from our friends at MET:
Chart a course for adventure next season! We travel through space, across the seas and into forbidden forests where we will encounter dark foes, battle monsters in wicked castles, catch giants in the sky, fly with pink dragons and hope that good will always conquer evil. Next season we bring you a beloved Sondheim, a classic Gilbert & Sullivan, a new vision of Robin Hood (a swashbuckling Arizona Premiere), and one of the most popular Broadway shows of all time in Shrek the Musical. We will dabble in high adventure with She Kills Monsters and take a different kind of high adventure in the madcap musical, Reefer Madness. Our Black Box on Main Street will also be on a new quest with Darkside and The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls. It’s going to be a remarkable journey, and we hope that you will come on this adventure with us this September!
Into the Woods
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
September 6-22, 2019
performances at the Mesa Arts Center, One East Main St. Mesa AZ, 85201
Inspired by the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales, including Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Beanstalk, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine set out to create a story centering around the the moral struggles of these famous fairy tale characters. Tied together with one original story about a Baker and his wife, their struggle to have a child, and the witch who cursed their bloodline. This community of old and new characters must come together to save each other and their kingdom, ever after!
The Pirates of Penzance
Music by Arthur Sullivan, Book and Lyrics by W. S. Gilbert
November 1-17, 2019
performances at the Mesa Arts Center, One East Main St. Mesa AZ, 85201
Gilbert and Sullivan’s most popular show, The Pirates of Penzance, is a rollicking, delightfully funny tale of a band of soft-tempered pirates. Mistakenly apprenticed to a pirate (instead of a pilot) by his nursemaid Ruth at the age of eight, the handsome Frederic is now twenty-one and, though quite fond of the group of joyous and fun-loving pirates, chooses to abandon his profession and “lead a blameless life henceforth,” dedicating himself instead to their eradication. Beloved since its premiere in 1879, The Pirates of Penzance (or The Slave of Duty) is a delightful farce of a classic that is fun for all ages.
Darkside
By Ken Jones
November 8-24, 2019
performances at the Mesa Encore Theatre Black Box, 933 E Main St, Mesa AZ 85203
Two American astronauts are stranded in a lunar landing module on the dark side of the moon while a third orbits in the command module. As they work with ground control toward rescue, flashbacks reveal their stories.
She Kills Monsters
by Qui Nguyen
January 10-26, 2020
performances at the Mesa Arts Center, One East Main St. Mesa AZ, 85201
A comedic romp into the world of fantasy role-playing games, She Kills Monsters tells the story of Agnes Evans as she leaves her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When Agnes finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, however, she stumbles into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was Tilly’s refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, acclaimed young playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.
Shrek
Book and Lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire; Music by Jeanine Tesori
February 28-March 15, 2020
performances at the Mesa Arts Center, One East Main St. Mesa AZ, 85201
Shrek the Musical is a one-of-a-kind, hilarious fairy tale in which curses are reversed, monsters get the girls, donkeys and dragons find love, and princesses are beautiful in all shapes and sizes. With dazzling sets, whimsical puppetry, high energy dance numbers, and laughs by the minute, Shrek the Musical transforms the contemporary children’s book and popular animated feature film into a stage musical that is sure to entertain and make audiences believers in happy endings for all.
Reefer Madness
Book by Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney; Music by Dan Studney; Lyrics by Kevin Murphy
April 3-19, 2020
performances at the Mesa Arts Center, One East Main St. Mesa AZ, 85201
There is a new menace sweeping the nation, ready to ensnare and seduce the youth and drag them down into a life of sin: REEFER MADNESS! In this hilarious, over-the-top satire, the high school drama club, led by the gravely stern Lecturer, illustrates the perils of the “leafy green assassin.” Reefer Madness is an irreverent parody of the classic 1930s instructional film full of camp, hilarity, mayhem, and madness.
The Legend of Robin Hood
(Arizona Premiere)
By Nathan Makaryk
May 15-31, 2020
performances at the Mesa Arts Center, One East Main St. Mesa AZ, 85201
The Legend of Robin Hood spins a whole new tale more intricate yet more realistic than anything seen before. This swashbuckling show has it all – colorful and absorbing characters, compelling ideas, and enough laughs, tears, sword fights and dramatic plotting to satisfy anyone. This is a pulse-pounding yet meditative new take of a classic tale showing how the medieval English hero became a legend.
FairyTale Lives of Russian Girls
By Meg Miroshnik
June 5-21, 2020
performances at the Mesa Encore Theatre Black Box, 933 E Main St, Mesa AZ 85203
Once upon a time – in 2005 – a twenty-year-old girl named Annie returned to her native Russia to brush up on the language and lose her American accent. Underneath a glamorous Post-Soviet Moscow studded with dangerously high heels, designer bags, and luxe fur coats, she discovers an enchanted motherland teeming with evil stepmothers, wicked witches, and ravenous bears. Annie must learn how to become the heroine of a story more mysterious and treacherous than any childhood fairy tale: her own. This subversive story haunts the audience and carries a powerful message for young women living in a world where not everything ends up happily ever after.
CLICK HERE for more information, and to purchase tickets, when available
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