PHX Stages: April 2021

Friday, April 30, 2021

United Colours of Arizona Theatre announce Auditions for their upcoming production of THE LAST FIVE YEARS

UCAT is are looking for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) performers for their first summer show: The Last Five Years/Los Últimos Cinco Años. They will be producing an English and Spanish version of this musical. Performances will be in person.

Please fill out this Google Form: https://forms.gle/Gc86FdYUaK6e4w9ZA

and abide by the following video submission requirements to submit an audition. You will be uploading your video submission in the Google Form as well.

Video Submission Requirements

Video Submission should be no longer than 4 minutes. Please include:

16 bars of an uptempo song

16 bars of a downtempo song

1 monologue (comedic or dramatic)

Please record in landscape not portrait mode

Plot:

An emotionally powerful and intimate musical about two New Yorkers in their twenties who fall in and out of love over the course of five years, the show's unconventional structure consists of Cathy, the woman, telling her story backward while Jamie, the man, tells his story chronologically; the two characters only meet once, at their wedding in the middle of the show.

Breakdown of Roles:

Catherine Hiatt (2 performers)

Character arcs from an ambitious, fresh-faced girl in a new relationship to a woman stunned by a betrayal and a divorce that she is only beginning to understand.

Gender: Female

Age: 25 to 35

Jamie Wellerstein (2 performers)

Character arcs from an ambitious guy on a promising first date with a dazzling career to someone who is blinded by success and ego. He is very lovable, yet makes unintentional choices that sabotages his own happiness.

Gender: Male

Age: 25 to 35

There will be compensation Provided.

Preliminary Rehearsal Schedule:

May 7th to June 31st: Monday thru Friday 5pm to 10pm

Sat & Sun All Day Availability

___

July 1st to July 15

Monday thru Friday - 5pm to possibility of staying later for tech

We will have both ZOOM and in-person rehearsals. Please list all conflicts in the Google Form.

Performance Dates:

Friday evening July 16th and 23rd

Saturday evening with possible matinees for July 17th and 24th

Sunday matinee July 18 and 25th

Location of Performances:

Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts, Stage 2

7380 East Second Street

Scottsdale, AZ 85251

If you have any questions please email unitedcoloursaztheatre@gmail.com

photos - URINETOWN - Mesa Community College Musical Productions

CLICK HERE for more information on this production, which streams May 6-9

photos courtesy Mesa Community College

Thursday, April 29, 2021

review - BONNIE & CLYDE - Limelight Performing Arts

Rachel Nathan and Vance Wolf Cook
photo by Elaine Kessler

highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through May 2

"Bonnie & Clyde (has) a score that has many standout songs and a book that has three-dimensional characters and period perfect dialogue...Limelight Performing Arts' production features a talented cast, rich creative elements, and direction that ensures the heavily dramatic dialogue scenes are realistically delivered....Limelight's cast is very good, with exceptional performances by the show's two main female actresses, Rachel Nathan as Bonnie and Paige Shanks as Blanche, and powerful portrayals by Vance Wolf Cook and Vincent Farley as Clyde and Buck, respectively. All four are very believable as these real people, with natural line delivery and passionate performances that allow us to see the desperation they all feel, which helps to explain how they each ended up in the life they have chosen. Nathan and Cook convey a palpable passion and plenty of heat in their connection with each other and in their constant desire to find a life filled with excitement. Nathan does a beautiful job of showing the conflicted nature Bonnie sometimes feels in her desire for Clyde, even as she realizes that what they are doing is illegal. And Nathan's singing voice is superb. Cook often delivers his lines and lyrics with a growl that elicits the fierceness and unease he feels. With an excellent accent and spot-on line delivery, Shanks is excellent as Blanche...Directors Van Rockwell and Emma England have done a great job of ensuring the entire cast deliver committed, fleshed-out performances, with every dialogue scene ringing true....With a talented cast, including two superb main female performances, Limelight's production is a winner." -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

Video Audition submission date announced for Agatha Christie's SPIDER'S WEB at Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre

AUDITION NOTICE!

Agatha Christie's SPIDER'S WEB 🕸

Directed by Dan Ashlock, Jr.

ACCEPTING VIDEO AUDITIONS - NOW THROUGH FRIDAY, MAY 7, 6PM

- IN-PERSON CALLBACKS will be Monday, May 10

- REHEARSALS begin Monday, May 17

- SHOW DATES: June 25 - July 11, 2021

Submit your AUDITION VIDEO (2 contrasting monologues, max 3 minutes total) to auditions@desertstages.org and complete REGISTRATION FORM at http://bit.ly/DSTSpidersWebAuditions

Please plan to have a COVID TEST with a negative result 3 days prior to your in-person audition. Do your best to quarantine once you have the test. Safety will be priority #1 as we continue to bring LIVE THEATRE back to the DST stage!

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

photos - FREAKY FRIDAY - Actor's Youth Theatre

CLICK HERE for more information on this production, which runs through May 2

photos by Marie South

[TITLE OF SHOW] - ASU Music Theatre and Opera - April 30-May 2, 2021

photo by Reg Madison Photography

Music and Lyrics by Jeff Bowen

Book by Hunter Bell

direction by Kate Leonard; music direction by Kaivan Mayelzadeh

[title of show] is "a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical." The plot follows Hunter, Jeff and their friends, Heidi and Susan, on their journey through the gauntlet of creative self-expression as they quickly create an entry for a new musical theater festival. During the 90 minute one-act musical, they write and perform their show at the festival and learn lessons about themselves as people, friends and artists. [title of show] is, above all, a love letter to the musical theater and to the joy of collaboration.

This production contains explicit language, suitable for mature audiences only.

Cast:

Jeff: Cade Trotter

Hunter: Wesley Bradstreet

Heidi: Hahnna Christianson

Susan: Kathlynn Rodin

This event has been postponed. This event will be updated with new performance dates very soon.

Evelyn Smith Music Theatre

Performers will be in masks with social distancing.

April 30 and May 1, 7 p.m.

May 2, 2 p.m.

(limited in person and online event)

RESERVE YOUR TICKET NOW!

If you enjoy viewing our performances online, please consider making a financial contribution to the ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre. Information may be found at musicdancetheatre.asu.edu/giving.

This production adheres to all federal, state, local and university guidelines for safety and physical distancing. University COVID-19 information may be found at https://eoss.asu.edu/health/announcements/coronavirus

[title of show] is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. www.concordtheatricals.com.

Zao Theatre's 2021 / 2022 Season!

ANNOUNCING ZAO THEATRE'S 8TH SEASON

Thank you to everyone who supported live theatre during the past months as we eeked our way through the season. In light of that support, we are extremely excited to annouce our new season of shows:

HELLO, DOLLY! Oct 29-Nov 20, 2021

Jerry Herman’s energetic Hello, Dolly! is a musical filled with charisma and with heart. Set in New York City at the turn of the century, Hello Dolly! is boisterous and charming from start to finish.

FROST/NIXON Jan 21-Feb 5, 2022

This fictionalized Tony Award winning British play by screenwriter and dramatist Peter Morgan is based on the famous television interviews by David Frost with disgraced U.S. President Richard Nixon.

OLIVER! Mar 25-Apr 16, 2022

The streets of Victorian England come to life as Oliver, Artful Dodger, Fagin, and all the orphans bring us the musical version of Dickens classic tale.

CLICK HERE for more information, and to purchase tickets when available

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

review - NUNSENSE - Arizona Broadway Theatre

Blair Beasley, Alexia Lorch, Kathi Osborne, Renée Kathleen Koher, and Liz Fallon
photo by Kat Barnes

highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through May 16

"Nunsense, the musical comedy about a group of nuns putting on a fundraiser, has been a continual favorite for theatregoers since first opening Off-Broadway in 1985. ...When you have five talented actresses to take on these hilarious roles, as Arizona Broadway Theatre has in their production that runs through May 16, you can see how this show has been making audiences around the world laugh for more than 35 years....As the Reverend Mother, Kathi Osborne has the correct stern and fierce delivery to depict the demanding woman in charge of the convent....Blair Beasley is simply lovely as Sister Hubert, the nun who often questions the Reverend Mother's actions. Beasley's powerful singing voice shines throughout, especially in the finale, "Holier Than Thou." Renée Kathleen Koher is hilarious as Sister Amnesia, the nun who lost her memory after being hit on the head by a falling crucifix. ...Liz Fallon is equally as good as the streetwise sister from Brooklyn who yearns to be a star. ...In the slightly smaller role of the sister who loves the ballet, Alexia Lorch is an absolute sweetheart....a warm, witty and humorous show...a charming and fun, crowd-pleasing production of this beloved hit musical comedy." -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

"...Bulging with lame jokes and limp punch lines, audience quizzes and vignettes that fall flatter than pancakes, the script sags under its own weight and challenges its audience to offer up only a fair share of conciliatory laughs....In a show that may have worn out its Heavenly stage welcome, its Saving Grace is embodied in an ensemble of five artists who render performances that rise above the script. Thankfully, through the ninety-some minutes of show time, a heavenly host of angelic voices lifts the spirit...." Herbert Paine, Broadway World (click here to read the complete review)