High-wattage London show is part of Ordway's 2025-26 season

Voices will be raised to the heavens at the Ordway Center come Christmastime.

A revival of "Sister Act" will arrive straight from London, where it has received strong reviews on the West End, to anchor the St. Paul venue's upcoming season, the company announced Wednesday.

The seven-show lineup nearly doubles the average number of Broadway musicals the Ordway has produced over the past few years and includes the fourth engagement of the ever-popular "Six," another British import about the wives of Henry VIII that had a pre-Broadway run at the St. Paul venue in 2019.

There's no word yet whether "Sister Act" also will go from Minnesota to Broadway.

The 2025-26 Ordway offerings include the Monty Python-based "Spamalot," "The Addams Family" comedy, the romantic drama "The Notebook," a musical adaptation of "Mrs. Doubtfire," and five-time Tony winner "Kimberly Akimbo," about a 16-year-old who looks like a septuagenarian.

"We're having March madness in sports right now and at the Ordway, we're building our March momentum," president and CEO Chris Harrington said.

Harrington was referring to a series of buzzy shows that have attracted capacity audiences recently at the Ordway, including Broadway tours of "Dear Evan Hansen" and "Come From Away," a concert version of the opera "Fire Shut Up in My Bones" headlined by composer and trumpeter Terence Blanchard, and a performance of "DRUMLine" that spilled into the Ordway's lobby New Orleans-style.

"At a time when the world can feel topsy-turvy and divided, we welcome everyone to the Ordway with this beautiful mix of humor, hope and heart," Harrington said.

The season kicks off with "Addams Family," by composer and lyricist Andrew Lippa. "Addams" is based not on the TV show but on the cartoons of Charles Addams, who created the classic series. Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice wrote the book that includes a chorus of Addams family ancestors (Sept. 30-Oct. 5).

"The Notebook," a story told in flashback about two young lovers who fight to be together despite forces that threaten to rend them apart, is based both on Nicholas Sparks' 1996 novel and the 2004 film starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. Singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson composed the music and Bekah Brunstetter, best known for her work on "This Is Us," wrote the book (Nov. 18-30).

"Sister Act," about a disco diva who takes refuge in a nunnery after witnessing a mob murder, is best known for the 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg. Composer Alan Menken, whose "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid" have played the Ordway at recent holidays, crafted much of the score for the stage version, drawing on Motown and soul influences. The musical was revived in 2022 in London, where it had a successful run, and was brought back again in 2024.

No casting has been announced yet for the London transfer. The stars across the pond included British soul queen Beverley Knight, whom the Guardian described as "full-throated [and] comically twitchy" while the Express labeled "goosebumpingly glorious" (Dec. 9-Jan. 4).

Based on a play by David Lindsay-Abaire ("Shrek the Musical"), who also wrote the lyrics and book, "Akimbo" is composed by Jeanine Tesori, whose "Fun Home" will open in April at Theater Latte Da. "Akimbo" centers on an adolescent who is navigating those crucial years while looking geriatric (Feb. 24-March 1, 2026).

Made famous by Robin Williams in the 1993 film, "Mrs. Doubtfire" has been expanded in its stage incarnation to be less about an out-of-work actor who dresses up as a Scottish nanny for the humor and more about a yearning for family. Legendary director Jerry Zaks stages this tour (March 17-22, 2026).

Eric Idle's Tony-winning comedy "Spamalot," which spoofs "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," had a weekend run at Minneapolis' Orpheum Theatre back in 2018. Now theater officials may have to warn audiences across the river to restrain themselves from singing along to "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" (June 10-14, 2026).

Ordway's touring Broadway season concludes with a two-week engagement of the Tudor queens interpreted as pop icons in "Six." That show, which has felt more like a Taylor Swift-Beyonce concert than a regular theatrical outing, runs June 17-28, 2026.

In addition to touring Broadway, the Ordway has revived its popular concert celebration of classic albums. Two of the note-for-note, cut-for-cut one-night shows have been announced so far — the Rolling Stones' "Sticky Fingers" (Oct. 11) and a celebration of the Eagles' greatest hits (March 21, 2026).

The Ordway also will present the viral sensation "Syncopated Ladies Live!" The Los Angeles-based all-female tap ensemble, whose videos have garnered over 100 million views, was created by Debbie Allen protégée Chloé Arnold (March 27, 2026).

Subscription packages, at $280-$795, are on sale. Single tickets go on sale at later dates. 651-224-4222 or ordway.org.