Upcoming Events

Celebrate more than 70 years of original choreographies, elaborate handcrafted costumes, and extraordinary precision with the most emblematic folkloric dance ensemble in the world. Founded in 1952 by dancer and choreographer Amalia Hernández, the Ballet Folklórico de México revolutionized the concept of traditional dance and transformed the history of Mexican dance, laying the groundwork and setting the tone for thousands of dance troupes in Mexico and abroad with the characteristic seal of its creator. Amalia Hernández carried out in-depth research across Mexico, studying not only the traditional dances but also the music, customs, and typical costumes. She then imbued them with new meaning, recreated, staged, and brought them to life with a theatrical vision no one had seen before. Today, her repertoire has become a classic, but one that is renewed, transformed, and enriched with the passage of time. With more than 45 million spectators and countless recognitions, the legacy of Amalia Hernández has never been more alive thanks to the ensemble’s over 120 original dances, elaborate handcrafted costumes, and dancers of extraordinary precision. This is the kind of performance you have to see to believe. Experience Ballet Folklórico de México live at Centennial Hall.

Get ready for an electric, jaw-dropping night of blues as Christone “Kingfish” Ingram returns to Downtown Tucson for an unforgettable evening. It sold out last year; it will sell out again. Christone “Kingfish” Ingram has become a global blues sensation in just six years since his GRAMMY-nominated debut album Kingfish. Kingfish’s rise to fame was fueled by his electrifying live performances and viral videos, which amassed millions of views even before his debut album. After his debut album Kingfish topped the Billboard Blues Chart for 91 weeks and earned a GRAMMY nomination, Ingram followed up with his 2021 release 662, which also debuted at #1. The album earned him his first GRAMMY for Best Contemporary Blues Album and was hailed by NPR as “astounding.” With his jaw-dropping guitar prowess and captivating vocals, he delivers contemporary blues that resonate with audiences worldwide. Whether headlining his tours or sharing stages with legends like Buddy Guy, Jason Isbell, and The Rolling Stones, Kingfish remains a dynamic force in modern blues — a young artist who respects the past while blazing his trail. Presented live for one night only at The Rialto Theatre.

Witness five remarkable young voices rise to the challenge in a rousing documentary about teenage competitors vying for the title of America’s greatest public speaker. Speak follows five bold high school orators on a high-stakes quest to win the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Nationals, known as the “Super Bowl of public speaking.” Directed by Jennifer Tiexiera and Guy Mossman, the film captures these talented teenagers as they craft and deliver self-written, ten-minute speeches on topics of their choosing, each one tackling urgent social and political issues with eloquence and conviction. Speak is a masterclass in courage, conviction, and the kind of hope that refuses to be silenced. Experience this Arizona Premiere live at Marroney Theatre.

Celebrate the cultural and culinary legacy of maíz in the Sonoran Desert with live music, local food, artisan vendors, and art at this free community fiesta. Fiesta del Maíz returns for its annual celebration honoring one of the most culturally significant crops in the Sonoran Desert’s history. This free community event transforms Kennedy Park into a vibrant fiesta featuring some of the best food in the Southwest, artisan makers, family-friendly activities, and art installations. Headlining this year’s fiesta is Los Apson. With a career spanning decades and a sound that has soundtracked generations of families, Los Apson is one of the most beloved and iconic banda and cumbia groups in the history of Mexican popular music. Get ready for a free evening celebrating the very best of Tucson and reminding us all why we love to call this place home.

Watch four performers race against the clock on treadmills, tackling an absurd and escalating to-do list in a show that is equal parts comedy, chaos, and uncomfortably relatable truth. Burnout Paradise begins with a simple premise: four performers, four treadmills, one hour, and a to-do list that grows increasingly impossible by the minute. Cooking a three-course meal. Filling out a grant application. All while running. Created by award-winning Australian collective Pony Cam, this Off-Broadway phenomenon is part comedy, part endurance feat, and part theatrical explosion that holds a mirror up to the relentless pace of modern life in a way that will make you laugh, wince, and cheer all at once. And if they do not complete the list in time? You get your money back. This is a show about all of us. The impossible demands. The endless tasks. The desperate attempt to keep up with a system that was never designed with us in mind. Burnout Paradise takes that feeling and transforms it into something euphoric, visceral, and genuinely unforgettable. Get ready for an experience as physically demanding as it is emotionally resonant, performed live and completely seated on stage at Centennial Hall. Recommended for ages 12 and up. https://youtu.be/lOmDujFKF1c

Sit beside the virtuosity of a rising star in an intimate, on-stage experience available nowhere else in Tucson. Presented and fully seated on stage for an up-close and intimate audience experience in Centennial Hall. Russian/Israeli pianist Vitaly Starikov arrives fresh from winning the Silver Medal at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious musical honors. Known for performances described as “raw, deeply felt, and powerful” (La Scena), Starikov brings a bold interpretive vision that honors tradition while embracing the contemporary. In this exclusive piano series event, you will be seated on stage alongside Starikov, close enough to experience the virtuosity, vulnerability, and vision that distinguish his artistry.. This is an intimate encounter with an extraordinary musician at a pivotal moment in his career. Starikov’s repertoire reflects his commitment to presenting music that speaks to both tradition and contemporary life, offering fresh perspectives on familiar masterworks while introducing lesser-known pieces to wider audiences. This inaugural Cliburn season takes him to prestigious festivals across America, but this Tucson performance stands as a singular, unrepeatable moment.

Discover the visionary whose voice made billions of stars feel like home as an intimate portrait of Carl Sagan arrives in Tucson. Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff is a journey through wonder, discovery, and the profound questions that shaped our understanding of the universe. From Academy Award-nominated director Nanette Burstein and producer Seth MacFarlane, this National Geographic documentary offers unprecedented access to Sagan’s personal archive, revealing the man behind the iconic voice that made the cosmos tangible and real. More than a biography of science, this is the story of a cosmic love affair with partner Ann Druyan, a mission to protect our fragile planet, and humanity’s most enduring question: Is anybody else out there? Experience this Arizona Premiere live at Marroney Theatre.

Explore the history and legacy of the Golden Record. Launched in 1977, this record is attached to NASA’s Voyager I and II space probes, which were designed to explore the outer Solar System. Ancient Beacons Long for Notice is Dario Robleto’s third installment in a trilogy exploring the history and legacy of the Golden Record. Launched in 1977, this record is attached to NASA’s Voyager I and II space probes, which were designed to explore the outer Solar System. The gold discs contain images, languages, music, and sounds representing the diversity of life and cultures on Earth. Created by a team of scientists led by Carl Sagan, the Golden Record was a hopeful gesture, carefully curated to present humanity’s “best face forward” in a first-contact scenario with other intelligent life forms; any traces of war, injustice, famine, or environmental decay were intentionally omitted. The film examines the implications of this ethos across time and space through new research on a forgotten document: the earliest audio recording of warfare, made in 1918 on the Western Front of WWI. Robleto’s film asks: “What is our moral obligation to fully account for our actions—the good and the bad—in perpetuity, off-planet, and to beings we have yet to confirm exist?” Dario Robleto is an American artist, writer, and filmmaker based in Houston, Texas. His work has been exhibited widely and is held in prominent collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Menil Collection, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. His work has been profiled in numerous publications and media outlets, including Radiolab, Krista Tippett’s On Being, and the New York Times. He is currently working on his first book, The Heartbeat at the Edge of the Solar System: Science, Emotion, and the Golden Record, co-authored with Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts, which will be published by Scribner in 2027. Join us for this special screening and Q & A live with Dario Robleto live at Marroney Theatre.

Enter a world of shadow, magic, and revenge as Manual Cinema transforms Shakespeare’s Macbeth into a breathtaking new story told entirely through shadow puppetry set to live music. The 4th Witch is a stunning new tale that begins at the edge of war. When a warlord’s army invades a small town, a young girl escapes into a dark, ancient forest. Orphaned and alone, she is taken in by a witch who teaches her the craft. As her skills grow, so does her grief, and so does her hunger for vengeance against the man who took everything from her. Manual Cinema tells this story without a single word of dialogue, relying entirely on shadow puppetry, actors in silhouette, and a powerful live music score to pull audiences deep into a world that feels both timeless and urgent. Inspired by the world of Shakespeare’s Macbeth but told from an entirely new perspective, The 4th Witch explores grief, war, and the cycles of violence left behind on the battlefield long after the fighting ends. It is a story about the people history forgets and the cost of vengeance on those who survive. Manual Cinema is one of the most inventive theatrical companies working today, and this production is among their most ambitious and visually arresting works. No dialogue. No narration. Just pure visual storytelling at its most powerful; live at Centennial Hall. Recommended for ages 12 and up.

Return home to the messy, complicated realities of family life as writer-director Ed Burns examines the dreams deferred and bonds tested across generations. Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies is an intimate portrait of a household caught between stagnation and awakening. Jim and Tina have settled into the rhythms of middle age: beer, martinis, dinner, worried conversations about their adult children who refuse to leave. Frankie and Debbie, both in their twenties, remain at home, one scraping by in a doomed sales job, the other contentedly unemployed and dating someone their father despises. Shot in striking black and white, the film captures what feels like a snapshot of suburban routine until an unspoken restlessness inside Tina begins to surface, threatening to shatter the fragile equilibrium that holds them all in place. Written and directed by Edward Burns and featuring Jennifer Ehle, Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies is a film about the spaces between expectation and reality, about the dreams we surrender and the fierce love that persists even when everything feels stuck, live at Marroney Theatre. Writer/director Ed Burns and producer Aaron Lubin will participate in a post-screening discussion.

Step into a world of breathtaking illusions and unforgettable storytelling as Scottish illusionist Scott Silven invites you to explore the mysterious side of what it means to be human. The Lost Things is a journey through wonder, memory, and the strange beauty hidden inside the things we lose. Created and performed by celebrated illusionist Scott Silven and directed by Graham McLaren, the show weaves awe-inspiring illusions together with a deeply personal narrative to create something that feels less like a magic show and more like a profound shared experience. Silven believes theatre is where we gather to witness the impossible together, and The Lost Things is built entirely around that belief. Designed by Jamie Vartan and featuring illusions that have left audiences genuinely speechless, The Lost Things has earned a reputation as one of the most moving and inventive shows of its kind. Arizona Arts Live is a proud co-commissioner of this production, making Tucson part of the story of this remarkable work. This is an evening that will make you look at memory, loss, and the surprising places where wonder lives differently. Recommended for ages 12 and up. Experience Scott Silven live at Marroney Theatre.

Experience Marvel Studios’ Black Panther like never before as an Oscar and GRAMMY-winning score comes to life, performed live by world-class musicians, vocalists, and African rhythm masters on stage. Black Panther in Concert is so much more than a screening. The groundbreaking 2018 film screens in full while a live ensemble of Hollywood studio musicians, African rhythm masters, and powerhouse vocalists perform Ludwig Göransson’s celebrated score in real time. The result is something a home screen simply cannot replicate. Every beat lands harder. Every moment hits deeper. This is the story of T’Challa and Wakanda, the way it was always meant to be felt. When Black Panther arrived in 2018, it changed what a superhero film could be and meant to audiences around the world. Rolling Stone called it a film of “profound, astonishing beauty” with a “racial conscience” as powerful as its action. Whether you are reliving it or discovering it for the first time, this is a night you will not forget. Don’t miss this landmark film and its extraordinary music live at Centennial Hall.

Feel the raw power, stunning beauty, and exhilarating energy of Black Grace with one of New Zealand’s most iconic and celebrated dance companies. Founded in 1995 by Neil Ieremia, a choreographer of Samoan and New Zealand heritage, Black Grace draws on the rich storytelling traditions of the South Pacific to create work deeply physical, breathtakingly beautiful, and impossible to look away from. Ieremia has spent three decades building a body of work that spans cultural, social, and generational barriers, and in doing so has turned Black Grace into one of the most recognized and celebrated dance companies in the world. Featuring some of New Zealand’s finest dancers, the company has earned standing ovations from audiences across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. Praised by The Boston Globe for packing the “raw visceral power of a primal communal rite into a carefully constructed form of rigor and sophistication,” Black Grace delivers something genuinely rare. Witness world-class dance at its most human and most powerful at Centennial Hall.

Marvel at the limits of the human body as eight world-class acrobats from Australia investigate physical skill and reveal, in stunning fashion, what it truly takes to master something extraordinary. Everybody is a master of something. Ten Thousand Hours is a show about the work behind the wonder. Created by Gravity & Other Myths, an acclaimed circus company from Adelaide, Australia, the show follows eight acrobats as they investigate physical skill: how you get it, how you refine it, and what it costs to perfect it. This is an ode to the countless hours needed to achieve great things. A tribute to the dedication required to realise our physical ambitions. Every flip, balance, and flight you witness on stage represents years of quiet, unglamorous dedication. Gravity & Other Myths has built a global reputation for circus that feels honest and deeply human. Ten Thousand Hours carries that spirit fully, treating acrobatic virtuosity not as magic but as the product of real bodies doing real work over real time. The performance is primarily non-verbal, making it completely accessible regardless of language background and genuinely captivating for audiences of all ages. More than a show, it’s a love letter to every person who has ever committed themselves to getting better at something. Experience this breathtaking performance live at Centennial Hall.