Fall is a good time for the arts in Phoenix. Here's what to expect this season
I know. It doesn’t yet feel like fall. But autumn in the desert lasts only a fortnight, right? While what we call “the fall arts season” here in the Valley lasts for weeks. And around here, theater, visual art, live music and dance tend to happen indoors, where it’s air-conditioned. And we can forget about our lack of seasons.
Here’s more good news: Fans of reruns are in luck. Arizona Broadway Theatre will open "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" later this week. Arizona Theatre Company, now housed at Tempe Center for the Arts, will present Neil Simon’s "Barefoot in the Park" in October. And next month, Southwest Shakespeare is launching its 30th season with "Macbeth."
Theater lovers looking for something they haven’t already seen seven times will want to check out Stray Cat’s production of "Gloria," written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and directed by Dolores E. Mendoza. This dark comedy about a toxic workplace launches the company’s 22nd season next month at Tempe Center for the Arts. And Phoenix Theatre Company is producing world-premiere productions this season, including "Tiananmen: A New Musical," which opens any day now.
If what you want is a jukebox musical, ASU Gammage’s Broadway season offers three this season, two of them this fall: "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" and "Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations." You’ll have to wait until March for the one about Michael Jackson.
Less predictable are the various performances in Gammage’s "Beyond" series, which will include in October Geoff Sobelle’s "Food," which is about what we eat and why. And children will no doubt want to see Valley Youth Theatre’s "The Addams Family," or better yet "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," an early holiday gift from Childsplay in the wee hours of November.
Frankie Avalon will not appear in either of those productions, though he is featured in Arizona Music Fest’s lineup in November. ASU’s Kerr Center will bring the Latin jazz of the Charles Lewis Quintet that same month, but not before Chandler Center for the Arts plays host to R&B tour de force Leela James in October. Elsewhere, the Musical Instrument Museum has added Patty Griffin and the Dover Quartet to their fall season, and Arizona Opera is selling Gregg Kallor’s "Frankenstein," just in time for Halloween.
Also in October, Ballet Arizona is bringing back choreographer Ib Andersen’s "Juan Gabriel," a celebration of the late Mexican singer/songwriter. The celebration of Indigenous culture called Guelaguetza will feature a parade of dancers performing along the trails of the Desert Botanical Garden, where one can also see new installations by painter and sculptor Fernando Botero. Late next month, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will bring the beautiful costumes and fiery footwork of Flamenco Intimo to town for a one-night-only performance.
"National Geographic Live!" returns to Mesa Arts Center next month with a series of wildlife and nature images and films. Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art has just opened "Christina Fernandez: Multiple Exposures," a survey of the LA-based artist’s photographic work. Jeff Falk’s newest paintings and assemblages are on display at the Sky Harbor International Airport Museum Gallery, and Annie Lopez has new work in "Just Cause," an exhibition delayed because of art censorship allegations. That’s at Mesa Contemporary Arts through Dec. 10.
Both these artists, and dozens more, are included in Legend City gallery’s annual "Chaos Theory" exhibition, which opens the first Friday in October and signals the launch of the downtown arts fall season — if not the actual fall season itself.
