 Tony Awards in 2018 but didn’t win any, losing in many categories to “The Band’s Visit.” Fey recently announced that a film adaptation of the musical is in the works.

“The Cher Show”

Dec. 1-6 at Music Hall

The real Cher will put on a show at the Sprint Center on April 18, and 7 ½ months later, three Chers will light up the stage at the Music Hall. Three women share the title role as the pop star grows into a superstar and an icon in “The Cher Show,” which encompasses six decades, 35 hits and two rock-star husbands. “The Cher Show” ran on Broadway from Dec. 3, 2018, through Aug. 18, 2019, winning two Tony Awards.

“Tootsie”

Feb. 16-21, 2021, at Music Hall

The 1982 movie comedy starring Dustin Hoffman as out-of-work actor/soap opera star Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels was turned into a musical comedy that closed its Broadway run Jan. 5 after opening April 23, 2019. It earned 11 Tony Award nominations in 2019, winning two, including best book of a musical by Robert Horn. David Yazbek wrote the music and lyrics for “Tootsie” as well as for “The Band’s Visit.”

“The Band’s Visit”

March 23-28, 2021, at Kauffman Center

Winner of 10 Tony Awards in 2018, including best musical, “The Band’s Visit” is based on a 2007 Israeli film of the same name. The Broadway production, which closed April 7 after 589 regular performances, tells the story of an Egyptian police band that arrives in Israel for a concert but is sent to a remote village in the middle of the desert after a mix-up at the border.

“Jesus Christ Superstar”

May 18-23, 2021, at Kauffman Center

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, a new production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” is touring North America. The iconic musical, which opened on Broadway in 1971 and had revivals in 1977, 2000 and 2012, depicts the final weeks in the life of Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of Judas. The familiar score includes “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” “Heaven on Their Minds” and “Superstar.”

“Wicked”

June 2-20, 2021, at Music Hall

One of the five longest-running shows in Broadway history, “Wicked” opened Oct. 30, 2003, and continues to fill Broadway’s largest venue, the Gershwin Theatre. It also has been hugely popular in Kansas City during four previous Kansas City Broadway Series appearances. “Wicked” tells the story of two girls who meet in the land of Oz, long before Dorothy ever arrived, and how they grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.

“Ain’t Too Proud”

July 20-25, 2021, at Music Hall

The Temptations’ journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame comes alive in “Ain’t Too Proud,” which has set box-office records since opening March 21. With hits such as “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” the musical follows the group’s personal and political conflicts that threatened to tear them apart during America’s decade of civil unrest.