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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Announces its
2010-11 Season
(SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.) – Scottsdale Center for the
Performing Arts announces its 2010–11 season featuring
more than 75 performances of dance, jazz, classical and
world music, theater and satire, including expanded
holiday offerings, in addition to its well-known outdoor
festivals.
Subscriptions and tickets for all performances will go
on sale starting on Monday, May 24, at noon, with
seating priority given to Scottsdale Center for the
Performing Arts’ members and subscribers. For more
information, call the Patron Services Box Office at
(480) 994-ARTS (2787), ext. 2, or visit
www.ScottsdalePerformingArts.org.
“The arts enrich our lives and community in truly
profound ways,” remarked Dr. William H. Banchs,
president and chief executive officer of the Scottsdale
Cultural Council. “We invite our residents and visitors
to take advantage of the remarkable cultural experiences
available at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.
Whether you prefer an intimate piano recital of Chopin’s
Preludes or a night of salsa dancing at La Gran Fiesta,
there is truly something for everyone.”
Highlights of Scottsdale Center for the Performing Art’s
2010–11 season will include singer-songwriter Lyle
Lovett, actor, comedian and banjoist Steve Martin,
violinist Robert McDuffie leading the Venice Baroque
Orchestra, pianists André Watts and Yuja Wang, the
groundbreaking Merce Cunningham Dance Company and Mark
Morris Dance Group, Broadway stars Bernadette Peters and
Betty Buckley, singer Michael Feinstein’s Sinatra
Project, the taiko drummers of Kodo and The Mystical
Arts of Tibet, jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, trumpeter Doc
Severinsen & El Ritmo de la Vida, the legendary Count
Basie Orchestra and The Manhattan Transfer, actors John
Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor, filmmaker John Waters,
best-selling author David Sedaris and the 41st
Scottsdale Arts Festival. The all-female precision dance
troupe Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba, the Spanish Harlem
Orchestra and saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito
D’Rivera will headline La Gran Fiesta: A Celebration of
Hispanic Heritage and Culture.
Most performances will take place in Scottsdale Center
for the Performing Arts’ recently renovated Virginia G.
Piper Theater, which earned rave reviews in its first
year from audiences and artists alike for its
comfortable, inviting design and state-of-the-art
enhancements. Continuing its efforts to reach new
audiences throughout the Valley, the Center will present
several performances at venues in Tempe and central
Phoenix. Audiences also will have unprecedented
opportunities to interact with many of the Center’s
guest artists through its new Arts Connect series of
workshops, lectures and other exclusive,
behind-the-scenes experiences.
“The Center’s 2010–11 season is full of surprises,”
added Cory Baker, interim director of Scottsdale Center
for the Performing Arts. “Our audiences can look forward
to the high-quality, innovative and diverse programming
for which the Center is known, as well as the
unexpected, from comedian Steve Martin performing
bluegrass on his banjo to a symphony of urban sounds by
the virtuoso recyclers of ScrapArtsMusic. There will be
many poignant moments as well, including a week-long
residency and performance by the exiled Tibetan monks of
Drepung Loseling Monastery and the final Legacy Tour of
the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.”
SPOTLIGHT
The king of country cool, singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett
and his Large Band will open the season with a concert
on July 28 at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. With a newly
minted Grammy Award for his album The Crow: New Songs
for the Five-String Banjo, Steve Martin will join The
Steep Canyon Rangers for a night of bluegrass on Oct.
10. Backed by a swing orchestra, Michael Feinstein will
share timeless romantic songs from his Grammy-nominated
album, The Sinatra Project, a classy tribute to Frank
Sinatra and other great singers of his era, on Nov. 13
at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. Jazz piano master Cyrus
Chestnut and virtuoso mandolinist Mike Marshall will
reunite with the Turtle Island Quartet on Nov. 19 to
celebrate its 25th anniversary in grand style with a
program of classic jazz, Americana and new works. Tony
Award-winning actress and singer Bernadette Peters will
headline the ARTrageous celebration on Dec. 4,
benefiting Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and
SMoCA. Known as ‘The Marx Brothers of Brass’ and ‘The
Court Jesters of Chamber Music,’ the sneaker-clad
virtuoso musicians of Canadian Brass will give a concert
on March 18. Known for her Tony Award-winning
performance in Cats, actress and singer Betty Buckley
will deliver a night of Broadway by Request on March 26.
Bestselling satirist David Sedaris will return for a
reading of his latest works at ASU Gammage on April 22.
LA GRAN FIESTA
Presented in partnership with the City of Scottsdale and
sponsored by American Express,
La Gran Fiesta: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage and
Culture (formerly the Scottsdale Latin Jazz Festival)
will offer audiences the opportunity to immerse
themselves in the cultures of the Americas, from the
rich artistry of neighboring Mexico to the cultural
vibrancy of the Caribbean and South America. Highlights
of La Gran Fiesta include the Havana-based, all-female
dance company Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba performing its
fiery fusion of precision flamenco and Latin dance on
Nov. 4, the Latin music and salsa sensation Spanish
Harlem Orchestra on Nov. 5 in the Scottsdale Civic
Center Amphitheater and Grammy Award-winning Cuban
saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera on Nov. 6.
Outside the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts,
the free Hispanic Heritage Celebration on Nov. 6–7 will
offer live music by Arizona’s top Latin bands,
activities and educational programs for children and
families, a mercado with handmade gifts and
Latin-inspired food and drinks.
DANCE
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts has been
bringing the world’s leading dance companies to the
Valley for more than three decades, and its 2010-11
dance offerings are exceptionally rich. The
Afro-Brazilian dance company Viver Brasil will present
an evening of capoeira, ceremonial festivities and
Bahian carnaval on Oct. 29. The dancers, gymnasts and
actors of the gravity-defying Los Angeles-based company
Diavolo will perform on Jan. 28. Parsons Dance and East
Village Opera Company will present their spectacular
rock opera Remember Me on Feb. 26–27. The groundbreaking
Merce Cunningham Dance Company will visit Scottsdale on
March 10 as part of its Legacy Tour, the last
opportunity to see this great American dance company
perform the choreography of the late Merce Cunningham
before it disbands. The Philadelphia Dance Company,
affectionately known as Philadanco, will perform new
works commissioned for its 40th-anniversary season on
March 19. Featuring live music by Barber, Chopin and
Stravinsky, the world-renowned Mark Morris Dance Group
will perform a program of four works on April 5–6.
JAZZ
Pioneering bassist Stanley Clarke and his band will
share the stage on Oct. 23 with Hiromi, one of the most
captivating jazz pianists in the world today. Renowned
pianist Brad Mehldau will perform with his trio on Jan.
22. One of the greatest big bands in history, The Count
Basie Orchestra will bring its one-of-a-kind ‘Kansas
City Swing’ to Scottsdale on Jan. 29. Grammy and Tony
Award winner and host of NPR’s popular JazzSet program,
Dee Dee Bridgewater will perform songs made famous by
Billie Holiday on Feb. 25. An exclusive members-only
concert with seating on the stage of the Virginia G.
Piper Theater, the Blue Note Cabaret will feature the
up-and-coming pianist Gerald Clayton and his trio on
March 8. One of the most innovative vocal groups in the
history of popular music, The Manhattan Transfer will
bring its ingenious harmonies and hip style to the
Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix on March 31. Known as ‘the
great performer,’ pianist, composer and radio
personality Ramsey Lewis and his trio will perform a mix
of his classic and new songs on April 1.
CLASSICAL
On Oct. 30, violinist Robert McDuffie will lead
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with the Venice Baroque
Orchestra, the world’s top ensemble specializing in the
music of the Italian composer, as well as The American
Four Seasons by Philip Glass. The long-running Virginia
G. Piper Piano Series will showcase recitals by Grammy
Award winner André Watts on Nov. 10, Avery Fisher Career
Grant recipient Yuja Wang on Jan. 13, NPR’s From the Top
host Christopher O’Riley on March 17 and recent Van
Cliburn gold medalist Nobuyuki Tsujii on April 21.
Pianist Jeffrey Siegel will present his popular
‘Concerts with Commentary’ series Keyboard
Conversations® with The Romantic Music of Robert
Schumann on Dec 7; Bach, Beethoven and Barber on Jan.
11; Northern Stars on Feb 15; and Paris – 1911 on April
12. The Close Encounters with Music chamber series will
return for a special one-night engagement on Feb. 12
with cellist Yehuda Hanani and pianist Walter Ponce
performing a program of Chopin in Paris.
WORLD
Johnny Carson’s witty and wildly dressed bandleader on
The Tonight Show, trumpeter Doc Severinsen will perform
an evening of Latin-fused jazz and standards with his
innovative trio, El Ritmo de la Vida, on Oct. 14. Based
in Sado, Japan, the exhilarating taiko drummers of Kodo
will perform on Feb. 7. After a five-year absence, the
celebrated multiphonic singers of the Drepung Loseling
Monastery will return to Scottsdale for a weeklong
residency and a performance of The Mystical Arts of
Tibet: Sacred Music Sacred Dance for World Healing on
March 5. World-renowned flamenco guitarist Paco Peña
will lead a dozen other virtuoso musicians and dancers
in Flamenco Sin Fronteras on March 11.
THEATER
Tony Award-winning actor John Lithgow will reveal the
healing power of storytelling in his one-man theatrical
tour de force Stories by Heart on Oct. 21. A cast of
actors will bring to life never-before-seen work of the
late author and monologist Spalding Gray in Stories Left
to Tell on Jan. 21. The long-running hit comedies Late
Nite Catechism and Late Nite Catechism III: ’Til Death
Do Us Part will return for limited engagements in Stage
2 from Jan. 21–March 26. The seasoned actors of L.A.
Theatre Works will deliver the riveting Cold War drama
The Real Dr. Strangelove: Edward Teller and the Battle
for the H-Bomb on Feb. 10. Known for his scene-stealing
roles in Arrested Development and Entourage, actor
Jeffrey Tambor will help audiences discover their hidden
talents and tell their stories in Performing Your Life
on March 4. The “classically trained, modernly hip
troupe” Aquila Theatre will present Shakespeare’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream on March 24 and Luigi
Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author on
March 25.
HOLIDAY SHOWS
With fresh scandal in the air and a new CD, Liberal Shop
of Horrors, the witty, singing satirists of The Capitol
Steps will make their annual Thanksgiving weekend visit
on Nov. 26–27. Filmmaker John Waters, the ‘Pope of
Trash’ himself, will bring his eccentric one-man holiday
extravaganza, A John Waters Christmas, to Scottsdale on
Dec. 10. One of Ireland’s finest traditional bands, Danú
will perform Christmas in Ireland on Dec. 11. The
internationally renowned and socially conscious a
cappella ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock® will give a
special concert of traditional and new holiday songs on
Dec. 18. Back by popular demand for the fifth year in a
row, Sister’s Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the
Magi’s Gold will run from Dec. 21–Jan. 2 in the Virginia
G. Piper Theater.
FAMILY SHOWS
Known for its adrenaline-laced performances using
instruments made from recycled industrial materials,
Vancouver-based ScrapArtsMusic will perform on Feb. 20.
With a hip sense of humor and multicultural vibe, Dan
Zanes & Friends, the former lead singer and songwriter
for The Del Fuegos and his Grammy Award-winning band,
will perform a mix of kid-friendly traditional American
songs, dance classics and smart, inventive originals on
May 14.
TALK CINEMA
Founded in 1992 by film critic Harlan Jacobson, Talk
Cinema offers surprise sneak previews of independent and
foreign films before their theatrical release.
Screenings are followed by moderated conversations
hosted by critics, filmmakers and other industry
experts. The series will be expanded to nine screenings
in the Virginia G. Piper Theater on Oct. 19, Nov. 16,
Dec. 14, Jan. 18, Feb. 22, March 15, April 26, May 10
and June 7.
ARTS CONNECT
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts invites
audiences to explore their own creativity through its
new Arts Connect initiative, which offers opportunities
to connect directly with the season’s artists through a
variety of thought-provoking and interactive events.
Programs will include salsa dance lessons with local
experts followed by an open dance before the performance
of Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba on Nov. 4, a film criticism
session with Talk Cinema founder Harlan Jacobson on Jan.
18, a memoir-writing workshop with the creators of
Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell on Jan. 19 and 22,
acting workshops with the cast of L.A. Theatre Works on
Feb. 10 and Hollywood star Jeffrey Tambor on March 5,
Q&A sessions with jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater on
Feb. 25 and the cast of Mark Morris Dance Group on April
5, a private tour of SMoCA’s Dance with Camera
exhibition prior to the Merce Cunningham Dance Company’s
performance on March 10 and discussions with the cast of
Aquila Theatre on their acclaimed productions on March
24–25. A weeklong residency from March 3–6 with the
monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery also will feature
the creation of a sand mandala painting and a variety of
free lectures and ceremonies as part of The Mystical
Arts of Tibet. Information and tickets for these and
other Arts Connect programs are available through (480)
994-ARTS (2787), ext. 2, or
www.ScottsdalePerformingArts.org.
FESTIVALS AND CELEBRATIONS
One of the Valley’s most exclusive and intimate culinary
events, Dine Out with the Chefs: A Celebration of the
Culinary Arts will return for its fifth year on Oct. 3
with a new roster of acclaimed chefs, entertainment and
other surprises. The 24th season of Sunday A’Fair will
feature free concerts and performances by the Valley’s
top entertainers on Jan. 9, 16, 23 and 30; Feb. 13, 20
and 27; March 6 and 27; and April 3. Presented by the
Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and produced by Scottsdale
Center for the Performing Arts in collaboration with
Culture Quest Scottsdale and the Scottsdale Convention &
Visitors Bureau, Native Trails will feature performances
of traditional Native American music and dance on
selected afternoons from January to April. Returning for
its 41st year, the award-winning Scottsdale Arts
Festival will take place on the grounds of the
Scottsdale Civic Center on March 11–13. It continues to
be one of the top-ranked arts festivals in the country
with nearly 200 jury-selected artists from throughout
North America, live music and entertainment, fun
activities for kids and families, delicious cuisine and
much more.
SPONSORSHIP
The Arizona Republic is the Scottsdale Center for the
Performing Arts’ 2010–11 season media sponsor.
Additional support is provided by Frontdoors.
LOCATION AND PARKING
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is located at
7380 E. Second St. in downtown Scottsdale, four blocks
south of Indian School Road and three blocks east of
Scottsdale Road. Free parking is available in the public
parking garage located to the west of Scottsdale Center
for the Performing Arts and directly behind Los Olivos
restaurant on Wells Fargo Avenue. Additional free
parking is available at the Old Town Parking Corral at
East Second Street and Brown Avenue and at the Civic
Center Library parking garage located on Drinkwater
Boulevard at East Second Street.
ACCESSIBILITY
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts offers
performance accommodations to enhance audience members’
experience, including: American Sign Language (ASL)
interpretation or live audio description with two weeks
advance notice. Assisted listening devices and
wheelchair seating are always available. Visit the
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts’ Web site at
www.ScottsdalePerformingArts.org or contact the Patron
Services Box Office at (480) 994-ARTS ext. 2 [TDD: (480)
874-4694] for further details. Please inquire about
services when ordering tickets.
GROUP AND STUDENT DISCOUNTS
Attend with family and friends, or bring a group from
your business, civic or religious organization. Save $4
per ticket and at least $30 in handling fees when
purchasing 15 or more tickets to the same event (subject
to availability; some restrictions apply). Instead of
$2.50 per single ticket, the handling fee is only $7.50
total for group orders. Full-time students may purchase
half-price tickets one hour before events/performances
(subject to availability; limit one single ticket per
full-time student; some restrictions apply). Must
present current valid student I.D. in person at the
patron services box office. No phone orders.
THE STORE
The Store @ Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
offers a unique selection of art-related merchandise,
including handmade jewelry, imaginative toys, decorative
objects from around the world, original furnishings for
the home and office and music, books and greeting cards.
Members receive a 10-percent discount, and gift-wrapping
and shipping also are available. Purchases are tax-free
and support the programs of Scottsdale Center for the
Performing Arts. The Store is open seven days a week:
Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon – 5
p.m.; and throughout most evening performances (30
minutes after final curtain). Phone: (480) 874-4644.
SCOTTSDALE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
One of the Southwest’s premier performing-arts halls,
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is recognized
for its diverse, high-quality presentations of classical
and world music, dance, jazz and theater, educational
programs and festivals, which serve more than 300,000
people annually. The Center is among the most important
projects of architect Bennie Gonzales, who designed the
1975 adobe-inspired building as part of the Scottsdale
Civic Center complex. A major renovation in 2009 by
architect John Douglas modernized the Center’s main
entrance and interiors. The cool and spacious Dayton
Fowler Grafman Atrium welcomes visitors and showcases
Kana Tanaka’s radiant glass sculpture, Spirit of
Camelback, commissioned by the Scottsdale Public Art
Program. Known for its intimacy and comfort, the
Center’s state-of-the-art, 853-seat Virginia G. Piper
Theater envelopes with its warm, wood interiors and
excellent acoustics, while its gently sloped seating and
superior viewing connect audience and artist. Additional
venues include the Center’s 137-seat Stage 2 theater and
neighboring 2,000-capacity Scottsdale Civic Center
Amphitheater. The Center is located on a lush, 21-acre
urban park, a short walk from Scottsdale’s Old Town and
gallery districts. Nearby attractions include Robert
Indiana’s iconic LOVE and Louise Nevelson’s Windows on
the West sculptures as well as the Scottsdale Museum of
Contemporary Art (SMoCA) with James Turrell’s Knight
Rise skyspace.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is owned by
the City of Scottsdale and, along with SMoCA and the
Scottsdale Public Art Program, is managed by the
nonprofit Scottsdale Cultural Council.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
7380 E. Second St.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Patron Services Box Office: (480) 994-ARTS (2787), ext.
2
TDD: (480) 874-4694
Web: www.ScottsdalePerformingArts.org
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