The New Mel Brook’s Musical Young Frankenstein
June 19-July 5, 2015
It’s Alive! AGAIN!!!!
It's alive and It’s Back!!! The return of the electrifying adaptation of Mel Brooks' monstrously funny film that left our audience in stitches! From the creators of the record-breaking Broadway sensation The Producers comes this monster new musical comedy. The comedy genius Mel Brooks adapts his legendarily funny film into a brilliant stage creation - Young Frankenstein! Grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced "Fronk-en-steen") inherits his family's estate in Transylvania. With the help of a hunchbacked side-kick, Igor (pronounced "Eye-gore"), and a leggy lab assistant, Inga (pronounced normally), Frederick finds himself in the mad scientist shoes of his ancestors. "It's alive!" he exclaims as he brings to life a creature to rival his grandfather's. Eventually, of course, the monster escapes and hilarity continuously abounds.
Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks
TBA
July 10 -19, 2015
We are still negotiating to bring you a wonderful production.
The Ballad of Buzzard Basin
July 24-August 9, 2015
Saddle Up!
When the town drunk Skragg Mudd dies it’s just the beginning of the fun in the old west town of Buzzard Basin. This rollicking original musical by Peter J. Hill will have you howlin’, singin’ and yodelin’
MAINSTAGE 2015-16 SEASON
South Pacific
September 4 – 20, 2015
The Most Beloved Musical of All Time!
Some Enchanted Evening, Bali Ha’i, Younger Than Springtime, I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair, Bloody Mary, I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy . . . Bursting with iconic melodies, this award-winning musical is based on James Michener’s famous book. An American nurse, stationed on a WWII South Pacific island, falls deeply in love with a French widower but struggles to accept his mixed-race children. And an American lieutenant grapples with fears of social retribution if he marries his Asian sweetheart. Personal happiness and love are pitted against prejudice and the terrors of war in this glorious megahit that still resonates today.
Music by Richard Rodgers Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel ‘Tales of the South Pacific’ by James A. Michner
Produced through special arrangement with The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization
Any Number Can Die
October. 16- November. 1, 2015
The Plot Thickens
An hilarious take off on the mystery plays of the Twenties complete with sliding panels, robed figures, wills being read at midnight as four ingenious murders take place in an island mansion and a pair of elderly detectives set to work on their first case. The ever popular storm, the unexpected guests, the cryptic poem, and the missing fortune all add to the intricate and inventive mystery off which the laughs bounce
Written by Fred Carmichael and produced through special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
La Cage Aux Folles
January 22 – February. 7, 2016
Come as You Are!
Before there was the popular movie The Birdcage, there was the Tony Award- winning, smash hit Broadway musical, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES. After twenty years of bliss, Georges and Albin, two men partnered for better-or-worse, get a bit of both when Georges' son announces his impending marriage to the daughter of an ultra-conservative politician. Further complicating the situation, Albin and Georges run a drag nightclub in St. Tropez, where Albin is the star performer ‘Zaza.'
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman
Based on the play by Jean Poiret
Produced through special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
Play It Again, Sam
April 1 – 17, 2016
Here’s Laughing at You, Kid.
Allan Felix, who has just been dumped by his wife, is desperate to connect with another woman and dreams of a really BIG romance. Problem is, as he struggles to find an ideal partner in love, his neuroses, awkwardness, and insecurity with the opposite sex keep getting in the way. A movie buff and professional film critic, Allan has this thing about Humphrey Bogart, embodiment of machismo, epitome of cool … so he tries to tap into some of Bogart’s technique. As Allan muddles through real-life set-ups and let-downs, failed dates and panic attacks, Bogey indeed comes to his rescue – lurking in the shadows offering helpful pointers, zingers, words of wisdom, and … hope.
Written by Woody Allen and produced through special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
Curtains
May 6 -22, 2016
It’s a Mystery, It’s a Musical!
Curtains is the hilariously entertaining whodunit from the creative team behind Chicago and Cabaret. It’s opening night at Boston’s Colonial Theatre and the leading lady has mysteriously died on stage, leaving the cast and crew as suspects. Local detective Frank Cioffi, a theater fan and amateur actor, arrives to conduct the investigation. As the body count rises and secrets spill, Cioffi becomes more and more involved in saving the musical than solving the case. This madcap musical will leave you on the edge of your seat, tapping your feet, and laughing all night.
Book by Rupert Holmes, Music By John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb, Original book and Concept by Peter Stone, Additional Lyrics by John Kander and Rupert Holmes.
Produced through special arrangement with Theatrical Rights World Wide
MAINSTAGE TOO 2015-16 SEASON
Sylvia
August 21 – 30, 2015
And They Called It Puppy Love!
Empty nesters Greg and Kate have moved back to Manhattan after twenty-two years in the suburbs. As Kate tells Greg: "The dog phase of my life is definitely over." But life has a way of giving you what you think you don't want. Greg finds Sylvia, a street-smart lab/poodle mix, and brings her home. She promptly becomes a bone of contention between Greg and Kate, testing their marriage to hilarious and touching effect.opportunity presents itself.
Written A.R. Gurney and produced through special arrangement with Dramatist’s Play Service.
Sunday in the Park With George
November. 6 – 22, 2015
A Blank Canvas of Possibilities
Inspired by the painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat, Sunday In The Park With George is a deeply insightful and highly personal examination of life, the creation of art, and its lasting impact not only on its creators but future generations. Shimmering with love and light, this unique, inventive musical is one of the most acclaimed shows of our time. Sondheim’s soaring score and James Lapine’s award-winning book intertwine with Seurat’s distinctive art to create a moving, poetic drama that explores the complexity of life and the art of understanding it.
Book by James Lapine. Music by Stephen Sondheim. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
Sunday in the Park With George is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
A Christmas Carol, The Musical
December 4-20, 2015
A Holiday Tradition!
We've taken the spirit of the season, wrapped it in beautiful original melodies and tied it with all the holiday magic and wonder of your childhood. Fountain Hills Theater is proud to present a new musical adaptation, ‘A Christmas Carol’. Based on the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol tells the tale of curmudgeonly miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by the ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future hoping to change his destiny and save his soul. This delightful musical, an original adaptation written by Fountain Hills Artistic Director Peter J. Hill, with music and lyrics by Peter J. Hill and Jay Melberg, follows Scrooge through a series of strange and magical journeys, where he ultimately discovers the true spirit of the holiday season.
Talley’s Folly
January 8 -17, 2016
Love Unexpected.
Set in July 1944, Talley’s Folly is the story of one evening in the courtship between two unlikely lovers. Matt Friedman is an accountant from St. Louis and has come to rural Missouri to woo Sally Talley in her family’s dilapidated Victorian boathouse. Through persistence, charm, and humor, he courts her despite her fears that her family would never accept him. But for romance to bloom, each must work through their innermost secrets together. Talley’s Folly won both the Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best play.
Written by Lanford Wilson and produced through special arrangement with Dramatist’s Play Service.
Quilters
March 11-27, 2016
A Musical Gem
QUILTERS blends a series of interrelated scenes into a rich mosaic which captures the sweep and beauty, the terror and joy, the harsh challenge and abiding rewards of frontier life. Illuminating stories contained in various patches or "blocks" with music, dance and drama, the action depicts the lot of women on the frontier: girlhood, marriage, childbirth, spinsterhood, twisters, fire, illness and death. But, with this, there is also love, warmth, rich and lively humor and the moving spectacle of simple human dignity and steadfastness in the face of adversity. In the end, when the various patches are assembled into one glorious, brilliantly colorful quilt, the effect is both breathtaking and magical—and a theatrical masterstroke which will linger in the mind and memory long after the house lights have dimmed.
Created by Molly Newman and Barbara Damashek and produced through special arrangement with Dramatist’s Play Service.
FOUNTAIN HILLS YOUTH THEATER
Disney’s Aladdin, Jr.
September 25-October. 11, 2015
It’s a Whole New World!
Welcome to Agrabah, City of Enchantment and the fantastic tale of the street rat who became a prince!
All of your favorite characters from the hit Disney film - Aladdin, Jasmine, Iago, Jafar, the Genie, and more - are here in a musical adventure filled with magic, mayhem, and flying carpet rides. With a tuneful Academy award-winning score, with songs by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice, including "A Whole New World" and "Friend Like Me," will send audiences soaring.
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice
Book Adapted and Additional Lyrics by Jim Luigs
Music Adapted and Arranged by Bryan Louiselle
Based on the 1992 Disney film Aladdin –
Disney’s Aladdin Jr. is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells
December. 4 – 20, 2015
Ho, Ho…Uh,oh!
Junie B. Jones, First-Grader, is super-excited about the upcoming Holiday Sing-Along and Secret Santa gift exchange at her school. Too bad tattletale May keeps ruining all of Junie B.'s fun. So when Junie B. draws May's name for Secret Santa, she comes up with the perfect plan to teach her nemesis a lesson! But will the Christmas spirit of peace and goodwill interfere before she can give you-know-who what she deserves? A hilarious and endearing tale based on the best-selling book series by Barbara Park.
Written by Allison Gregory based on the book Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smell! (P.S. So Does May) by Barbara Park and produced through special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc.
Into The Woods
February. 12-23, 2016
Be Careful What You Wish For!
James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim take everyone's favorite storybook characters and bring them together for a timeless yet relevant piece and rare modern classic. The TONY Award-winning book and score are both enchanting and touching. Into The Woods follows a Baker and his wife who wish to have a child, Cinderella who wishes to attend the King's Festival, and Jack who wishes his cow would give milk. When the Baker and his wife learn that they cannot have a child because of a Witch's curse, the two set off on a journey to break the curse. Everyone's wish is granted, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later.
Book by James Lapine
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Into the Woods is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
Dear Edwina
April 22 – May 1, 2016
A Musical comedy for Kids
13 year-old problem solver Edwina dishes out advice with the help of her friends and a little song and dance
Dear Edwina, Jr follows the adventures of plucky advice-giver extraordinaire Edwina Spoonapple as she directs the neighborhood kids in a series of buoyant production numbers as part of the latest edition of her weekly "Advice-A-Palooza" extravaganza.
Book by Marcy Heisler
Lyrics by Marcy Heisler
Music by Zina Goldrich
Dear Edwina, Jr. is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
Miss Minnie’s Melodram-odeon!
May 27-June 12, 2016
A Ross Collins Original
Poor Miss Minnie! She has been forced to become the reluctant manager of her old father’s melodrama theater, ‘The Melodram-Odean’ since he has suddenly and mysteriously taken ill (He thinks he’s a chicken!) right before the judgings of the grand melodrama competition! Throw in a devious and insincere leading man, a deceitful developer and a large cast of misfits and ne’er-do-wells, and poor Minnie faces her biggest challenges ever.
