Broadway in Tucson brings in “Dirty Dancing” (Jan. 24-29), the musical version of the movie of the same name; “Motown” (Feb. 21-26), which uses the story of Motown founder Berry Gordy to sing some of the finest rock ‘n’ roll songs ever recorded; and the Grammy- and Tony-winning “Kinky Boots” (March 14-19). Packed with songs by Cyndi Lauper and loaded with a big heart, “Kinky Boots” is the one we are most excited about seeing. All productions are at Centennial Hall.
More theater:
• The powerful Tony-winning drama “Proof,” by David Auburn, is on stage at the Tornabene Theatre Feb. 5-26, courtesy of Arizona Repertory Theatre. The gripping play is about the daughter of a brilliant mathematician who struggles with the possibility that she has inherited his madness. Arizona Rep also stages Shakespeare’s comedy “Twelfth Night” March 6-April 1.
• Something Something Theatre Company goes back to 1914 and a Catholic reformatory school to make a point about women’s rights in Monica Byrne’s ”What Every School Girl Should Know.” You can’t get much more timely than a play about women’s rights. It’s Feb. 9-26 at the Community Playhouse.
• Irish playwrights are among the best (George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, Brendan Behan, to name a few). The list includes Martin McDonagh, who wrote “The Cripple of Inishmaan,” which Live Theatre Workshop stages Feb. 16-March 25. The dark comedy (do the Irish do any other kind?) is about a young man who sees a chance to escape the oppressive life in his small Irish town when a Hollywood film crew shows up to shoot a documentary about Inishmaan.
• Digna Theater is a new company that aims to stage works that address human rights issues. And its first play, “Digna,” by Patricia Davis, does just that: It’s about the Mexican lawyer Digna Ochoa who was assassinated as a result of her civil rights activities. It’s Feb. 23-March 5 at the YWCA of Southern Arizona.
• Betcha can’t stop yourself from singing along: Arizona Theatre Company stages “Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash” at the Temple of Music and Art March 4-25.
• Another astounding Irish playwright — Enda Walsh — is represented in The Rogue Theatre’s production of the tragicomedy, “Penelope,”
• March 2-19. It’s his take on a piece of Homer’s “Odyssey.” Penelope is Odysseus’s wife, who waits patiently for her husband to return from the long, dangerous trip he’s on. Walsh imagines that, while Odysseus is away, four men vie for Penelope’s attention. The action takes place in an empty swimming pool. There are many compelling reasons to see this, not the least is which how the Rogue will give us that pool in their cozy theater.
• Invisible Theatre takes on Israel Horovitz’s powerful drama, “Lebensraum,” Feb. 7-19. The play takes place in modern-day Germany. Six million Jews have been invited to return home, where jobs and benefits await them. Some cheer, others don’t.
