2025-26 Broadway in Saginaw Series Showcases Irish Culture, Mysterious Intrigue, Slapstick, & Homespun Charm

For over five decades through their successful award-winning Broadway in Saginaw Series, the Nederlander Organization has brought top-notch hit Broadway theatrical productions such as Hello Dolly, The Color Purple, and Cats to over 30 markets throughout the United States and for their 2025-26 series are upping the ante with a trio of performances that starts by bringing the homespun charm of the Smoky Mountains to Mid-Michigan for the holidays, continues with an ever-evolving interactive slapstick murder mystery, and concludes with a 30-year anniversary tribute to the powerful alchemy of Irish culture. 

This year’s Broadway in Saginaw series kicks off on December 2^nd with the national touring production of Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol, a heartwarming theatrical experience featuring music and lyrics written by eleven-time GRAMMY winner Dolly Parton and book by David H. Bell, adapted by Paul T. Couch, Curt Wollan, and Bell.  This legendary holiday tale is re-written as a new American classic featuring Dickens’ classic characters and Parton’s one-of-a-kind songwriting expertise, making this a holiday event you’ll want to share with those you love.

Set in the 1930s in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, this unforgettable production and amazing cast imagines Ebenezer Scrooge as the owner of a mining company town, where his callous greed blinds him to the joys and gifts of the season. As a Christmas Eve snowstorm approaches, Scrooge is visited by his deceased business partner and three ghosts who compel him to see life anew and discover that love is the greatest gift we have. With an overall tone that is uplifting, heartfelt, and filled with Dolly Parton’s signature warmth and music, this show is a great choice for families, school groups, and holiday outings.

According to Micah McDade, regional marketing director for Nederlander, “This is a brand new take on a musical that had its world-premier a few years ago, and while Dolly Parton doesn’t appear in the show, her original music and lyrics are new and fresh. I’m a massive fan of hers as I grew up in the South so grew up with her music; but as a Dolly Parton fan I’m excited to hear new music from her within the context of a familiar story set with kind of a Dolly Parton twist, so I think this musical will be a great experience for the entire family.”

For the second production of this year’s Broadway in Saginaw series, murder, blackmail,  rapid banter and slapstick comedy are in perfect balance with enthralling drama for eighty minutes of nonstop whodunit hilarity with CLUE • Live on Stage! set for performance on February 3, 2026.

Based on the classic Hasbro Board Game and 1985 Paramount Pictures movie, the audience is drawn into Boddy Manor along with six mysterious guests who assemble for a night they’ll never forget.   Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the knife? Or was it Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench?  CLUE is the ultimate whodunit that will leave you dying of laughter and keep you guessing until the final twist.

“This play has been touring big all around the country because everybody loves both the board game and the film, which is actually celebrating 40 years this month,” explains Micah, “and I believe  this is probably the third or fourth season of the theatrical tour not only because of its popularity, but because each night has a different ending.”

“People will love the stage show because it’s basically like the movie, but with live actors and you never know who the murderer is, plus the improvisational talents of the actors make for a really fun an unpredictable evening. There’s eight or nine characters so each one could carry a different ending for each performance, so you never know what’s going to happen.”

Closing out the season on April 12^th will be an unforgettable production of Riverdance 30, which is both a re-invention and celebration of 30 breathtaking years of the worldwide theatrical phenomenon known as Riverdance. “Because this year marks the 30^th anniversary of this immensely popular musical, they’re bringing in a lot of new elements and new talent, so this is like the start of the second birth of this remarkable production,” explains Micah.

“The hope is that it will continue to appeal to audiences for another 30-years, and trust me it will showcase everything people love about Riverdance and then some. I’ve been in this business a long time and Riverdance has been touring a long time and people still want to buy tickets because it’s so very entertaining. This offers a fresh take and a lot of new younger talent coming across the stage.”

Since it first debuted in Dublin to date Riverdance has performed at over 500 venues worldwide and now stands singularly unique like the Eifel Tower of the theatrical world as one of the most successful dance productions of all time. 

Consisting primarily of traditional Irish music and dance, and served with an iconic score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval performance act during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, featuring Irish dancing champions Jean Butler, Michael Flatley and the vocal ensemble Anúna. Shortly afterwards the husband/wife production team John McColgan & Moya Doherty expanded it into a stage show, which opened in Dublin and today has been seen by over 25 million people.

Back when the 25^th anniversary production was touring, I had the good fortune to interview Executive Producer & Associate Director Padraic Moyles, who dancing under the tutelage of Donny Golden,  joined Riverdance in 1997, going on to become Dance Captain and Principal Dancer. As a testimonial to its impact, back in 2013 Riverdance set a world record when a line of 1,693 dancers from 44 countries danced to Riverdance on a bridge overlooking the River Liffey, led by Jean Butler and Padraic Moyles.

Involved with the production since its earliest days, when asked what he feels distinguishes it from the lexicon of contemporary theatre and makes it one of the most successful dance productions in the world, Moyles put it this way: “First and foremost is the music and Grammy award winning score written by Bill Whelen, which when you add that with the incredible talents on stage for the past two decades are constantly focused on improving their performances as if every night is opening night.”

“When you have that collective mindset as a team and go out and perform your very best each night, it touches a chord with the audience. Plus I feel there is something primal about Riverdance - the sound of the foot on the stage - the perfect synchronicity with the team on stage and the music upon the performers themselves. There’s not a lot of spoken word in Riverdance, so the connection and resonance with audiences goes beyond words and speaks in a universal language.”

Giving Shape & Structure to Broadway Programming

Considering the myriad of touring Broadway shows that Nederlander programs for 30 markets spanning the country, how do they approach the selection process each year when choosing what shows to bring into town for their Broadway in Saginaw series?

“I actually have very little to do with programming being on the marketing side of our operation, but when configuring the season we have meetings with programming and will review a list of the shows that are going to be out on the road each year. What it comes down to is the science of routing various shows between the programming and tour routing staff, which is really how it all comes together,” explains Micah.

“Saginaw is what we call a single night performance market, so when these shows go to book their tours they start with the bigger markets first like with Chicago, and schedule three weeks of performances; then they're move  down to the markets with two weeks of performances,  and then one week and then once all those shows are booked they’ll start booking the single and split-night performances in a manner that makes sense in terms of efficiently routing the tour. That’s how I understand it. While I’m not in programming, it’s really a matter of figuring out a big puzzle, especially when we operate thirty markets around the country.”

While the Great Lakes Bay Region is fortunate to have both the Dow Event Center and Midland Center booking different Broadway Series each year, it does make it more problematic when selecting shows for each season.  “We don’t like to call this competition in the sense that we love Broadway and the access it brings back to Broadway for people in your region to experience so many top-flight touring. Broadway productions, but it does complicate what shows to bring in for the season because you don’t want to stage a show that might have just played in Midland.”

“During the pandemic stages were dark throughout the country and when we came back we weren’t able to book a full season, so this is our fourth full three-show season and are still in this rebuilding phase of our subscription base for season subscribers,” he reflects. “We keep in touch and communicate with our subscribers, and last year we did Book of Mormon and Pretty Woman that were big titles the audience love, so now we’re back selling a full three-show subscription package and are happy with the direction things are going. It’s been a good rebuild.”

“I come from working many years in every avenue of this business -  from marketing Broadway shows in New York, to working at regional production houses as well as touring houses, so I’ve kind of seen this business from every angle and in all honesty, you never really know what shows are going to sell in any given market,” confesses Micah.

“One thing I’m very proud about is that we’ve been able to maintain this showcase of high-level touring Broadway productions in the Saginaw market while also keeping our prices down,” he concludes. “Our season subscriptions start at only $120.00, so that’s only $40.00 per show which is truly an incredible value.”

To obtain Season Tickets for the Broadway in Saginaw Series at the Dow Event Center, please click this link or phone the box office at 989-759-1320