Broadway At Asteria Theatre: CMU Hosts Second Season Of Touring Shows
You may want to purchase your tickets soon if you want to attend a Broadway show in Grand Junction this season.
The Broadway Series presents an opportunity for locals to attend “polished” performances by “some of the best actors in the country,” says Asteria Theatre house manager Jessica Akers. “These tours are moving through the country for weeks on end and have the performance down to a science.”
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) launched its Broadway Series last year, selling out nearly all shows, Akers notes. And ticket sales this season have been robust as ever since the university announced its new lineup of Broadway shows in June.
The Asteria Theatre is a perfect venue for Broadway performances due to its stage size, seating and ropes system for hoisting scenery, which allows for a Broadway tour to easily load into the space, bringing life to the performance within a day, Akers says. Plus, the venue’s Grand Junction location supports touring shows traveling from Salt Lake City, Fort Collins, Denver and other larger cities, she notes.
Legally Blonde is slated for Feb. 2-3. Photos courtesy of Asteria Theatre.
The new season kicks off Nov. 17 and 18, 2026 with the Tony Award-winning “Best Musical” The Wiz. Described by CMU as a “groundbreaking twist” on The Wizard of Oz, the musical “is packed with soul, gospel, rock and 70s funk,” as it portrays Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world.
“The Broadway Series at CMU’s Asteria Theatre is a gem not to be missed,” says theatre patron David Miller of Palisade. “No longer do we need to go to Denver or Salt Lake City to see Broadway shows on a national tour. Last year my wife, Anne Wenzel, and I subscribed to four shows including Tina – the Tina Turner Musical and The Book of Mormon. This experience was so satisfying that we have already purchased our tickets for all seven 2026-2027 shows and can’t wait to see The Wiz in November.”
The second Broadway production this season is Legally Blonde, showing Feb. 2 and 3. Two-thirds of those tickets were sold out by mid-June (tickets went on sale June 5).
The show Stomp comes to the Asteria Theatre on Feb. 16 and 17, 2027. Described as appealing to audiences of all ages, “the eight-member troupe uses everything but conventional percussion instruments — matchboxes, wooden poles, brooms, garbage cans, Zippo lighters, hubcaps — to fill the stage with magnificent rhythms. Some aspects of the show have been updated and restructured with two new full-scale routines that use props such as tractor tire inner tubes and paint cans.”
The cast members of Clue, slated for Feb. 23-24.
Clue, a production inspired by the classic Hasbro board game and the 1985 Paramount Pictures movie, is slated for Feb. 23-24.
As a child of the 80s, Akers says she’s most excited to see Mystic Pizza, with two performances scheduled for March 9 and 10. The show, based on a 1988 rom-com, includes hit songs from the 80s and 90s.
Waitress, set for April 13 and 14, is inspired by the 2007 film by Adrienne Shelly, featuring music and lyrics by the Grammy Award-winning Sara Bareilles.
“The inaugural 2025-26 Broadway season brought this community together in a new way,” says CMU president John Marshall. “We are excited to bring another collection of shows to campus and to engage with the community once again in the Asteria Theatre.”
Closing out the season, April 20 and 21, is Shucked, “a Broadway hit about an unlikely hero, an unscrupulous con artist and a battle for the heart and soul of a small town.”
“If you’ve never been to a Broadway show, you should definitely give it a shot,” Akers advises. “It encompasses every sense.”
For tickets, visit tickets.coloradomesa.edu.