KITE RUNNER & More Set For Arizona Theatre Company's Upcoming Season

Arizona Theatre Company announces The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner opens Arizona Theatre Company's 2009-2010 Season: In Tucson, September 10 - October 3; In Phoenix, October 8 - 25.

"Come see me, Amir, there is a way to be good again..." A cry for help from an old friend in a distant land lies at the heart of this powerful story of friendship, betrayal and redemption newly adapted from the international best-selling novel. Based on one of the most beloved books of the last decade, The Kite Runner is told through the lives of two boys, Amir and Hassan, growing up in Afghanistan in the same household, but in two starkly different worlds. When the innocence of the boys' childhood is confronted with the brutality of prejudice and hate, Amir begins a journey of self discovery and enlightenment that will take him far from his home and the demons of his youth. But fate, global politics and historical tragedy threaten his ability to make amends for his past. A bracing look at the modern world, The Kite Runner shows us the human face beneath the headline news.

Based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini
Adapted for the stage by Matthew Spangler

Directed by David Ira Goldstein, Arizona Theatre Company Artistic Director

GEORGE IS DEAD - Arizona Theatre Company

George is Dead is the second installment of Arizona Theatre Company's 2009-2010 Season: In Tucson, October 17 - November 7; In Phoenix, November 12 - December 6.

Comic legend and Academy Award nominee Elaine May offers up a new comedy starring Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Marlo Thomas as Doreen, the socialite wife of a right-wing Republican named George. On her way to a fundraiser, driven by a possibly illegal immigrant, she ends up at the home of a former employee and her left-wing husband. How? Why? Do they kill her? Reject her? Adopt her? Is George Really dead? See this comedy by the award-winning writer of The Birdcage, Primary Colors and Heaven Can Wait to find out!

Written and directed by Elaine May.

The rest of the 2009-2010 Season is as follows:

AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'

The Fats Waller Musical Show

Based on an idea by
Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby, Jr.
Music by Thomas "Fats" Waller

Tucson: November 28 - December 19, 2009
Phoenix: December 30, 2009 - January 17, 2010

Bright lights. Glamorous gowns. And finger-snapping, toe-tappin' music. The joint is jumpin' and we're taking misbehavin' to a whole new level! Travel back to Harlem's sassy, swinging ‘30s with this riveting, Tony Award-winning musical -exuberantly performed by a quintet of irresistible talents. Spend a joyous evening partying with one of the greatest jazz songwriters of all time, Thomas "Fats" Waller. A composer and pianist with a legendary lust for life, he created jubilant melodies, soulful ballads and gleeful love songs like I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter, Honeysuckle Rose, I Can't Give You Anything but Love and, of course, Ain't Misbehavin'. This is one show that may just bring the house down! One never knows ... do one?

[title of show]

Book by Hunter Bell, Lyrics by Jeff Bowen, Music by Jeff Bowen

Tucson: January 23 - February 13, 2010
Phoenix: February 18 -March 7, 2010

 

Imagine two hyper-talented young songwriters in New York trying to write a new musical about two hyper-talented young songwriters in New York trying to write a new musical...! That's [title of show], the deliciously smart and tuneful musical that wowed Broadway audiences and critics last fall. It's a dizzy, unpredictable, and uproarious tongue-in-cheek musical about show business and making one's dreams come true. Follow Jeff, Hunter, Heidi and Susan as they negotiate a musical theatre obstacle course of finding backers, casting singers, and making it to Broadway.

Fresh, funny and playful, [title of show] is a Cinderella tale set to music about the journey from the unemployment line to the Great White Way.

"Delectable entertainment! Hilarious! A fresh new musical worth cheering!" -- The New York Times.

 

Staged by the same team that brought you the recent smash hit Hair, [title of show] will be directed by David Ira Goldstein with musical staging by Patti Wilcox and musical direction by Christopher McGovern.

 

THE GLASS MENAGERIE

by Tennessee Williams

Tucson: February 27 - March 20, 2010
Phoenix: March 25 - April 11, 2010

 

In the 1930s in a small tenement apartment in St. Louis, the Wingfield family awaits your visit. The mother Amanda lives in an illusion of recapturing her faded Southern Belle glory, her daughter Laura lives in a fantasy world of delicate glass figurines, and her son Tom dreams poetically of a world beyond the back stoop. When Tom brings home a Gentleman Caller to meet his sister, The Glass Menagerie weaves these lives into a heart-stopping dance of hopes pursued and dreams betrayed. Considered by many to be Tennessee Williams' greatest play, The Glass Menagerie is an achingly beautiful story of longing and love that has touched generations of theatergoers with its sparkling, delicate radiance.

 

The Glass Menagerie is the third show in ATC's "AMERICA PLAYS! Celebrating Great American Stories" series following our universally acclaimed productions of To Kill A Mockingbird and A Raisin in the Sun. This unique initiative is designed to engage audiences both through the onstage performance and community activities designed to enhance the understanding of this classic play.

 

World Premiere!
THE SECOND CITY DOES ARIZONA,
OR CLOSE, BUT NO SAGUARO

Tucson: April 3 - 24, 2010
Phoenix: April 29 - May 16, 2010

Talk about a stimulus package! From sagebrush to Sheriff Joe, from Green Valley to kokopelli- it's time to batten down the barrel cactus because we've invited The Second City to Arizona to do a no-holds-barred world premiere comedy revue all about us. Famous for their hilarious sketch comedy and for their equally famous alumni (Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Bill Murray, John Belushi, Gilda Radner and a whole slew of others), The Second City is turning their photo radar on the Grand Canyon State, and aiming their tee-shots at the land of prairie dogs and snow birds. We're joining with this troupe of expert Chicago comedians to create a comedy about the special challenges of the high life in the low desert. It's a guaranteed evening of recession-proof fun and high-mileage laughter - and which of us couldn't use a lot more of that right now?

Photo by Kevin Byrne

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