By Richard Schultz, November 2015 Issue.
Arizona Theatre Company
For the first time, Arizona Opera will perform Florencia en el Amazonas in Phoenix and Tucson. Inspired by the magical realism of celebrated author Gabriel García Márquez, this exotic journey explores the physical and mystical worlds of love, desire and the mighty Amazon River. The story follows Florencia Grimaldi as she voyages along the mighty South American river in the hopes of finding her long-lost lover, a butterfly hunter, who disappeared in the jungle many years ago. Wracked by storms and a cholera outbreak, she and her fellow passengers are drawn deeper into the exotic rainforest, where fantasy and reality intertwine and their hopes and dreams are tested.
Written by the late Mexican composer Daniel Catán, Florencia en el Amazonas was the first-ever Spanish-language opera commissioned in the U.S. and has become a smash sensation around the globe since its 1996 premiere. Catán’s widow, Andrea Puente, will be traveling to Arizona to attend the performances.
Florencia en el Amazonas
Nov. 13-15
Symphony Hall | 75 N. Second St., Phoenix
Tickets: $25-$135; 602-266-7464
Nov. 21-22
Tucson Music Hall | 260 S. Church St., Tucson
Tickets: $25-$135; 520-293-4335
West Side Story
Arizona Broadway Theatre
Arizona Broadway Theatre opens its 11th season with this classic Broadway musical as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is transported to modern-day New York City. This story focuses on two young lovers caught between prejudice and warring street gangs, the “American” Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Their struggle to survive in a world of hate, violence and prejudice is one of the most innovative, heart-wrenching and relevant musical dramas. Originally directed and choreographed by the legendary Jerome Robbins, the Broadway production ran for an impressive 732 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Choreography. The dark sophistication of this critically acclaimed Bernstein and Sondheim score includes such popular songs as “Maria,” “America” and “I Feel Pretty.”
West Side Story
Oct. 16-Nov. 15
Arizona Broadway Theatre
7701 W. Paradise Lane, Peoria
Tickets: $43-$90; 623-776-8400
Mesa Encore Theatre
Winner of nine Tony Awards, this iconic musical is set in the little village of Anatevka. The story centers on Tevye, a poor dairyman, and his five daughters. With the help of a colorful and tight-knit Jewish community, Tevye tries to protect his daughters and instill them with traditional values in the face of changing social mores and the growing anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia. Rich in historical and ethnic detail, Fiddler on the Roof’s universal theme of tradition cuts across barriers of race, class, nationality and religion with laughter, joy and sadness. The score is filled with such timeless and beloved songs as “Sunrise, Sunset,” “If I Were A Rich Man” and “Matchmaker, Matchmaker.”
Fiddler on the Roof
Nov. 6-22
Mesa Encore Theatre, Mesa Arts Center\
1 E. Main St., Mesa
480-644-6500
Phoenix Theatre
New Jersey’s first Superhero takes the stage in this monster of a comedy based on the classic cult film. Winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, this charming love story and laugh-out-loud musical has it all: an unlikely hero, his beautiful girlfriend, a corrupt mayor and two guys who play bullies, mobsters, old ladies, and stiletto-wearing back-up singers.
Melvin Ferd the Third wants to clean up Tromaville, the most polluted town in New Jersey (just off Exit 13B on the Turnpike). Foiled by the mayor’s bullies, Melvin is dumped into a vat of radioactive toxic waste, only to reemerge as The Toxic Avenger. Affectionately known as Toxie, our new hero is a seven-foot mutant freak with superhuman strength and a heart as big as Newark. He’s out to save New Jersey, end global warming and woo the blind librarian in town. It’s a toxic love story with an environmental twist!
The Toxic Avenger
Oct. 28-Nov. 22
Phoenix Theatre
100 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix
Tickets: $36-$86; 602-254-2151
