The producers of the international music sensation ROCKTOPIA are thrilled to announce that the Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum-selling lead singer of Train, Pat Monahan, will make his Broadway debut during the first three weeks of the run, March 20– April 8, 2018. An explosive musical event that fuses the most iconic 20th-Century rock with world-renowned classical compositions,ROCKTOPIA features world-class vocalists—backed by a full symphony orchestra, an electrifying rock band, and a choir performing the works of musical innovators including Journey, Mozart, Queen, Handel, U2, Tchaikovsky, Heart, Beethoven, Led Zeppelin, Copland, The Who and more. ROCKTOPIA makes its Broadway premiere for six weeks, March 20 – April 29, 2018, at The Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway), with an opening night set for Tuesday, March 27. Tickets are now on-sale at Telecharge.com.
As founder and lead singer, Monahan has led Train to great success. The band has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide and more than 30 million tracks, with multiple platinum/gold citations, including 3 GRAMMY awards, 2 Billboard Music Awards, over 13 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, and dozens of other honors. As part of ROCKTOPIA, Monahan will perform multiple songs throughout the show, including Kashmir by Train’s favorite band and musical inspiration Led Zeppelin. Regularly covering Led Zeppelin music in live shows, Train recorded a cover album of Led Zeppelin II in 2016. In addition to Zeppelin and other artists, Monahan will perform a special encore performance featuring a hit Train song merged with a classical composition.
“The entire Rocktopia team is thrilled to have Pat Monahan join us at the Broadway Theatre. Pat’s incredible talent and background lends itself perfectly to our unique musical vision, says Rob Evan, co-creator of ROCKTOPIA. “The fusion we have created with Train’s song for the encore is truly exciting!”
With extensive knowledge of both classical and classic rock genres, vocalist and recording artist Rob Evan (Les Misérables, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) and Maestro Randall Craig Fleischer (San Francisco Symphony) created the completely original, spine-tingling musical arrangements in ROCKTOPIA by matching themes, potency, and emotional resonance in the songs before fusing them together.
For the full six-week engagement, the groundbreaking live concert will be performed by a celebrated, diverse array of rock, Broadway, and opera vocalists: Rob Evan (Broadway: Les Misérables, Jekyll & Hyde and more, Trans-Siberian Orchestra); Chloe Lowery (Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Chris Botti, Yanni’s Voices); Tony Vincent (Broadway: American Idiot, RENT, NBC’s “The Voice”); Kimberly Nichole (NBC’s “The Voice,” performs with Janelle Monae, Slash, Joe Walsh, The Heavy); and featuring Alyson Cambridge (The Merry Widow at The Met, Madame Butterfly, La Boheme, Show Boat). The world-class musicians featured in the ROCKTOPIA band include Grammy and Emmy Award nominated violinist Máiréad Nesbitt (Celtic Woman, Lord of the Dance); acclaimed guitarist Tony Bruno (MD & guitar for Enrique Iglesias & Rihanna, “America’s Got Talent”); pianist Henry Aronson(MD/Conductor/keys for entire Broadway run of Rock of Ages, The Who’s Tommy); bass player Mat Fieldes (Joe Jackson’s Grammy winning album Symphony No. 1, the Gorillaz,Book of Mormon); and drummer Alex Alexander (David Bowie, Jimmy Cliff, Ritchie Blackmore).
An inaugural performance of the show, “Rocktopia: Live from Budapest” produced by Two Hands Entertainment/Jeff Rowland, was recorded in front of a live audience in June 2016 at the 19th century Hungarian State Opera House for PBS. It was performed with the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra with six vocalists, a five-piece rock band, the Hungarian State Opera Chorus, and the Jazz and More Choir. ROCKTOPIA has since toured over twenty cities in the United States, featuring local symphonies and choirs across the country.
ROCKTOPIA is produced by ROCKTOPIA Broadway LLC (William Franzblau, Executive Producer and Maggie Seidel-Laws, Associate Producer) in association with HUGHES WALL LLC.
Tickets are now on-sale via Telecharge.com. Special student pricing, beginning at $39, is available for the duration of the run. The performance schedule is Monday, Tuesday & Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2 & 8pm, Sunday at 2 & 7pm. There is no performance on Monday, March 26 or Tuesday, April 3. Performances have been added on Wednesday, March 21 at 7:30pm; Wednesday, March 28 at 7:30pm; and Wednesday, April 4 at 7:30pm. Pat Monahan will perform in all shows between March 20 – April 8, with the exception of March 21 & March 22.
