Show and Tell

Once upon a time, before the age of specialization, performers prided themselves on cultivating a jack-of-all-trades mentality. Acting, dancing, singing, and even comedy were skills practiced in tandem with one another -- sometimes within the confines of the same production -- making for performances and performers as well-rounded as they were entertaining.

courtesy of Greta Skelly

Jill of all trades: Greta Skelly performs multifaceted zarzuela.

Details

Hits the stage at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 8.General admission tickets are $15. For details call 602-258-1800 or e-mail teatrobravo@netspace.com

Playhouse in the Park at the Viad Building, 1850 North Central, on the southwest corner of Central Avenue and Palm Lane.

Related Content

• Blonde on Blonde
  December 8, 2011
• Pauly D to Join Britney Spears on Tour
  July 27, 2011
• The Black Keys Done With New Album
  July 18, 2011
• Night Lights
  September 15, 2011
• Britney Spears at Jobing.com Arena, 6/22/11 (VIDEO)
  June 23, 2011

More About

• Greta Skelly
• Twyla Tharp
• Jerry Seinfeld
• Britney Spears
• Placido Domingo

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

With apologies to today's entertainers, it takes a fertile mind indeed to imagine Britney Spears singing Pavarotti, Pavarotti performing interpretive dance, Twyla Tharp doing standup and Jerry Seinfeld reciting Shakespearean prose. Yet in 17th-century Spain, artists were faced with similar challenges via the birth of an entertainment genre whose legendary status would grow with the centuries: zarzuela.

A form of lyric theater, zarzuela is a mélange of entertainment forms rolled into one. Classical and popular music, dance, comedy, and even verse and prose make their way into each performance, and some four centuries after its advent, zarzuela continues to evolve in both style and substance. Graduates of the art form include two of the world-famous "Three Tenors," Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.

A culture sometimes lacking in culture can use all the imports it can get, and luckily zarzuela has applied for its visa and gone on a road trip far beyond the borders of its nation of origin. Be part of the welcoming committee when Teatro Bravo! presents Phoenix's own Greta Skelly in "Zarzuela and More... Touring America." Skelly will be joined by pianist Rubia Santos and Ballet Arizona's Luis Torres for a performance that will also feature music by local Latin American favorites Nosotros.