Fans of the touring Broadway shows at Michigan State University’s Wharton Center are finding out what’s in store for the 2026-27 season.
This October, the season will open with “The Notebook,” a musical adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks book and film. The love story is told in three stages of life with three sets of actors playing the characters as they age.
Wharton Center Senior Marketing Manager Tara Peplowski tells audience members to bring their tissues, because it gets emotional.
“When you put that score behind it by Ingrid Michaelson, it really elevates those emotions,” she said.
“I think we’re going to have a lot of waterworks, not just on stage in the lovely rain scene but also in the audience.”
Yes, the production includes the movie’s famous rain scene, with real water.
“Hell’s Kitchen” arrives next January. It’s based on the life and music of Alicia Keys.
Wharton Executive Director Eric Olmscheid says it captures everything you want in a big new musical.
"It’s spectacular choreography, great scenic elements, and of course, at the core of it is her music," Olmscheid said. "Much of it is known because it’s her catalog and songs that are very popular, but she also wrote a handful of tunes specifically for the Broadway show that are brand new for this story.”
In February of 2027, “Boop! The Musical” will be at Wharton. Eric Olmscheid says the production is a new take on the classic cartoon character, Betty Boop.
“It’s a family friendly, all-ages musical comedy,” he explained. “Everyone kind of knows Boop as a black and white animation character, and that’s where the show starts. She jumps off of the screen, so to speak, being an animation character and into real life, into a colorful New York City in present day.”
The longest run of the coming season, three weeks, marks the return of “Disney’s The Lion King” in April of next year.
It will be the fourth time Lion King has been at Wharton.
Olmscheid says that every few years, there’s a new generation of young theatre goers who haven’t seen it, and it’s the same spectacle it’s always been. The production includes bringing in 17 trucks and 200 puppets, with a massive cast.
The “Circle of Life” number will happen right through the middle of Wharton Center. Seats will be removed to create two aisles for the procession into the Great Hall.
Olmscheid is also pleased that the Tony Award winner for Best Musical “The Outsiders” will arrive next June.
“It's the age-old story set in the 60’s in Tulsa. S.E. Hinton wrote this as a very young girl, based on the Greasers and the Socs, the haves and the have-nots, and that story just comes to life beautifully.”
Like “The Notebook,” “The Outsiders” also includes a scene with falling rain.
The season will wrap up with the classic “The Phantom of the Opera,” returning from August 25 to September 5 next year. Tara Peplowski prefers this production over earlier versions.
“This is the best production of “Phantom” that I’ve seen, and I was not a big fan of “Phantom” before. I am a big fan of “Phantom” now. The sets are extravagant. The costumes are extravagant. It’s fresh, yet nostalgic in the way that it needs to be.”
Wharton will also have two returning musicals not included in the season package: “Beetlejuice” this September, and “SIX” in December.
The Wharton Center box office opens today at 9 a.m.
The MSU Wharton Center is a financial supporter of WKAR.
