By Richard Schultz, February 2016 Web Exclusive.
One of the most beloved plays of our time, Fences tells the gripping story of Troy Maxson, a sanitation worker and star baseball player whose career was blunted by the racism prevalent in pre-Jackie Robinson America. Feeling his world rapidly changing, Troy builds a fence to protect what is familiar and hold off what threatens. Muscular and lyrical, this blockbuster shows what can happen when a strong man is robbed of his dreams. This Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play by August Wilson tells the searing story of a man who stepped up to the plate too many times only to go down swinging.
Fences
Through Feb. 28
Arizona Theatre Company
Herberger Theater Center
Tickets: $37-$68; 602-256-6995
One of the most romantic stories ever written, The Bridges of Madison County first captured the nation’s attention as a best-selling novel and is now a two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway musical. Set in a sleepy Iowa town, the musical follows a bored housewife who finds her life forever changed when she meets a traveling National Geographic photographer. What begins as a chance encounter evolves into an exhilarating whirlwind of passion, desire and everlasting love.
The Bridges of Madison County
Feb. 16-21
ASU Gammage
1200 S. Forest Ave., Tempe
Tickets: $20-$125; 480-965-3434
City of Angels
This clever and multiple Tony Award-winning musical is well overdue for a revival. It’s actually two shows in one with the interweaving of two plots: one dealing with the writing of a screenplay and the other, which is the enactment of that screenplay. Set in the glamorous, seductive 1940s Hollywood – the world of film studios and flimsy negligees – the show chronicles the misadventures of Stine, a young novelist, attempting a screenplay for movie producer/director Buddy Fidler.
City of Angels
Feb. 19-March 6
Theater Works
Peoria Center for the Performing Arts
8355 W. Peoria Ave., Peoria
Tickets: $35; 623-815-7930
theaterworks.org
