THE BIG RADIO BROADCAST OF 1941 - Copperstate Production / Fountain Hills Theater - June 29-July 29, 2018

Sarah Brisco, Thomas Niels Mangum, Peter J. Hill and Barbara McBain
photo by Patty Torrilhon

By Peter J. Hill,
Music and Lyrics by Gus Schneider and Eddie Avril

The Big Radio Broadcast of 1941:  A small, independent Midwest radio station is set to finally ‘go national’!  Everything, including their financial future, depends entirely on going live with the national radio programming.  A sudden freak snowstorm knocks out any chance of receiving the national feed.  But, the four employees realizing that, while they can’t receive, they can still broadcast!  Can just four dedicated employees recreate an entire evening’s national radio broadcast?  Can they save the station?  Can they do it without falling in love?  Well, if not, it won’t be for lack of trying!

The Big Radio Broadcast of 1941 charmingly recreates the old radio programs with their comedy, news and intrigue segments, set to some of the most wonderful, original music of the period.  The story of how this show came to be is nearly as touching and funny as the musical itself.  While visiting his mother, author Peter J. Hill was surprised when she brought out a small box of sheet music composed by Hill’s grandfather.  “Your Grandfather wrote all this music. The Andrew’s Sisters optioned some of these songs, but they never recorded them.  Can you do anything with them?”  Hill took the music, listened to what turned out to be absolutely delightful tunes, and created The Big Radio Broadcast of 1941 around these songs by composer Gus Schneider.  Amazingly Peter Hill and Gus Schneider, his maternal Grandfather, never met.  Gus died the year that Peter was born and now Peter finds a deep and meaningful connection to his past through Gus’s music.

Directed by Peter J. Hill

Peter J. Hill plays Gus, the station janitor
Barbara McBain plays Joan, the station secretary
Tom Niels Mangum plays Billy, the station coffee boy
Sarah Brisco plays Sarah, daughter of the station owner

June 29- July 29
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 2:00 pm

Fountain Hills Theater, Mainstage Too
11445 N Saguaro Blvd., Fountain Hills, AZ
         
Reservations: (480) 837-9661 x3 Visa/MC/Amex/Discover or visit www.fhtaz.org

Individual Adult Tickets $30.00.
$12.00 for children under 17 & college students with ID.
Veterans call Box Office for 2 for 1 discount.

ASHES TO ASHES - Copperstate Productions / Fountain Hills Theater - May 18-June 17, 2018

Sarah Brisco,Brooke Arellano, Carolyn Elizabeth Brooker and Ross Collins
photo by Patty Torrilhon

After a wild weekend binge, R.J. Spaulding wakes to find himself simultaneously engaged to three women who think he is alternately a Mob Kingpin, a gay activist and a Russian KGB agent. R.J. recruits his neighbor in an escalating series of lies to keep his secrets from the girls, his alimony hungry ex-wife and the largest hit man in New Jersey.

Ross Collins as R.J. Spaulding
Peter J. Hill as Bobby
Noel Irick as Vivian
Sarah Brisco as Rainbow
Carolyn Elizabeth Brooker as Irene
Brooke Arellano as Mimi Moon
Bill Bennett as Sam “the plumber”

Ashes to Ashes stars multiple award-winning actors including FHT’s Artistic Directors Ross Collins and Peter J. Hill. Hill and Collins, while working daily in close collaboration on FHT’s season productions, have not appeared together on stage in over 6 years. Copperstate Productions, the company producing Ashes to Ashes, is delighted to have the opportunity to put two of the Valley’s most award-winning comedic actors together in one hilarious farce. Hill and Collins have played the roles of R.J. Spaulding and his crazed neighbor Bobby in the past and both are gearing up for another ‘wild weekend binge’. Hill’s wife, Noel Irick – called by The Arizona Republic ‘the Valley’s best comedienne’ - joins the cast as R.J’s ex-wife, Vivian.

Ashes to Ashes is directed by Peter J. Hill (named the ‘The King of Farce’ by the Arizona Republic) and is produced by Copperstate Productions. The cast includes Brooke Arellano, Bill Bennet, Sarah Brisco, Carolyn Elizabeth Brooker, Ross Collins, Peter J. Hill and Noel Irick.

Ashes to Ashes will play May 18 - June 17, 2018, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30PM and Sundays at
2PM.  Individual tickets are $30.00 for Adults and $12.00 for Youth 17 and under. This production is not recommended for children as it contains adult subject matter and language. Group rates, Veteran, Active Duty, and Senior discounts are available.

All performances are at Fountain Hills Theater at 11445 N. Saguaro Blvd. (at the corner of Saguaro
Blvd. and Rand). Tickets are available through the Theater Box Office at (480) 837-9661 x3 and online at www.fhtaz.org.  Box Office Hours are 12:00PM-5:00 PM Tuesday through Friday, 10:00am-5:00pm Saturdays.

CLICK HERE for more information, and to purchase tickets

LEAVING IOWA - Fountain Hills Theater - August 11 - 27, 2017

by Tim Clue and Spike Manton

Leaving Iowa is a postcard to anyone who has ever found themselves driving alone on a road, revisiting fond memories of their youth. The story centers on Don Browning, a middle-aged writer who returns home and decides to finally take his father’s ashes to his childhood home, as requested. But when Don discovers Grandma’s house is now a grocery store, he begins traveling across Iowa in search of a proper resting place. As he drives those familiar roads, the story shifts back and forth from the present to memories of the annual, torturous vacations of Don’s youth. Ultimately, Don’s existential journey leads him to reconcile his past and present at an unpredictable and perfect final destination.

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

CHICAGO - Fountain Hills Theater - September 1 - 17, 2017

Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb

In razzle-dazzle, roaring twenties Chicago, Roxie Hart, married chorine, murders a faithless lover. Roxie and a sister murderess, Velma Kelly, are both headline hunters seeking to capitalize on pre-trial publicity for the sake of acquittal and stage careers. The story is told through a succession of vaudeville acts: Roxie’s pre-trial prison career, the trial itself in which she is defended by the slickest lawyer in town, and her acquittal and return to obscurity.

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

SEUSSICAL, JR. - Fountain Hills Youth Theater - September 22 - October 8, 2017

Book by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Co-Conceived by Eric Idle
Based on the works of Dr. Seuss

Horton the Elephant, the Cat in the Hat, and all of your favorite Dr. Seuss characters spring to life onstage in Seussical Jr., a fantastical musical extravaganza! Transporting audiences from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus, the Cat in the Hat, our narrator, tells the story of Horton, an elephant who discovers a speck of dust containing tiny people called the Whos, including Jojo, a Who child who gets in trouble for thinking too many “thinks.” Horton’s challenge is twofold – not only must he protect the Whos from a world of naysayers and dangers, but he must also guard an abandoned egg that’s been left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. Although Horton faces ridicule, danger, kidnapping, and a trial, the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him. Ultimately, the powers of friendship, loyalty, family, and community are challenged and emerge triumphant!

Fridays, Saturdays at 7pm & Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE ABRIDGED - Fountain Hills Theater - October 13 - 29, 2017

Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield

Can three guys really cover thirty-seven Shakespeare plays in less than two hours? This fast-firing comedy does just that as it parodies all of the Shakespeare plays (plus the sonnets!) with only three performers in two acts. This play is full of energy as the characters run across the stage and keep you guessing how they will pull off the next play. Clever use of some interesting costumes also adds to the fun.

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

CABARET - Fountain Hills Theater - November 3 - 19, 2017

book by Christopher Isherwood, Music by John Kander: Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Based on  John Van Druten's play I Am a Camera
Adapted from the novel Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood

In 1930’s Berlin, American Sally Bowles works as a singer in the Kit Kat club. At her rooming house she meets Englishman Brian Roberts who has come to Berlin to improve his German. He hopes to pay his expenses by giving English language lessons. Sally is unconventional and she and Robert have a number of adventures together. The romp continues with several of their friends, including the very rich Maximilian von Heune. Life takes a sudden turn for Sally however and throughout it all, the rise of Nazism casts a shadow over everyone.

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

JUNIE B. IN JINGLE BELLS BATMAN SMELLS - Fountain Hills Youth Theater - December 1 - 17, 2017

by Allison Gregory based on the book by Barbara Park

FHT Youth Theater reprises it’s holiday hit! (Yes, AGAIN… It’s that Good! This time with a brand new cast!) 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?

Fridays, Saturdays at 7pm & Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

A CHRISTMAS CAROL - Fountain Hills Theater - November 30 - 24, 2017

 by Charles Dickens

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. 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. Follow Scrooge through a series of strange and magical journeys, where he ultimately discovers the true spirit of the holiday season. This delightful musical, an original adaptation, is written by Fountain Hills Artistic Director Peter J. Hill, with music and lyrics by Peter J. Hill and Jay Melberg.

Nov 30, Dec 2, 8, 10, 14, 16, 22, 24

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

INSPECTING CAROL - Fountain Hills Theater - December 1 - 23, 2017

by Daniel J. Sullivan

Set in a theatre, Inspecting Carol deals with a regional theatre company that is rehearsing its annual production of  A Christmas Carol, its cash cow, when it gets news of the impending arrival of an inspector from the National Endowment for the Arts to review their work. The actor playing Tiny Tim gets a better offer and leaves the production in the lurch. When an aspiring actor of somewhat questionable talent arrives to audition, he is mistaken for the inspector and given the part of the child actor. The company goes on to stage an accident filled, error laden production of their play.

Dec 1, 3, 7, 9, 15, 17, 21, 23

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT'S END - Fountain Hills Theater - January 5 - 21, 2018

by Allison and Margaret Engel

Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End is full of the wit and wisdom of the woman herself; written by journalist/sister duo Allison and Margaret Engel, the play allows Erma (Barbara Chisholm) to tell her own story, leading the audience through her years as a mother and housewife who lampooned life in the suburbs in her weekly (then tri weekly, then heavily syndicated) newspaper column called “ At Wit’s End.”

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY - Fountain Hills Theater - January 26 - February 11, 2018

written by Alan Janes and featuring the music of Buddy Holly

Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story tells the true story of Buddy’s meteoric rise to fame, from the moment in 1957 when ‘That’ll Be The Day’ hit the airwaves until his tragic death less than two years later on “The Day The Music Died”. The show features over 20 of buddy holly’s greatest hits including ‘That’ll Be The Day’, ‘Peggy Sue’, ‘Everyday’, ‘Oh Boy’, ‘Not Fade Away’, ‘Rave On’ And ‘Raining In My Heart’, plus Ritchie Valens’ ‘La Bamba’ and the big bopper’s ‘Chantilly Lace’.

The incredible legacy of the young man with glasses, whose musical career spanned an all-too-brief period during the golden days of rock & roll, continues to live on in Buddy.

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm


CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

DISNEY'S SLEEPING BEAUTY KIDS - Fountain Hills Youth Theater - February 16 - March 4, 2018

Music and Lyrics by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, George Bruns, Tom Adair,
Winston Hibler, Ted Sears. Sammy Fain & Jack Lawrence
Music Adapted and Arranged and Additional Music and Lyrics by Bryan Louiselle
Book Adapted and Additional Lyrics by Marcy Heisler

It’s Princess Aurora’s sixteenth birthday, and three fairies – Flora, Fauna and Merryweather – must use their magic to save her from the spell of the evil sorceress, Maleficent! The fairies ensure that Aurora only falls into a deep sleep that can be ended with a kiss from her betrothed, Prince Phillip. To prevent Phillip from rescuing Aurora, Maleficent kidnaps and imprisons him. The good fairies are the last hope to free Phillip so that he can awaken Aurora.

Fridays, Saturdays at 7pm & Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

FOOLS - Fountain Hills Theater - March 9 - 25, 2018

by Neil Simon

Leon Tolchinsky is ecstatic. He’s landed a terrific teaching job in an idyllic Russian hamlet. When he arrives he finds people sweeping dust from the stoops back into their houses and people milking upside down to get more cream. The town has been cursed with Chronic Stupidity for 200 years and Leon’s job is to break the curse. No one tells him that if he stays over 24 hours and fails to break the curse, he too becomes Stupid. But, he has fallen in love with a girl so Stupid that she has only recently learned how to sit down.

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

THE MIRACLE WORKER - Fountain Hills Youth Theater - March 30 - April 15, 2018

by William Gibson

This classic tells the story of Annie Sullivan and her student, blind and mute Helen Keller. The Miracle Worker dramatizes the volatile relationship between the lonely teacher and her charge. Trapped in a secret, silent world, unable to communicate, Helen is violent, spoiled, almost sub-human and treated by her family as such. Only Annie realizes that there is a mind and spirit waiting to be rescued from the dark, tortured silence.

Fridays, Saturdays at 7pm & Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

WE WILL ROCK YOU - Fountain Hills Theater - April 20 - May 13, 2018

based on the songs of Queen, book by Ben Elton

Since 2002 over 15 million theatregoers in 17 countries have been thrilled by this awe-inspiring production which is based on the songs of Queen with a book by Ben Elton (The Young Ones, Blackadder, Popcorn). Elton fashioned this hilarious futurist comedy around more than 24 of Queen’s biggest hit songs including We Are The Champions, Radio Ga Ga, I Want To Break Free, Somebody To Love, Killer Queen, Don’t Stop Me Now, Under Pressure, Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites The Dust and of course, We Will Rock You.

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

COUNTRY JUKEBOX - Fountain Hills Theater - July 13 - August 5, 2018

Country Jukebox is the World’s First and Only Interactive Country Musical!! Country Jukebox is the world’s most unique musical revue. Audiences are invited to select their favorites from our giant jukebox of over 100 of the greatest Country songs ever written. The choices are tallied and a brand-new, world premier revue, created by the audience, is brought to life before their very eyes by our talented and versatile cast. Each show is as unique and as different as the audience that created it! Broadway Jukebox was an enormous hit at Copperstate Dinner Theater, winning many awards including being named Best Original Musical by both the ariZoni Awards and The East Valley Tribune.

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD, KIDS - Fountain Hills Youth Theater - June 1 - 17, 2018

Music by Robert Reale
Book and Lyrics by Willie Reale
Based on the books by Arnold Lobel

Adapted from the three-time-Tony-nominated Broadway hit comes “A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS”. Based on Arnold Lobel’s well-loved books, the jazzy, upbeat score bubbles with melody. Part vaudeville, part make-believe, and all charm, “A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS” tells the story of a friendship that endures throughout the seasons.

This whimsical show follows two great friends – the cheerful, popular Frog, and the rather grumpy Toad – through four fun-filled seasons. Waking from hibernation, Frog and Toad plant gardens, swim, rake leaves, go sledding and learn life lessons along the way. Throughout the year, two best friends celebrate and rejoice in the differences that make them unique and special.

“A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS” is produced by Aimee Avery, directed by Ross Collins, musically directed by Jay Melberg, and choreographed by Jenny Iverson. “A Year With Frog and Toad KIDS” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com

Fridays, Saturdays at 7pm & Sundays at 2pm

Individual tickets are $18.00 for Adults and $15.00 for Youth 17 and under. Group rates and student rush discounts are available.

Performances are at Fountain Hills Theater on its Mainstage at 11445 N. Saguaro Blvd. (The corner of Saguaro and Rand).  Tickets are available at (480) 837-9661 x3, online at fhtaz.org, or in person at the Box Office (hours are 12:00pm-5:00pm Tuesday through Friday; Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm).

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available

Fountain Hills Theater's 2017 / 2018 Season!

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets when available