Scottsdale Arts Closes Out 2023–24 Season With David Sedaris, Joshua Bell, and More

Scottsdale Arts will finish out its 2023–24 season in May and June with an energetic lineup of shows and events.

May welcomes popular stand-up comedian Heather McDonald on May 3 for a hilarious night of celebrity impressions and comedic pop culture sketches. On May 11, artist and master printer John Armstrong leads a Dorothy Fratt printmaking demonstration, taking a closer look at Fratt's works. And June features American roots concerts from Old Crow Medicine Show and Cowboy Junkies, performing a mix of folk, country, blues and rock on June 13 and June 18, respectively.

The following is a list of events and exhibitions from Scottsdale Arts, a nonprofit organization comprising Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale Public Art, Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation, Canal Convergence and Civic Center LIVE. Visit ScottsdaleArts.org for information. 

“Breakaway” Dedication

Friday, May 3, 2024, 10 a.m.

Meet at Scottsdale Civic Center Library Parking Garage

Free; RSVP required
Join artist Barbara Grygutis and dignitaries for the dedication of Grygutis' "Breakaway," located in the Drinkwater Boulevard underpass below Scottsdale Civic Center.

Memory Lounge: Printmaking 101

Friday, May 3, 2024, 1 p.m.

Center Space at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets: $20 per couple

In this workshop, participants will create a small series of relief prints using a printing press. Memory Lounge is an arts program for people with mild to moderate memory loss and their care partners.

Heather McDonald—The Juicy Scoop Experience

Friday, May 3, 2024, 8 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets start at $29

Heather McDonald's hilarious celebrity impressions and comedic pop culture sketches bring joy to fans worldwide through her stand-up comedy, podcast and television specials.

Golden Hour Concert Series: XIXA

Thursday, May 9, 2024, 6:30 p.m.

Scottsdale Civic Center

Tickets start at $25

Immerse yourself in the distinctive sounds of the Southwest with the Golden Hour Concert Series, featuring pysch-rock cumbia of Tucson's XIXA with support from the Latin folk fusion band Media Pinto.

Visions '24 Opening Reception: 25th Anniversary

Friday, May 10, 2024, 5 p.m.

Center Space at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets: Free

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Visions is a year-long visual arts program provided to Valley teens.

David Sedaris

Friday, May 10, 2024, 8 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets start at $29

A master of satire and one of today's most observant writers, David Sedaris is beloved for his personal essays, short stories, plays and books, including “Me Talk Pretty One Day.”

Dorothy Fratt Serigraph Demonstration with Artist John Armstrong

Saturday, May 11, 2024, 1 p.m.

Offsite

Tickets: $10

Artist and master printer John Armstrong, who collaborated with Dorothy Fratt on several serigraphs, demonstrates the unique technical process used to create those works.

Joshua Bell with Larisa Martínez

Saturday, May 11, 2024, 8 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets start at $65

Grammy-winning violinist Joshua Bell and vocalist Larisa Martínez present “Voice and the Violin,” exploring repertoire from classical art song and opera to musical theater and selections by Puerto Rican and Spanish composers.

Scottsdale Symphonic Orchestra

Sunday, May 12, 2024, 4 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets start at $15

The Scottsdale Symphonic Orchestra performs “Around the World in 80 Minutes,” including works by Bizet, Copland, Sibelius, Rachmaninoff and Respighi.

AJ's The Art of Wine and Flavors of Summer

Saturday, May 18, 2024, 12 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets start at $40
Presented by AJ's Fine Foods, The Art of Wine and Flavors of Summer is the perfect opportunity to taste a curated list of wines alongside epicurean pairings.

Library Creatives | In the Round: Soft Felt Sculptures with Koryn Woodward Wasson

Thursday, May 30, 2024, 4:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Civic Center Library

Tickets: Free
Join the artist behind “Flirting with the Desert” to turn photographic source material into three-dimensional, soft felt sculptures.

Mystery in the Museum: Encore Presentation

Friday, May 31, 2024, 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: $45 per couple; $30 singleScottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Put your detective caps on to crack these cryptic messages and puzzles, following clues throughout the Museum to investigate this curious caper.

The Scottsdale Chorus

Saturday, June 1, 2024, 3 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets start at $30

Take a familiar melody, blend in fascinating rhythms and multiply it by 80-plus energetic singers and performers, and you get the incomparable Scottsdale Chorus!

Detour Company Theatre | Mean Girls (High School Version)

Friday, June 7, 2024, 7 p.m.

Saturday, June 8, 2024, 7 p.m.

Sunday, June 9, 2024, 7 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets: Free

This accessible version of Tina Fey's enduring story about belonging, friendship and community features songs made popular by the Broadway cast and recent film. Detour Company Theatre's family-friendly and inspiring musical productions showcase the theatrical talent, courage and artistry of adults with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities.

Detour Theatre Company | Disney's The Little Mermaid Jr.

Saturday, June 8, 2024, 3 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets: Free

Sing along to “Under the Sea,” “Kiss the Girl” and “Part of Your World” in this accessible production of the classic Disney story. Detour Company Theatre's family-friendly and inspiring musical productions showcase the theatrical talent, courage and artistry of adults with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities.

Old Crow Medicine Show

Thursday, June 13, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets start at $74.50

Winning over rapturous audiences with raucous live performances, Old Crow Medicine Show brings an undeniable urgency to folk music with classic tunes like “Wagon Wheel.”

An Evening with Cowboy Junkies

Tuesday, June 18, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets start at $38

With their signature combination of folk, rock and blues, Cowboy Junkies will perform a career-spanning show, including cuts from their new album, “Such Ferocious Beauty.”

Glow Up @SMoCA: Sound Bath at Sunset

Thursday, June 20, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

Tickets: $20

Refresh your aura with this unique summer solstice celebration as you revel in a sound bath in the Skyspace.

EXHIBITIONS

Visions '24

May 10 through Sept. 22, 2024

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Admission: Free

Visions is a year-long invitational visual arts program that has been provided to Valley teens for 25 years. In collaboration with six high schools, students attended monthly workshops conducted by professional artists, toured universities, and connected with exhibitions offered by SMoCA.

Flirting with the Desert

April 8 through July 1, 2024

Scottsdale Civic Center Library

Admission: free

Koryn Woodward Wasson paints desert subjects in bright, clear watercolors — from verdant cacti and their fluorescent pink, yellow and orange flowers to detailed birds, bats, and other pollinators.

Tiffany Trenda: Beyond Performance

March 27 through June 23, 2024

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

Admission: $7 to $12

“Beyond Performance” is an ongoing series of images by Tiffany Trenda that ventures into the realm of performance art and artificial intelligence.

Dorothy Fratt: Color Mirage

Feb. 3 through July 21, 2024

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

Admission: $7 to $12

“Color Mirage” is the first major U.S. museum exhibition on the prolific, yet underrecognized, American painter Dorothy Fratt.

Carolina Aranibar-Fernández: Oleaje

Feb. 10 through Aug. 4, 2024

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

Admission: $7 to $12

“Oleaje,” Spanish for “Groundswell,” features new large-scale installation works by Bolivian-born artist Carolina Aranibar-Fernández that map and memorialize the rippling effects of a coercive global trade industry.

Roelof Knol: the space in between

Sept. 23, 2023, through July 28, 2024

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

Admission: $7 to $12

In this new immersive installation, emerging Dutch artist Roelof Knol creates a playful, interactive, audiovisual experience that invites viewers to explore their relationship between digital and physical spaces.

_____ space Exhibitions

Sept. 22, 2023, through July 28, 2024

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

Admission: free

____ space (blank space) is a new, experimental, flexible space at SMoCA, currently featuring two installations by artists Kenaim Al-Shatti and Roelof Knol.

Scottsdale Public Art Permanent Collection

Ongoing

Various locations throughout Scottsdale

Admission: free

More than 150 artworks, many of them large-scale sculptures, can be found throughout the city at parks, in public facilities, and along the streets. See the map at ScottsdalePublicArt.org for locations.  

For more information about the events, and to order tickets, visit ScottsdaleArts.org.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!