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"THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD OR IT SHERWOOD BE FUN!": Join Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men for a rollicking musical adventure as they rob from the rich and give to the poor in defiance of the black-hearted sheriff of Nottingham. Robin must fight to save the English throne for the absent King Richard the Lionhearted, all the while trying to protect his beloved Maid Marion from the advances of the treacherous Sir Guy of Gisbourne. When: 7 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 and 7 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 3 Where: The Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway Price: $16.95 adults, $14.95 senior, students, active military, $6.95 ages 12 and younger Info: 886-9428, thegaslighttheatre.com
"THE BIG FRIENDLY GIANT": Pima Community College Theatre Arts presents its interpretation of the Roald Dahl story. Complete with stilts, hand puppets and sound and lighting effects, "The BFG" follows the friendship formed between a young orphan girl, Sophie, and a big old giant, a union that sees them fighting against the evil giants of the world. (See story, Page 10.) Where: PCC Proscenium Theatre, West Campus, 2202 W. Anklam Road When: Wednesday-Oct. 7; 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and Oct. 4, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sunday; $5, 10 a.m. school matinees Sept. 26-28, Oct. 3-5 Price: $6 general admission Info: 206-6986, pima.edu/cfa
"THE BIG VOICE: GOD OR MERMAN?": From the Big Apple to the Baked Apple, entertainers Jim Brochu and Steve Schalchlin bring their off-Broadway hit about the healing powers of musical theater to the Invisible Theatre. So what if Schalchlin is a Baptist from Arkansas and Brochu is a Catholic from Brooklyn, the two men found a spiritual bond in their love of the stage. Particularly when a song was involved. So they put together this show about their life together, about Schalchlin's battle against AIDS and how they created their off-Broadway hit musical "The Last Session." Brochu, we might add, recently had his own caricature hung alongside those of his musical theater heroes at Sardi's Restaurant. When: Various times through Oct. 7 Where: Invisible Theatre, 1400 N. First Ave. Price: $18 preview Tuesday, $25 and $27 for the show's run Info: 882-9721, invisibletheatre.com
"THE CHERRY ORCHARD:" Anton Chekhov wrote plays that caught the reluctance of society to take the next step. As the rule by monarchy was collapsing there was no place to go but toward the rule of a free market economy. Now we know the communists would be stepping in to call "time out" for several decades, which made Chekhov's reluctance feel even more prescient. The playwright's last work is set in 1904 with Russia on the brink of revolution. Cynthia Meier directs a cast of 13 in the Rogue Theatre production, which ends its run Sunday. With musical direction by Harlan Hokin and a role for the Arizona Balalaika Orchestra. When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday Where: ZUZI! Theatre, 738 N. Fifth Ave. Price: $18; Pay-What-You-Will night Sept. 20 Info: 551-2053, theroguetheatre.org
"GEORGE GERSHWIN ALONE": This international hit makes its Arizona premiere when Hershey Felder kicks off Arizona Theatre Company's season with his musical play. Evoking Gershwin's famous radio broadcasts of the 1930s, "George Gershwin Alone" explores the life, talent and spirit of the legendary composer. It goes from his early days as an audacious Tin Pan Alley novice, to his breakthrough success with "Rhapsody in Blue," to fame and fortune as a songwriter during the glamorous era of the 1930s Broadway and Hollywood, and finally to the deeply felt social consciousness in masterpieces such as "Porgy and Bess." (See review, Page 11.) When: Various times through Oct. 2 Where: Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Price: $26-$50 Info: 884-8210
"GEORGE M!": The Red Barn Theatre Company presents a musical based on the life of the composer George M. Cohan. Songs include "Give My Regards to Broadway," "You're A Grand Old Flag" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy." When: 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sept. 28, 29 and Oct. 5, 6; 2 p.m. Sunday and Oct. 7 Where: Red Barn Theater, 948 N. Main Ave. Price: free Info: 622-6973
"GREATER TUNA": In its final weekend, the play, directed by James Gooden, follows actors Bruce Bieszki and Gooden playing 20 different characters between them. They include good-old-boy radio personalities, a UFO chaser, a local gun shop owner and a cheerleader wannabe in small-town Texas. When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday Where: Top Hat Theatre Club, 3110 E. Fort Lowell Road Price: $15 general, $12 students, seniors and military Info: 326-6800, tophattheatreclub.com
LESBIAN SHORTS IV: The Bloody Unicorn Theater Company presents its fourth annual festival of original one-act plays with a Sapphic slant. (Sappho is an ancient Greek poet, and the lower case sapphic means lesbian.) The four new plays offer a wide range of tones and genres, from slapstick comedy to realism to the avant-garde, with the common thread a lesbian character or relationship at the center. Each play - "Their First Outing Since Their Last" by Mary Woods, "Issues & Baggage" by Ruby Berlin, "The List" by Linda Suzuki" and "Incoming" by Kathy Anderson" - will be performed at every show. When: 7:30 p.m. Friday-Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 30 Where: Temple of Music and Art-Cabaret Theater, 330 S. Scott Ave. Price: $14 Info: 990-3628, BloodyUnicorn.com
"MURDER AT MAGIC MANOR" DINNER THEATER: The lovely assistants of "The Magical, Mystical and Mostly Magnificent Steve!" the magician keep disappearing at this interactive comedy "whodunit." Could it be magic or something to fear? From clues written into the more than two-hour play, audience members can win prizes by solving the mystery of who's murdering the assistants. A super-sleuth award is presented at the end of the performance to the person who solves it. Reservations required. When: 7 p.m. doors open; arrive no later than 7:15 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays Where: Mystery Mansion Dinner Theater, 2744 E. Broadway Price: $35 (includes three-course, table-served, candlelit dinner) Info: 624-0172, MysteryMansion.com
"RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE: A TARZAN TALE": The story of Tarzan is retold in this adaptation by Megan Patno. Tarzan (Eric Schumacher) happens upon Jane (Missie Scheffman) and her father (Steve McKee), who are doing research in his African home. Jane and her father quickly become friends with Tarzan and his hyperactive animal friends Lyonitae (Kristi Loera) and Zebunindi (Debbie Runge). They all travel through the forest to meet Tarzan's gorilla mother Samundee (Deborah Breedlove). Even as they fall in love, Jane and Tarzan realize they come from very different worlds and cannot be together. They struggle to understand each other, narrowly escape poachers and discover the wonders of the primitive and modern worlds colliding in this musical from All Together Theatre, Live Theatre Workshop's Family Series. When: 1 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 4 Where: 5317 E. Speedway Blvd. Price: $5-$8 Info: 327-4242
"SIDEWAYS STORIES FROM WAYSIDE SCHOOL": Author Louis Sachar created the world of Wayside School with its wacky adventures, mean teachers and talking pigtails. UA's Educational Theatre Arts, which oversees BFA theatre students creating productions for young audiences, presents "Sideways Stories from Wayside School,"which will, after its opening weekend, travel to area schools. When: 7 p.m. Sept 27 and 28, 10:30 a.m. Sept. 28, and 1:30 p.m. Sept. 29 Where: UA's Tornabene Theatre, on the southeast corner of Park Avenue and Speedway Boulevard Price: $4 Info: 621-1162
"THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES:" War can have an explosive effect on families far behind the front lines of distant battlefields. This play by Frank D. Gilroy won the Pulitzer Prize for 1965 but still feels timely with stories of stressed-out soldiers in the news.. Chuck Rankin directs the Live Theatre Workshop production that tells the story of a pampered son recruited in World War II. The son's return as an independent man with his own values sends shock waves of adjustment through the lives of his parents, whose marriage has been weakened by an inability to resolve old emotional wounds and marital problems. These family members all want to love each other, but don't know how. When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 14 Where: 5317 E. Speedway Blvd. Price: $14-$17 general admission, cash discounts available Info: 327-4242, livetheatreworkshop.org
TUCSON FESTIVAL SIN FRONTERAS: Borderlands Theater offers three staged readings to kick off the first version of this fest. "Papá está la Atlántida (Our Dad is in Atlantis)" by Javier Malpica, will be read in both English and Spanish, and follows the travels of two young boys across the border to the U.S. to be with their father. "Who Will Speak for You?," by Víctor Hugo and Rascón Banda, will be read in English and is based on the Arnoldo Kraus book. At its center is an elderly Holocaust survivor and her new life in Mexico. The readings will be offered: • "Our Dad is in Atlantis" in English - 7:30 p.m. Monday, UA Modern Languages auditorium • "Papá está la Atlántida" in Spanish, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, UA Modern Languages auditorium • "Who Will Speak for You?," 7:30 p.m. Sept. 30, Historic Stone Avenue Temple Heritage Center, 564 S. Stone Ave. Price: $7 suggested donation per show Info: 882-7406
"TWELFTH NIGHT": The brand-new El Rio Theatre Project looks to a classic for its very first production. One of Shakespeare many comedies based on mistaken identity, the story follows Viola, masquerading as a man, "Cesario"; Olivia, loved by the Duke but herself in love with Cesario; and Viola's twin brother, Sebastian, whose sudden return really confuses things. (See story, Page 9.) When/Where: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27-30 and Oct. 4-7, Himmel Park Outdoor Amphitheatre; and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19-20, Presidio San Agustin de Tucson Price: free Info: 791-4194
"WHAT THE MONSTER ATE FOR LUNCH": This kid-friendly play - full of jokes and singing - is set in a country village inhabited by zany characters, including the griffin, who must choose between his lunch and his enduring friendship with a minor church official. When: 3 p.m. Saturdays through Sept. 29 Where: Top Hat Theatre Club, 3110 E. Fort Lowell Road Price: $5 Info: 326-6800, tophattheatreclub.com
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