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Six Broadway musicals — bookended by November's run of the Carole King story "Beautiful" and the star-crossed romance of June 2017's "Dirty Dancing" — will play in the opening season of downtown's new Eccles Theater.

But the marquee-topping news will be the theater's special events, including the already-announced four-week run of "The Lion King" in March 2017 and a three-week return of the raunchy, sweet "Book of Mormon" in August 2017.

MagicSpace Entertainment announced the season at an Abravanel Hall gala Thursday night, featuring a 30-minute KSL broadcast detailing the upcoming season. Performers at the event included Utah composer Kurt Bestor, the Riverton High choir performing "When I Grow Up," from "Matilda," a musical that will play Salt Lake City in February 2017.

Tickets for the six-show season, which range from $242.50 to $602 (plus fees), go on sale Friday. Last year's five-show package ranged from $199.75 to $408.75.

MagicSpace CEO John Ballard predicted Friday would be the biggest ticket sales day ever for the company, now presenting its 26th season of Broadway shows in Utah. Ballard said the new theater will transform downtown and the experience of attending shows.

"This season is the kind of season we've always wanted to have here, having six shows that are so new, so fresh, spread out throughout the season," said Bruce Granath, vice president of marketing for MagicSpace, the for-profit company that signed a 10-year partnership with Salt Lake County to program the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater.

"We overindex musical theater in every way we can," said Granath, referring to Utahns' love of Broadway soundtracks, as well as robust ticket sales here for regional theaters and national touring shows. "Everybody in the industry knows about Utah. We say basketball and musical theater are the two things we're known for."

"We love the Salt Lake City audience. They're engaged, and they're passionate about theater," said Jack Eldon, a vice president for Disney Theatrical Group, which has been presenting shows in Utah for more than 20 years. "This theater really is a game changer for Salt Lake City."

For example, he said, with the added capacity, entry-level tickets for "Lion King" will be $30, which will be about $10 lower than the same tickets in 2009, Eldon said.

The new 2,500-seat theater on Main Street — which after cost increases and project upgrades is about $7 million over the original announced budget — is slated to open in late October.

On a Thursday afternoon tour of the construction site, "Kinky Boots" producer Hal Luftig joked that he was selecting his seat to prepare for his show's January 2017 tour stop. Luftig, a Tony-award-winning producer, called Salt Lake City a "beacon" for building a new arts facility at a time when other cities are closing theaters. Instead, Luftig says he ascribes to the philosophy of "if you build it, they will come."

Utah composer Kurt Bestor, whose holiday show will move to the new theater for a Dec. 15-17 run, stood on the stage and surveyed the three-tiered house, now blanketed by scaffolding. "It looks a lot closer than my normal view at Abravanel Hall," Bestor said.

Highlights of the construction tour included red-and-orange acoustic panels in the main theater designed to reflect the colors of Utah's canyon country, an "inviting" glass lobby facing Main Street, and views from public balconies facing over the Great Salt Lake. One high-tech amenity will be a fiber-optic "starry sky" of lights.

The center's intimate black box theater bumps out over Regent Street, where four truck-loading bays will make it possible to load scenery and gear right onto the stage. The street is designed to mix retail shops and restaurants with a public plaza, and to connect City Creek Center, the Eccles Theater and Galivan Plaza.

Utah theatergoers might also appreciate the chance to wait outside the stage door and meet the cast after shows, as fans do outside Broadway theaters. Few roadhouses offer that kind of public access, according to Granath.

In conjunction with the new season, producers are looking for Salt Lake City talent by holding auditions for the national tour of "Dirty Dancing" at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center on March 8.

facebook.com/ellen.weist —

Touring Broadway shows

MagicSpace Entertainment, based in Utah, presents Zions Bank Broadway at the Eccles. Season tickets go on sale Friday, March 4, at Broadway-at-the-Eccles.com. Tickets are also available at MagicSpace Entertainment, 610 E. South Temple, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone sales will open on Monday, March 7, at 801-355-5502.

The six-show Broadway season package

Nov. 15-20 • "Beautiful — The Carole King Musical." The Tony- and Grammy Award-winning story of the songwriter's rise.

Dec. 6-11 • "White Christmas." Irving Berlin's songs are the soundtrack for the stage adaptation of the classic holiday movie.

Jan. 17-22, 2017 • "Kinky Boots." A musical celebration of friendships and changing the world through shoes, featuring songs by Cyndi Lauper. The musical won six Tony Awards in 2013, including best musical, best score and best choreography.

Feb. 21-26, 2017 • "Matilda The Musical." A stage adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel about a precocious 5-year-old girl with special powers. The show won four Tony Awards in 2013, including best book of a musical.

May 30-June 4, 2017 • "Cinderella." The lush Rodgers and Hammerstein musical's revival is based on the songs written for the 1957 TV production, with a new book for the 2013 Broadway show written by Douglas Carter Beane. It won a Tony Award for best costumes. Well-loved songs include "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible/It's Possible" and "Ten Minutes Ago."

June 20-25, 2017 • "Dirty Dancing." The stage adaptation of the cult classic 1987 movie about Baby and Johnny (starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey), set in a Catskill Mountains resort, features an eight-piece onstage band and hit songs such as "(I've Had) the Time of My Life." Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones called the U.S. touring debut in 2008 a "3-D replica of the movie," unusual in that the lead characters, Baby and Johnny, dance but don't sing.

Special shows

Dec. 1-3 • "Men Are From Mars — Women Are From Venus Live!" From off-Broadway, the comedy is based on the best-selling book by John Gray and will play at Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center.

Dec. 15-17 • "A Kurt Bestor Christmas." The Utah composer transfers his best-selling local holiday concert to the new Eccles Theater.

Dec. 29-31 • "Cirque Dreams Holidaze." A circuslike holiday stage spectacular featuring more than 300 costumes, 20 acts and 30 performers.

Feb. 2-5, 2017 • "Mamma Mia!" The show featuring the best-selling hits of ABBA returns to Salt Lake City on its farewell tour.

March 23-April 16, 2017 • Disney's "The Lion King." The show won six Tony Awards in 1998, including Best Musical, and features music by Elton John and Tim Rice.

Aug. 1-20, 2017 • "The Book of Mormon." The raunchy, surprisingly sweet musical about mismatched LDS missionaries (by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, of "South Park," with Bobby Lopez of "Frozen" and "Avenue Q") is a long-running hit on Broadway and returns to Salt Lake City after a sold-out Capitol Theatre run last year. —

Dance this way

Utah dancers are invited to audition for the national tour of "Dirty Dancing" on Tuesday, March 8.

Sign-ups are at 10 a.m. at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center's Studio A/B, 138 W. Broadway, Salt Lake City. Auditions will begin at 11 a.m.

Producers are seeking male and female dancers with training in classical ballet or modern dance. Training in Latin or ballroom, or dancers with partnering skills, is a plus. Auditions are for the principal roles of Johnny, Baby and Penny, as well as immediate and future replacements for the ensemble.

Women are asked to bring character or ballroom shoes, as well as flat ballet or jazz shoes. Classic form-fitting, but not trashy or flashy, attire requested. Men are asked to bring jazz or character shoes, and wear well-fitted clothing. (No shorts or baggy sweatpants.)

Bring photo stapled to résumé.

If unable to attend, send photo and résumé to erin@lscasting.org.