Desert Foothills Theater announces season schedule
September 26, 2011STAFF REPORT~ 9/7/2011
Desert Foothills Theater (DFT) upcoming season includes a lot of laughter, drama, music, dancing, imagination, and a new form of theater that tells the epic story of the founding of Arizona through first person narratives.
A program of the Foothills Community Foundation, DFT is preparing for its 37th season looking forward to entertaining audiences with two DFT Gecko Teatro youth productions; four Main Stage shows, including a unique community storytelling show that is both an official Arizona Centennial sanctioned event and legacy project.
Meribeth Reeves, DFT managing director, said the theater’s new show schedule is already generating community interest, thanks in part to DFT’s roster of award-winning directors, writers, and producers.
DFT’s season kicks off with a DFT Gecko Teatro youth theater production, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, set for Oct. 28 through Nov. 6 in the Black Box Theater of Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center, 33606 N. 60th Street, in North Scottsdale. The All-American classic is a day in the life of that famous Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts character, Charlie Brown. Tickets range from $12 to $15 for children under 18, and from $16 to $20 for adults.
DFT’s first Main Stage Show of the season, The Music Man, runs Nov. 10 through Nov. 20 at Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center’s Black Box Theater, 33606 N. 60th Street, in North Scottsdale.
The Music Man is a Tony award-winning musical that became a hit on Broadway in 1957 and later was adapted for film and television. Tickets range from $15 to $20 for children under 18, and from $22 to $30 for adults.
In The Devil’s Frying Pan, DFT’s official sanctioned Centennial event and legacy project, takes place Jan. 12 through Jan. 29 in the Black Box Theater of Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center, 33606 N. 60th Street, in North Scottsdale. Tickets range from $15 to $20 for children under 18, and from $22 to $30 for adults.
The first public reading for In the Devil’s Frying Pan is set for 7 p.m. on Sept. 15 at the FCF Holland Community Center, 34250 N. 60th Street, in Scottsdale. The public is welcome to attend this reading and provide feedback for the development of this original play.
Lori Vander Maten, the project’s writer, said experience is not necessary. The play, which is taken entirely from first-person accounts of life in the Territory prior to 1912, seeks to tell the epic story of Arizona from a uniquely personal perspective. DFT hopes to cast 100 men, women and children of all ethnicities for this unique storytelling production, one for each year of Arizona’s statehood.
“In addition to utilizing our wonderful pool of talented actors, singers and dancers, we want to encourage our community members to come out and be part of this unique experience,” Vander Maten said. “Because we want this to truly be a community event, we are encouraging families to come do the show together. As a Centennial legacy project, this show will become part of the history of Arizona, and it’s a great way for families to honor the Centennial and celebrate Arizona together. We are also encouraging historical reenacting groups to get involved with this once-in-a-lifetime event.”
DFT continues to entertain its audiences in 2012 with The Wallace and Ladmo Show, which runs March 15 through March 25 at Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center’s Black Box Theater, 33606 N. 60th Street, in North Scottsdale. Tickets range from $15 to $20 for children under 18, and from $22 to $30 for adults.
The comical play tells the story of 1964 mock-rock band Hub Kapp (Pat McMahon) and The Wheels, who premiered on The Wallace & Ladmo Show — an iconic children’s television show that ran in Arizona for 35 years.
Picnic premiered on Broadway in 1953 and was Paul Newman’s first Broadway debut. DFT’s production of Picnic runs April 12 through April 22 at Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center’s Black Box Theater, 33606 N. 60th Street, in North Scottsdale. Tickets range from $15 to $20 for children under 18, and from $22 to $30 for adults.
Directed by Diedre Kaye, Picnic is a drama that takes place in 1953 over Labor Day weekend in a small Kansas town. The plot centers around two neighbors: Flo Owens, a widow, lives in one home with her two maturing daughters, Madge and Millie, and their boarder, a spinster school teacher. Helen Potts and her elderly and invalid mother reside next door. Into this all-female setting comes a young man named Hal Carter, whose animal vitality seriously upsets the entire group and uncovers a world of longing and lust hidden beneath the perfect facade.
DFT’s season finishes with Disney’s Beauty and The Beast, Jr., a DFT Gecko Teatro youth production that runs May 18 through May 27 on the Main Stage of Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center, 33606 N. 60th Street, in North Scottsdale. Tickets range from $12 to $15 for children under 18, and from $16 to $20 for adults.
DFT season subscriptions are available and offer a savings of up to 20 percent. Subscriptions include lost ticket replacement, ticket exchange privileges, additional single ticket purchase discounts and priority seating. Donors receive single ticket discounts, priority ticket sales to DFT special events, and more. DFT is also offering a new Family Package option that includes a subscription for youth and adults to the season’s family-friendly shows.
To purchase a subscription or order tickets, visit www.desertfoothillstheater.com or call 480-488-1981.
