Providence Performing Arts Center 2023/2024 Season: A Review

As I mentioned in the previous story, “Providence Performing Arts Center Announces Their 2023/2024 Season”, PPAC announced all the shows that will be performed there up through April 2024. Personally, I was really disappointed by their lineup. This past season had big names, such as Les Misérables and Annie. They also had three of my favorite musicals; Mean Girls, Six, and Beetlejuice. Their season title of “Simply the Best” wasn’t a misnomer. Compare that with this coming year’s selection. In my opinion, almost all of the musicals can fit into one of 3 categories. Those categories are “Who’s heard of it?”, “Made for kids”, and “Wasn’t that just here?” Musicals like To Kill a Mockingbird, (yes, it’s a musical now) and Company fit into the first category. Frozen, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Mrs. Doubtfire fit into the second, and The Book of Mormon and Ain’t Too Proud fit into the last. Overall, I’m sad to say that this year’s selection of musicals was a bit of a let down. As we close out a year of hits, PPAC introduces a year of musicals that collectively fall short of their predecessors.