Mormons, wizards and dudes with masks in next season's Broadway

Broadway megahits "The Book of Mormon," "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Phantom of the Opera" will be part of Broadway in Indianapolis' 2015-16 season, the company announced Thursday.

Toy soldiers, candy cane confections and a fervent defiance of gravity open up the season in the new holiday-themed acrobatic cirque show, "Cirque Dreams Holidaze."

A new production of the classic MGM creation "The Wizard of Oz" dials up the magic factor, while Enda Walsh's Tony-winning "Once" combines guy-with-a-guitar twee sensibilities with big-hearted musical resonance.

The Hearst-era "Newsies," arguably the "danciest" production, promises to be a crowd-pleaser, as will the return of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's ("South Park") global phenomenon "The Book of Mormon" and Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera."

For ticket and more detailed time information, visit indianapolis.broadway.com.

Here are all the upcoming Broadway shows in Indianapolis:

"Beauty and the Beast" (current season)

May 1-3

Clowes Memorial Hall

"Dirty Dancing" (current season)

June 9 -14

Clowes Memorial Hall

"Cirque Dreams Holidaze"

Dec. 15-20

Old National Centre

"The Wizard of Oz"

Jan. 12-17

Clowes Memorial Hall

"Once"

Feb. 9-14

Clowes Memorial Hall

"Disney's Newsies"

March 15-20

Clowes Memorial Hall

"The Book of Mormon"

April 12-17, 2016

Old National Centre

"The Phantom of the Opera"

May 4-15, 2016

Old National Centre

Wei-Huan Chen can be reached at (317) 444-6249 or on Twitter at @weihuanchen.