SPECIAL SUMMER PRICES OFFER VALLEY FAMILIES AN AFFORDABLE OUTING
Fresh, innovative, and an awe inspiring crowd-favorite is the best way to describe Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT. This internationally acclaimed musical/dance extravaganza explodes at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre now through August 23rd in Mesa. This lively and colorful musical parable travels through ancient Egypt as a boy, Joseph, blessed with prophetic dreams, is sold into slavery by his conniving brothers. But in true rags to riches fashion, Joseph overcomes these tremendous odds, and dares modern audiences to dream of doing the same. A blazing cornucopia of musical styles, and featuring such song favorites as "Any Dream Will Do," "Close Every Door," and "Go, Go, Go Joseph," this Old Testament romp emerges as both a timely and timeless tale of tragedy and triumph.
A fun-filled treat for the ages, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT is a dream of a show for the entire family! Adult ticket prices are $35 and include a buffet meal. Tickets for ages 18 and under are only $18. Student rush tickets (show only) are $10 and available 30 minutes prior to curtain to currently enrolled high school and college students with a valid school ID. Tickets may be purchased online at www. BroadwayPalmWest.com or by calling the Box Office at (480) 325-6700. B
efore Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, before The Phantom of the Opera, and even before Cats, there was JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT - a musical that brought the Old Testament story of Jacob and his twelve sons to millions of audiences worldwide. The story of a young man in Canaan with dream-reading abilities, Joseph receives a rainbow-colored coat as a gift from his father. Joseph's brothers are less than pleased by their father's favoritism, abduct Joseph, destroy his coat, and sell him into slavery. Fortunately, Joseph uses his talents to impress the Pharaoh and is appointed the Minister of Agriculture.
When a famine hits, Joseph's brothers come looking for employment. Not recognizing their younger brother, Joseph plans a surprise for his jealous brothers before revealing himself. The cast for the Broadway Palm production features Patrick Darab as Joseph and local favorite Mark Kleinman as Jacob. Patrick Darab hails from North Carolina and is a recent graduate from UNC Greensboro School of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree in Opera Performance and Musical Theater. He has performed the roles of Cain and Japheth in Children of Eden, Tinman in The Wizard of Oz, Choregus in Antigone, Lt. Cable in South Pacific, Delmount Williams in The Miss Firecracker Contest, Lead player in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged, and Paul Berthalet in Carnival. Mark Kleinman, an ariZoni award winner, has performed extensively in both operatic and musical theater repertory around the world. His diverse roles include Rodolfo in La Boheme, Faust in Faust, Hoffmann in Les Contes De Hoffman, The Witch in Hansel und Gretel, Governor Johnson in Blackbeard, The Beast in Beauty and the Beast, Lt. Joe Cable and Emile de Beque in South Pacific, Capt. Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Harold Hill in The Music Man, and Fred in A Christmas Carol.
The cast features New York actors Sam Hay, Alex Herrera, Kevin Korcynski, Courtney Love, Alex Kanter and Corey Moreno, along with local actors Chris Matesevac, Jordan Daniels, Connor Wince and Jensen Clifford. Local actresses Paige Tamarkin, Emma England and Victoria Fairclough portray the wives along with New York actresses Megan Cone and Brooke Dairman. Virginia Caveliere, who currently appears in the Broadway Palm production of Irving Berlin's I Love a Piano and appeared in last summer's High School Musical, plays The Narrator. In addition to a cast of professional performers, this production features local children from the East Valley Children's Theatre, Chandler Children's Choir and Scottsdale Children's Choir. Each choir, which will perform for two weeks, will delight audiences with their talent and youthful exuberance. The production is directed and choreographed by St. Louis based Millie Garvey with musical direction by JR McAlexander, set design by David Snyder, lighting design by Russell A. Thompson and costume design by John P. White and Mary Atkinson. "We are delighted that Millie Garvey, our choreographer for Evita and West Side Story is returning for Joseph" said Palm's Artistic Producer M. Seth Reines. "Her Joseph is the best I've ever seen!"
The Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre is located at 5247 E. Brown Road, on the southeast corner of Brown and Higley Roads in the Alta Mesa Plaza. The theater is easily accessible from the Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) or the US 60 (Superstition Freeway) via the Higley Road exits. Parking is free. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday evenings with a dinner buffet 5:30 p.m. and show at 7:30 p.m. Matinees are Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday Matinees with a luncheon buffet at 11:45 a.m. and show at 1:15 p.m. A Sunday twilight performance includes a dinner buffet at 5:30 p.m. and show at 7 p.m. The Broadway Palm is fully ramped and handicap accessible. Hearing devices are available free of charge.
Written by JOSEPH GORDON on Thursday, 20 May 2010 20:25
BILL W. AND DR. BOB THE TRUE STORY ABOUT THE FOUNDERS OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
Now thru June 19, 2010
WEDNESDAY - SATURDAY EVENINGS:
Dinner at 5:30 PM; Show at 7:30 PM
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY MATINEES:
Lunch at 11:45 AM; Show at 1:15 PM
Bob tells the story of a stockbroker and a surgeon, both alcoholics, whose relationship becomes the genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous. What eventually leads to the Twelve Steps of AA begins as a combination of inspiration and accident. Last weekend the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre opened a most extraordinary play, Bill W. and Dr. Bob by Stephen Bergman and Janet Surrey in its beautiful new theater space, the Marquee Theatre. The play is the true story of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous and their wives Lois Wilson and Anne Smith, creators of Al-Anon.
Gary Kimble and Richard Davis Springle, each give magnetic, memorable performances in the title roles of Bill W. and Dr. Bob. Kimble and Springle head a large and wonderfully satisfying, superb ensemble of players. Gary Kimble and I spoke about the play last week. Kimble began his career in 1976 with the Kenley Players. He has since performed on stages around the world, in thirty-four countries abroad and in eight hundred cities across the US and Canada.
Q: Tell us about Bill W. and Dr. Bob.
I saw the show in New York four times in its original production. I loved it. Every time I went back with friends and knew I wanted to play Bill W. and I do it but in a different way. A few years went by and I found myself in Florida working for the Prather Entertainment Group. I did an article in Florida Weekly where I discussed my own alcoholism and recovery. The owners of the theater read it. They were semi-retired and not fully involved with producing at the time. They invited me to church and told me that they had read the article. As I got to know them better, they suggested that there was a lot of alcoholism around them in people that they loved, co-workers and so forth. Tom Prather asked me if I had ever heard of a play Bill W. and Dr. Bob? I told him that I had seen it four times in New York. He asked me what I thought of it and I told him there were some changes I would make but I thought it was a powerful play.
Tom asked me, “Should we do it? Do you think it would help people that I care about if they saw it?” I told him that it certainly couldn’t hurt. It carries a powerful message and it’s a great piece of theater. Tom asked, “Who will come?” I told him, “Every recovering drunk in Lee County Florida.” Tom secured the rights to produce the play and we began to work on it. We put it into their Black Box space during a time in the season when they never book a show. We started working on it and all the people he was concerned about were working on the project and they all ended up getting sober. Theater is such a powerful medium.
It brings the power of the spoken word and as Bill says in the play, “When nobody is looking, it slips up under your ribs and hits you in the heart.” The play has become a mission for us, a mission of love. Out of that production, the phones started ringing and we began to be invited all over the place. “Could you bring the play here? Could you bring it there?” The play sold out in Florida for its five week run. There was a waiting list at the Box Office. We didn’t know how we would do but we started to take it to other cities. Now it’s a year later and we are officially a national tour. After we leave Mesa, sponsored by Hazelden, we go to perform at the seventy-fifth International AA Conference in San Antonio.
Q:The Prather Family is incredibly generous, I understand that this production will also support Community Bridges, Inc.-A Pathway To Hope.
That’s exactly right. We’ve done that in every city that we play. We donate proceeds to a local recovery organization in need of support. Community Bridges does angel work. As Tom likes to say, “We’re not doing this to make money. If we were doing it to make money, we’d be doing Mamma Mia! ” Bill W. and Dr. Bob is a great piece of theater and it’s about doing service. The alcoholic personality is not unlike any other human being’s but it’s often exaggerated, magnified as part of the disease. It becomes compelling theater because everything they do is on a grand scale, more complicated, more epic. Our play is a great story about American ingenuity, one of the greatest inventions that has transformed the lives of millions of people around the globe.
Q: This production is a first for the Broadway Palm.
It’s the first step towards officially turning that space into a theater. To be doing a drama in this theater is also a first. Every time we have done this play, there has been a paradigm shift. It brings new audiences into the theater. The majority of times, a lot of our audience has never been in a theater before. The comments, the E-Mail, the feedback, the letters and phone calls from people are so moving. We do a talk back after each performance. The cast comes out on stage to talk and usually the majority of the audience stays for a much as an hour asking questions and sharing their personal experiences.
Q: What’s up next for you after Bill W. and Dr. Bob?
We have been talking about my doing some of the roles in next season’s shows but nothing is finalized. Bill W. and Dr. Bob continues on and on. After performing at the Cameo Center during the 75th International A.A. Conference in San Antonio there will be an eight to ten week tour, October, November, December. We have also been asked to take the play on a couple of cruises. We are working with Hazelden as a corporate sponsor to bring the show to Nashville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Washington DC. Dartmouth College has invited us to come next March. I think I will be playing Bill for quite a while. I
NTERVIEW AND STORY BY JOSEPH GORDON The Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre will donate a portion of the proceeds from Bill W. and Dr. Bob to Community Bridges, Inc.-A Pathway To Hope, an organization providing clinical treatment, family preservation, prevention and education in the hope of reducing the negative impact of alcoholism and drug addiction.
Tickets to Bill W. and Dr. Bob may be purchased by phone at (480) 325- 6700, or at in person at the Box Office. All seats for Bill W. and Dr. Bob are $20, a buffet dinner may be included for an additional $15. Bill W. and Dr. Bob will play Wednesday through Saturday Evenings. For the evening performances the dinner buffet is at 5:30 PM, the show begins at 7:30 PM. For the Saturday and Sunday matinees, luncheon buffet is at 11:45 AM, the show begins at 1:15 PM. Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre 5247 E. Brown Road Mesa 85205
From sagebrush to Sheriff Joe, from Green Valley to Kokopelli - it’s time to batten down the barrel cactus because The Second City is on their way to the Grand Canyon State to do a no-holds-barred world premiere comedy revue all about Arizona. THE SECOND CITY DOES ARIZONA is an original revue of comic sketches and songs aimed at skewering everything and everyone that is unique, ridiculous and wonderful about the land of rising temperatures and falling real estate.
The Second City Does Arizona plays in Phoenix at the Herberger Theater Center from April 29 through May 16. Following an intensive tour (fueled by refried beans and Sonoran hot dogs) of greater Phoenix, lesser Tucson and points in between (including the Ostrich Ranch at Picacho Peak), writers from The Second City (closely monitored by photo radar) are creating a show just for Arizona Theatre Company.
The writers have assured us that they found plenty of targets-uh, material- to keep Arizona audiences in stitches. Famous for their hilarious sketch comedy and for equally famous alumni like Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Bill Murray, John Belushi, Gilda Radner and a whole slew of others, The Second City’s troupe of expert Chicago comedians have created a topical revue about the special challenges of the high life in the low desert. And as we like to say here in the Southwest: “It’s a dry wit.”
Tickets start at $26, depending on date and section choice and are available at www.arizonatheatre. org or by calling the box office at (602) 256-6995. House Seats are available for select performances. Call for details.
Featuring more than 3,000 instruments and artifacts from around the world on exhibit, and an ongoing program of exciting live performances, the world’s first truly global musical instrument museum has officially opened its doors. MIM will celebrate the diversity of world musical cultures through audio and video enabled exhibitions and concerts in its 299-seat Music Theater. A $250-million project, MIM opens in a 190,000-square-foot building with two floors of spacious, light-filled galleries featuring instruments, artifacts, costumes, recordings and videos from every corner of the globe, as well as an Artist Gallery featuring instruments linked to world-renowned musicians including John Lennon, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, George Benson and more.
The Collection The instruments in MIM’s collection, representing every country in the world, were selected for fine construction, the reputation of their makers, special provenance, or connections to famous performers. In addition to acquiring objects through purchase and gifts, MIM’s curatorial staff has traveled extensively to collect instruments and artifacts that convey the diversity of cultures and global musical practices.
To date, MIM has collected more than 12,000 instruments and objects, and plans to display 3,000 items at the grand opening. “Building this collection isn’t just a curatorial mission, it’s an adventure,” said MIM President and Director Bill DeWalt. “Our curatorial team has literally searched the world to collect diverse instruments that will spark the imagination of our guests, demonstrating the breadth of our musical heritage.” MIM’s vast collection will be highlighted in Geo-Galleries that focus on five global regions, as well as in a special Artist Gallery that features noteworthy instruments played by many of the world’s leading musicians.
Visit www.themim.org for more information. 4725 East Mayo Boulevard, Phoenix, AZ MIM is located in North Phoenix at the southwest corner of Mayo and Tatum Boulevards, south of AZ Loop 101.
The popular Jazz Concert Series at Arizona Broadway Theatre (ABT) resumes on April 26, 2010, with the return of the Extreme Decibel Big Band featuring Dennis Rowland with the performance at 7:30 p.m. This 17-piece band, which features many of the Valley’s top musicians, is one of the Southwest’s longestrunning professional big bands. Headed by Clark Krueger, who has been on the music scene for over 30 years, Extreme Decibel has brought their repertoire of traditional and contemporary big band arrangements to the Orpheum Theatre, the Kerr Cultural Center, Phoenix Symphony Hall and the Herberger Theater.
Over the years, Dennis Rowland performed with the Count Basie Orchestra, sharing the stage with legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Tony Bennett. He was further associated with Count Basie as the headliner for the Moscow International Jazz Festival dedicated to Basie’s 100th birthday and as a featured artist at subsequent tributes elsewhere in Russia, Germany, Estonia and in New York City. Locally, Rowland performed at the opening night of Phoenix Symphony’s 60th anniversary concert and is in the Hall of Fame at the Herberger Theater.
This is Rowland’s third appearance on the ABT stage. Tickets for Extreme Decibel Big Band featuring Dennis Rowland are $25 (plus fees). Appetizers, desserts and a cash bar will also be available. For tickets and additional information, call the ABT Box Office at 623.776.8400 or visit www. azbroadwaytheatre.com. ABT is conveniently located at 7701 W. Paradise Lane just south of W. Bell Road off the Loop 101, east of the Peoria Sports Complex. Parking is free.
Lavay Smith & Her Red-Hot Skillet Lickers -+Saturday May 1, 2010 @ 7:30 p.m. Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will present an outdoor concert by Lavay Smith & Her Red-Hot Skillet Lickers on Saturday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. as part of its 2010 Desert Sky Series at the Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater. With pin-up glamour and sultry vocals reminiscent of Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, singer Lavay Smith leads a world-class big band while bringing a modern, provocative twist to the classic jazz and blues of the 1940s and ’50s.
Whether singing her own compositions or drawing on her extensive repertoire of timeless hits and obscure gems, Smith adds her one-of-a-kind, saucy style and lyrics to the sounds of swing, bebop, salsa, jump blues and New Orleans R&B. The eight all-star members of Smith’s Red-Hot Skillet Lickers have performed and recorded with Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat ‘King’ Cole, Frank Sinatra and Tito Puente, to name a few. Based in San Francisco, Smith and the Skillet Lickers maintain a busy schedule of more than 250 performances per year, including extensive touring throughout the United States and Canada, and have released three critically acclaimed albums on Smith’s Fat Note Records label: Miss Smith to You, Everybody’s Talkin’ ’Bout Miss Thing and One Hour Mama.
Concert-goers are invited to bring a blanket or low-rise folding chair and enjoy a night of music under the desert sky. Cuisine and alcoholic beverages are available for purchase from Arcadia Farms. For a more indulgent concert experience, the “My Desert Sky” package is available for an additional $39 per person. This special package includes a pass to the Hotel Valley Ho pool on Saturday, May 1, where concertgoers will spend the day relaxing before the performance. At the Lavay Smith concert, they also will enjoy comfortable lounge seating in an exclusive VIP area along with a boxed picnic dinner and wine from Arcadia Farms.
Tickets are available for $25 online at www.ScottsdalePerformingArts. org or through the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts box office at (480) 994-ARTS (2787).
When you say the word “Phantom” in the context of talking about a musical, most people tend to think first (and perhaps only) of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit show, The Phantom of the Opera. But it is another Phantom, also based on the same chilling story by Gaston Leroux that will haunt the Arizona Broadway Theatre stage from April 23 through May 30.
The writers of this Phantom, Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston, had just finished their musical Nine (winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1982) when they were approached by Geoffrey Holder to write a musical based on the Leroux novel. Holder had obtained the rights from the Leroux estate to have the novel created into a musical in America.
“There is a lot of history in the writing of this Phantom that many people don’t realize,” commented Mace Archer, the show’s director. “
The authors were skeptical of the project at first, and only after much thought did Yeston decide that with a slight change in the story, the Phantom could be a Quasimodo or Elephant Man type of character – one who’s sympathetic. In 1984, with much of the Phantom score completed, Yeston, Kopit and Holder were in the process of raising money for a Broadway production when Variety magazine published an article about a production of another musical version of The Phantom of the Opera being written in England by Lloyd Webber.
When his version became a smash hit in London, and it was announced that the Lloyd Webber piece would move to Broadway, Yeston’s Broadway investors backed out, and Phantom was shelved. After Kopit saw a performance of The Phantom of the Opera, he realized that the approach he and Yeston had taken was much different from Lloyd Webber’s, and that their version could still work on the musical stage. The Yeston/Kopit musical was finally produced by Theatre Under the Stars in Houston, Texas, in 1991, and has gone on to be a regional theatre hit.
Phantom has been referred to as “the greatest musical hit never to be produced on Broadway.” The Faces Behind The Production Director Mace Archer returns to ABT to head up an award-winning production team that includes Kurtis W. Overby (music director/ choreographer), Kara Thomson (scenic designer), Tim Monson (lighting designer) and Martha J. Clarke (costume design). Mace’s prior work at ABT includes his stage direction of Jekyll & Hyde and Annie Get Your Gun and his work onstage as Marley in A Christmas Carol. ABT’s Executive Producer and Co- Founder Kiel Klaphake stars as Erik (“The Phantom”). Last season, Kiel appeared as Frank Butler in ABT’s production of Annie Get Your Gun. For two years, Kiel performed the role of Raoul in the original Hal Prince production of The Phantom of the Opera in Hamburg, Germany.
Stateside credits include Show Boat, La Bohème, The Merry Widow and The Yeoman of the Guard, among others. Also at ABT, he was the musical conductor for Brigadoon and stage director of Cabaret and Gypsy. Valley favorite Jeannie Shubitz returns to ABT to portray Christine. A native of Tucson, Jeannie recently returned to Arizona from New York City. Recent performances include Margaret in The Light in the Piazza at Phoenix Theatre, and Emily in A Christmas Carol and Peggy in The Taffetas at ABT, where she also appeared as Fiona in Brigadoon, Sarah in Guys and Dolls and Marian in The Music Man. Other credits include: Philia (Funny Thing... Forum), Evelyn Nesbit (Ragtime), Miss Dorothy Brown (Thoroughly Modern Millie) and Mabel (Pirates of Penzance).
An Appetite for Quality Entertainment An important component of the ABT experience is the menu that Chef Allen Dowe creates to add to the atmosphere—and in this case the concentration is French cuisine. Guests are offered tableside dining in an intimate and elegant auditorium two hours prior to the performance. Appetizers and desserts are also available for purchase, and ABT has a full bar in its spacious lobby. ABT is conveniently located south of W. Bell Road off the Loop 101, east of the Peoria Sports Complex. Parking is free. For tickets call the Box Office at 623.776.8400 or visit www.azbroadwaytheatre. com
CATS, one of the world’s best-known and best-loved musicals, is being produced by the Arizona Broadway Theatre from February 26 through April 11, 2010.
Composed by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, CATS is an all-singing, alldancing spectacle that features the mega-hit song “Memory” and is based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. CATS opened in London’s West End and on Broadway in the early 1980s, and would go on to become a worldwide phenomenon. ABT’s production features original choreography by ABT’s Artistic Associate, Kurtis W. Overby, who also directed the production. CATS marks Overby’s second direction effort at ABT after directing last summer’s hit, The Taffetas. “The Taffetas was a great show to get my directing feet wet,” Overby stated. “I have been the resident choreographer here at the theatre over the past year, and it felt good to be at the helm of a full production.
And to be able to direct CATS where my strength really lies is very exciting,” Overby continued. Hardly limited to a singular strength, Overby, a graduate of Louisburg College with a degree in dance performance, has performed with and choreographed for Carnival Cruise Lines, and performed and served as dance captain for the Broadway National Tours of Crazy For You and Gentleman Prefer Blondes. Overby made his debut at ABT in its first production, Anything Goes. “I knew at that time that there was a lot of potential in this new theatre company,” Overby remarked. “I remember being at the New York City dance call thinking that this is going to be something special. Now, five years later, I feel that ABT has assembled one of the strongest groups of dancers I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with, and I’ve worked with a lot of dancers,” Overby joked. “I’m thrilled to be working with this cast.” CATS has also provided an opportunity to further the collaboration between Overby and ABT’s Artistic Producer, Cassandra Norville Klaphake, who stars as Grizabella (made famous by Broadway veteran Betty Buckley).
Previously, they both appeared onstage in ABT’s Kiss Me, Kate and more recently in Cabaret, where they shared the spotlight as the Emcee and Sally Bowles. “It takes a great deal of trust in and a respect for another’s artistic capabilities to make this kind of collaboration work,” Klaphake remarked in regard to taking direction from Overby while also being the show’s (and the theatre’s) artistic producer. “Thankfully, that exists in spades with us.”
An ever-important aspect of CATS, a show that is all sung and all danced, is an element that brings it to life: the makeup! Under the watchful eye of award-winning costume and make-up designer, Martha J. Clarke, the cast has spent hours in make-up clinics to get just the right look for this production. “The look is so important to the show. Each cat has to have its own personality, and that has to be depicted in the makeup,” Clarke told the cast. Clarke is a firm believer that successful productions have design elements that work together. “I worked closely with Kimb Williamson (the show’s scenic designer) and Denise Wilcox (CATS’ lighting designer). We wanted to make sure we were in the same world,” Clarke mused. “With Kurtis’ artistic eye, I think that we--the production team--have created a solid and magical world that lived in Kurtis’ imagination.” Overby offered, “What makes CATS magical is not only the spectacle of the show, but also the family-friendly aspect of it. If we can get one child to embrace live theatre from this production, then I’ve done my job.” For information on how to experience the magic of CATS, call ABT at 623.776.8400. Performance-only tickets are also available, with seating a half-hour before curtain. CATS. The memories will last a lifetime.
In 2004, two out-of-work actors in New York decided to write a musical. The problem was, they didn't know what to write about. So they simply wrote about writing the musical and the result was the hilarious and tuneful Broadway hit [title of show], a startlingly hilarious and tuneful musical about musicals. The witty story follows the two writers, and their best friends, as they create a Cinderella tale set to music about the journey from the unemployment line to the Great White Way. Arizona Theatre Company is proud to be the first regional company in the west to produce this offbeat musical that has been hailed as "hilarious" by the New York Times, "sly, sassy and inspired" by Entertainment Weekly, and "irresistible" by the NY Sun. [title of show] plays in Phoenix at the Herberger Theater Center from February 18 through March 7. Arizona Theatre Company's season sponsors are I. Michael and Beth Kasser and the Arizona Commission on the Arts. The Phoenix production sponsors of [title of show] are Ann C. and Frederick A. Lynn.
[title of show] is a dizzy, unpredictable, and uproarious tongue-in-cheek musical about show business and making one's dreams come true. Follow Jeff, Hunter, Heidi and Susan as they negotiate a musical theatre obstacle course of finding backers, casting singers, and making it to Broadway. This hit musicalwill be staged for Arizona audiences by the same team of artists that created ATC's hit productions of Hair and The Pajama Game. [title of show] contains mature language and content. Broadway.com also warns, "I wouldn't recommend it to two groups: toddlers and stupid people."
JEFF BOWEN (Music and Lyrics) wrote the music and lyrics and co-starred in the Broadway production of [title of show]. He was awarded an OBIE for his work on [title of show], and has composed music for several shows at PS 122, including Avant Garde-a-Rama in Sparklevision and Hello, My Name Is Avant Garde-a-Rama. Also, Sparklefest 2000 at Dixon Place, The A Train Plays and the film Boat Mime. His onstage credits include The Who's Tommy, The Diviners, The Doctor in Spite of Himself, Of Thee I Sing, The Sandbox and On the Twentieth Century, among others.
HUNTER BELL (Book) wrote the book and co-starred in the Broadway production of [title of show]. He received an OBIE Award and Tony Award and Drama League nominations for [title of show]. Writing credits include, Silence! The Musical (book writer/Overall Excellence Award-Outstanding Musical, 2005 New York Fringe Festival), Stuck by Epcot (playwright/Manhattan Theatre Source), A Train Plays (lyricist/Neighborhood Playhouse), Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (writer/2007 Circus). He has developed new works at the Dramatist Guild, Irish Repertory Theatre, PS 122, Goodspeed Musicals/Chester, CanStage, Manhattan Theatre Club, Ars Nova and The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.
"When I first saw [title of show] in its off-Broadway incarnation, I was exhilarated by its wit, honesty and joyful message about daring to dream big," said director David Ira Goldstein. "It's a true 'insider's insider's' view of what it takes to make something brand new and what fun it is express your voice passionately. Everyone creates something in this world that is uniquely theirs, and [title of show] celebrates with stylish glee the perspiration and the inspiration of creation. It's also about friendship of the deepest kind, friendship between people who put themselves on the line to create, to sing their songs and to share their vision. That this little show made it all the way to Broadway - and now beyond - is a wonderful case of life mirroring art."
[title of show] will be directed by David Ira Goldstein, Artistic Director of Arizona Theatre Company. He has directed over 35 mainstage productions ranging from classics to new plays to musicals including the world premieres of The Kite Runner earlier this season; Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, Inventing van Gogh, Rocket Man, Private Eyes, Over The Moon and Dracula, all by Steven Dietz;and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Jeffrey Hatcher. He has been a guest director at theatres across the country including Seattle Repertory Theatre, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Florida Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Northlight Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Geva Theatre Center, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Laguna Playhouse, Mixed Blood Theatre, and the Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis. Before moving to Arizona, Mr. Goldstein was Associate Artistic Director of ACT Theatre in Seattle. His musical A Marvelous Party: The Nöel Coward Celebration, has played at theatres around the United States winning four Joseph Jefferson Awards in Chicago, including one for Best Director; The Elliot Norton Award in Boston; and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Production.
The cast of [title of show] includes Stanley Bahorek (Hunter), who appeared on Broadway as Leaf Coneybear in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Off-Broadway, he has been seen in Inventing Avi. He performed Tom Sawyer in the national tour of the DeafWest revival of Big River. Other New York theatre credits include Rent, See Rock City and Wood. Regionally, he has appeared in the world premieres of Ordinary Days and Up In The Air; as well as in Happy Days, Jim Henson's Emmet Otter, and A Little Night Music. On television, he has been seen in Law & Order: CI. Lauren Lebowitz (Susan) returns to Arizona Theatre Company after appearing as Jeanie in last season's production of Hair. She has performed in the national tours of Footloose and Godspell, and has toured with the USO. Last year, she was seen Off-Broadway in the world premiere of To Paint the Earth as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Other theatrical credits include Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof, Grace in Annie, Rosa in Wallenberg and the Vagina Monologues. Kelly McCormick (Heidi) is returning to ATC, where she last appeared as Babe in The Pajama Game. She comes directly from playing the role of Truly Scrumptious on the 1st National Tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Ms. McCormick appeared nightly as the Factory Girl (and occasionally as Fantine) on the final National Tour of Les Misérables. Regionally, she has played Martha Jefferson in 1776, Linda in Pal Joey, Aysha in Children of Eden and Fantine in the regional premiere of Les Misérables at Pioneer Theatre Company. Other credits include the NYC workshop of Zhivago and soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Sal Sabella (Jeff) returns to Arizona Theatre Company where he appeared in Hair. Most recently, he was in the concert version of Kristina at Carnegie Hall. He performed in the Broadway national tour of Phantom of the Opera, as well as in the national tours of Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Godspell (cast recording). His other theatrical credits include performancesat Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center Theater.
The creative team for [title of show] includes Patricia Wilcox (Choreographer), who returns to ATC where her work has been seen in Hair, The Pajama Game, The Pirates of Penzance and My Fair Lady, among many others. Other credits include Bowfire (national tour and PBS special), A Marvelous Party (Co-Conceiver, Jeff Award and LA Drama Critics Circle Award), the New York revival-as well as the national and international companies and Thames Television production-of Blues in the Night (DramaLogue Award), Seussical (national tour), Hit Me with a Hot Note (national tour), A Swell Party (The Kennedy Center) and Broadway Under the Stars (New York). She has also created numbers for ice skating gold medalists Viktor Petrenko, Ilia Kulik, and Katya Gordeeva. Christopher McGovern (Musical Director) returns to ATC where he conducted and performed in Hair and The Pajama Game. He has worked Off-Broadway on That's Life (Outer Critics Circle nomination), The Jazz Singer, Sheba, The Fishkin Touch and Totie, among others. His national tours include Fame and The Presidents with Rich Little. He is the Author/Composer of Lizzie Borden, Backwards in High Heels, A Visit to Roswell and many original songs. He has worked as Producer/Arranger/Orchestrator and Songwriter on recordings by Tony-nominees Rebecca Luker, Susan Egan and Alison Fraser. Mr. McGovern has performed in concert with Susan Egan (national tour including Carnegie Hall), Karen Mason, Liz Callaway, Roslyn Kind and many others.
The design team for [title of show] includes John Ezell (Scenic Designer), who designed the scenery for last season's production of Hair at ATC. He has designed for Broadway, New York Shakespeare Festival and The Public Theater, as well as Roundabout Theatre Company, Crossroads Theatre Company and Shakespeare Theatre Company, among many others. His work has received the Award for Experimental Television Art in Milan, two Corporation for Public Broadcasting Awards for Excellence and eleven Critics' Circle Awards. Kish Finnegan (Costume Design) has designed many shows for ATC, including The Kite Runner, Hair, Touch the Names, Molly's Delicious, Tuesdays with Morrie, Copenhagen, and 2 Pianos 4 Hands, among many others. She has also designed for Childsplay, the Burbank Repertory Theatre and the Chamber Theatre, where she won the Los Angeles DramaLogue award for Costume Design. Her most unique designs have been for aquacades and aquatic costumes for the US national synchronized swimming team. Michael Gilliam (Lighting Designer) returns to Arizona Theatre Company where he designed Hair, George Gershwin Alone, The Fantasticks, Play On!, The Mystery of Irma Vep andBlue.He has designed lighting on Broadway, The West End, Off-Broadway and regionally at such theatres as Arena Stage, The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse and Mark Taper Forum, among many others. Among the awards he has garnered are Los Angeles Ovation Awards, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, DramaLogue Awards, Garland Awards, Robby Awards and the 1999 Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. Abe Jacob (Sound Designer) returns to ATC where he was Sound Designer for Hair, The Pajama Game, The Pirates of Penzance and My Fair Lady, among others. He pioneered and introduced the field of sound design in Broadway theatre. His original designs for musical theatre include the Broadway productions of Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Pippin, Chicago, Sgt. Pepper, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, A Chorus Line, Gilda Radner Live, Dancin', Beatlemania, Evita, Cats, Big Deal and Black and Blue. A native of Tucson, his initial contribution to the performing arts was the creation of the concert sound for such legendary artists as Jimi Hendrix; The Mamas and the Papas; Peter, Paul and Mary; and the historic rock celebration, The Monterey Pop Festival. Jeffrey Cady (Projections Designer) returns to Arizona Theatre Company where he designed projections for Love, Janis. Nationally, he has designed lighting and projections for Columbia Artists Theatricals' tours of Love, Janis and lighting for Theatre Leagues' production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Recently, Mr. Cady served as the Head Projection Programmer for Berkeley Repertory Theatre's production of Green Day's American Idiot. Glenn Bruner is the Production Stage Manager. Casting is by Telsey + Company.
Arizona Theatre Company offers accessibility services for patrons with disabilities for select performances. Audio Description provides patrons with vision loss a running audio description of the movement and activities onstage through an infrared broadcast system. Audio-described performances are offered on February 24 at 7:30 PM and February 25 at 2 PM. Interested patrons may request a tactile tour one hour prior to curtain. American Sign Language interpretation is presented by professional, theatrically-trained ASL-interpreters for people who have deafness or hearing impairment. An ASL-interpreted performance is offered on March 6 at 4 PM. Open-Captioning allows patrons to read the play's dialogue on an LED screen as the play progresses. An open-captioned performance is offered on February 28 at 7 PM. For open-captioned or ASL-interpreted performances, patrons should request seats best suited to ASL interpretation or captioning when purchasing tickets. Large print and Braille playbills and infrared listening amplificationdevices are also available at every ATC performance with reservation. TTY access for the box office is available in Phoenix at (602) 256-1144 (602) 256-1144 or via Arizona Relay at (800) 367-8939 (800) 367-8939 (TTY/ASCII).
Tickets start at $31, depending on date and section choice and are available at www.arizonatheatre.org or by calling the box office at (602) 256-6995 (602) 256-6995 . Discounts are available for students, seniors and active military on specific performance days. Half-price rush tickets are available for balcony seating for all performances one hour prior to curtain at the box office (subject to availability).
"Pay What You Can" for [title of show] is February 21 at 7 PM. Balcony seats for this performance are available for a suggested $10 donation. (Tickets must be purchased in the Herberger Theater Center lobby starting one-hour prior to curtain on February 21. Seating is 'first-come, first served' and is not guaranteed. Cash only, please. Two tickets per person maximum.) Groups Get Great Seats at a Great Price!
Groups of eight or more save at least 20% off regular ticket prices. Non-profit organizations can save up to 50% off for fundraising packages. All groups are eligible for free on-site event space with minimum group purchase. For exceptional customer service, contact a customer service representative at (602) 256-6995 (602) 256-6995 .
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Fresh, innovative, and an awe inspiring crowd-favorite is the best way to describe Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT. This internationally acclaimed musical/dance extravaganza explodes at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre now through August 23rd in Mesa. This lively and colorful musical parable travels through ancient Egypt as a boy, Joseph, blessed with prophetic dreams, is sold into slavery by his conniving brothers. But in true rags to riches fashion, Joseph overcomes these tremendous odds, and dares modern audiences to dream of doing the same. A blazing cornucopia of musical styles, and featuring such song favorites as "Any Dream Will Do," "Close Every Door," and "Go, Go, Go Joseph," this Old Testament romp emerges as both a timely and timeless tale of tragedy and triumph. 
Featuring more than 3,000 instruments and artifacts from around the world on exhibit, and an ongoing program of exciting live performances, the world’s first truly global musical instrument museum has officially opened its doors. MIM will celebrate the diversity of world musical cultures through audio and video enabled exhibitions and concerts in its 299-seat Music Theater. A $250-million project, MIM opens in a 190,000-square-foot building with two floors of spacious, light-filled galleries featuring instruments, artifacts, costumes, recordings and videos from every corner of the globe, as well as an Artist Gallery featuring instruments linked to world-renowned musicians including John Lennon, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, George Benson and more. 
The popular Jazz Concert Series at Arizona Broadway Theatre (ABT) resumes on April 26, 2010, with the return of the Extreme Decibel Big Band featuring Dennis Rowland with the performance at 7:30 p.m. This 17-piece band, which features many of the Valley’s top musicians, is one of the Southwest’s longestrunning professional big bands. Headed by Clark Krueger, who has been on the music scene for over 30 years, Extreme Decibel has brought their repertoire of traditional and contemporary big band arrangements to the Orpheum Theatre, the Kerr Cultural Center, Phoenix Symphony Hall and the Herberger Theater. 
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will present an outdoor concert by Lavay Smith & Her Red-Hot Skillet Lickers on Saturday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. as part of its 2010 Desert Sky Series at the Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater. With pin-up glamour and sultry vocals reminiscent of Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, singer Lavay Smith leads a world-class big band while bringing a modern, provocative twist to the classic jazz and blues of the 1940s and ’50s. 
In 2004, two out-of-work actors in New York decided to write a musical. The problem was, they didn't know what to write about. So they simply wrote about writing the musical and the result was the hilarious and tuneful Broadway hit [title of show], a startlingly hilarious and tuneful musical about musicals. The witty story follows the two writers, and their best friends, as they create a Cinderella tale set to music about the journey from the unemployment line to the Great White Way. Arizona Theatre Company is proud to be the first regional company in the west to produce this offbeat musical that has been hailed as "hilarious" by the New York Times, "sly, sassy and inspired" by Entertainment Weekly, and "irresistible" by the NY Sun. [title of show] plays in Phoenix at the Herberger Theater Center from February 18 through March 7. Arizona Theatre Company's season sponsors are I. Michael and Beth Kasser and the Arizona Commission on the Arts. The Phoenix production sponsors of [title of show] are Ann C. and Frederick A. Lynn.
show]. He was awarded an OBIE for his work on [title of show], and has composed music for several shows at PS 122, including Avant Garde-a-Rama in Sparklevision and Hello, My Name Is Avant Garde-a-Rama. Also, Sparklefest 2000 at Dixon Place, The A Train Plays and the film Boat Mime. His onstage credits include The Who's Tommy, The Diviners, The Doctor in Spite of Himself, Of Thee I Sing, The Sandbox and On the Twentieth Century, among others. 
over 35 mainstage productions ranging from classics to new plays to musicals including the world premieres of The Kite Runner earlier this season; Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, Inventing van Gogh, Rocket Man, Private Eyes, Over The Moon and Dracula, all by Steven Dietz;and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Jeffrey Hatcher. He has been a guest director at theatres across the country including Seattle Repertory Theatre, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Florida Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Northlight Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Geva Theatre Center, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Laguna Playhouse, Mixed Blood Theatre, and the Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis. Before moving to Arizona, Mr. Goldstein was Associate Artistic Director of ACT Theatre in Seattle. His musical A Marvelous Party: The Nöel Coward Celebration, has played at theatres around the United States winning four Joseph Jefferson Awards in Chicago, including one for Best Director; The Elliot Norton Award in Boston; and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Production..jpg)
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