ASU GAMMAGE

ASU GAMMAGE BRINGS BROADWAY

back this fall!

HADESTOWN | PHOTO BY MATTHEW MURPHY

ASUGammage makes an unforgettable return with its 2021-2022 Broadway Season. After pausing all public events for over a year, ASU Gammage is opening its doors to welcome audiences back this fall. With a season lineup that includes debut touring productions, Tony Award®-winning shows and the return of a few audience favorites, ASU Gammage is excited to bring one of the most anticipated seasons to Tempe.

The Broadway phenomenon, Hamilton, takes its shot on stage to kick off the Broadway season this fall, followed by the hilarious “fetch” hit musical Mean Girls where Cady Heron is met with a new animal kingdom – high school, and along with the brilliant revival production of Broadway’s “most perfect musical of all time” (Entertainment Weekly) My Fair Lady. With a Tony- and Grammy-winning score, The Band’s Visit continues the season lineup in a joyous tale of an Egyptian band that loses their way to a concert in Israel. ASU Gammage then welcomes “the most uproarious new show in years” (The Hollywood Reporter) Tootsie to the stage, followed by the two intertwining mythic tales in Hadestown and the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers after 9/11 and the small town that welcomed them in Come From Away. Disney’s The Lion King makes its long-awaited return to the ASU Gammage stage in summer of 2022. Ending this amazing season is Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! as you’ve never seen or heard it before – reimagined for the 21st century.

September 8 – October 10

Hamilton is the story of America then, told by America now.

Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway, Hamilton has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre—a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education.

With book, music, and lyrics by LinManuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton is based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography. It has won Tony®, Grammy®, and Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an unprecedented special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors.

MEAN GIRLS

November 2 – 7

Beginning its national tour in Tempe, Mean Girls is the hilarious hit musical from an award-winning creative team, including book writer Tina Fey (“30 Rock”), composer Jeff Richmond (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), lyricist Nell Benjamin (LEGALLY BLONDE) and director Casey Nicholaw (THE BOOK OF MORMON). vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. Soon, this naïve newbie falls prey to a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.

New York Magazine cheers, “Mean Girls delivers with immense energy, a wicked sense of humor and joyful inside-jokery.” USA Today says, “We’ll let you in on a little secret, because we’re such good friends: GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!”

HAMILTON | PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS

MY FAIR LADY | PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS

MY FAIR LADY

December 7 – 12

From Lincoln Center Theater that brought you THE KING & I and SOUTH PACIFIC, comes “a sumptuous new production of the most perfect musical of all time” (Entertainment Weekly), Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady. Director Bartlett Sher’s glowing production is “thrilling, glorious and better than it ever was” (New York Times). “Every so often a revival comes along that reminds you how indispensable great theater can be” (NY1).

Boasting such classic songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” and “On the Street Where You Live,” My Fair Lady tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady.” But who is really being transformed?

THE BAND’S VISIT

February 8 – 13

The critically acclaimed smash-hit Broadway musical The Band’s Visit is the winner of 10 Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, making it one of the most Tony-winning musicals in history.It is also a Grammy Award® winner for Best Musical Theater Album.

In this joyously offbeat story, set in a town that’s way off the beaten path, a band of musicians arrive lost, out of the blue. Under the spell of the desert sky, and with beautiful music perfuming the air, the band brings the town to life in unexpected and tantalizing ways. Even the briefest visit can stay with you forever.

March 15 – 20

It’s “far and away the funniest musical of the season” (Daily News). It’s “the most uproarious new show in years” (The Hollywood Reporter). It’s “the best comedy on Broadway” (Forbes). No matter how you say it, Tootsie is unanimously funny! It’s a laugh-out-loud love letter to the theatre, based on the Oscar®nominated film.

Featuring a Tony®-winning book by Robert Horn and an outrageously clever score by 2018 Tony® winner David Yazbek (THE BAND’S VISIT, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS), this New York Times Critic’s Pick is a “hilarious, thoroughly modern Tootsie” (People Magazine) that’s “even funnier than the movie!” (New York Post). “In these turbulent times, with the world out of balance, we need a place to let the good times roll,” says Rolling Stone, “Tootsie is it.” April 19 – 24

Welcome to Hadestown, where a song can change your fate. Winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards® including Best Musical and the 2020 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Theater Album, this acclaimed new show by celebrated singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and innovative director Rachel Chavkin (NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812) is a love story for today... and always.

Hadestown intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers and singers, Hadestown is a haunting and hopeful theatrical experience that grabs you and never lets go.

HADESTOWN | PHOTO BY MATTHEW MURPHY

COME FROM AWAY

June 14 – 19

Broadway’s Come From Away is a Best Musical winner all across North America!

This New York Times Critics’ Pick takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.

DISNEY’S THE LION KING

July 7 – 31

More than 85 million people around the world have experienced the awe-inspiring visual artistry, the unforgettable music, and the uniquely theatrical storytelling of this Broadway spectacular – one of the most breathtaking and beloved productions ever to grace the stage.

Winner of six Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, The Lion King brings together one of the most imaginative creative teams on Broadway. Tony Award®-winning director Julie Taymor brings to life a story filled with hope and adventure set against an amazing backdrop of stunning visuals. The Lion King also features the extraordinary work of Tony Award®-winning choreographer Garth Fagan and some of Broadway’s most recognizable music, crafted by Tony Award®-winning artists Elton John and Tim Rice.

COME FROM AWAY | PHOTO BY MATTHEW MURPHY

RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S OKLAHOMA!

October 18 – 23

Over 75 years after Rodgers & Hammerstein reinvented the American musical, this is Oklahoma! as you’ve never seen or heard it before – reimagined for the 21st century.

Stripped down to reveal the darker psychological truths at its core, Daniel Fish’s production tells a story of a community circling its wagons against an outsider, and the frontier life that shaped America. Upending the sunny romance of a farmer and a cowpoke, this Oklahoma! allows the classic musical – and our country – to be seen in a whole new light.

OKLAHOMA! | PHOTO BY LITTE FANG PHOTO

ASU GAMMAGE PRESENTS

Its 2021-2022 Beyond Season

DON'T GO | PHOTO BY PHILLIP FRANCK

Every year, ASU Gammage invites audiences to enjoy the Beyond series featuring a collection of prestigious artists and world-renowned works like no other. The 2021-2022 Beyond Season will showcase both newly envisioned shows as well as internationally acclaimed artists.

Don’t Go opens the Beyond Season with an interactive show that invites strangers to meet for the first time on stage guided by The Sojourn Theatre; followed by international comedian and host Bassem Youssef in a one man show. Next, When Aliens Fall from the Sky takes the stage in a compilation of stories woven together by Lemon Andersen. Continuing the season, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company provoke the tension between belonging to a community and feelings of isolation in the performance of What Problem?. Bringing the Beyond Season to a close At War With Ourselves brings together a string quartet, poetry and social justice in an evening length performance.

For more than 25 years, Beyond has brought world-class artists into the community by presenting compelling work while connecting with Valley residents through artist residency programs, master classes, and public performances.

THE 2021-2022 BEYOND SEASON INCLUDES:

SOJOURN THEATRE’S DON’T GO

November 13 at 7 p.m.

Don’t Go is a playful exploration of where we are across differences. Sojourn Theatre is an award-winning ensemble theatre company performing across the nation and is comprised of 17 artists who are based in seven different North American cities. In a time of hyperpolarization, what tools can we imagine? What practice can we host? How can we stay a community, even when we're different?

BASSEM YOUSSEF

January 22 at 7 p.m.

Bassem Youssef, dubbed the Jon Stewart of the Arab World, was the host of popular TV show Al-Bernameg - which was the first of its kind political satire show in the Middle East region. Originally an online 5-minute show, AlBernameg became the most watched show in the history of Egyptian TV with an average of 40 million viewers every week, in addition to over 2 million subscribers on YouTube and 1.2 billion views on his own channel and other channels. In recognition of his success, Bassem was named among Time Magazine’s most influential list for 2013. In November 2013, he was named one of four recipients by the Committee to Protect Journalists for the International Press Freedom Award. Bassem wrote the bestselling book “Revolution for Dummies” and is the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary “Tickling Giants.”

WHEN ALIENS FALL FROM THE SKY

Lemon Andersen

March 26 at 7 p.m.

Inspired by the stylings of Spalding Gray, When Aliens Fall from the Sky is a compilation of stories and poems from real citizens across the continental United States and Puerto Rico. Collected and shared by people who are both documented and undocumented, these journeys reveal a vast and colorful canvas of experiences of the small cities and big towns of America, or as Lemon likes to call it, “the bone marrow of our nation.” Lemon weaves rhymes and speaks a harsh but witty truth through these complex characters with the intention to shine a spotlight on the identity crisis in America.

WHAT PROBLEM? | PHOTO BY MARIA BARANOVA

WHAT PROBLEM?

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company

Saturday, April 2 at 7 p.m.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company’s latest work What Problem? provokes the tension between belonging to a community and feelings of isolation that many feel during these divisive political times. Adapted for proscenium stages from the massive work, Deep Blue Sea (2020), Jones conceived of this highly personal work in pursuit of the elusive “we” including a cast of local community members, a deconstructed text from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Jones and the company develop individual content with local community members in each of the touring locations making each performance specific to its host city.

The work examines the condition of loneliness in the individual experienced alone and within a community. It explores the need for community and the notion of collective redemption.

AT WAR WITH OURSELVES –400 YEARS OF YOU

Kronos Quartet, Nikky Finney, Michael Abels

Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m.

Currently in development, At War With Ourselves – 400 Years of You is an eveninglength work for string quartet, chorus, and spoken word that will premiere in the 2021/22 season. Composed by Michael Abels with a libretto by Nikky Finney, the work will explore race relations, social justice, and civil rights in 21st-century America. Performances will feature the Kronos Quartet, Nikky Finney, and a chorus directed by Valérie Sainte-Agathe.

For more information, visit asugammage.com or call (480) 965-3434.

IN THE BAND’S VISIT, PLAYWRIGHT LTAMAR MOSES

Helps Strangers Tell The Truth

BY MARK BLANKENSHIP

Sometimes, you can only be honest with strangers. “It’s much safer to talk about things with someone you don’t know and will never see again;’ says playwright ltamar Moses. “They don’t know the story you’ve built up around yourself.”

That curious freedom shapes The Band’s Visit, the new musical about a group of Egyptian musicians who get lost on their way to a concert in Israel.

To Moses, who wrote the musical’s book, that’s a perfect catalyst for drama. “Everything happening is only possible because two groups of people don’t know each other,” he says.

Take Iris, Israeli wife and mother who finds her birthday party crashed by musicians her husband brings home. After years of mute frustration with her marriage, she suddenly reveals everything. “The eyes of these strangers on her life make it impossible to ignore what she’s been trying to suppress,” Moses says.

The same is true for characters who confess dreams, regrets, and loves. Ironically, they may be more honest with each other because they don’t share a language. The Egyptians speak Arabic, and the Israelis speak Hebrew, but when they talk to each other, they use halting, tentative English.

“When you don’t have unlimited language as a tool, you really have to get to the point right away,” Moses says. “People aren’t going to talk around the truth, they don’t have the words.”

Naturally, limited vocabulary affected Moses’ playwriting. “But I never lamented it as a limitation; I really enjoyed the tension between the simplicity of the language and depth of emotion.

Sometimes there’s nothing better than having a constraint.”

Don’t miss The Band’s Visit at ASU Gammage February 8 – 13, 2022! Tickets are on sale now at asugammage.com.

RAISING SWEETER VOICES

with Lemon’s

BY JENNIFER HAALAND WHEN ALIENS FALL FROM THE SKY | LEMON ANDERSON

“ARIZONA HAS A VOICE,” poet extraordinaire and ASU Gammage Artist in Residence Lemon Andersen avowed. “I’m here to teach how to use that voice. To help build that voice in the community, of the community.”

As a poet, Andersen learned to reach a wider audience by performing his craft. Then he discovered that beyond a creator and presenter of intricately crafted words, he is at heart, a teacher.

“Spoken Word is really about mastery. We are mastering the performing art of poetry. I don’t think of myself as a Spoken Word artist,” Andersen clarified. “Because I’m a poet, I aim to perform poetry. I’m a student of the craft.”

Andersen’s ASU Gammage story began about 10 years ago when his voice sounded as ASU Gammage’s Senior Director of Programs & Organizational Initiatives Michael Reed was attending “Under the Radar,” a small theater festival in New York. Andersen was there performing his “County of Kings” poetry, the title a play on words because he is a Brooklynite, and thereby a resident of Kings County. “In my work, I suppose it’s possible to become jaded because I’m exposed to so much constant and, often, mediocre talent,” Reed said by way of providing context. “The second I saw Lemon, I knew we were seeing the exceptional.”

Beyond superb talent, Lemon Andersen has been the exception in many varied ways. His name and childhood, for instance. He grew up a blonde boy (his biological father a Norwegian) in his Puerto Rican family and neighborhood. The ‘Lemonhead’ teasing nickname about his light skin and hair became tolerable and unique when he shortened it to Lemon and let it stick.

Another unusual exception he enjoys as a poet is the 2003 Tony Award® he and his peers won in Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam. Referring to himself as an “Aristotle thug,” Andersen is also an ex-con who long ago turned the corner away from prison, ensuring he’s the exception to prison recidivism, too.

His poetry performances ooze and meld together all of those exceptional truths and more. And Michael Reed was not the only talent-seeker to take wide-eyed notice.

“It took me 20 years to become an overnight success,” Andersen chuckled. “The people who have known me all along, they have no idea the sweat and lifeblood I’ve spent. I’m married to the process not the results, and I protect the magic. When I have people over, I lock my office. That’s my sacred space.”

The success the outside world sees, however, might leave bystanders a little star struck. Andersen has worked closely with Spike Lee on Netflix, with LeBron James’ production company, with Nike marketers and on Hollywood studio sets. He sees, however, little difference between those big names and his more humble work at the New York Public Theater or as an ASU Gammage Artist in Residence on the Arizona State University campus and in the community.

“I treat the classroom like I do the stage. It’s critical. I give them my best,” Andersen said. “It fits perfectly with the ASU Gammage mission of ‘Connecting Communities.’ I love being a glue for that.”

“ASU Gammage helps me create more work for the people I most want to help,” said Andersen, addressing how teaching morphs into empowerment in his students. “I’m lucky to have had mentors. I share the knowledge, technique and craft from people so much smarter and better than me.…”

A couple of upcoming audience opportunities that will likely also demonstrate how effectively he’s honed the “service” approach are a television series and a new solo show.

During my residency, I’m also working on a solo show, a play for ASU Gammage,” His description of his own writing blended seamlessly into a discussion of what his Arizona students are writing. He described witnessing the deprivation and struggles that surface in their words.

There is definitely an identity crisis in Arizona. We need to help Arizona’s identity rise to the surface. I tell my students, ‘You don’t have to perform. Instead, be a storyteller. Tell your story. They will listen to you’. Ever a poet, Andersen followed, “I’ve told them, if you confuse Spoken Word with written word then you won’t write as well. It starts on the page. Only then, [after we write], do we get to speaking the words... the microphone, the inflection, the stage presence.”

“It’s what happens when serving kids out on the street is the next stage of your humanity, your artistry,” Andersen said in a reflective moment about the lives he’s affecting. “I’m never going to stop teaching.” And what results are Arizona voices rising, like their mentor’s, resounding with sweet moments of crystallized truth. It’s like Andersen’s own words from “County of Kings” are offering final inspiration to the state’s newly emerging voice:

“Watch me!... Watch me take my lemons and make the best damn lemonade.”

When Aliens Fall From the Sky premieres at ASU Gammage on March 26, 2022. Tickets are on sale now at asugammage.com.