[SIC] - Mesa Encore Theatre - August 4 - 20, 2017

by Melissa James Gibson
Directed by Cody Goulder

In adjacent apartments that resemble nothing so much as broom closets with windows, the three young, ambitious neighbors of Melissa James Gibson’s [SIC] come together to discuss, flirt, argue, share their dreams, and plan their futures with unequal degrees of deep hopefulness and abject despair, all the while pushing the limits of their friendship to the max and demonstrating that language can be both an instrument of intimacy and a weapon of defense. Theo is a composer trying to create a heroic theme for an amusement park ride called the Thrill-o-Rama; Babette is a writer trying to finish—or even start—a book theorizing that temper tantrums are the major motivating force behind historical events; and Frank is a would-be auctioneer preparing for his future career by constantly practicing tongue twisters as “Sally sought some seeds to sow but sadly soon it snowed.” By exploring these questing lives in language that alternates between exhilarating structural inventiveness and loony comedy, poignant soul-searching and incisive analysis of the life that may actually exist beyond one’s four walls, Melissa James Gibson has created a unique play that is as witty and wise as it is stylistically groundbreaking and unexpected.

Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM
Sunday at 2:30 PM

Performances at the Mesa Encore Theatre Black Box, 933 E Main St, Mesa AZ 85203

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

CHICAGO - Mesa Encore Theatre - September 8 - September 24, 2017

Set in the roaring ‘20s in Chicago, this sharp-edged satire from Kander and Ebb features a dazzling score that sparked original staging by Bob Fosse. The story, still relevant today, explores how the media manipulates the public’s fascination with murderers, turning them into celebrities.  The original Broadway production received ten Tony nominations in 1976, and includes songs like “All That Jazz,” “Roxie” and “Cell Block Tango” to name a few.

Friday, Sep 8, 2017 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sep 9, 2017 7:30 PM
Sunday, Sep 10, 2017 2:30 PM
Thursday, Sep 14, 2017 7:30 PM
Friday, Sep 15, 2017 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sep 16, 2017 2:30 PM
Saturday, Sep 16, 2017 7:30 PM
Sunday, Sep 17, 2017 2:30 PM
Thursday, Sep 21, 2017 7:30 PM
Friday, Sep 22, 2017 7:30 PM
 Saturday, Sep 23, 2017 2:30 PM
Saturday, Sep 23, 2017 7:30 PM
Sunday, Sep 24, 2017 2:30 PM

performances at Mesa Arts Center, One East Main St, Mesa, AZ 85201

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

THE WOMAN IN BLACK - Mesa Encore Theatre - October 6 - 22, 2017

Adapted by Stephen Mallatratt from the book by Susan Hill
Directed by Virginia Olivieri

A lawyer hires an actor to tutor him in recounting to family and friends a story that has long troubled him concerning events that transpired when he attended the funeral of an elderly recluse. The lawyer has invited some friends to watch as he and the actor recreate the events of that dark and stormy night. A classic of the genre.

Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM
Sunday at 2:30 PM

Performances at the Mesa Encore Theatre Black Box, 933 E Main St, Mesa AZ 85203

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

ANNIE - Mesa Encore Theatre - November 3 - November 19, 2017

Leapin' Lizards! The irrepressible red-head takes center stage in this musical, based on the popular comic strip, Little Orphan Annie.  Winner of seven Tony Awards in 1977, including Best Musical, the score features several popular hits such as "Tomorrow,” “Easy Street” and “It’s a Hard-knock Life.”  Annie will win your heart just as she wins over Daddy Warbucks.

Friday, Nov 3, 2017 7:30 PM
Saturday, Nov 4, 2017 7:30 PM
Sunday, Nov 5, 2017 2:30 PM
Thursday, Nov 9, 2017 7:30 PM
Friday, Nov 10, 2017 7:30 PM
Saturday, Nov 11, 2017 2:30 PM
Saturday, Nov 11, 2017 7:30 PM
Sunday, Nov 12, 2017 2:30 PM
Thursday, Nov 16, 2017 7:30 PM
Friday, Nov 17, 2017 7:30 PM
Saturday, Nov 18, 2017 2:30 PM
Saturday, Nov 18, 2017 7:30 PM
Sunday, Nov 19, 2017 2:30 PM

performances at Mesa Arts Center, One East Main St, Mesa, AZ 85201

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

SCROOGE IN ROUGE - Mesa Encore Theatre - December 1 - December 24, 2017

by Ricky Graham and Jefferson Turner
Directed by Jean Paoul Clemente

Scrooge in Rouge is set in a raggedy theatre in England where the 20-member cast of “A Christmas Carol” has fallen victim to food poisoning the night before their performance. But as we all know “the show must go on” so the three remaining cast members unaffected by illness work hard to deliver a stellar show . The actors master a variety of gender roles while tackling more than 20 characters. The result is truly hilarious!

Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM
Sunday at 2:30 PM

Performances at the Mesa Encore Theatre Black Box, 933 E Main St, Mesa AZ 85203

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

THE GRADUATE - Mesa Encore Theatre - January 12 - January 28, 2018

A theatrical adaptation of the 1967 film, the story follows a recent college graduate who is seduced by an older woman.  This bittersweet comedy, originally a novel, premiered on Broadway in 2002. A sexual odyssey of the '60s that gave us the iconic character of Mrs. Robinson, now brought to the stage.

Friday, Jan 12, 2018 7:30 PM
Saturday, Jan 13, 2018 7:30 PM
Sunday, Jan 14, 2018 2:30 PM
Thursday, Jan 18, 2018 7:30 PM
Friday, Jan 19, 2018 7:30 PM
Saturday, Jan 20, 2018 2:30 PM
Saturday, Jan 20, 2018 7:30 PM
Sunday, Jan 21, 2018 2:30 PM
Thursday, Jan 25, 2018 7:30 PM
Friday, Jan 26, 2018 7:30 PM
Saturday, Jan 27, 2018 2:30 PM
Saturday, Jan 27, 2018 7:30 PM
Sunday, Jan 28, 2018 2:30 PM

performances at Mesa Arts Center, One East Main St, Mesa, AZ 85201

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

MAD GRAVITY - Mesa Encore Theatre - February 2 - 18, 2018

by William Missouri Downs
directed by Eric Schoen

High school sweethearts Dakota and Tommy couldn’t have more different parents. Joe and Mary are a conservative, middle-class couple, while Archie and Eudora are performance artists who have built a theater in their living room. When Joe and Mary meet Archie and Eudora for the first time, they unwittingly find themselves the stars of the couple’s latest performance piece. But when the couples learn news of a comet heading straight toward Earth, the fourth wall is the least of their problems. But can they stop bickering long enough to tackle the great philosophical questions of life? Is the comet a sign from God or just gravity? And what the hell is Dadaism?

Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM
Sunday at 2:30 PM

Performances at the Mesa Encore Theatre Black Box, 933 E Main St, Mesa AZ 85203

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

DISNEY'S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST - Mesa Encore Theatre - March 2 - March 18, 2018

The “Tale as Old as Time” Academy Award-winning animated film comes to life in this romantic and beloved take on the classic fairytale. It tells the story of a cold-hearted prince who has been magically transformed into an unsightly creature who must earn the love of a young woman in order to revert back to human form.  Step into the enchanted world of this Disney classic with all of the wonderful and familiar songs written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, along with new songs by Menken and Tim Rice.

Friday, Mar 2, 2018 7:30 PM
Saturday, Mar 3, 2018 7:30 PM
Sunday, Mar 4, 2018 2:30 PM
Thursday, Mar 8, 2018 7:30 PM
Friday, Mar 9, 2018 7:30 PM
Saturday, Mar 10, 2018 2:30 PM
Saturday, Mar 10, 2018 7:30 PM
Sunday, Mar 11, 2018 2:30 PM
Thursday, Mar 15, 2018 7:30 PM
Friday, Mar 16, 2018 7:30 PM
Saturday, Mar 17, 2018 2:30 PM
Saturday, Mar 17, 2018 7:30 PM
Sunday, Mar 18, 2018 2:30 PM

performances at Mesa Arts Center, One East Main St, Mesa, AZ 85201

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

A KID LIKE JAKE - Mesa Encore Theatre - April 6 - April 22, 2018

by Daniel Pearle

On the eve of the admissions cycle for Manhattan’s most exclusive private schools, Alex and Greg have high hopes for their son Jake, a precocious four-year-old who happens to prefer Cinderella to G.I. Joe. But as the process continues, Jake’s behavior becomes erratic and perplexing, and other adults in his life start to wonder whether his fondness for dress-up might be cause for concern. The story of a husband and wife struggling to do right by their son, A KID LIKE JAKE is a study of intimacy and parenthood and the fantasies that accompany both.

Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM
Sunday at 2:30 PM

Performances at the Mesa Encore Theatre Black Box, 933 E Main St, Mesa AZ 85203

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY'S GREATEST HITS - Mesa Encore Theatre - April 6 - April 22, 2018

In this long-running Off-Broadway hit musical revue, Broadway’s greatest musical legends meet Broadway’s greatest satirist in this laugh-inducing, loving and endlessly entertaining tribute to some of the theatre’s greatest stars and songwriters. A truly hilarious show with four actors portraying the most memorable of Broadway’s greatest hits, all with side-splitting twists of lyrics- such as: “WICKED- Defying Subtlety,” “LES MIS- On My Phone,” and “RENT- Rant/Seasons of Hype.”

Friday, Apr 6, 2018 7:30 PM
Saturday, Apr 7, 2018 7:30 PM
Sunday, Apr 8, 2018 2:30 PM
Thursday, Apr 12, 2018 7:30 PM
Friday, Apr 13, 2018 7:30 PM
Saturday, Apr 14, 2018 2:30 PM
Saturday, Apr 14, 2018 7:30 PM
Sunday, Apr 15, 2018 2:30 PM
Thursday, Apr 19, 2018 7:30 PM
Friday, Apr 20, 2018 7:30 PM
Saturday, Apr 21, 2018 2:30 PM
Saturday, Apr 21, 2018 7:30 PM
Sunday, Apr 22, 2018 2:30 PM

performances at Mesa Arts Center, One East Main St, Mesa, AZ 85201

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

ROCK OF AGES - Mesa Encore Theatre - May 18 - June 3, 2018

This jukebox musical, built around classic rock songs from the 1980s, features the music of Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison and Europe among other well-known rock, glam, and metal bands. You’re sure to be singing along during the performance! The engaging story includes young love, nightclubs and the search for stardom. Actors frequently break the "fourth wall,” directly addressing the audience and seemingly forgetting (or perhaps reminding the audience) that they are actors.

performances at Mesa Arts Center, One East Main St, Mesa, AZ 85201

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN - Mesa Encore Theatre - June 8 - 24, 2018

by Stephen Adly Guirgis
directed by Van Rockwell

Angel Cruz is a thirty-year-old bike messenger from NYC who has lost his best friend to a religious cult. At the opening of the play, he is in his second night of incarceration, awaiting trial for shooting the leader of that cult in the “ass.” He is on his knees, alone and terrified, trying to say a prayer he no longer remembers to a God he has all but forgotten. Angel’s public defender is Mary Jane Hanrahan, still relatively young but very nearly disillusioned. At their first meeting, she mistakes Angel for another case. Wounded by her pride and Angel’s sharp attacks, she mangles this initial interview and walks out. A crisis of conscience and an unresolved connection to her childhood brings her back, and Angel’s heartfelt, persuasive arguments against the cult leader persuade her to champion his cause. By this time, the cult leader, Reverend Kim, has died on the operating table, and the charge against Angel is now murder. Angel has been beaten regularly by other inmates and is discovered in his cell barely conscious with a bed sheet tied around his neck. He is transferred to a special twenty-three-hour lockdown wing of protective custody. His jailer is Valdez, a brutally direct prison guard who believes in a world of black and white only. No gray areas permitted. Valdez has taken the post of Charlie D’Amico, a guard Angel never meets. For one hour a day, Angel experiences daylight from a cage on the Riker’s Island Prison roof. His only source of human contact is the lone inmate who is also in protective custody. Lucius Jenkins, a.k.a. “the Black Plague,” works out furiously in the cage next to Angel. A sociopathic serial killer awaiting extradition to Florida, Lucius pauses from his workouts only to chain smoke and to “save” Angel. Lucius Jenkins has found God, and Angel’s life and the course of his trial will be changed forever.

Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM
Sunday at 2:30 PM

Performances at the Mesa Encore Theatre Black Box, 933 E Main St, Mesa AZ 85203

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

[SIC] - Mesa Encore Theatre - August 4 - August 20, 2017

by Melissa James Gibson
Directed by Cody Goulder

In adjacent apartments that resemble nothing so much as broom closets with windows, the three young, ambitious neighbors of Melissa James Gibson’s [SIC] come together to discuss, flirt, argue, share their dreams, and plan their futures with unequal degrees of deep hopefulness and abject despair, all the while pushing the limits of their friendship to the max and demonstrating that language can be both an instrument of intimacy and a weapon of defense. Theo is a composer trying to create a heroic theme for an amusement park ride called the Thrill-o-Rama; Babette is a writer trying to finish—or even start—a book theorizing that temper tantrums are the major motivating force behind historical events; and Frank is a would-be auctioneer preparing for his future career by constantly practicing tongue twisters as “Sally sought some seeds to sow but sadly soon it snowed.” By exploring these questing lives in language that alternates between exhilarating structural inventiveness and loony comedy, poignant soul-searching and incisive analysis of the life that may actually exist beyond one’s four walls, Melissa James Gibson has created a unique play that is as witty and wise as it is stylistically groundbreaking and unexpected.

David Magadan- as Theo
Melody Knudson- as Babette
Chavez Benally- as Frank
Van Rockwell- as Airshaft man
Antoinette Martin-Hanson- as Airshaft woman

Friday and Saturday at 7:30
Sunday at 2:30

CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets

Mesa Encore Theatre's 2017 / 2018 Black Box Theatre Season

Mesa Encore Theatre's 2017 / 2018 Black Box Theatre Season*

[sic]
by Melissa James Gibson
directed by Cody Goulder
8/4/2017 to 8/20/2017

The Woman in Black 
adopted by Stephen Mallatratt from the book by Susan Hill
directed by Virginia Olivieri
10/6/2017 to 10/22/2017

Scrooge in Rouge
by Ricky Graham and Jefferson
directed by JP Clemente
12/1/2017 to 12/24/2017

Mad Gravity
by William Missouri Downs
directed by Eric Schoen
2/2/2018 to 2/18/2018

A Kid Like Jake
by Daniel Pearle
directed by Richard Powers Hardt
4/6/2018 to 4/22/2018

Jesus Hopped the A Train
by Stephen Adly Guirgis
directed by Van Rockwell
6/8/2018 to 6/24/2018

*rights pending / subject to change

all shows performed at 933 E Main St. Mesa AZ 85203

CLICK HERE for more information and to order tickets when available

Mesa Encore Theatre's 2017 / 2018 Season!

Mesa Encore Theatre is proud to announce the exciting lineup for its 2017–2018 season, featuring five musicals and one play. Season subscriptions details will be announced soon and will be available on our website.

Chicago
9/8 to 9/24
Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Directed By: Jean-Paoul Clemente,

In roaring twenties Chicago, chorine Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband Amos to take the rap...until he finds out he's been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another "Merry Murderess" Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines, ultimately joining forces in search of the "American Dream": fame, fortune and acquittal. Based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins.

Annie
11/3 to 11/19
Music by Charles Strouse
Lyrics by Martin Charnin
Book by Thomas Meehan

Leapin' Lizards! The irrepressible comic strip heroine takes center stage in one of the world's best-loved musicals, Annie. Based on the popular comic strip by Harold Gray, Annie has become a worldwide phenomenon and was the winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. With equal measures of pluck and positivity, Little Orphan Annie charms everyone's hearts in this family friendly "musical of tomorrow!"

The Graduate
1/12 to 1/28
A Play Adapted by Terry Johnson
Based on the Novel by Charles Webb
And the Motion Picture Screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry
By Special Arrangement with StudioCanal

Benjamin's got excellent grades, very proud parents and, since he helped Mrs Robinson with her zipper, a fine future behind him...A cult novel, a classic film, a quintessential hit of the 60s, now Benjamin's disastrous sexual odyssey is brought vividly to life on stage.

Disney's Beauty and the Beast
3/2 to 3/18
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice
Book by Linda Woolverton

Be our guest in March for the enchanting stage adaptation of the classic Disney animated classic! The classic story tells of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed into his former self. But time is running out. If the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.

Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits
4/6 to 4/22

In this long-running Off-Broadway hit musical revue, Broadway’s greatest musical legends meet Broadway’s greatest satirist in this hilarious, loving, and endlessly entertaining tribute to some of the theatre’s greatest stars and songwriters.

Rock of Ages
5/18 to 5/27
Book by Chris D'Arienzo

Rock of Ages takes you back to the times of big bands with big egos playing big guitar solos and sporting even bigger hair! This Tony Award -nominated Broadway musical features the hits of bands including Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, and others.




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