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Interview: Leslie Broecker on The Official 2024-2025 Broadway in Indianapolis Season Announcement

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Interview: Leslie Broecker on The Official 2024-2025 Broadway in Indianapolis Season Announcement


We have had the privilege over the last few years to speak with Leslie Broecker, President of Broadway Across America Midwest, about her work to bring the best and the brightest of Broadway to the stages of Murat Theatre at Old National Centre downtown and Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University. We once again got the inside word on how this season came to be and what to know about this new lineup. 

Leslie started by sharing how incredibly excited she is about the 2024-2025 season. As she so aptly says it, Indianapolis will “have the hottest most talked about shows on Broadway.” The lineup includes ELF, MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL, SIX, BEETLEJUICE, and WICKED. The energy following this announcement is palpable. “You get a holiday offering (ELF), and then Wicked with everything that’s going on around it to close out the season, it’s been going crazy!”

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There seemed to be a potential theme this year of shows that started as films or have been made into films. We were curious if this was intentional or purely coincidental. Leslie shares that it seems to be a trend on Broadway in general, but “I think that we have never really seen a film hinder a show, we’ve only seen them make it bigger.” That certainly seems true for WICKED, which has a feature film due for release in November of this year. If you haven’t seen the film before the musical, Leslie recommends that you wait to see it live first. “Wait and be led by the musical because your imagination will be freer than if you’ve seen the movie.”

If there were a theme for this season, it would simply be to bring audiences in Indianapolis the best lineup possible. Leslie works tirelessly to strike a balance by providing “the backbone, making sure you have a few favorites, [and] those wonderful old chestnuts.” She always uses Broadway as her starting point, looking for “what’s on Broadway that’s new and current.” She was able to get WICKED early and lucked out with ELF since holiday shows only work best when they land in the right season. 

Of course we asked for any special insights into some of the individual shows, and we spent the most time on MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL, SIX, and WICKED.

MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL is based on a hit film that samples a lot of modern music to create a vivid and vivacious story set in Bohemian Paris. When we asked what makes the musical production worth the trip, Leslie did not mince words. “It’s a beautiful production, it’s sexy, it’s got all of that heady, steamy [fun to it and] more current music has been incorporated into it.” The mere thought of it had her dancing in her seat.

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SIX is a more recent addition to Broadway and tells the individual stories of the wives of King Henry VIII with some modern twists. Leslie shares that “SIX is just the big new hit from a couple of seasons ago.” Similar to HAMILTON, you “take history and twist it, enhance it, have fun with it. Now people will leave the theater, go investigate, and want to know more about Henry VIII and all his eccentricities.” We wondered if Leslie is a fan of the way Broadway is evolving, and she celebrates it, stating how “so many Broadway shows have that little nugget of surprise” that intrigues and entrances audiences. 

WICKED is another smash hit that has been around since 2003 and came to Indianapolis as recently as 2018. Why bring it back? As Leslie cleverly quips, “it’s ever-green!” 

One significant change for theatergoers to note for this season is that some curtain times have shifted. Subscribers were surveyed to see what times they’d prefer, and the majority ruled. The overwhelming response has times rolling back. Performances Tuesday through Friday will be at 7 PM (previously 7:30 PM), Saturdays will be 2 PM and 7:30 PM (previously 8 PM), and Sundays will remain 1 PM and 6:30 PM. Leslie is thrilled about the change and how universal the response was. “I love the opportunity to make change that the people want.”

Leslie is also hopeful that this season will prove to be a record breaker. As she said of 2023-2024, “The way this season has panned out, everything is selling out.” If subscribers show up again this season even stronger, we can keep this momentum going in Indianapolis for a long time to come. “The key is with these kinds of numbers…I’m able to get the shows faster. Shows want to play cities that are successful. Makes me very happy for the market. It just keeps feeding itself forward.”

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With streaming services everywhere and so much entertainment available at the touch of a button, we asked Leslie one final question: what makes people come back to live theater? Why are we seeing this incredible resurgence? After the impact of the pandemic, Leslie says simply “I just think people’s hearts were for live entertainment, the recognition of that live experience and that live moment,” and in a city like Indianapolis, “I think we’re holding our own with sports and everything else…we’re all speaking to the same group of people” because live entertainment touches a special place in all of our hearts. 

Don’t miss your chance to see this incredible lineup and subscribe to Broadway in Indianapolis! We hope to see you all at curtain time. 



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Indianapolis, IN

Where to find cooling stations in central Indiana

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Where to find cooling stations in central Indiana


INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana is under a heat advisory with temperatures in the 90s throughout the week.

Many cooling centers will open throughout the state for those that need to find relief from the heat. Hoosiers looking to find cooling centers in their area can contact Indiana 211. To learn more, call 211 or (866) 211-9966.

Avaliable cooling centers can also be found by clicking here.

Marion County

For those living in Indianapolis, Indy Parks has several cooling centers across the city.

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Those Cooling Centers are:

  • Broad Ripple Park Family Center 
  • Brookside Park Family Center
  • Christian Park Family Center
  • Frederick Douglass Park Family Center
  • Garfield Park Burrello Family Center
  • Krannert Park Family Center
  • Grassy Creek Environmental Education Center
  • Pride Park Family Center 
  • Rhodius Park Family Center
  • Riverside Park Family Center
  • Stanley Strader Park Family Center
  • Washington Park Family Center
  • Windsor Park Family Center 
  • Watkins Park Family Center
  • Thatcher Park Family Center

For addresses and hours of operations of these cooling centers, click here.

Beech Grove will also have two cooling Centers for residents starting Monday, June 29. Those hours and locations are:

  • Beech Grove Senior Center, 602 Main St
    • 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday
  • Hornet Park Community Center, 5245 Hornet Ave
    • 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday through Friday

Other Central Indiana Cooling Centers

For addresses and hour of operations of cooling centers below, click here.

Marion

  • St. Martin Community Center
  • Grant County Family YMCA
  • Grant County Rescue Mission

Kokomo

  • The Kokomo Rescue Mission
  • The Excel Center in Kokomo

Peru

  • Community Resource Center
  • Miami County Courthouse
  • Miami County Health Department
  • Miami County YMCA
  • Peru City Hall
  • Peru Public Library
  • Peru Schools Administration Building



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Indianapolis, IN

Heat Advisory and Warning for central Indiana

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Heat Advisory and Warning for central Indiana


INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — The National Weather Service out of Indianapolis has issued a Heat Advisory for all of Central Indiana and a High Heat Warning for parts of northern Indiana. The Advisory and Warning will go into effect at 12 PM on Monday and will run through 8 PM Thursday.

WRTV

A Heat Advisory means that temperatures in the 90s with dew points in the 70s, will lead to Heat Index values reaching 106. Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses.

Stay cool:
Drink plenty of fluids, check up on relatives and neighbors, and stay in an air-conditioned room when possible. If outside for extended periods of time, make sure to take frequent breaks in the shade as much as you can.

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Storms fade with dangerous heat building through midweek | June 27, 2026

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Storms fade with dangerous heat building through midweek | June 27, 2026


TODAY

Patchy fog early gives way to a partly sunny, warmer, and much less active day. Highs reach the mid to upper 80s, with a light south breeze around 5 mph. After the unsettled Saturday, this looks like a far more usable day for outdoor plans, with most of central Indiana staying dry from start to finish.  

TONIGHT

Mostly clear early, then becoming partly to mostly cloudy toward daybreak. Lows hold in the low 70s, with a light south southeast breeze around 5 mph. Humidity stays elevated overnight, but quiet weather continues and there are no meaningful travel concerns.  

TOMORROW

Mostly sunny and hot with highs pushing into the low 90s. A south southwest breeze around 5 to 10 mph keeps the air moving, but the bigger story is the heat and humidity building in. Heat index values around or above 100 are possible during the afternoon, so outdoor plans will need extra water and more breaks.  

TOMORROW NIGHT

Mostly clear and warm, with lows around the mid 70s and a light south southwest breeze. There will be very little cooling after sunset, and the muggy feel hangs on through the night. Dry weather remains in place.  

TUESDAY

Sunny and even hotter, with highs in the low to mid 90s and a light southwest breeze around 5 mph. This is another day where heat becomes the main impact, and it will not take long to feel it during the afternoon. Outdoor work and summer activities will need to be paced carefully.  

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TUESDAY NIGHT

Clear and warm again, with lows in the mid 70s and a light southwest wind. The air remains sticky overnight, and there is still no meaningful rain signal for Indianapolis.  

WEDNESDAY

Mostly sunny and hot, with highs in the low to mid 90s. Wind stays light, becoming south southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Heat remains the main concern, and another uncomfortable summer afternoon is expected across central Indiana.  

7 DAY FORECAST

After Saturday’s leftover storm chances fade away, the pattern flips quickly toward heat and humidity. Sunday looks quieter and warmer, then Monday through at least Wednesday trend hot with highs in the 90s and heat index values over 100 possible at times. Rain chances stay very low through midweek, with the next better opportunity for showers and storms showing up later Thursday into Friday. Overall, the bigger concern after tonight becomes summer heat rather than repeated storm chances.



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