Arts & Culture

Jewish News of Greater Phoenix

S10 – Arts & Culture/JEWISH NEWS OF GREATER PHOENIX — August 3, 2012

Clockwise from top left, Michael Feinstein, Nov. 10, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, photo by Gilles Toucas; “Frances Smith Cohen’s The Snow Queen,” Dec. 1-16, Center Dance Ensemble at Herberger Theater Center, photo courtesy of Center Dance Ensemble; “Fools,” Arizona Jewish Theatre Company, photo by Mark Gluckman; “Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan,” Jan. 8-13, 2013, ASU Gammage, photo by Isaac James.

Arts & Culture is a special section of Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. Edited by Jennifer Goldberg and designed by Jeannie Quiggle. For additional copies and advertising information, contact Flo Eckstein, 602-870-9470.

1625 E. Northern Ave., Suite 106, Phoenix, AZ 85020Phone: 602-870-9470 Fax: 602-870-0426advertising@jewishaz.com jewishaz.com

Farewell, AJTC .............................................S11Relishing depth ............................................S12Katan rocks SMOCA ...................................S12The play’s the thing .....................................S14

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Advertorial content provided by Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

August 3, 2012 — JEWISH NEWS OF GREATER PHOENIX/Arts & Culture – S11

Farewell, AJTCLongtime community theater takes final bow

JenniFeR gOldbeRgSpecial Sections editor

It ended not with a standing ovation in a crowded theater, but with the click of a door as the last student left on July 13, the final day of Cur-tain Call summer theater camp.

After 24 years, Arizona Jewish The-atre Company has closed for financial reasons, and everyone associated with it — from founder and produc-ing director Janet Arnold to actors, patrons and campers — is left with the memories and the benefits of hav-ing been a part of it all.

Humble beginningsAJTC began with an idle thought

from Arnold: “I think I’ll start a Jew-ish theater.”

“I swear to God, that’s how innocent it was,” Arnold says.

Over the next 24 years, AJTC performed shows at Stagebrush Theater in Scottsdale and at Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix, where it was a resident company from 1993 to 2001. Its next home was the Playhouse on the Park, inside the Viad Corporate Center, a small space in central Phoenix.

From there, AJTC went to the Cen-ter for the Performing Arts at Para-dise Valley Community College and finally, Phoenix College.

Actors and directorsFor local theater professionals,

AJTC was a good place to work — and much more.

Ben Tyler acted in a number of AJTC productions and directed sev-eral near the end of its run.

“A lot of companies will bring in road shows or they’ll bring in people from out of town, and that was never what Janet was about,” he says. “It was always about our local folks.

“Janet’s just always been someone who’s really nurturing to local artists, which is a really good thing,” Tyler says.

AJTC addressed the topic of Crypto-Judaism in “Parting Waters,” a specially commissioned play written by Robert benjamin. it debuted in March 2009. Photos by Mark Gluckman

besides founding AJTC, Arnold performed in a number of its produc-tions, including 2004’s “Collected Stories.”

The late Rabbi Albert Plotkin took the stage for AJTC in 1996 for its production of “The Tenth Man.”

Maria Amorocho Weisbrod, who acted in several AJTC productions, converted to Judaism around the time she played Golde in the company’s 2008 production of “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Working with AJTC “definitely enriched my Jewish identity,” she says.

Amorocho Weisbrod remembers waiting backstage at the Viad and see-ing the messages written on the wall by AJTC performers and technicians.

“It was just so wonderful to see all of the actors and directors from the community that she gave work to, and allowed to showcase their talents and to grow,” she says.

For Tyler, who is not Jewish, work-ing with AJTC allowed him to learn something about the community.

“A lot of non-Jewish local actors really learned a lot about the Jewish culture because of working with AJTC. That’s not something that the audience ever saw, but it’s something that I saw in a lot of actors who came through there and, myself included, we learned so much about what it is to be Jewish, and it was terrific. I really, really enjoyed that aspect of it,” he says.

Happy memoriesOver the years, AJTC produced

more than 80 adult shows, including a few that stand out for Arnold.

“Twilight of the Golds,” in the 1997-98 season, imagined a world where parents could find out the sexual ori-entation of an unborn child, and what happens when one couple finds the child they are expecting is homosexual.

“The feedback we had from Jew-ish families who had gay children and what our doing that play meant to them, it was just overwhelming,” Arnold says.

“The Tenth Man,” a play about a group of men trying to assemble a minyan, stands out in Arnold’s mind for one of its cast members: longtime Valley spiritual leader, the late Rabbi Albert Plotkin.

Arnold, who had known Plotkin since her family arrived in Phoenix in 1957, was reluctant to ask Plotkin to participate in the 1996 production because of the time commitment it would require.

“He was thrilled to do it,” Arnold says, “and he was absolutely stellar. It was a thrill to see him on stage.”

Jay Bycer, AJTC board chair and a longtime patron of the theater, enjoyed the cross-community collaboration that came from “Parted Waters,” a 2009 production about a family of Crypto-Jews in New Mexico. AJTC commissioned the original piece.

“It was just a really nice thing to bring everyone together, the Hispanic community and the Jewish commu-nity,” he says.

Amorocho Weisbrod remembers fondly the Sunday afternoon AJTC crowds at the Viad, who had no

qualms about talking to the charac-ters, she says.

“They would just say what was on their minds,” she says.

She also remembers that Arnold kept blankets on hand for patrons who felt cold during the performances.

“She knew her audience, and she knew how to make them comfortable and make them excited about coming to the theater.”

Influencing the young

Thousands of children and teens participated in AJTC’s youth theater program, teen improv troupe and sum-mer theater camps over the years, and for some, it made a lifelong impact.

Arnold says she recently heard a Chicago radio interview with a young woman who had joined that city’s famous Second City improv troupe. Her first role ever, she told the host, was in “The Odd Potato,” an AJTC Hanukkah production. And she’s not even Jewish.

AJTC’s influence was not limited to the young people who came to it; the company has per-formed shows in schools around the Valley, educating students about Jewish history.

AJTC was also chosen to par-ticipate in local arts education through a program funded by a five-year Federal 21st Century Learning Grant. They provided on-camera acting classes, plus instruction in other performing arts media to at-risk children in the Phoenix Elementary School District.

Leaving a legacyAJTC’s demise leaves one of the

country’s largest Jewish commu-nities without a Jewish theater.

Bycer thinks the closing will hurt “those people who really enjoyed going to Jewish theater with Jewish con-tent — people in the community who were not members of synagogues, but people who just wanted to feel Jewish. That is gone from the community now.”

As a theater professional, seeing AJTC close “was like a death in the family,” Tyler says. “It was a lot more than losing a place to work — it really was something personal. That com-pany is going to be sorely missed.”

As for Arnold, she says, “I am most proud of the difference we made in letting people know what it means to be Jewish, to let people know positive aspects of Jewish life in a very public way. And I’m so lucky that I was able to do that through theater, which is so beautiful and so much a part of Jewish life.

“I just feel blessed.”

S12 – Arts & Culture/JEWISH NEWS OF GREATER PHOENIX — August 3, 2012

sports radio before joining KJZZ.“I’ve always been a big political buff,

so for me (‘Here and Now’) has been a really unique way to talk to politi-cians and ask them a lot of questions, and because it’s public broadcasting to really get them in depth.” They’ve ranged from former Gov. Janet Napol-itano to Sen. Jon Kyl. “Even if they don’t completely agree with the audi-ence or what-not, they say, ‘It’s nice to come on a place where I can actually explain stuff, where I’m not expected to talk in sound bites.’ So that’s been kind of fun, to be able to actually have a real conversation with them.”

Brodie covers government and poli-tics and serves as an on-air host at various times. He won a 2005 Associ-ated Press award for a story on real-estate flipping. Asked what the most memorable story of his 10-year tenure

is, he recalls Jan. 8, 2011, when 19 people, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, were shot in Tucson and six died. “It happened on a Saturday morning, and I was hosting Saturday mornings,” he says. “I don’t really know the words to describe it, other than surreal.”

Brodie hails from Manchester, Conn., a small town outside of Hart-ford. He played trumpet in a klezmer band there, and he became a bar mitzvah a month after his dad, who had had no Jewish education as a child, celebrated an adult bar mitzvah (“He was really, really proud, and we were obviously really, really proud of him, and his parents actually got him a fountain pen”). A Syracuse University graduate, he got his first public radio experience during an internship at a Hartford station, and knew this was for him. Before KJZZ, he did stints at the campus station and another public radio station in Albany, N.Y.

It probably was meant to be from an early age. “My parents like to tell the story of when I was really, really young, like 3 or 4, that I refused to go to sleep until after the CBS Evening News because I was convinced when Walter Cronkite said, ‘Good night,’ at the end of his broadcast, he was say-ing it just to me. I thought it would be rude to go to sleep until he had said good night to me and I could say good night back to him.”

Relishing depth Newsmen thrive on public radio

SAlvATORe CAPuTOAssistant Managing editor

Steve Goldstein and Mark Brodie, a pair of longtime reporters at KJZZ radio (91.5 FM), are a study in contrasts. Goldstein grew up here; Brodie came to the Valley to work. Goldstein was raised in an interfaith family; Brodie in a Conservative Jew-ish home. Goldstein has a wife and no kids; Brodie met and married his wife here and their son had his bris at The New Shul.

However, when it comes to public radio, they both appreciate the oppor-tunity as reporters to deal with com-plexity rather than just sound bites.

“What we try to do — without being dull or too dry — we really try to give people depth, and we try to approach it in a way of ‘Hey, I’m not trying to get you.’ It’s more like, ‘Let me get your point of view and see where we go from that,’ ” says Goldstein, who started at the station in 1997.

“One of the beauties of public radio, one of the reasons I love it so much, is that we can get really into issues sometimes,” says Brodie, who started at KJZZ when he moved to the Valley in 2002.

Together, they reported a story on ticket scalping outside Arizona Cardinals games when the stadium was only half-full that earned them a Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI) regional Edward R. Murrow award in 2003.

Goldstein, who hosts the station’s local segments on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” is the host of KJZZ’s only local talk show, “Here and Now.” He, with pro-ducer Paul Atkinson, won a PRNDI national award for best public affairs program in 2010 for a “Here and Now” show on Arizona’s budget crisis.

The son of a Jewish father and a Catholic mother who moved from Chi-cago to the Valley when Goldstein was 4 years old, he had his bar mitzvah at then-Temple Beth Israel, with Rabbi Albert Plotkin officiating.

He says his parents got married at a time when both sides of the family threatened to disown them because they “didn’t like the combination,” but he says it worked out well. “They’ve been married 47 years. ... I almost feel it helps me have more perspective on the way other people think.”

To his father’s chagrin, he went to Jesuit schools, Brophy Prep in Phoenix and Santa Clara University. He worked at three Silicon Valley startups that have since gone under. Being in on the ground floor in the center of the tech universe was excit-ing, he says, “but then I always came back to (journalism). I was always interested in what people had to say.” He returned to the Valley to work in

Steve goldstein Mark brodie

Katan rocks SMoCALit, arm-wrestling spice Lounge

MARilyn HAWKeSStaff Writer

If you haven’t been to the Scotts-dale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) lately, it’s time to make another visit. Author, playwright and comedic performer Tania Katan has been busy creating events for the museum’s new art space, the SMoCA Lounge.

Janis Leonard, the designer of Val-ley restaurants AZ88 and Hanny’s, designed a space filled with ship-ping pallets bathed in red lights and red paint. “It’s basically a living sculpture,” Katan says. “Every three years, a new artist, architect and team of people will come together to rei-magine and redesign the Lounge.”

Tim Rodgers, SMoCA’s director, wanted to make an area within the museum where people could do things they wouldn’t nor-mally do in a museum, such as drink-ing, dancing and singing, Katan says.

They needed to program the space to use the museum in a different way, Katan says, and since she is a “noted rule breaker in my professional career,” they hired her.

The Lounge is open during regular museum hours, but is also used for lectures, educational programs, a film series called “No Festival Required” and Lounge events, programmed by Katan, that take place on Fridays.

Once a month, Katan stages the “Lit Lounge,” a program that brings together live music and five writer/performers telling true stories. The next Lounge, scheduled for Aug. 24, will include writer and KJZZ com-mentator Robrt Pela; Comedy Central and the Moth writer/performer Shaz Bennett; Scout Durwood from “The

Howard Stern Show,” CBS Radio and La Mama; and musical guest, the Pubes.

Katan says she tries to get a cross-section of presenters who represent diversity in age, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. “They’re bringing their communities with them.”

Another program, “Arm Wrestling for Art,” which takes place every three months, is a fundraiser at which Katan exchanges conversation

with a noted artist and then members of the audience arm-wrestle to win a piece of art by the featured artist.

“I just wanted to change the way that we acquire and fund art, because there are so many people with privi-lege who have money, and in this economy, we need to think of new economies to exchange for things we really desire,” Katan says. “When I was a kid, we

would either arm-wrestle or play rock, paper, scissors. Why can’t we do that in the art world? So I thought sweat and human connection and arm-wres-tling. It sold out.” The next event will take place 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10.

The money raised from the arm-wrestling event goes toward a community-generated grant called “Good ’N Plenty.” The grant selec-tion is determined at an event in the Lounge where community members pay $10 for dessert from a local bakery and then listen to or watch six creative projects and vote for their favorite. The winner receives the grant,which is a combination of “Arm Wrestling for Art” proceeds and the evening’s take, which could be “anywhere from $500 to $1,000,” according to Katan.

For more information about SMoCA Lounge events, visit smoca.org.

Tania Katan

The SMoCA lounge houses several new and innovative programs. Photo by Tim Lanterman

August 3, 2012 — JEWISH NEWS OF GREATER PHOENIX/Arts & Culture – S13

Advertorial content provided by Mesa Arts Center

World-class arts venueThe Mesa Arts Center, owned and operated by the City of Mesa, is a unique, architecturally stunning facility located in the heart of downtown Mesa. Arizona’s largest arts center is home to four theaters, five art galleries and 14 art studios. Guests, patrons and students come to Mesa Arts Center to enjoy the finest live entertainment and performances, world-class visual art exhibitions and outstanding arts education classes. The facility is an architectural showpiece and a destination for visitors to the Phoenix area.

Mesa Arts Center will kick off its 2012-13 season with its Fire and Ice event on September 14, 2012. This free event for the entire family will showcase fiery demonstrations,

live music, food booths and ice carvings. With an array of over 40 exciting shows, there is sure to be something for everyone.

The Mesa Arts Center mission is to inspire people through engaging arts experiences that are diverse, accessible and relevant. Mesa Arts Center received the Phoenix New Times Best of Phoenix “Best Venue to See National Acts – 2011” award in the Reader’s Choice category, the “2010 Arts Organization of the Year” by the Arts & Business Council of Greater Phoenix, and most recently “2012 Best Arts Center” Critic’s Choice award by azcentral.com. For more information, visit mesaartscenter.com.

Look for Arts & Culture and all other Jewish News special sectionson our Jewish News website, at www.jewishaz.com.

S14 – Arts & Culture/JEWISH NEWS OF GREATER PHOENIX — August 3, 2012

The play’s the thing

August3-Sept. 1: ‘The Will Rogers Follies.’ A musical retelling of the life of the humorist and entertainer. Arizona Broadway Theatre.

9: ‘guitarmania to beatlemania.’ A celebration of the acoustic guitar. Musical Instrument Museum.

11: ‘A night at the Academy Awards.’ Ballroom dancers perform to music from classic movies. Mesa Arts Center.

19: bappi lahiri. Indian music. Mesa Arts Center.

24: ‘brahms & Friends.’ Works by Brahms and Schumann. Red Rocks Music Festival at Musical Instrument Museum.

25: ‘Hollywood Sings.’ Classic cinema songs. Chandler Center for the Arts.

26: Sonya and elizabeth Schumann. Works by Gershwin and Brahms. Red Rocks Music Festival at Musical Instrument Museum.

31: Red Rocks Music Festival ensemble. Classical meets jazz. Red Rocks Music Festival at Musical Instrument Museum.

31-Oct. 6: ‘The Secret garden.’ An orphan girl discovers the secrets of her new home. Hale Centre Theatre.

September6-22: ‘love’s labour’s lost.’ A king and his friends try to give up the company of women. Southwest Shakespeare Company.

7-23: ‘elegy for a lady’ and ‘i Can’t Remember Anything.’ Two one-act plays by Arthur Miller. Theatre Artists Studio.

7-30: ‘doubt.’ A priest is accused of abusing children. Theater Works.

7-Oct. 7: ‘The Odd Couple.’ A slob and a neatnik come together as roommates. Arizona Broadway Theatre.

9: The dunwells. British folk music. Musical Instrument Museum.

11-16: ‘les Miserables.’ Revolutionaries live, love and die in 19th-century France. ASU Gammage.

11-30: ‘The Price of Freedom.’ A musical tribute to those who served in World War II and the loved ones they left behind. Hale Centre Theatre.

14-Oct. 27: ‘A Streetcar named desire.’ A delusional woman comes to stay with her sister and her sister’s tempermental husband. Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre.

15: Matt Haimovitz. The Israeli-born cellist performs. Musical Instrument Museum.

19-Oct. 14: ‘Spamalot.’ The musical inspired by “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” Phoenix Theatre.

20-22: ‘beethoven’s violin Concerto.’ Works by Beethoven, Bernstein and Brahms. Phoenix Symphony.

21: ‘My girlfriend’s boyfriend.’ A man discusses his life of romantic blunder and miscues. Mesa Arts Center.

21-Oct. 7: ‘The Agony and the ecstasy of Steve Jobs.’ Mike Daisey’s monologue about the late Apple CEO. Actors Theatre.

21-Oct. 7: ‘Seussical: The Musical.’ A family musical based on the books of Dr. Seuss. Mesa Encore Theatre.

28-30: ‘Wicked divas.’ Stars from the musical “Wicked” perform Broadway favorites. Phoenix Symphony.

29: Pat Metheny unity band. The Grammy Award-winning artist performs with up-and-coming musicians. Mesa Arts Center.

29: Mary Chapin Carpenter. Country and folk music. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

October4: ‘vivaldi’s Four Seasons.’ Conductor Michael Christie leads works by Vivaldi and Piazzolla. Phoenix Symphony.

4: Chirgilchin. Siberian folk music. Musical Instrument Museum.

5-28: ‘The Music Man.’ A con man causes trouble in a small town. Theater Works.

7: ‘bella notte.’ The Salt River Brass performs Italian music. Mesa Arts Center.

11: Aimee Mann. The former ’Til Tuesday singer performs. Musical Instrument Museum.

11-28: ‘next to normal.’ A musical about a modern suburban family dealing with a crisis. Arizona Theatre Company.

12-14: ‘lucia de lammermoor.’ Two families endure trial and tribulation. Arizona Opera.

12-21: ‘Two Trains Running.’ The regulars at a Memphis restaurant learn the eatery is to be torn down. Black Theatre Troupe.

12-nov. 4: ‘into the Woods.’ Characters from classic fairy tales all interact in a forest. Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre.

13: ben Sidran. A journey through the contributions of Jewish songwriters to American popular music. Musical Instrument Museum.

14: Acoustic Africa. A collaboration of African singers and songwriters. Musical Instrument Museum.

16: ‘bellydance Superstars.’ Middle Eastern dancing. Mesa Arts Center.

18: inti illimani. Latin American folk music. Musical Instrument Museum.

19-27: ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ A farm girl finds herself in a magical and dangerous world. Copperstar Repertory Co.

19-nov. 4: ‘Proof.’ A young woman may or may not have inherited her father’s mathematical genius — and his madness. Theatre Artists Studio.

19-nov. 18: ‘Oklahoma!’ A young woman must choose between two rivals for her affections. Arizona Broadway Theatre.

20: ‘The daily Show live: indecision Tour 2012.’ Comedy from the show’s election correspondents. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

20: greg Proops. The improv comedian stars in an interactive performance. Mesa Arts Center.

21: Ravi Shankar. Sitar music from the iconic performer. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

25-28: ‘A Haunting We Will go.’ Halloween-themed dancing. Center Dance Ensemble.

26: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Octet. Works by Borodin and Mendelssohn. Phoenix Chamber Music Society.

27: ballet Folklórico de México. Dancers perform traditional numbers from Mexico. Mesa Arts Center.

31: Red Priest. Baroque music. Musical Instrument Museum.

31-nov. 25. ‘defending the Caveman.’ The world is explained from a man’s point of view. Phoenix Theatre.

November1-4: ‘giselle.’ The ghost of a young woman protects the man who broke her heart from an evil spirit. Ballet Arizona.

2-18: ‘Opus.’ A world-class string quartet struggles in the days before a major performance. Actors Theatre.

7: ivory & gold. Ragtime, jazz and Broadway tunes. Musical Instrument Museum.

7-12: ‘Re-entry.’ A documentary play about members of the U.S. Marine Corps and their families. Mesa Arts Center.

8-10: ‘Stravinsky’s Petrushka.’ Works by Stravinsky, Bartok and Mendelssohn. Phoenix Symphony.

9-18: ‘guys and dolls.’ Two craps players find love to be the riskiest gamble of all. Mesa Encore Theatre.

Times are hard for the Valley’s arts organizations, but the 2012-13 performing arts season is still shaping up to be one full of intriguing productions. There’s something for everyone, from classic musi-cals like “Guys and Dolls” to plays about sports heroes (check out Arizona Theatre Company’s produc-tion of “Lombardi” in November). The following represents highlights from the first half of the season.

“War Horse,” Feb. 5-10, 2013, ASu gammage. Photo by Brinkhoff/Mögenburg

August 3, 2012 — JEWISH NEWS OF GREATER PHOENIX/Arts & Culture – S15

9-Jan. 13: ‘The last of the Red Hot lovers.’ A middle-aged married man tries to get in on the sexual revolution. Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre.

10: Michael Feinstein: The singer honors Gershwin and the American songbook. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

10: ying String Quartet. Works by Verdi, Bach and Schubert. Phoenix Chamber Music Society.

10: ‘Celebrate the Cello.’ Works by Rossini, Saint-Saens and Beethoven. Symphony of the Southwest.

11: ‘Silks ’n Rags.’ The Salt River Brass performs a Veteran’s Day concert. Mesa Arts Center.

13: branford Marsalis. Jazz music. Musical Instrument Museum.

13-18: ‘Anything goes.’ Romance, gangsters and mistaken identities collide on a transatlantic ship. ASU Gammage.

13-dec. 2: ‘Shear Madness.’ The staff and customers of a hair salon must solve the murder of an upstairs neighbor. Mesa Arts Center.

15: Jake Shimabukuro. Ukulele music. Musical Instrument Museum.

15-dec. 2: ‘lombardi.’ A look at the life of the renowned Green Bay Packers coach. Arizona Theatre Company.

16: Judy Collins. The singer-songwriter performs. Musical Instrument Museum.

16: garth Fagan dance. Contemporary dance performances. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

16-18: ‘Romeo et Juliette.’ Two teens from rival families fall in love and meet tragic ends. Arizona Opera.

17: Assad brothers. Brazilian guitar. Musical Instrument Museum.

23: bela Fleck and the Marcus Roberts Trio. A musical journey with the banjo virtuoso. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

24-25: ‘The Capitol Steps’: Political satire from Washington, D.C. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

30-dec. 30: ‘Annie.’ An orphan finds her way into the home of a lonely billionaire. Arizona Broadway Theatre.

December1: Artrageous benefit starring bernadette Peters. The Broadway star performs. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

1-16: ‘Frances Smith Cohen’s The Snow Queen.’ A young woman must save her beloved from a wicked queen. Center Dance Ensemble.

4: ‘bach the Spellbinder.’ Music and commentary with pianist Jeffrey Siegel. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

11-16: ‘The Addams Family.’ The hit musical about the macabre family. ASU Gammage.

12: ‘Trade Winds — From China with love.’ A musical exploration of East and West. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

12-Jan. 6: ‘’S Wonderful.’ A musical revue featuring the songs of the Gershwins. Phoenix Theatre.

26-Jan. 5: ‘Zoppe.’ Ital ian circus performance. Chandler Center for the Arts.

27-30: ‘Man of la Mancha.’ A musical version of Cervantes’”Don Quixote.” Scottsdale Musical Theater Company.

January 20133-5: ‘Tchaikovsky’s violin Concerto.’ Works by Tchaikovsky, Copland and Schumann. Phoenix Symphony.

3-20: ‘Jane Austen’s emma.’ A young heiress tries to find matches for everyone around her. Arizona Theatre Company.

8-13: ‘Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan.’ The celebrated gymnast stars as the boy who won’t grow up. ASU Gammage.

10-12: ‘The Planets.’ Works by Bates and Holst. Phoenix Symphony.

10-23: ‘Hamlet.’ A prince avenges his father’s murder. Southwest Shakespeare Company.

10-23: ‘The Tempest.’ Shipwrecked travelers land on the island of an exiled nobleman. Southwest Shakespeare Company.

11-Feb. 10: ‘Sunset boulevard.’ A faded screen star dreams of her past fame. Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre.

11-Feb. 17: ‘Hello, dolly.’ A matchmaker tries to land herself a wealthy husband. Arizona Broadway Theatre.

15: ‘Claude debussy — The Passionate Sensualist.’ Jeffrey Siegel plays and discusses music from the age of Impressionism. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

15: ‘Richard nader’s ’60s Rock & Roll.’ The Association, The Lovin’ Spoonful and The Vogues perform. Mesa Arts Center.

18: ‘The Fab Four.’ A tribute to The Beatles. Mesa Arts Center.

18: Chick Corea and gary burton. Two jazz pioneers share the stage. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

18: new directions veteran Choir. Award-winning a capella group. Chandler Center for the Arts.

18-20: ‘Arizona Tribute.’ Rex Allen Jr. performs Western songs. Phoenix Symphony.

19: ira glass. The host of NPR’s “This American Life” shares stories. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

20: ‘Shatner’s World: We Just live in it.’ The veteran actor shares anecdotes, songs and jokes. Mesa Arts Center.

22-27: ‘dreamgirls.’ The story of an up-and-coming 1960s girl group. Theater League.

25-27: ‘Tosca.’ An artist and his lover meet tragic fates. Arizona Opera.

26: ‘An unforgettable Tribute to nat King Cole.’ George Benson performs works by the late star. Phoenix Symphony.

27: ‘beethoven’s Symphony no. 4.’ Works by Beethoven, Mozart, Ravel and Saint-Saens. Phoenix Symphony.

27: ‘The gentleman doc Holliday.’ Wyatt Earp tells the story of his longtime friend. Chandler Center for the Arts.

February1-March 3: ‘The elephant Man.’ A deformed man is exploited in 19th-century London. Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre.

2: Mandy Patinkin. Popular songs and standards by the star of stage and screen. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

2: Chanticleer. The men’s choral group performs works by Palestrina, Barber and others. Phoenix Chamber Music Society.

2: golden dragon Acrobats. Chinese acrobats. Chandler Center for the Arts.

5-10: ‘War Horse.’ A young man and the horse he loves are separated by World War I. ASU Gammage.

6: ‘grand Piano Trios.’ Close Encounters with Music presents works by Schubert and Beethoven. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

Where the shows areActors Theatre. Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe St., Phoenix. 602-252-8497. atphx.org

Arizona broadway Theatre. 7701 W. Paradise Lane, Peoria. 623-776-8400. azbroadwaytheatre.com

Arizona Opera. Symphony Hall, 75 N. Second St., Phoenix. 602-266-7464. azopera.org

Arizona Theatre Company. Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe St., Phoenix. 602-256-6995. arizonatheatre.org

ASu gammage. 1200 S. Forest Ave., Tempe. 480-965-3434. asugam mage.com

ballet Arizona. Symphony Hall, 75 N. Second St., Phoenix; and Orpheum Theatre, 203 W. Adams St., Phoenix. 602-381-1096. balletaz.org

black Theatre Troupe. 602-258-8129. blackthe atretroupe.org

Center dance ensemble. Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe St., Phoenix. 602-252-8497. centerdance.com

Chandler Center for the Arts. 250 N. Arizona Ave. 480-782-2680. chandlercenter.org

Copperstar Repertory Company. Higley Arts Center, 4132 E. Pecos Road, Gilbert. 480-699-1655. copperstarrep.org

Hale Centre Theatre. 50 W. Page Ave., Gilbert. 480-497-1181. hale theatrearizona.com

Mesa Arts Center. 1 E. Main St. 480-644-6500. mesaartscenter.com

Mesa encore Theater. Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St. 480-644-6500. mesaencoretheatre.com

Musical instrument Museum. 4725 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. 480-478-6001. themim.org

Orpheum Theatre. 203 W. Adams St., Phoenix. 602-262-7272. friendsoftheorpheumtheatre.org

Phoenix Chamber Music Society. Camelback Bible Church, 3900 E. Stanford Drive, Paradise Valley. 602-252-0095. phoenixchambermu sic society.org

Phoenix Opera. (866) 673-7248. phoenixopera.org

Phoenix Symphony. Symphony Hall, 75 N. Second St. 602-495-1999. phoenixsymphony.org

Phoenix Theatre. 100 E. McDowell Road. 602-254-2151. phoenixthe atre.com

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. 7380 E. Second St. 480-499-8587. scottsdaleperformingarts.org

Scottsdale desert Stages Theatre. 4720 N. Scottsdale Road. 480-483-1664. desertstages.org

Scottsdale Musical Theater Company. 602-909-4215. scottsdalemusicaltheater.com

Southwest Shakespeare Company. Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St. 480-641-7039. swshakespeare.org

Symphony of the Southwest. 480-827-2143. symphonyofthesouth west.org

Theater league. Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St., and Orpheum Theatre, 203 W. Adams St., Phoenix. (800) 776-7469. theaterleague.com

Theater Works. 8355 W. Peoria Ave., Peoria. 623-815-7930. theater works.org

Theatre Artists Studio. 4848 E. Cactus Road, Suite 406, Scottsdale. 602-765-0120. thestudiophx.org

Mandy Patinkin, Feb. 2, 2013, Scotts-dale Center for the Performing Arts.

Photo courtesy of SCPA

S16 – Arts & Culture/JEWISH NEWS OF GREATER PHOENIX — August 3, 2012

Advertorial content provided by Copperstar Repertory Co.

R E P E R T O R Y C O.I N P A R T N E R S H I P W I T H H C P A

Proudly Announce Our 2012-2013 Season

OCTOBER 2012 DECEMBER 2012 APRIL 2013

THE AMAZING KRESKINNOVEMBER 3, 2012

NEW SHANGHAI CIRCUSJANUARY 27, 2013

THE KINGSTON TRIOFEBRUARY 16, 2013

SEE ALL THREE SHOWS FOR UNDER $50!

Let us Entertain You!

Student Matinees and Group Rates Available. Advertising and sponsorship opportunities.

Single Tickets and Season Tickets Now On Sale!

www.copperstarrep.org 480-699-1655 ext. 500All Shows Take Place at Higley Center for the Performing Arts, 4132 E. Pecos Rd., Gilbert

The Wizard of Oz (RSC) is licensed by HUSD through TAMS-WITMARK MUSIC LIBRARY, INC., 560 Lexington Ave., NY 10022. Irving Berlin's White Christmas is is licenced by HUSD and presented through special arrange-ment with R & H Theatricals: www.rnhtheatricals.com. Legally Blonde is licenced by HUSD through Musical Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance material is also supplied by MTI. 421 W. 54th Street, New York,NY 10019 Phone: 212-541-4684 Fax: 212-397-4684. www.MTIshows.com

www.higleyarts.org4132 E. PECOS RD. , GILBERT

• The Three Billy Goats Gruff• Letters Home• La Catrina Quartet• Velveteen Rabbit• Bob and Bing’s Road to Gilbert

Thanks to our Sponsors

Variety and value The Higley Center for the Performing Arts presents a variety of quality entertainment for audiences of all ages. Copperstar Repertory Co. is beginning their fifth season as the resident, non-profit musical theater company at the HCPA. Together they present three impressive, full scale professional quality musicals with local actors, musicians and technicians. These amazing shows are wildly entertaining with stunning sets, lights and costumes and production quality on par with the best theatre companies in town as shown by their 12 AriZoni nominations just last year.

In addition to their collaborations with Copperstar, the HCPA schedules puppet shows, plays, acoustic music and choral concerts and other performances such as Chinese acrobats and an annual dinner theater show. School groups and home school families also enjoy a full season of Student Matinees that take place during school hours.

The Higley Center for the Performing Arts was recognized as Gilbert’s Small Business of the Year for 2011 by the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce. Copperstar has received awards for contributions to advancement of the arts for two consecutive years at the Gilbert Mayor’s Breakfast with the Arts.

Several ticket options are available for most shows. Adult tickets are usually offered in three price ranges. Discounts are offered for seniors over 60, youth 18 and under and for groups of 10 or more. Other special promotions are offered for select performances: First Class Patron tickets that include reserved parking, complimentary water and a meet and greet with featured performers.

Another special offer is the Encore Package. This includes two tickets, a night’s stay at the Hyatt Place Phoenix-Gilbert or the Hampton Inn & Suites-Gilbert, shuttle to and from the theater and a credit for food and beverage in the hotels’ restaurants.

Several outstanding restaurants are within mere miles of the HCPA, so an evening out with dinner and show is easy, affordable and close to home.

The HCPA has two performance spaces — a 1235 Concert Hall and a 186-seat Little Theater. Both venues are noted as beautiful, comfortable places to enjoy live performances. Once you’ve experienced the quality performances and audience friendly amenities at the HPCA, you’ll become a regular patron.

Special sections coming up:Get Connected 8/10 • Party Planner/Restaurant Guide 8/24

High Holiday Planner 8/31To reserve your ad space, call Flo Eckstein at 602-870-9470.