ANNE OF GREEN GABLES - Actors PLAYground - May 30-June 8, 2025

 

based on the story by L.M. Montgomery

Director: Rachel Cummings

This dramatization captures the charm and excitement of L.M. Montgomery’s enduring classic about an orphan girl, Anne Shirley, from her first encounter with her austere guardian to her thrilling graduation from Queen’s Academy. The play faithfully recreates the memorable events and characters from the brilliant novel. All the tragedies and triumphs that mark Anne’s growth from adolescence to early adulthood are here: her friendship with Diana, her feuds with Gilbert, her adoration of Matthew, the mistaken wine bottle, the cake disaster, the broken leg, the scholastic achievements, and the saving of Green Gables. Whether the playgoer is an “old friend” of Anne’s or meeting her for the first time, this play will solidify a lasting friendship between the audience and one of literature’s most unforgettable characters.

Location: Actors PLAYground 11340 W. Bell Rd. Suite 105

Friday, May 30 at 7pm

Saturday, May 31 at 7pm

Sunday, Jun 1 at 2pm

Friday, Jun 6 at 7pm

Saturday, Jun 7 at 7pm

Sunday, Jun 8 at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information, and to purchase tickets

SUPER HEROES LEAGUE OF JUSTICE - Actors PLAYground - May 9-17, 2025

Performances: 

Friday, May 9 at 7 pm

Saturday, May 10 at 2 pm

Saturday, May 10 at 7 pm

Friday, May 16 at 7 pm

Saturday, May 17 at 2 pm

Saturday, May 17 at 7 pm

Location: Actors PLAYground 11340 W. Bell Rd. Suite 105

CLICK HERE for more information, and to purchase tickets

THE NEVERENDING STORY - Actors PLAYground - April 24-27, 2025

by David S. Craig

Youth and Homeschool Production

April 2025

Told with all the thrills of a classic adventure, the story begins with Bastian, a lonely boy, who stumbles into a curious bookshop where he discovers a curious book—The Neverending Story. Bastian hides in the attic of his school and begins to read, and a huge adventure surges into life. Fantastica, a land of stories, is being destroyed by the Nothing. The Childlike Empress has chosen Atreyu, a young hunter, to be the Hero of the Great Quest. Atreyu, an orphan, is an unlikely choice, but he accepts and, with his horse and companion, Artax, rides to face the menace. First, he experiences the Nothing and discovers its thoughtless destruction. Then he is guided by a dream to the Swamps of Sadness where he meets Morla, the Ancient One, who reveals another solution. He must find the Childlike Empress a new name. With this new direction, Atreyu faces Ygramul the Many, befriends Falkor the Luck Dragon, and solves the riddles of the three magic gates to meet Uyulala. From her he learns that only a human child can give the Empress a new name. In despair he faces his final test—the werewolf Gmork—and returns to the Childlike Empress without a new name. However, his quest has attracted a human child. It is Bastian himself who calls out a new name for the Empress, and the story rushes to its triumphant and moving conclusion.

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

12 ANGRY JURORS - Actors PLAYground - March 14-23, 2025

A 19-year-old man has just stood trial for the fatal stabbing of his father. “He doesn’t stand a chance,” mutters the guard as the 12 jurors are taken into the bleak jury room. It looks like an open-and-shut case—until one of the jurors begins opening the others’ eyes to the facts. “This is a remarkable thing about democracy,” says the foreign-born juror, “that we are notified by mail to come down to this place—and decide on the guilt or innocence of a person; of a man or woman we have not known before. We have nothing to gain or lose by our verdict. We should not make it a personal thing.” But personal it is, with each juror revealing his or her own character as the various testimonies are re-examined, the murder is re-enacted and a new murder threat is born before their eyes! Tempers get short, arguments grow heated, and the jurors become 12 angry men. The jurors’ final verdict and how they reach it—in tense scenes that will electrify your audience and keep them on the edge of their seats.

Friday, Mar 14 @ 7pm

Sunday, Mar 16 @ 2pm

Friday, Mar 21 @7pm

Saturday, Mar 22 @ 7pm

Sunday, Mar 23 @ 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

SNOW WHITE - Actors PLAYground - January 31-February 8, 2025

by Jim Gradillas & Michelle Marie

Youth Production

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

CHARLOTTE'S WEB - Actors PLAYground - February 21-March 2, 2025

by Joseph Robinett

Youth Production

Feb 21-Mar 2

All the enchanting characters are here: Wilbur, the irresistible young pig who desperately wants to avoid the butcher; Fern, a girl who understands what animals say to each other; Templeton, the gluttonous rat who can occasionally be talked into a good deed; the Zuckerman family; the Arables; and, most of all, the extraordinary spider, Charlotte, who proves to be “a true friend and a good writer.” Determined to save Wilbur, Charlotte begins her campaign with the “miracle” of her web in which she writes, “Some pig.” It’s the beginning of a victorious campaign which ultimately ends with the now-safe Wilbur doing what is most important to Charlotte. This is a beautiful, knowing play about friendship that will give your actors a great opportunity and your audience an evening of enchantment. 

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

ALIBIS - Actors PLAYground - January 3-12, 2025

Whodunit, howdunit. When famous actress Primavera Donna throws a party and winds up dead, it’s up to the guests to figure out who and how, and why the hired help is so annoying. Shades of Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, and Clue. As the storm outside rages and the body count mounts, the guests must contend with interruptions, shocking revelations, tacky special effects, and the arrival of a mysterious visitor. Both the action and dialogue are fast-paced and the surprising conclusion leaves only one question: Who gets the movie rights? The cast includes a stuffy butler, a social butterfly, a playboy, a dotty chemist, an aristocrat of dubious origin, a nun who has taken a vow of silence, a part-time detective, a very French maid, and a mysterious stranger.r. 

January 3, 4, 10 & 11 at 7pm; 5 & 12 at 2pm

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

MURDER AT THE ART SHOW - Actors PLAYground - October 4–5, 2024

 

by Michael Druce

October 4 – 5 at 7pm

Everyone’s an art critic…  but who’s serious enough to kill over it?!  Sloane Akers is doing her best to keep afloat the Harriet Anderson Gallery (aka HAG) she inherited from her late Aunt Harriet.  Standing in her way is Harriet’s conniving boyfriend, Jacob Smote, who wants to tear down the gallery and replace it with a sports complex.  Desperate to save the gallery, Sloane plans to unveil a previously unseen masterpiece along with works of some other well-known artists.  By the end of the evening, Murder at the Art Show paints the perfect picture of greed, jealousy, and deception as a priceless Monet goes missing, art is hysterically destroyed, and a murder mystery is unveiled.

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

DOROTHY IN WONDERLAND - Actors PLAYground - November 7-9, 2024

November 7-9 (7 & 8 at 7pm; 9th at 2pm & 7pm)

The worlds of Oz and Wonderland collide in this fantastically fun romp, cleverly and carefully adapted from the works of L. Frank Baum and Lewis Carroll.  Dorothy Gale has made her way to the end of the Yellow Brick Road, and the wonderful Wizard of Oz is just about to help her get back home to Kansas.  But before she can hop into the wizard’s balloon, another whirlwind appears over the Emerald City, sweeping Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion away to Wonderland.  Meeting many other interesting characters along the way, including Alice, the White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, March Hare, the Cheshire Cat and many more,  Dorothy and Alice team up to defeat the queen at croquet, but will that be enough to return Wonderland to normal?  And how will they ever get back home to Kansas and to London?

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

LIFE AS JOBY - Actors PLAYground - December 7-8, 2024

by Jim Gradillas & Michelle Marie

Youth & Touring Production

A journey into the mind of a young alcoholic. The audience experiences how the actors playing Joby’s consciences work in his mind and ask the question “to drink or not to drink?”. Joby, as do most of us, have several influences in their mind.  These influences are our consciousness.  This story has all of them; from whatever to evil and they all play a part in every single decision.  Joby’s sister, Sentry, and her friends tell their stories, and they become interwoven into his uncontrollable life. This is a cautionary tale of such destruction that if we don’t help ourselves then perhaps there will be no one around us left to help. 

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

THE CHRISTMAS BUS - Actors PLAYground - December 13-22, 2024

It’s Christmas Eve, and Mrs. Frump, the director of the Peaceful Valley Orphanage, is planning what she believes will be the most special Christmas ever for her kids. She’s borrowed an old bus and arranged for each child to spend Christmas with a family in the area. The only problem is, she hasn’t told the Busybodies on the orphanage board of trustees, who believe Frump has gotten too old and soft to handle the rowdy kids at Peaceful Valley. With the help of teenage Thomas, the oldest of the orphans and her trusty right-hand man, Frump sets off to deliver the kids—pursued by the suspicious Sheriff Snodgrass and the Busybodies. Along the way, they pick up a passenger: a traveling troubadour who’s been on the road trying his luck as a folksinger and is now returning home to his girlfriend (who may or may not be glad to see him). It’s an adventuresome ride, culminating in a Christmas even more special than Frump could have ever imagined.

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

LOVE, LIZ - Actor's PLAYground - August 8-10, 2024

By Lauren Grove

Part of our “20 Something Series”

With shades of SIX and Grease, (without the singing), “Love, Liz” is full of laughs, fun characters, gossip and secrets as Queen Elizabeth sets out to prove women can have it all! 

Join Queen Elizabeth I and her closest friends and confidants for a fabulous night of gossip and intrigue. Will Elizabeth’s gal pals convince her that an illustrious marriage and an heir will quell her unruly heart, or will the flutters of her feelings for her rumored Romeo prevail? Get ready to listen to music, sneak some drinks, paint your nails, and meet all of Elizabeth’s suitors… The good, the bad, and the handsome! Love, Liz is a hilarious romp through history as Queen Elizabeth I of England must decide who (or if) she will marry

Thursdsay, August 8 @ 7pm

Friday, August 9 @ 7pm

Saturday, August 10 @ 2pm

West Valley Arts HQ 

16126 N Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ

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

YOUNG SHERLOCK - Actors PLAYground - June 6-9, 2024

Take a trip back in time to when young Sherlock Holmes was a student at Butterworth Academy.

Two girls are kidnapped from the school, and John Watson hopes his friend and classmate will be able to solve his first crime.  Despite a psychic, Madame Lulu, appearing on the scene and guaranteeing to find the students, the bumbling, inept Constable Bing begins his own investigation.

When the psychic suddenly finds the girls after the parents have paid the large fee demanded in the mysterious ransom note, Sherlock is suspicious.  He sets a trap to snare the criminal, launching his career as a great detective who can solve crimes even before the police can.

Tickets $12

CLICK HERE for more information

Actors PLAYground Theatre Company's 2024/2025 Season!

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