Broadway is back in NW Arkansas

After a pandemic-induced hiatus, tomorrow marks the return of Broadway at Walton Arts Center.

• The 2021–2022 Broadway series kicks off with "Come From Away." It's a musical about the 7,000 air passengers stranded in the tight-knit community of Newfoundland, Canada after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The selection: "To a large extent it’s about balance, and it's about variety," the Walton Arts Center's vice president of programming, Scott Galbraith, tells Axios.

• Generally, the curators try to have one show audiences are familiar with ("Fiddler on the Roof"), a family show ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory") and something contemporary ("Mean Girls").

Flashback: COVID-19 interrupted the Broadway series in spring 2020 during the "Anastasia" run. Since then, the center has hosted its smaller-scale productions but did not have its usual Broadway series during the 2020–2021 season.

• Most of the shows this year were rescheduled from the past two years.

The series schedule is:

• Come From Away — Oct. 26–31
• Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory — Nov. 30–Dec. 5
• Mean Girls — Dec. 14–19
• An Officer and a Gentleman — Jan.4–9, 2022
• Hamilton — March 22–April 3, 2022
• Fiddler on the Roof — May 10–15, 2022

What they're saying: Whenever there's a phenomenon like "Hamilton," everyone asks, "How soon can you get it?" Galbraith says. People want it, and now it's here.

Of note: The Walton Arts Center is requiring masks and proof of COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a negative test taken within 72 hours prior to showtime at least through October. Stay tuned for policy updates.