CGCC Announces Exciting 2018 Spring Performing Arts Season

Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) is excited to announce a season full of music, comedy, dance, theater and drama for its 2018 Performing Arts Season.

The theatrical lineup will kick off with the renowned musical “Monty Python’s SPAMALOT” by Eric Idle March 2-5. This Tony® Award Winning Best Musical retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and features a bevy of beautiful show girls, not to mention cows, killer rabbits, and French people.

Following “Spamalot” is the theatrical comedic performance “Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)” by Ann-Marie MacDonald in which Constance Ledbelly, a young English literature professor from Queen's University, goes on a subconscious journey of self-discovery. The comedy is a feminist revision of Shakespeare’s Othello and Romeo and Juliet, and takes the audience from a dusty office in Canada’s Queen’s University into the fraught and furious worlds of two of Shakespeare’s best-known tragedies, and turns them upside-down. The show will run March 22-24.

Rounding out the CGCC spring theater lineup is Clark Gesner’s beloved musical “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”, based on Charles Schulz’s famous comic strip, Peanuts.  This musical comedy runs April 26-28 and features the entire Peanuts gang including Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Sally, Schroder and Snoopy in a variety of vignettes and songs.

“Spring 2018 will bring a well-rounded repertoire of dance, drama, comedy and musical acts to the stage for all to enjoy,” said Randy Wright, Division Chair for Communications and Fine Arts at CGCC. “We invite the public to come out and support the talent on stage, the students and faculty behind the scenes and to learn more about our performing arts program while enjoying a terrific show.”

This year's Spring Performing Arts lineup also features a variety of vocal and instrumental music concerts.  The Jazz Band Concert on February 12 starts a week of music followed by the Orchestra Concert on February 13 and the Band Concert on February 14.  

Jazz Night, the very popular event featuring the CGCC Jazz Combo, Big Band and Vocal Jazz Ensemble, will be happening on April 16. For something different, sit outside the amphitheater, enjoy the beautiful Arizona weather, and join the Jazz Combo for Midday Jazz at 11:30 am on February 28 and April 4.  For those of you who love guitar and percussion sounds, the Strum and Drum Concert on April 23 will be right for you.

If you’re looking for a night of fun and laughter, attend a Comedy Improv show with “Off the Cuff.”  This show has offered free live comedy shows, featuring the fresh and funny talents of student and community member comedians, for the past 18 years. Enjoy ridiculously funny, family-friendly, game-style improv comedy on February 23 and April 6 at 7 pm. 

If comedy isn’t your thing, maybe dance is. See a variety of dance styles choreographed by creative dance faculty at the Faculty Choreographed Dance Showcase on April 13 and 14. Or come and see the choreographic talents of students at the Student Dance Showcase on May 4 and 5.

 The CGCC Combined Choirs will perform Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony on March 25 alongside the Chandler Symphony Orchestra at the Chandler Center for the Arts. Other musical performances include the Vocal Major Recitals on February 5 and March 26 as well as the Spring Choral Concerts on March 27 and May 7. May continues as a jam-packed month with the Broadway Solo Performance Showcase on May 9, the Student Directed Scenes May 2- 3 and the Student Actors Showcase on May 4.

All shows are open to the public and most are free.

 For ticketed events, tickets can be purchased online or at the CGCC Box Office located on the Pecos Campus. The box office window opens one hour before show time. Attendees can purchase available tickets or pick up reserved tickets from Will Call. Student prices are offered to those with a valid student ID. Doors open a half hour prior to the performance. For additional information, further assistance or a complete calendar of events, please call the box office at 480-732-7343 or visit www.cgc.edu/arts.