Director Samantha Wyer Bello helms the world premiere of Arizona playwright Elaine Romero’s Like Heaven produced by The Bridge Initiative in residence at Estrella Mountain Community College. Romero’s new comedy explores what happens to a one-time beauty queen’s path when a stranger comes to town. The cast features Natalie Andrews, Brenda Jean Foley, Maren Maclean, and Shonda Royall, who have appeared with Arizona Theatre Company, Phoenix Theatre Company, Black Theatre Troupe, Southwest Shakespeare Company, Stray Cat Theatre, and more.
Audiences will meet April who dreams of singing on a stage, her little sister Callie who can’t let her go, her friend Trudy who worries about her eternal soul, and newcomer Sapphire who longs for “a pure place.” As priorities collide, secrets are revealed, and love is tested, the women are forced to reconcile dreams and reality. Their journeys will resonate with everyone who has gotten stuck, been betrayed, and realized, as playwright Romero says, “friends, sisters, siblings are the loves of our lives but we don’t know it.”
Wyer Bello joins the production from the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC. She returns to the Valley where she spent over a decade working with Arizona Theatre Company and “earned a reputation for her deft handling of challenging classic and contemporary drama,” according to the Arizona Daily Star. Romero credits Wyer Bello with a “rare combination of art and humanity.” The two have a deep history of collaboration they are eager to expand with this production of Like Heaven.
Filling out the creative team are Scenic Designer Tiana Torrihon-Wood, Lighting Designer Stacey Walston, Costume Designer Lindsey Penner, and Sound & Projections Designer Will Rogers. They are supported by Tim Butterfield, Coordinator of Fine Arts Facilities, and Production Manager Antonio Hernandez with Estrella Mountain Community College. Understudying the professional cast will be students Kylee Larkin, Cassidy McDaniel, Kristen McDaniel, and Andrea Obregon.
The show runs for six performances May 6-13 at Estrella Mountain Community College Fine Arts Center, 3000 North Dysart Road, Avondale, AZ 85392. Tickets are available for $15-25 at eventbrite.com. One quarter of the ticket revenue will be contributed to a scholarship fund for female-identifying students at Estrella Mountain Community College.
CONTENT NOTE: Includes mature themes and adult language.
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