Comedy and Dance coming to Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts in March
March 3, 2010
Actor and Comedian Martin Short featured in an evening of musical comedy
SCOTTSDALE – Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will present A Night of Music and Comedy with Martin Short on Saturday, March 13, at 8 p.m and on Sunday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m. in its new, state-of-the-art Virginia G. Piper Theater
Tickets are available for $65 online at www.ScottsdalePerformingArts.org or through the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts box office at (480) 994-ARTS (2787).
Emmy Award-winning actor and comedian Martin Short has won rave reviews for his many roles on television, film and the stage. An energetic combination of songs, videos, bits and sketches, this musical evening of comedy showcases everything that Short does best, bringing together many of the characters who made him famous.
Short’s ability as a comedic chameleon brought him to the attention of Saturday Night Live, where, after only one season, he was instantly recognized for his standout performances and hilarious impressions of such characters as Ed Grimly and Jackie Rogers Jr.
Short made his big screen debut in Three Amigos, where he worked alongside Saturday Night Live alumni Chevy Chase and Steve Martin, and has continued to land plum comedic roles in movies such as Inner Space and Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks. Perhaps his most memorable role, however, was that of Franck, the scene-stealing wedding planner in the Father of the Bride films.
A Broadway veteran, Short also has earned numerous accolades for his varied work on stage, including the 1999 Tony Award for “Best Actor in a Musical” for Little Me.
This performance is sponsored by Scottsdale League for the Arts with support from Arlene and Michael Lanes and Courtyard by Marriott Scottsdale Old Town.
Martha Graham Dance Company showcases Masterpieces of Modern Dance
SCOTTSDALE – Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will present the Martha Graham Dance Company on Friday and Saturday, March 19–20, at 8 p.m. in its new, state-of-the-art Virginia G. Piper Theater.
Tickets are available for $58 online at www.ScottsdalePerformingArts.org or through the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts box office at (480) 994-ARTS (2787). A limited number of box seats are available for $20.
Founded in 1926, the Martha Graham Dance Company is the oldest and most celebrated contemporary dance company in America. Exploring the creative revolution of legendary choreographer Martha Graham and the birth of modern dance, the troupe will perform Prelude and Revolt: Denishawn to Graham (1906–1936), a multi-media theatrical event complete with narration, projections and performances of many of Graham’s seminal works.
The Company’s program also will include Lamentation Variations (2007), three spontaneous choreographic sketches inspired by Graham’s iconic solo, Lamentation, and featuring music by DJ Savage, Frederic Chopin and Gustav Mahler; the ritualistic El Penitente (1940), a series of episodes from the Bible as enacted by a group of strolling players; and Diversion of Angels (1948), an exploration of the infinite aspects of love, from the flirtatious to the deeply profound.
Martha Graham (1894–1991) is recognized as a primal artistic force of the 20th century alongside painter Pablo Picasso, composer Igor Stravinsky, author James Joyce and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. A prolific choreographer, she created 181 ballets and an innovative movement technique that continues to be a source of inspiration for dancers and actors today.
Graham’s groundbreaking ballets were inspired by a wide variety of sources, including modern painting, the American frontier, religious ceremonies of Native Americans and Greek mythology. Many of her most important roles portray great women of history and mythology, such as Clytemnestra, Jocasta, Medea, Phaedra, Joan of Arc and Emily Dickinson.
Graham received numerous awards throughout her long career. In 1976, President Gerald Ford awarded her the United States’ highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and declared her a “national treasure,” making her the first dancer and choreographer to receive this honor. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan designated her among the first recipients of the National Medal of Arts.