Broadway musicals, Hollywood actors to hit Istanbul stage

ISTANBUL

Australian actor Hugh Jackman will bring his “An Evening with Hugh Jackman” show, featuring dancers and a 27-piece orchestra, to the city for three days.

Famed musicals from Broadway and Hollywood will appear in Istanbul during the new season at Zorlu Center PSM. Among these productions are “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Between Oct. 8 and 26, Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” musical will be performed in Turkey for the first time, as part of the musical’s 20th-year special tour. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature film, “Beauty and the Beast” is the classic story of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, who meets the Beast, a young prince trapped in the spell of an enchantress.

More than 1,000 tickets for the musical were sold in just one day, according to Zorlu Center PSM Director Ray Cullom, who spoke at a press conference last week.

“I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” a musical performed for 12 years and adapted in a number of countries, will also open in Istanbul on Oct. 24. The play centers around a relationship that has existed ever since the dawn of time and remains unchanged at its core regardless of time, place or circumstance.

Australian actor Hugh Jackman, known to movie-goers as the muscle-bound Wolverine character from the “X-Men” series, has recast himself in recent years as a star in musical productions. Having performed in the 2012 blockbuster production of “Les Miserables,” the Tony-Award-winning actor will bring his “An Evening with Hugh Jackman” show, featuring dancers and a 27-piece orchestra, to the city for three days, beginning March 17.

French star Gerard Depardieu will star alongside actress Anouk Aimee on Jan. 8 in Istanbul’s first performance of “Love Letters,” a play by A.R. Gurney that has been translated into 30 languages. Focusing on a love affair of 50 years, the drama has been performed by many other Hollywood notables, such as Christopher Walken, Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s famous work and longest-running musical on Broadway, “The Phantom of the Opera,” will also open in Istanbul for the first time between April 8 and 26.  The musical tells the story of a disfigured musical genius known only as “The Phantom,” who haunts the depths of the Paris Opera House. Mesmerized by the talents and beauty of a young soprano, Christine, the Phantom lures her as his protégé and falls fiercely in love with her. Unaware of Christine’s love for Raoul, the Phantom’s obsession sets the scene for a dramatic turn of events in which jealously, madness and passion collide.

On March 12 to 14, the New York City Ballet, one of the world’s most prestigious dance companies, will visit Istanbul in one of its few departures from its New York City home. The organization will bring the city four sensational ballets with two different choreographers and music by four different master composers in one night, including Concerto Barocco, Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, Dances at a Gathering and Symphony in Three Movements.

Tickets for all events are available online.