HISTORY & RESTORATION (con't)

The Ford Center for the Performing Arts was the venue that housed the Actors' Fund of America 20th Anniversary Benefit Concert of Dreamgirls on Monday, September 24, 2001, starring Heather Headley, Audra McDonald, Lillias White, Darius De Haas, Norm Lewis, Billy Porter, Tamara Tunie, and James Stovall.

After being re-named the Hilton Theatre in 2004, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang began its residence on March 29, 2005. With an official opening night on April 28, 2005, the production starred Raúl Esparza, Erin Dilly, Marc Kudisch, Jan Maxwell, Kevin Cahoon, and an infamous flying car. The show enjoyed a 218 performance run, and closed on December 31, 2005.

The next production to occupy the Hilton was Hot Feet, which opened on April 30, 2006, and closed on July 23 of that same year.

A limited engagement of a new musical interpretation of the holiday classic Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas followed Hot Feet, which opened November 8, 2006, and played through the holiday season, closing January 17, 2007 (the same production would go on to play the St. James Theatre on Broadway the next year, and continues to play seasonally throughout the country).

Following the success of Grinch the Hilton Theatre housed Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg's (creators of Les Misérables and Miss Saigon) The Pirate Queen, which opened on April 5, 2007. The production starred Stephanie J. Block, Hadley Frasier, and Linda Balgord. It closed June 17, 2007.

The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein began previews at the Hilton on October 11, 2007, and officially opened on November 8, 2011. The production starred Roger Bart, Megan Mulally, Sutton Foster, Shuler Hensley, Andrea Martin, Fred Applegate, and Christopher Fitzgerald. With direction and choreography by Susan Stroman, Young Frankenstein won the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Broadway.com Audience Award for Best New Musical. It closed on January 4, 2009.

The Hilton Theatre was re-named the Foxwoods Theatre in 2010.

Now Playing: Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, featuring creative consultation by Philip William McKinley (The Boy From Oz), original direction by Tony® Award-winner Julie Taymor (The Lion King, Across The Universe, Frida), music and lyrics by 22-time Grammy® Award-winners Bono and The Edge, and a book co-written by Taymor, Glen Berger (Underneath The Lintel) and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Fantastic Four and Spider-Man comics, “Big Love”).

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