ASU Music Theatre and Opera 2025-26 Season
L’Enfant et les sortilèges
Music by Maurice Ravel
Libretto by Colette
Presented in concert with the ASU Symphony Orchestra
Sept. 21, 4 p.m.
Tempe Center for the Arts
L’Enfant et les Sortilèges follows a mischievous child whose temper tantrum sparks a magical chain of events where furniture can talk, animals can argue, and plants sing in protest. Colette’s witty libretto and Ravel’s playful score create an imaginative world that will delight and move audiences. The Department of Music Theatre and Opera, in collaboration with Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra, will present an exciting concert staging at the Tempe Center for the Performing Arts.
Content warning: Suitable for all ages.
Conductor: Alejandro Gómez Guillén
Director: Fenlon Lamb
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Songs for a New World
By Jason Robert Brown
Oct. 3 and 4, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5, 2 p.m.
Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
“A new world calls across the ocean. A new world calls across the sky. A new world whispers in the shadows. Time to fly, time to fly…”. Decorated American musical theater composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown’s groundbreaking song cycle Songs For A New World, begins with these four lines, calling for you to join us and experience how one decision has the power to transform the course of your life. Each character in this iconic work must take a leap of faith but will they make the right decision…? That is up to you. In this student-led production at Arizona State University, the borders of possibility are limitless, showcasing a cast of twelve players and introducing expansive staging and choreography for its unique contemporary score. We invite you to sit back and join each player on their journey into and through these remarkable moments of strength, love, community and change.
Content warning: This production contains occasional strong language, including infrequent use of explicit words in song lyrics. Parental guidance is recommended for youth under the age of 14.
Songs for a New World is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com
Director: Jose Antonio Guevara
Music Director/Associate Director: Helen Kohler
Choreography: Molly Virtue
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Curtains
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Book by Rupert Holmes
Nov. 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 23 at 2 p.m.
Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
Hijinks and high stakes take center stage in this musical-comedy murder mystery. When an opening night murder makes everyone a suspect, homicide detective and amateur showman Frank Cioffi has these show people toe tapping this and that way around reasonable doubt to find the real culprit–all while saving their hides and the show. With music and lyrics by legendary team Kander & Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret), this loving homage to Golden Age musicals delivers quick-witted, hilariously memorable characters, and more twists and turns than a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers number. For the musical fan who loves clever comedy, impressive production numbers, and a little murder on the side, Curtains sure is a tough act to follow.
Content warning: Staged murders and violence in a farcical style, brief use of stage weapons and gunshot sound effects, mildly suggestive humor.
Curtains is presented through special arrangement with, and all authorized performance materials are supplied by Theatrical Rights Worldwide 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036. www.theatricalrights.com
Director: Chelsea Anderson
Music Direction:
Choreography: Molly Lajoie
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Color Cabaret
Jan. 24 and 25, 7:30 p.m.
Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
Join current ASU students for the annual Color Cabaret. This entirely student-led cabaret helps provide an opportunity for composers, lyricists/librettists and performers of color, formed through personal connections, friends and colleagues from all over ASU, to share their creativity.
May contain language and subject matter not suitable for young audiences.
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Flight
Music by Jonathan Dove
Libretto by April De Angelis
Feb. 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m.
March 1 at 2 p.m.
Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
Jonathan Dove’s contemporary masterpiece follows the story of The Refugee, inspired by the real-life story of an Iranian refugee who lived in Charles De Gaulle Airport for 18 years, whose story unfolds around a diverse group of travelers. After a storm grounds all flights for the night, he witnesses romances bloom, relationships unravel, and lives changed, while the mysterious Controller watches from her control tower. Dove’s lush and rhythmic score blends laugh-out-loud scenarios, touching human stories with deeply moving and playful musical themes. Flight invites audiences to reflect on how we interact with those around us and how we manage those interactions in moments of crisis.
Content warning: Contains mature content and scenes of sexual intimacy. Recommended for audiences ages 14 and up; parental guidance is recommended for audience members under the age of 18 years old.
Flight by Jonathan Dove and April De Angelis is presented under license from G. Schirmer Inc./Associated Music Publishers, copyright owners.
Director: David Radamés Toro
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Spring Awakening
Music by Duncan Sheik
Book and lyrics by Steven Sater
April 24 and 25 at 7 p.m.
April 26 at 2 p.m.
Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
Emotional, poignant, and surprising, Spring Awakening is the rock musical that electrified Broadway and won eight Tony Awards. Based on Frank Wedekind’s once-banned 1891 play, this coming-of-age story follows a group of teens in a repressive 19th-century German town as they wrestle with first love, sexual awakening, and the consequences of a world that refuses to give them answers. Duncan Sheik’s alternative rock score transforms their secret thoughts and hidden longings into anthems by turns intimate, rebellious, and heart-wrenching. With its fusion of period setting and modern music, Spring Awakening speaks directly to today’s audiences, capturing the thrilling, terrifying intensity of growing up. For anyone who’s ever felt unheard, or dared to find their own voice, this is a show you can’t miss.
Content warning: Contains mature and intense subject matter, including sexual content, simulated intercourse, partial nudity, masturbation, religious defiance, verbal/physical/sexual parental abuse, physical abuse, assault, possible rape, teen pregnancy, abortion, death, suicide, weapons, and explicit language. Parental supervision is strongly recommended for audience members under the age of 18 years old.
Spring Awakening is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com
Director: Michelle Chin
Music Director: Jarrett Moncibaez
Choreography: Youngjoo Jang
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Music Theatre Solo Cabarets
Week of April 28, 29, 30 at 7:30pm
ASU Kerr Cultural Center
Directed by Toby Yatso
Music Direction by Helen Kohler
Cabarets created and presented by ASU Music Theatre Performance students!
Join us for an evening of entertaining songs and stories, cleverly woven together with a personal touch. Each member of the class develops, writes and performs their own 15-minute solo cabaret act with live piano accompaniment, designed to create an intimate musical experience built on the fundamental concepts of cabaret — being yourself on purpose and connecting with the audience. Featuring 22 young artists, these will be presented over three unique evenings. Refreshments and cash bar available during the event. Ticket proceeds help to fund the annual Music Theatre Showcase trip to New York City.
Content warning: Contains strong language and other material that may not be suitable for young audiences.
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Music Theatre and Opera Scenes
May 7, 7:30 p.m.
Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
Join us as music theatre and opera students present their final culminating performances for the semester in a program of beloved opera and musical theatre scenes. Select scenes will be performed with the ASU Conducting Studio Orchestra, led by graduate and undergraduate conducting students.
Artistic leadership by Alejandro Gómez Guillén, Robert Mills, and David Radamés Toro
Content warning: Suitable for all audiences.
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Music Theatre Showcase
May 8, 7:30 p.m.
Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
Directed by Michelle Chin
Music direction by Helen Kohler (and Jarrett Moncibaez, TBD)
The ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre is pleased to present the Music Theatre Class of 2026 in their final showcase performance. The program will run approximately 80 minutes and will feature a diverse range of music to highlight the talents of the class of 2026.
Content warning: May contain language and subject matter not suitable for young audiences.
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