Most of Tucson’s performance stages go dark during the summer. But this doesn’t mean the city faces a cultural dry spell. The summer heat reminds us we live in a desert, yet the arts keep thriving.
Two music groups, St. Andrew’s Bach Society and Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, will continue their summer concert series starting in June.
Meanwhile, Saguaro City Music Theatre begins its third full season with “Shrek the Musical.” Live Theatre Workshop will feature young actors, and Arts Express Theatre will open its 2025-26 season with two fun musicals.
Broadway In Tucson had some scheduling changes. This summer, it will bring two musicals to Centennial Hall.
Before summer fully arrives, Tucson’s regular arts season still has a few events left.
Arizona Theatre Company presents its season finale, “Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B,” at the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave., through June 7.
On Sunday, May 25, Broadway In Tucson will close its run of the popular ABBA jukebox musical “Mamma Mia!” at Centennial Hall on the University of Arizona campus.
Saguaro City Music Theatre
After auditions in March, Saguaro City Music Theatre cast its “Shrek the Musical.” The show will have five performances from June 27-29 at the Berger Center for the Performing Arts, 1200 W. Speedway. This production kicks off the company’s third full season, which will also include “My Fair Lady” (Oct. 11-16) and “Annie” (Dec. 20-Jan. 4, 2026).
Saguaro City is staging the Theater for Young Audiences version of “Shrek.” It runs 75 minutes and is family-friendly. Most of the cast are children playing younger versions of Fiona, Shrek, Lord Farquaad, Thelonius, and fairy tale characters like Pinocchio.
The young actors, who are part of Saguaro City’s summer camp, start rehearsals on June 7. They will spend two weeks at Pima Community College, followed by a week at the Berger Center.
“They get a full experience of a professional production,” said Dena DiGiacinto, director of outreach and education.
The cast has 61 young performers and 11 adults. They were chosen from about 100 who auditioned. Drew Humphrey, Saguaro City’s artistic director, will direct the show.
Tickets cost $34 for adults.
Broadway In Tucson
When General Director Mario Di Vetta planned the 2024-25 season, two shows did not fit the usual fall-to-spring schedule. To accommodate this, Di Vetta changed the season’s timing.
The 2024-25 season now starts later and ends later. “Mamma Mia!” ends its run with two shows on May 25. Two more musicals will come this summer:
“A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” runs June 24-29. It tells the story of the famous pop songwriter’s rise to success.
“Shucked,” a Tony Award-winning pop-country musical by Nashville songwriters Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, runs Aug. 5-10.
Live Theatre Workshop
Live Theatre Workshop will highlight young actors this summer.
The winners of its Young Playwrights of Tucson competition will stage their short plays in the Sixth Annual Young Playwrights showcase. Performances are at 2 p.m. on May 31 and noon and 4 p.m. on June 1 at Live Theatre Workshop, 3322 E. Fort Lowell Road.
“Tucson has some of the country’s most talented emerging playwrights. These shows give audiences a chance to see them before they become famous,” LTW said.
The young writers work with LTW’s professional team for mentorship.
Later this summer, high school musical theater actors from Tucson will perform “Ranked: A Musical” from July 17-28. The play examines the pressure of academic success and the competitive culture of college admissions.
Arts Express Theatre
After its run of “Kinky Boots,” Arts Express Theatre launches its next season with two summer musicals and two camp performances.
The company’s theater is at 5870 E. Broadway in Park Place Mall. For 40 years, Arts Express has aimed to produce Broadway-quality shows and train young performers through camps, masterclasses, and a drama club for kids 18 and under.
This year’s summer camps, for students entering grades 4-12, will present “Beetlejuice Jr.” (June 9-27) and Disney’s “Camp Rock the Musical” (July 7-25).
Upcoming mainstage shows:
“Xanadu” (June 2-July 13): A jukebox musical based on the 1980 Olivia Newton John film. It tells the story of Kira, a magical Greek muse who inspires a struggling artist in Venice Beach.
“Sister Act” (Aug. 1-24): A musical comedy based on the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg film. Deloris Van Cartier hides in a convent after witnessing a mob murder. Disguised as a nun, she leads the convent choir, clashing with the strict Mother Superior while mixing pop and gospel music.
St. Andrew’s Bach Society
The society is in its 37th annual summer series. Concerts happen Sundays at 2 p.m. at Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2331 E. Adams St.
Ben Nisbet, the series curator since 2012, leads a lineup of Tucson’s top chamber musicians, including a young Sphinx Award-winning violinist.
Tickets are $60 for a season pass, or $16 general admission and $26 for premium seats.
Highlights include:
June 14: “Yovera, Roth and Brahms,” with Tucson Symphony Orchestra principal horn Nelson Yovera and former concertmaster Lauren Roth performing Brahms, Beethoven, Schumann, and Shostakovich.
June 29: “When The Violin,” featuring violinist Vijay Gupta and dancer Yamini Kalluri. The concert includes Bach’s challenging “Ciaconna” and works by composer Reena Esmail.
July 27: “Rosewood and Ivory,” with TSO principal percussionist Trevor Barroero playing marimba pieces from Bach to ragtime, plus pianist Kathryn Lieppman.
Aug. 17: Violinist Jacqueline Rodenbeck, a 2025 Sphinx Competition winner, performs virtuoso favorites by Sarasate and Paganini.
Arizona Friends of Chamber Music
This summer recital series began a few years ago to engage audiences after winter visitors leave Tucson.
It offers a chance to see Tucson’s professional musicians in new roles. Performers include members of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and University of Arizona musicians.
Concerts are at Rincon Congregational United Church of Christ, 122 N. Craycroft Road.
The 2025 series starts June 4 with clarinetist Dario Brignoli and pianist Daniel Linder.
On July 16, pianist Nathan Arch and violinist Steven Moeckel perform works by Jennifer Higdon and Beethoven.
The series closes Aug. 27 with TSO principal harpist Ben Albertson premiering Chelsea Komschlies’ “Brain Storms,” alongside pieces by Bach, Debussy, Hindemith, and Fauré.
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