My daughter Angie was 5 years old when I took her to see Disneyβs βThe Lion Kingβ at Tucson Music Hall (now Linda Ronstadt Music Hall).
We spent a few extra bucks for seats that were near the aisle where the phalanx of elephants, birds, giraffes and antelopes paraded to the stage. I remember Angieβs eyes getting wide with wonder when she heard that clarion call from the stage opening the glorious Elton John/Tim Rice anthem βCircle of Lifeβ and seeing those characters so close she could almost touch them.
Eighteen years later, Angie can still recall that scene. Live entertainment and art has that affect on people. You will likely forget the movie you saw last week, but if your friends ask you about the band you saw a month ago, you will gush about the songs they sang, the audienceβs reaction and the way it made you feel days and weeks later.
When it comes to gift-giving, giving the gift of live entertainment will create memories that will far outlast any toy, digital device or sweater on your wish list.
βLive entertainment is a memory that will last a lifetime, better than anything material that youβll use or even give away,β said Broadway In Tucson General Manager Mario Di Vetta, who has been involved in Tucsonβs performing arts scene since he joined the former UAPresents as a stagehand when he was a University of Arizona freshman in 2001.
Di Vetta first got interested in live theater when his parents took him to see βPhantom of the Operaβ when he was 9 or 10.
βI just remember being enthralled with the stagecraft,β recalled Di Vetta, who has been Broadway In Tucsonβs general manager since late 2021 after long-term marketing stints with the Broadway presenter and UAPresents, which is now Arizona Arts Live.
Di Vetta is now passing his love of live theater and live entertainment down to his and wife Gabrielaβs son Mario and daughter Madison. The couple take the kids to many of the Broadway In Tucson shows, including Disneyβs βAladdinβ in September, the annual Disney On Ice show at Tucson Arena, pop and country concerts, as well as Arizona Arts Live performances like the Parsons Dance Company show they saw in November.
βMy 9-year-old and 5-year-old were captivated the entire time,β said Di Vetta, 40. βMadison was actually mimicking the choreography from her seat.β
βGoing to live theater as a family means dressing up, going out to dinner, getting excited about something that no one else will get to experience for that one singular live performance ... because every live performance is unique and different, and then sharing the memory together forever,β he said.
The Di Vettas are heading to Las Vegas later this month to see country singer Carrie Underwood and will be in Centennial Hall next spring for βShrek, the Musical,β which Broadway In Tucson is bringing in for one night only on March 7. Tickets go on sale Dec. 8, through broadwayintucson.com.
Here are some other performances coming up that weβve added to our holiday wish list.
Just for kids
Nickelodeonβs βPaw Patrol Live: Heroes Uniteβ is at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave., Jan. 26-28; tickets start at $25 through ticketmaster.com.
Cirque du Soleilβs βCrystalβ will combine skating and acrobatic feats on the ice and in the air at Tucson Arena, 260 S. Church Ave., from Feb. 29-March 3. Tickets start at $45 through ticketmaster.com.
Broadway In Tucson is bringing βShrek: The Musicalβ to Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. on the University of Arizona campus, for one show only on March 7; tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 8, through broadwayintucson.com.
βBlippi: The Wonderful World Tourβ pulls into Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St., on May 8 with Blippi and Meekah dancing, singing and learning their way around every city they visit. This is a kiddosβ dance party, where the audience is encouraged to sing and dance along. Tickets are $20-$60 through foxtucson.com.
Tucson Symphony Orchestra performs the live soundtrack to βHarry Potter and the Sorcererβs Stoneβ in its second cineconcert of the season. This one is at Centennial Hall on May 17; tickets are $54-$125 through tucsonsymphony.org.
The musical comedy βMrs. Doubtfireβ is at Centennial Hall May 28-June 2; tickets are $30-$140 through broadwayintucson.com.
For those who want to rock
There are several concerts weβd love to see, including:
If you havenβt seen Black Violin in its previous Tucson shows over the past several years, you should plan to see them when they return to Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., on Jan. 26; tickets are $40.50-$69 through rialtotheatre.com.
Country legend Clint Black will be at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall with his wife, Lisa Hartman Black, and daughter Lily Pearl Black on Feb. 8. Tickets start at $33 through ticketmaster.com.
Bass-driven electronica DJ Excision brings βNexus,β his most ambitious stage show to date, to Tucson Arena on Feb. 18; tickets are $47-$87 through ticketmaster.com.
Multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertsonβs βThe Trilogy Tourβ stops at Rialto Theatre on Feb. 23; tickets are $39.50-$54.50 through rialtotheatre.com.
If you love Willie Nelson, youβre going to really love his son Lukas Nelson and his band Promise of the Real when they play the Rialto on March 11; tickets are $29.50-$49.50 through rialtotheatre.com.
The 1970s-β80s pop band Toto (βAfrica,β βHold the Lineβ) will take some of us back to high school and/or college when they take the Rialto Theatre stage on March 19; there are only a few tickets left starting at $57 through rialtotheatre.com.
Country superstar Lainey Wilson headlines Country Thunder 2024 in Florence on April 11, the first of the four-day festival that runs through April 14. Other headliners include Eric Church, Jelly Roll and Texas outlaw country singer Koe Wetzel. Four-day passes start at $300 through countrythunder.com/az.
For the jazz lover
The 10th annual HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival Jan. 12-20 is bringing in 10-time Grammy-winning trumpeter Arturo Sandoval to kick things off at the Rialto Theatre on Jan. 12. The Havana, Cuba-born Sandoval, whose mentor and greatest influence was the American jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie, is largely regarded as one of the worldβs greatest jazz trumpet and flugelhorn players. Tickets are $42-$85 through tucsonjazzfestival.org.
Tucsonβs own Calexico makes its debut with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra on Jan. 13 β the 95th anniversary of the orchestraβs very first concert. This is a makeup concert from the show in 2012 that Joey Burns and John Convertino were supposed to do with the orchestra but had to cancel. There are not a whole lot of tickets left for their show at Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, so donβt delay; $29-$89 through tucsonsymphony.org.
Other jazz fest gift ideas include a concert with award-winning jazz vocalist CΓ©cile McLorin Salvant on Jan. 19 at Centennial Hall thatβs presented by Arizona Arts Live and the Tucson Desert Song Festival; the Blue Note Quintet celebrating Blue Note Recordsβ 85th anniversary on Jan. 20 at Fox Tucson Theatre; and Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue at the Fox on Jan. 20. Get more info at tucsonjazzfestival.org.
For the classical music lover
The 12th annual Tucson Desert Song Festival Jan. 14-Feb. 15 and March 2-April 9 is bringing to Tucson stages eight vocalists that weβve never heard before and reuniting us with several who have become familiar faces and voices. Check out the festivalβs website at tucsondesertsongfestival.org for a complete lineup and schedule, but we think weβd love to see True Concord Voices & Orchestraβs βMozart & Hagen: Two Important Encoresβ Jan. 26-28; the Feb. 15 world premiere of βQuiet Poems,β which the song festival commissioned from Peruvian composer Jimmy LΓ³pez Bellido for renowned tenor Michael Fabiano; and Tucson Symphony Orchestraβs Verdiβs Requiem with the TSO Chorus and soloists including the return of bass Morris Robinson and soprano Katie Van Kooten.
True Concord also is hosting the return of soprano Nicole Cabell in her third consecutive song festival. She will join the professional choir and orchestra for Poulencβs βGloriaβ April 5-7. The program also includes Bernsteinβs βChichester Psalmsβ and selections from Bernsteinβs βCandide.β
Links to ticketing sites are available through tucsondesertsongfestival.org.
If you waited to get tickets to see cello great Yo-Yo Ma with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra on May 9, youβre too late. TSO officials said the concert sold out within an hour of tickets going on sale months ago. But thereβs a few TSO concerts on our wish list, including β100 Years of Gershwinβs βRhapsody In Blueββ ($14-$90) with Tucson vocalist Crystal Stark and pianist Stewart Goodyear on Feb. 24-25 and βSheβs Got Soulβ on March 16-17 ($12-$65) with blues/R&B vocalist Capathia Jenkins performing some of the biggest hits from Anita Baker, Toni Braxton, Chaka Khan & Rufus, Earth, Wind & Fire and Adele. Tickets are available through tucsonsymphony.org.
For a good laugh
We have a few comedy shows that are solidly on our radar, including:
Comedian/podcast host Anthony Jeselnikβs βBones and Allβ tour stops at Desert Diamond Casino, 1100 W. Pima Mine Road, on Feb. 3; tickets are $40-$65 through ddcaz.com.
Fortune Feimsterβs βLive Laugh Love!β tour pulls into Rialto Theatre on Feb. 29; tickets are $35-$165 through rialtotheatre.com.
Brad Upton is at the Rialto on March 10; tickets are $27.50-$44 through rialtotheatre.com.
New Orleans comedian and podcast host Steve Hofstetter is at 191 Toole, 191 E. Toole Ave., on April 2; tickets are $20-$145 through rialtotheatre.com.
Ali Wong returns for a March 2 show at Linda Ronstadt Music Hall; tickets are $47-$97 through ticketmaster.com.
Nimesh Patel brings his βFast & Looseβ tour to Fox Tucson Theatre on Jan. 12; tickets are $39.50 through foxtucson.com.
Brad Williams with J.B. Ball is doing two shows on Feb. 4 at the Fox; tickets are $29.50-$39.50 through foxtucson.com.
Itβs been years since Kathy Griffin has stood on a Tucson stage. She brings βMy Life on the PTSD-Listβ to Fox Tucson Theatre April 3; tickets are $37.50-$97.50 through foxtucson.com.
Funnywoman Wanda Sykes brings her βPlease & Thank Youβ tour to the Fox on June 2; tickets are $65-$85 through foxtucson.com.
For the theater lover
Arizona Theatre Company from Jan. 20-Feb. 10 is mounting Lynn Nottageβs 2003 play βIntimate Apparel,β which found new life in 2022 after Nottage teamed up with composer Ricky Ian Gordon to create a chamber opera version. Gordon and the operaβs star Justin Austin were part of the 2023 Tucson Desert Song Festival last February. Tickets are $25-$75 through atc.org.
Invisible Theatre does a lot of innovative things on its stage and on Jan. 20-21, itβs hosting the Tucson run of Ingrid Griffithβs one-woman show βUnbossed & Unbowed,β inspired by the life of trailblazer Shirley Anita Chisholm, the first African-American woman to be elected to Congress. The performance will be at the Berger Center for the Performing Arts, 1200 W. Speedway; tickets are $45 through invisibletheatre.com.
The University of Arizonaβs Arizona Repertory Theatre will reopen the Marroney Theatre on Feb. 25 with its winter musical βSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.β The Stephen Sondheim/Hugh Wheeler musical thriller runs Feb. 25-March 17; tickets are $24, $15 for students with ID through theatre.arizona.edu. The Marroney has been closed since last November when work began on an $8.5 million renovation and expansion project that was part of the Arizona Arts Master Plan approved in March 2020.
Arizona Opera is bringing one of the greatest love stories of all time to Linda Ronstadt Music Hall on March 9 and 10. Gounodβs βRomΓ©o & Julietteβ sets Shakespeareβs tale of star-crossed lovers to Gounodβs romantic and rapturous soundscape that has made this a perennial audience favorite. tickets are $30-$125 through tickets.azopera.org.
Arizona Arts Live brings innovative programs to interesting spaces on the UA campus. From April 17-21, itβs hosting the Dutch collective Urlandβs one-person play βBedtime Storiesβ under the stars of Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium. Tickets are $35, $10 for students with ID through arizonaartslive.com.