BWW Looks Forward: Our Most Highly Anticipated Austin Productions for 2013

As 2013 begins, there are already several productions that are on BroadwayWorld's radar. Here is a brief list of some of the most highly anticipated productions Austin has to offer in the coming year...

1. Avenue Q - Austin Theater Project

Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. Book by Jeff Whitty.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT:

Winner of the Tony "Triple Crown" for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book, AVENUE Q is part flesh, part felt and packed with heart. AVENUE Q is a laugh-out-loud musical that tells the timeless story of a recent college grad named Princeton who moves into a shabby New York apartment all the way out on Avenue Q. He soon discovers that although the residents seem nice, it's clear that this is not your ordinary neighborhood. Together, Princeton and his new-found friends struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive purpose in life.

WHY WE'RE INTERESTED:

Avenue Q is a raunchy, crowd-pleasing laugh riot, and Austin Theater Project's production will be a regional premiere for Austin.

2. The Merchant of Venice - The Baron's Men

By William Shakespeare.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT:

Led by Director Christina Peppas and Assistant Director Laura Trezise, we will undertake this challenging play as an adventure, in the spirit of love and collaboration characteristic of TBM. Relationships play out in a microcosm, and here, that microcosm is Shakespeare's Venice. Together, we will create our version of this world, embracing its inhabitants' strengths and weaknesses, and striving to fulfill Merchant's comedic and tragic elements. Set Designer Rodrigo Barajas will capture the atmosphere of "La Serenissima" with different styles of arches lightly dressing the façade, complementing and harmonizing with our Elizabethan theater. A wooden, arched footbridge will meld with our stage structure and bring to mind one of the approximately 400 bridges in Venice. Our musicians, under Music Director Howard Burkett, will perform period music by Italian composers such as Claudio Monteverdi and Salamone Rossi. The play's producers are Pam Martin and Dawn Allee.

WHY WE'RE INTERESTED:

A Shakespearian masterpiece performed in The Curtain Theatre, Austin's replica of The Old Globe. Need I say more? Even Shakespeare himself would be pleased.

3. Priscilla Queen of the Desert - Broadway Across America National Tour

Music and Lyrics by Various Artists. Book by Stephen Elliott and Allan Scott.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT:

This spectacular show tells the uplifting story of a trio of friends, on a road trip of a lifetime, who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship in the middle of the Australian outback and end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed.

An international hit with over 500 dazzling, 2011 Tony Award-winning costumes, Priscilla Queen of the Desert features a hit parade of dance-floor favorites including "It's Raining Men," "Finally" and "I Will Survive." The Hollywood Reporter calls Priscilla "funny and fabulous! Joyous entertainment with eye-popping visuals and unexpected heart!"

WHY WE'RE INTERESTED:

Doesn't a show about drag queens who belt out Madonna tunes sound perfect for a town whose slogan is "Keep Austin Weird"?

4. South Pacific - Georgetown Palace Theatre

Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan.