DURHAM - The touring Broadway series coming to the new Durham Performing Arts Center got its first standing ovation Thursday, when officials announced its inaugural mini-season.

A 10th anniversary tour of "Rent," starring original leads Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, will kick off the season, which was announced before 700 people at the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce annual meeting.

More exciting for fans of new Broadway fare are "The Color Purple," which will make its first North Carolina appearance at DPAC, and "Legally Blonde," adapted from the popular film. The mini-season will also include the short-run "Fiddler on the Roof" tour starring Chaim Topol, who played Tevye in the 1971 film and the 1990 Broadway revival. "Wicked," one of Broadway's hottest shows, won't hit DPAC until fall of 2009.

Attorney David J. Neill, who attended the luncheon, said he might buy subscriptions for himself and his wife.

"I think it's a fabulous way to start," he said. "Even those who perhaps don't follow Broadway that closely will be familiar with these shows. It's a great way to attract a wide range of people."

The venue, scheduled to open in December, will also host music acts, comedy and family shows, said Lynn Singleton, president of Professional Facilities Management, which will operate DPAC in conjunction with Broadway powerhouse The Nederlander Organization. American Dance Festival also intends to use the space, according to ADF director Charles L. Reinhart.

Broadway series subscription prices for the $44 million, 2,800-seat theater are comparable to DPAC's primary competitor, Broadway Series South in Raleigh, which presents touring shows at the 2,277-seat Memorial Auditorium in the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts.

Broadway Series South producer Jim Lavery could not be reached Thursday. Duke University also hosts touring shows at its 1,232-seat Page Auditorium, not far from DPAC. And N.C. Theatre in Raleigh produces its own Broadway musicals -- not tours -- at Memorial Auditorium.

PFM's Singleton said he hopes DPAC will draw audiences from throughout the Triangle as well as Greensboro and other communities. But N.C. Theatre executive director William Jones said it takes a lot to get theater patrons to travel even a half-hour for a show. NCT draws about 500 people per run from Durham, he said.

The Triangle may prove too small for so many show presenters, Jones said, noting that NCT and Broadway Series South offer as many as 16 shows in a season.

"To throw in another six or eight, we're pretty close to saturation for Broadway musicals, I'm thinking," he said. "But I guess we'll test the limits and see what happens."