Mark Mettes, Herberger’s President and CEO has been with the theater since 1992 and has been serving as President for the last 7 years. He comes with a great deal of knowledge and historical context of the theater, including the exciting 2023-2024 season.
Single tickets on sale now!
For more information, visit HerbergerTheater.org or call 602-252-8497
Single tickets on sale now!
For more information, visit HerbergerTheater.org or call 602-252-8497
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 Hi, Pat McMahon and a theater guy because I love live theater, grew up in live theater.
00:09 My parents were a vaudeville act and I was either backstage or in the third row.
00:15 But I'm also pretty crazy about our downtown theater.
00:20 I'm talking about the Herberger and Mark Meadows.
00:25 You're probably pretty fond of not only the theater in the last seven years that you've
00:30 been there.
00:31 In your position, your official title is?
00:34 President and CEO.
00:35 Oh, you are given absolutely no humility whatsoever.
00:41 But you must be excited about this coming season because it's a thrill.
00:45 Tell everybody right now.
00:47 Well, the season is going to be amazing.
00:50 As an organization, we've been around for 33 years, but this season will be the first
00:56 in bringing a lot of firsts to the Valley.
00:58 So people will be able to see these shows.
01:00 Islanders, the first show coming in January.
01:03 Woman in Black is coming in February and Mad Hatter, the musical, is coming in May.
01:10 Now, listen, please pardon us if we're not familiar with the subtleties of the plots
01:17 of those shows.
01:18 But as long as you're here and you've got a large audience watching, start with the
01:23 first one.
01:24 Give us a digest.
01:25 All right.
01:26 Well, Islander is new in musical.
01:29 It is just going to be coming across the country this fall and will be the third stop on the
01:35 national tour.
01:37 This show has won awards, been given high reviews everywhere that it's played.
01:43 What makes it unique is that it tells this story about the Scottish coastline with Scottish
01:50 folk music in the background.
01:51 But it is told in a very unique way with this live layering of voices that happens right
01:58 on stage by the two cast members.
02:01 And they are layering their voices to creating harmonies with themselves, creating interesting
02:07 and amazing sounds as a background to the story that takes place.
02:13 With Scottish accents, will we be able to understand them past the first row?
02:17 We will be able to understand them, yes, for sure.
02:21 It is an international cast, but we'll be able to understand them.
02:25 And that opens when?
02:27 In January, yes.
02:28 And runs for how long?
02:29 Three weekends.
02:30 Three weekends.
02:31 And then?
02:32 And then Woman in Black.
02:34 Which is bone chilling and scary and interesting in the way it's told.
02:43 And this show, which has never played in Arizona either, is the second longest running show
02:49 in the history of theater in Britain.
02:52 So West End, everywhere, this is a long running show because audiences keep going back because
02:58 everybody likes to be a little scared.
03:00 There's something about shows that are long running in Britain because in the United States,
03:06 it's like Phantom of the Opera's Cats a few years.
03:11 And there it's decades.
03:13 Decades, decades, 34 years.
03:17 So it's been running that long and people just keep going back.
03:20 And some people who saw it when they were kids are bringing their kids to see it now.
03:26 But we're having that show here, direct from London, direct from West End, and it's going
03:33 to create a little scare for our audiences.
03:37 Is it too scary for kids?
03:40 Not, well, for little kids maybe.
03:43 But high school kids have loved it.
03:45 I would say junior high and up is a good age for them.
03:48 And then comes something that I can relate to because I've always thought of myself as
03:53 living somewhere in Alice Land, the Mad Hatter.
03:58 Mad Hatter.
03:59 Now that show is going to be the world premiere of the fully realized production.
04:04 And that is on a trajectory for Broadway and the West End, but it's going to start here.
04:09 So Arizona audiences are going to be the first to see that show before it's there.
04:15 And you'll be able to say, I saw it when.
04:17 Well now, is it really about that Mad Hatter?
04:20 It is.
04:21 It's sort of a prequel to Alice in Wonderland, the way Wicked is a prequel to Wizard of Oz.
04:27 It's a little bit darker and tells the story of how the Mad Hatter becomes mad in his trips
04:35 from London into Wonderland and what happens when he's thrust out of Wonderland and what
04:42 will he do to get back?
04:43 I had always heard that the Mad Hatter actually lost his sanity because he couldn't get tickets
04:49 because he waited too long at the Herberger.
04:52 How about that for a promo?
04:54 Yes, I like it.
04:55 I like it.
04:56 And it all begins when?
04:58 Mad Hatter is May 1st through the 19th.
05:01 So three weekends before it.
05:03 And there are folks that just moved here from Passaic, New Jersey, who have no idea where
05:08 the Herberger is.
05:09 Tell them now.
05:10 The Herberger Theatre is downtown Phoenix and you can find all about it and tickets
05:14 at herbergertheatre.org.
05:17 And as someone who has been promoting theatre for a number of years, Mark Mettis, I'm Pat
05:22 McMahon and there'll be more in just a moment.
05:25 [PAUSE]
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