Theater group's season opens

Alpine Theatre Project begins its four-week celebration of “Broadway’s Best Week by Week” with a look at the greatest musicals of the last 45 years performed a roster of seasoned Broadway actors.

The first show, “Defying Gravity: Broadway’s Next Generation,” runs Friday and Saturday at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center in downtown Whitefish.

“Broadway took a major turn once rock ‘n’ roll and pop music entered the scene,” said Alpine Theatre’s artistic director, Betsi Morrison. “That trend has only continued since the ’70s, and we wanted to show that with some of the greatest singers in the country.”

This weekend’s production celebrates Broadway shows since 1968. It encompasses the classic rock shows of the late ’60s and ’70s, such as “Hair,” “Godspell” and “Jesus Christ Superstar,” as well as the mega-musicals of the ’80s and ’90s such as “Cats” and “Phantom of the Opera.” The show will also include contemporary hits such as “Wicked,” “Mamma Mia!” and “Jersey Boy,” and the latest blockbusters like “The Book of Mormon” and “Kinky Boots.”

Performing in this revue-style celebration are Virginia Ann Woodruff, who has performed in the Broadway productions of “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” “The Color Purple” and “Leap of Faith”; Adam Kantor, who starred in the final cast of “Rent” and in “Next to Normal”; Tracy McDowell, who also performed in the final cast of “Rent” on Broadway; Shelley Thomas, who appeared in the Broadway production of “Brooklyn”; Eric Michael Krop, who performed in the Broadway revival of “Godspell”; and Anne Fraser Thomas, who was in the Las Vegas company of “Mamma Mia!”

Show time is 8 p.m. both nights at the performing arts center, located at the corner of Second Street and Spokane Avenue.

Tickets range from $29 to $39 and are available at atpwhitefish.org or by calling the Alpine Theatre office at 862-SHOW. Student and day-of rush ticket discounts are available.