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THE PHOENIX THEATRE COMPANY
by ON Media
COOKIN'S A DRAG | PHOTO BY REG MADISON PHOTOGRAPHY
ASthe southwest’s largest professional theatre, The Phoenix Theatre Company typically produces 500+ performances, programs, and events for 110,000+ audience members every season, on three stages. But on March 15, 2020, with several upcoming productions and Centennial celebration events on the horizon, the sudden pandemic forced it to shutter its doors for the first time in its 100year history.
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Staff, artists, patrons, and donors pulled together to help build a new outdoor theatre in the courtyard of their neighbor to the north, the Central United Methodist Church. The Phoenix Theatre Company opened a six-show outdoor season (and eventually added a three-show indoor summer season) that allowed hundreds of arts employees to return to work while protecting the health of its artists, staff and audience.
And now, The Phoenix Theatre Company is overwhelmingly grateful to announce its 102nd season, offered once again on three indoor stages. Carefully chosen shows highlight stories of everyday people whose extraordinary resilience and tenacity inspires hope in us all – uplifting spirits and creating shared memories.
As a producing company, The Phoenix Theatre Company builds everything seen on its stages in extensive local costume, prop, and scenic production facilities. It employs hundreds of local artists, musicians, and technicians, as well as waiters, bartenders, house management and administrative staff. The Phoenix Theatre Company develops top-level local and national talent and pays professional levels of compensation under contract with Actors’ Equity Association. It serves as a proving ground for local talent – frequently helping to launch careers beyond Phoenix.
Its ArtBar+Bistro offers guests the opportunity to enjoy a show-themed cocktail, appetizer or entire meal before the performance.
The Phoenix Theatre Company’s 2021-2022 Season offers ten exceptional productions plus a Festival of New American Theatre that features original new plays and musicals:
Celebrates Resilience
STEEL MAGNOLIAS
The story of friendships strong as steel that inspired the 1989 film!
August 18 – September 12
All the ladies who are “anybody” come to have their hair done at Truvy’s Beauty Salon, where outspoken Truvy dispenses shampoos and free advice to a coterie of eccentric characters. By turns hilarious, poignant and acerbic, six women weather triumphs, tragedies and challenges to their beliefs about family, culture and community. This wisecracking group of women form friendships as strong as steel, which they are forced to lean on when tragedy strikes.
LERNER AND LOEWE’S CAMELOT
Stories of love, lust, and betrayal rooted in myth, inspired by T.H. White’s novel, and wrapped in a lavish score.
September 15 – October 24
A band of Revelers retells this epic story of love and betrayal, freshly reimagined. The legendary love triangle of King Arthur, Guenevere and Sir Lancelot leaps from the pages of T.H. White’s novel in Lerner and Loewe’s awardwinning, soaring musical. This small cast version is ideally scaled for the more intimate theatrical experience of The Phoenix Theatre Company’s Mainstage.
RICHARD O’BRIEN’S THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
Awaken your inner creature of the night!
October 6 – December 5
Give yourself over to the absolute pleasure of this beautifully twisted rock musical masterpiece. Dynamic tension is on the menu as naive new fiancée’s Brad and Janet discover a world where nothing is taboo. Explore sensational, interplanetary fantasies with Rocky, Eddie, Dr. Scott, Columbia, Magenta, Riff Raff and, of course, Frank-N-Furter. Brad and Janet will
WORLD PREMIERE MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET CHRISTMAS
The World Premiere celebrating the holidays and the hits that made Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley famous as the Million Dollar Quartet!
November 17 – January 2
Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley come together again to celebrate the holidays! Sun Records, now festively decorated with a Christmas tree, garland, and mistletoe, rings with sounds of the season and the chart toppers that made the “Million Dollar Quartet” famous. The gang is up to their usual antics as we journey through stories of Christmas past, present, and future. It’s a jam-packed evening of holiday hits that is not to be missed!
The Southwest premiere of Drama Desk Award Winner The Hello Girls tells the true story of the unsung heroines of World War 1.
January 5 – 30
Based on a true story, The Hello Girls reveals the wartime heroism of America’s first women soldiers in this jazzy new musical. Fighting in France in World War I, the United States Army was having trouble with the phones. Calls weren’t getting through fast enough. Bilingual telephone operators volunteered for the front lines to help turn the tide of World War I, then returned home to fight a decades-long battle for equality and recognition. The Hello Girls tells a powerful war story that is largely unknown…
PHOTO BY REG MADISON PHOTOGRAPHY
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
Winner of seven Olivier Awards and Best Musical Revival, this heartwarming classic is bigger and brighter than ever!
February 2 – April 3
It’s 1927, Hollywood’s Golden Age, and Don Lockwood and Lina LaMont are the toast of Tinseltown – until “talkies” come on the scene. The Phoenix Theatre Company makes a big splash with this spectacular and romantic musical comedy, guaranteed to put a smile on everyone’s face. There will be wonderful singin’ and dancin’ and, yes, it really will rain onstage!
24TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF NEW AMERICAN THEATRE
May 6 – 22
Hosted by The Phoenix Theatre Company, the Festival of New American Theatre amplifies new voices and expands the canon of American theatre. This year, TPTC partners with NYC’s Theatre Barn, a primary incubator of new musicals, and expands its collaboration with ASU’s Music Theatre and Opera program.
THE COLOR PURPLE
This Tony and Grammy Award winning musical revival is a story of hope and a celebration of life.
March 2 – May 1
With a joyous score featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel, African music and blues, The Color Purple is a story of hope, a testament to the healing power of love, and a celebration of life. Based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, it tells the uplifting story of Celie, a woman who struggles through adversity to find strength, love and the power of her own voice. This beloved story is a moving tribute to sisterhood and perseverance.
This musical extravaganza features big dance numbers, bold costumes, and eye-rolling offstage antics!
May 4 – June 19
Not content to let William Shakespeare get all the attention, the conniving but clueless Bottom brothers hatch a plan to cook up the next big stage hit. After an ill-advised trip to see Nostradamus’s food-obsessed nephew, they risk everything to produce what they believe will be the show of the future: the musical!
ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE
Inspired by Patsy Cline’s correspondence with fan Louise Seger and set to the soundtrack of country’s most vibrant voice.
June 8 – August 7
A true story about Cline’s friendship with a fan from Houston named Louise Seger, who befriended the star in a Texas honky-tonk, and continued a correspondence with Cline until her untimely death in a plane crash. Tales of Patsy’s life on the road are told with downhome country humor and brought to vibrant life through her music.
THE STORY OF EMILIO AND GLORIA ESTEFAN ON YOUR FEET!
A salsa-splashed showcase of the dance-floor hits that made Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine a radio and MTV staple.
July 13 – August 28
Infused with the heartbeat of Little Havana, the ‘Rhythm is Gonna Get You’ in this inspiring true story about heart, heritage and two people whose belief in their talent – and each other – catapulted them to international stardom. With a seductive beat and smoking hot choreography, On Your Feet! roars through up-tempo dance numbers with swirling skirts and swiveling hips, and overflows with heartfelt emotion.
We are so happy to be a part of The Phoenix Theatre Company family and we hope you all know that you are bringing great joy to our lives each time we attend a show. – A Season Ticket Holder
INNOVATIVE COMMUNITY SERVICE, EDUCATION + TRAINING THE PHOENIX THEATRE COMPANY:
More Than What You See on the Stage
THE PHOENIX THEATRE SUMMER CAMP | PHOTO BY REG MADISON PHOTOGRAPHY
PARTNERS THAT HEAL
Specially trained artists customize 250+ improvisational interventions to improve mood and facilitate communication between patients and caregivers in healthcare and trauma facilities. This incredible program will soon launch nationwide, with the potential to reach more than a million patients within the next five years.
INCLUSIVE SUMMER THEATRE CAMP
The Phoenix Theatre Company’s Summer Theatre Camp provides more accommodation of physical, neurological and emotional special needs than any arts camp in the state and distributes more than $20,000 in scholarships every year. This program consistently earns the highest praise from the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center.
PROFESSIONAL APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
Every year The Phoenix Theatre Company offers comprehensive training in technical theatre and stage management to apprentices from across the country, preparing the next generation of theatre professionals.
NEW AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE STUDIO
A groundbreaking partnership between The Phoenix Theatre Company and Arizona State University, the Studio completely immerses musical theatre students in a professional theatre environment.
For more information, visit phoenixtheatre.com or call (602) 254-1974.
FEB 2 – APRIL 3, 2022
MAY 6 – MAY 22, 2022
MARCH 2 – MAY 1, 2022
MAY 4 – JUNE 19, 2022
JUNE 8 – AUG 7, 2022
