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from Scottsdale Progress - 1.2.2022

by Times Media Group

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Arts & Entertainment Scottsdale.org l @ScottsdaleProgress /ScottsdaleProgress

Scottsdale Arts pleased with 2021, excited about 2022

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

2021 turned out to be a year of promise for Scottsdale Arts.

After most events were scaled back or canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020, vaccines and eased protocols helped Scottsdale Arts slowly recover.

“This is the season where we are supposed to reflect and be thankful,” said Scottsdale Arts CEO and President Gerd Wuestemann. “A year ago, I was incredibly grateful for having been able to keep our team together and stay as open as one could stay open as an arts organization.”

Scottsdale Arts resumed performances when it kicked off its fall with the current performances protocol requiring attendees to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours of an event.

“I think our policies have been shown to work in giving people a piece of mind to come and enjoy a performance and be a part of the wonders of the arts while feeling safe,” Wuestemann said. “Our staff has worked excruciatingly hard but has also contributed to making us thrive through the past six months even though the challenge of producing shows has remained.”

Though the shows have been a challenge to produce, Wuestemann has been impressed by the talent that has graced the stage of the Center for the Performing Arts this season, beginning with Soul and R&B artist Mavis Staples in mid-September.

“Mavis is an icon of Soul and R&B and she is just as much of an icon of the civil rights movement in the 60’s,” he said. “When we had her on stage, she belted

A groundbreaking last year marked the start of construction of Scottsdale Arts CEO Gerd Wuestemann’s grand vision for the Civic Center. (Progress file photo)

Westley Caryl and Anna Scales of Scottsdale practiced a scene as Kayla King helped them get their moves down during rehearsal for Limelight Performing Arts’ seeRECAP page 23

Limelight youth theater presenting ‘Newsies’

PROGRESS NEWS STAFF

When Disney’s “Newsies: The Broadway Musical” opens at the Mesa Arts Center on Jan. 6, it will bring many dreams to life – from dream roles and dream choreography to the director’s decades-long dream to produce the show with a youth cast.

“I fell in love with ‘Newsies’ when I was kid and saw the movie in the theater,” said Emma England, artistic director of Limelight Performing Arts, the Gilbertbased youth theater company producing the musical. “I have wanted to stage this production for the last 20 years. It’s truly a dream that is finally being fulfilled.”

The show features a cast of nearly 50 performers ages 10-22 hailing from across the Valley. Based on the 1992 motion picture and the real-life Newsboy Strike of 1899, the musical tells the story of Jack Kelly, a rebellious newsboy who dreams of a life as an artist away from New York City.

When titans of publishing raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack rallies a ragtag gang of teenage newsies to strike against the unfair conditions and fight for what’s right. Tre Moore, 17, plays the leading role.

“Jack has been a dream role of mine since I first listened to the ‘Newsies’ cast album when I was 11,” he said. “He is charismatic and confident, but also sensitive and ambitious with a big heart.

What truly makes this show so meaningful for me is that I, an African-American actor, have been given the opportunity to play Jack, a role that is historically played by White or non-Black actors. This is huge! I am honored to join the ranks of Jack Kelly actors and I hope to inspire and open the eyes of audiences in January.”

“‘Newsies’ is very special to me because I saw it a couple of years ago and it made me realize that musical theater was what I wanted to focus on,” added Scottsdale 10-year-old Anna Scales. “Everybody was welcoming when I joined the cast and I am learning choreography very quickly. It’s a fun and high-energy show that everyone will enjoy.”

The dancing is a highlight of the production.

“It is extraordinary when you have incredibly talented teens with such passion for a show combined with the heart-stopping choreography by Emma England,” said Christian Graca, “Newsies” director.

England and her choreography team, Marie South of Chandler and Reayanna Erving of Gilbert, spent many evenings and weekends working together to find the right balance of energy, athleticism and technique that “Newsies” is known for.

Indeed, this choreography has been years in the making.

“I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve been thinking about and visualizing and working on this choreography for almost a decade,” said England, who has won dozens of ariZoni and National Youth Arts Awards for directing and choreography. “With the dream team of Reayanna and Marie, this is probably the best choreo we have ever done.”

This attention to detail is a signature of Limelight’s – and it’s present in every aspect of “Newsies.”

Said England, “There is only one blackout in this entire show, and yet the story is constantly moving from one setting or storyline to the next. We had to be very intentional with every single moment on stage to capture the movement of the story across New York City and create an engaging experience for audiences.”

“‘Newsies’ comes after an over twoyear break from theater for me,” said Moore. “To be able to come back to performing, and at this caliber, is extremely exhilarating and a little daunting. I have been performing for over 10 years, but Jack Kelly has to be one of the most challenging roles I’ve stepped into.”

“The creative energy and support from the production staff and parent volunteers are a magical combination that will breathe life into this huge production and create the ‘do not miss’ musical of the year,” added Graca, who has directed productions across the Valley for the last 10 years. “Limelight Performing Arts is a terrific place for young thespians to learn, grow and reach for excellence in youth theater, and I’m so blessed to be so warmly welcomed into their family this past year.”

Beyond the ins and outs of putting together a top-rate production, the cast has learned other important lessons throughout the six-week rehearsal process – lessons they believe are especially pertinent today.

“It’s really interesting how ‘Newsies’ seems more relevant now to the U.S. workforce than it has in a long time,” said 14-year-old McKenna Henry, who plays Tommy Boy. “This show has taught me that normal people can make a big difference if they stand united, ‘Carrying the Banner’ for the average worker. Unionization, general strikes and holding people accountable are major themes in this show – and these things are happening in this country right now.”

Of course, rehearsing 50 performers amid the pandemic is no small undertaking. According to England, the directing team made a plan b, c, d and e in anticipation of COVID-19-related challenges.

In addition to protocols like masking, handwashing and regular testing, the directors held many rehearsals outdoors and via Zoom. They also cast and rehearsed a large group of understudies and swings for every role and scene.

“Our understudies now have understudies,” said England. “Our performers know their own tracks and several other dances, scenes and roles, as well. We are doing our best to prioritize health and safety while building in contingencies. It’s also an opportunity for kids in those understudy roles to get more advanced training.” Limelight’s production of “Newsies” will run from Jan. 6-16 at the Mesa Arts Center. Tickets are $15-$18 and can be purchased at MesaArtsCenter.com, keyword “newsies.” Group discounts are available.

If you go

Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical Produced by Limelight Performing Arts Jan. 6-16 at the Mesa Arts Center Tickets: MesaArtsCenter.com, keyword Newsies

RECAP �� page 22

out for 90-minutes at the top of her lungs without a break. It was an unbelievably powerful and moving experience,”

Wuestemann will never forget how the drummer for Grammy award winning saxophonist Brandford Marsalis used Wuestemann’s personal drum set or how southern soul-rockers J.J. Grey & Mofro were able to bring a new demographic of listeners into the Center for the Performing arts. However, Wuestemann’s favorite performance came when piano prodigy Alexander Malofeev delivered what Wuestemann described as “one of the greatest performances he had ever seen.” “He is a superstar in the making and he had five standing ovations and gave about five encores,” Wuestemann said. “The ability to pick performers as they’re becoming superstars and present them in this intimate hall is wonderful.”

Wuestemann also was delighted to see

Scottsdale Arts CEO Gerd Wuestemann has many fond memories of the performances Scottsdale Arts provided last year and he’s even more excited about what the future will bring. (Progress fi le photo)

three unique exhibitions come into the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. “When we opened our current set of exhibitions at SMoCA, we installed a wonderful exhibit and two galleries by Zineb Sedira – a French artist who was appointed as France’s national entry in the Venice Biennale – so we landed some real big national recognition,” he said. “This stood out in particular because I watched our crew install the show, which includes a recreation of the artist’s living room in our gallery,” he added. “Since the artist could not travel, our staff was walking around with laptops on zoom calls as they installed this and got her approval. It goes to show what lengths our staff went to make incredible things happen during a difficult time.”

Wuestemann was also a fan of Mimi O Chun’s first solo exhibition titled “It’s all cake” which took a deeper examination of the things that took place during the first six months of the pandemic.

“I think the piece that summed up the last 20 months for me was a hermit crab emerging out of an Amazon Prime bag,” Wuestemann said. “I thought this was the perfect way to describe how we felt these last couple of months.” He was also elated to give exposure to young local artists with the exhibition titled “Forever Becoming: Young Phoenix Artists” – which enabled two artists to be picked up by national outfits.

“Our commitment to the local arts scene to help get them to the next level and elevate them to the next level is part of our work here,” Wuestemann said.

While Wuestemann is proud of the events that have made noise inside the Center for the Performing Arts and SMoCA, it is what has gone on outside the facilities that has generated the most buzz.

In September, statues around the Civic Center mall began being removed for the purpose of relocation, stored or refurbished as ground was broken the following month for the creation of Wuestemann’s grand vision for the Civic Center.

“As challenging as the past 20-months

have been we’ve had lots of silver linings with the biggest being the mess we have in our mall at the moment,” he said with a laugh. “It’ll be a game-changer when it opens in January of 2023. When we are open, we will have full activation of this campus from day one.”

While 2022 is set to feature a lengthy list of exciting performers, the year will be highlighted by construction around the campus and in the surrounding area to prepare the area for the excitement of 2023.

Scottsdale Arts plans to install a $1 million art installation going into Drinkwater Tunnel that will be done by the reopening of Civic Center Mall.

“We will install a large-scale abstract ribbon that is an abstract representation of our western heritage,” said Wuestemann.

Scottsdale Arts is also working on securing funding for an additional piece to install that “speaks to the coming together of the community and focusing on the idea of a diverse and equitable community,” according to Wuestemann.

While Wuestemann is excited for 2022, he is most anxious about the events he has planned for the Civic Center mall when it reopens in 2023.

“In conjunction with Barrett Jackson, we’re going to kick off with a classic car concourse which should be very exciting,” he said. “We will also host some form of Super Bowl related events, which is why we are on a real hard deadline for this project and fortunately we are tracking ahead of schedule right now.” Scottsdale Arts also plans to start construction of a redesigned smaller theatre in the Center for the Performing Arts with the goal of being done by fall of 2023. “We’re going to completely reimagine it as a flexible space that is also podcast ready so we can write a whole new chapter for the organization,” Wuestemann said.

Turning to this year, Wuestemann is excited to bring new entertainment to Center for the Performing Arts as well as

Among the early 2022 shows is a concert in the Jazz Lounge featuring Charles Lewis Quintet plus Alice Tatum 2-4 p.m. next Sunday, Jan. 9. Tickets are at scottsdaleperformingarts.org. (Special to the Progress) the 10th anniversary celebration of Canal Convergence.

“I’m really excited for how we’re going to evolve our exhibits and performances, the future of our education department and to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Canal Convergence in November of 2022,” he said. “We’re going to have some very special things up our sleeves, so I’m very excited about that.”

Overall, Wuestemann credits his staff for the success of Scottsdale Arts and for keeping shows going.

“The fact that we opened a huge season in mid-September with 200 plus shows in our theaters and that our staff has managed this with the added pressures of keeping our audience safe is really a testament to the strength of our organization,” he said. He is also excited to keep thrilling audiences throughout the remainder of the fall season, which lasts until May.

“I’m thrilled to see our audience responding to what we have to offer,” Wuestemann said. “We’ve seen lots of full houses in recent months and the spring promises to be an extremely successful season for us, even with the pandemic.”