A really grand opening; Three Broadway spectacles mark the first season of the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts.

Byline: Richard Duckett

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The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts has announced the first three shows of its "Broadway at the Hanover" series.

The national touring productions of "Hairspray," "Stomp" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" will appear at the newly renovated 2,300-seat theater in March, April and May, respectively.

These are the first shows the Hanover Theatre has announced for its performing space on Southbridge Street in Worcester. Subscriptions for the three shows are available beginning today; single tickets for the shows will go on sale in January.

"This is a very big deal for us," said Troy Siebels, executive director of the Hanover Theatre, concerning the announcement. "They're all national touring shows. They're all booked out of New York."

"Hairspray" will be performed one night only at 7:30 p.m. March 25. The musical-comedy phenomenon set in Baltimore in 1962 won eight 2003 Tony Awards, including best musical

"Stomp" - in which an eight-member troupe uses unconventional objects to create a non-stop celebration of percussion - is scheduled for 8 p.m. April 18; 5 and 9 p.m. April 19; and 1 p.m. April 20.

"Jesus Christ Superstar," starring Ted Neeley in the title role, will be performed at 7:30 p.m. May 14 and 15.

Siebels said that in April, the Hanover Theatre will announce a fall series of Broadway shows. When the theater is fully up and running, Siebels anticipates that it will host about six or seven national touring Broadway shows a year.

He noted that at any one moment there are about 20 to 40 such shows touring the country. Asked how the selection of the productions is made, Siebels said, "We're trying to get a mix of things. We don't want three percussion shows like `Stomp.' These (Hanover's spring lineup) are three very different styles."

Some touring shows may be confined to the West Coast and

are unavailable. Meanwhile, others may be booked at venues such as the Providence Performing Arts Center, which has a Broadway series of its own (with "Monty Python's Spamalot," for example, coming to Providence Jan.29-Feb. 3). Several Boston theaters host touring shows or special productions such as "Irving Berlin's White Christmas." In terms of booking a touring show that may be appearing nearby a few days earlier or later, "I would try to avoid that for a while," Siebels said. Ideally, a gap of about six months would overcome a sense of overlap. "But I wouldn't want to avoid them forever."

Is Siebels hearing any buzz about the upcoming curtain openings?

"We absolutely are," he said. "But we get kind of a strange mix. There's buzz and excitement, but there are some people who don't know of it yet. So now it will be more real to those who hadn't heard of it."

Siebels has previously served as producing director at the Stoneham Theatre in Stoneham - also a renovated theater. Longtime readers of this space might remember when he was the ambitious managing director of the American Stage Festival in Milford, N.H., during the mid-'90s.

The original Hanover Theatre structure, built in 1904, was known as the Franklin Square Theatre and later was the Grand Theatre. In its heyday it had a 3,000-seat theater with elaborate furnishings, mirrored walls and a grand staircase.

In 1967 National Amusements Inc. transformed the building into a cinema complex of three smaller screens - a design in synch with the times but dated by the mid-'90s. In 2002 National Amusements transferred ownership to the nonprofit Worcester Center for Performing Arts Inc. for a nominal fee. Bit by bit the new project has taken shape financially, philosophically and physically. For the past several months, people walking by the Franklin Square area have seen the evidence of work going on externally and internally at the Hanover Theatre.

Now comes the long-awaited news of shows opening. There will be an official grand opening event, but Siebels said details had not been finalized as of last week.

Once it is operational, the Hanover Theatre plans to host Broadway plays and musicals, concerts, comedy shows and children's programming. Also, members of the Colleges of the Worcester Consortium collectively have pledged $190,000 a year in financial support, including grants and payments for rental of space for classes, meetings, private functions, staging their own productions and buying blocks of tickets.

"It will be a good mix of Broadway musicals, and family shows and local organizations, too. It was important to be seen as not just a stop on a national tour but to have local roots, too," Siebels said.

Of course, Worcester has its own full-time professional theater company in the form of Worcester Foothills Theatre. In an earlier interview, Mel L. Greenberg, president of the Foothills board of directors, said he didn't see the Hanover Theatre as a threat. Foothills, with its 349-seat theater, offers different types of shows, he said. Besides, Greenberg said, he has seen that in other cities the existence of two or three theater operations heightens interest in people attending a number of theatrical events. Theater could play a big part in reviving downtown Worcester, he said. Indeed, Greenberg also serves on the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts board of trustees.

Nevertheless, this is probably the first time local theater-goers will have a chance to see national touring shows on a regular basis since the 1980s, when visiting productions (sometimes with mixed success) came to the former E. M. Loew's Plymouth Theater - now The Palladium.

"We drive to Boston and Providence to see touring shows," Siebels said of the current situation.

So is Worcester ready for Broadway?

Siebels said that market studies found "disbelief" among producers that a city the size of Worcester did not have a venue for Broadway shows. In fact, it was just about the largest city in the country without one.

News of the birth of the Hanover Theatre subsequently spread quickly.

"Producers are very interested," Siebels said.

Subscription pricing for the "Broadway at The Hanover" series ranges from $95 to $149 for all three shows. Gift certificates can also be purchased. Call (877) 571-SHOW for reservations, or visit www.thehanovertheatre.org for more information or to download a reservation form.

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) "Stomp" will be at the Hanover Theatre April 18 through 20. (2, 3) "Hairspray" (top) opens the Hanover Theatre "Broadway at the Hanover" series on March 25 while "Jesus Christ Superstar" with Ted Neely (bottom) runs May 14 and 15.