If you've been searching for a hip, edgy, alternative, young, Latino-focused or American Indian-focused theater group, they're here, and we found them for you.

If you prefer a modern take on Shakespeare or a musical revue based on the songs of Carole King or even the stage adaptation of a favorite children’s book, those are here, too.

The point is, the Valley's theater scene is as diverse as its population. Whether straight from Broadway or right out of someone's basement, the lineup for dozens of Valley companies will appeal to theatergoers — just not all of them at the same time.

Perhaps the most anticipated show this season is ASU’s Broadway series production of ‘‘The Exonerated,’’ a much-lauded and controversial play about six people who spent years on death row for crimes they didn't commit. The show runs Jan. 27 through Feb. 1 at Gammage Auditorium.

Also noteworthy at Gammage are satirical cult hit-turned-Tony darling ‘‘Urinetown,’’ set in a futuristic metropolis where the only legal toilets are pay-for-use; the visually spectacular ‘‘Starlight Express’’; and a special engagement of edgy, hip-hop poetry fest ‘‘Def Poetry Jam.’’

As one of only a handful of theater companies in the country to be granted the rights to stage ‘‘Chicago’’ this year, Phoenix Theatre is celebrating quite a coup. Perhaps the movie's popularity is a Catch-22 — will theatergoers be able to forget Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger? — but it's a change artistic director Michael Barnard is happy to have the chance to take.

Arizona Theatre Company begins its season with the quirky, rather frenetic ‘‘Over the Moon,’’ then gets in some romance with ‘‘Talley's Folly,’’ a couple of musicals, Tennessee Williams’ ‘‘A Streetcar Named Desire’’ and caps off the spring with ‘‘The Underpants,’’ penned by comedian Steve Martin.

Actors Theatre launches its 18th season at Herberger Theater Center with Tennessee Williams’ emotional drama ‘‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.’’ Other productions include ‘‘Frame 312,’’ a drama about a possible Kennedy assassination cover-up; the comedy ‘‘Stones in His Pockets,’’ in which two actors play all 15 characters; and ‘‘Tapestry,’’ a revue based on the music of Carole King that is sure to pack the house with baby boomers.
Highlighting Southwest Shakespeare Company's season is ‘‘Richard III,’’ a take on the classic play that changes the setting to 1920s Chicago and the characters to gangsters.

ASU's Herberger College of Fine Arts, under the direction of new artistic director Marshall Mason, will present a Playwrights’ Festival of new works, as well as Russian masterpiece ‘‘Cherry Orchard,’’ ‘‘Our Town’’ and ‘‘SubUrbia’’ — a twentysomething-angst exploration deemed by the New York Times as ‘‘Chekhov high on speed and Twinkies.’’

During its third season, Mesa's Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre is set to hit a milestone — more than a million patrons will have seen a show at the 500-seat, seven-day-a-week venue before the season is over. Look for tried-and-true offerings this season, including ‘‘Cats,’’ ‘‘Showboat’’ and ‘‘The Music Man.’’

Childsplay’s public performances this season include, as always, ‘‘The Velveteen Rabbit’’ in December and last season's very successful ‘‘The Beauty Machine’’ in January. The season opener is adapted from the award-winning book (and recent movie) ‘‘Holes.’’
Young children will love ‘‘The Big, Friendly Giant,’’ Childsplay's season- ender about an orphan and her giant friend who set out to right the wrongs of the world.

‘‘Teatro Caliente!,’’ a show by Theater in My Basement, could appeal to a wide audience, but its collaborators say its primary focus is on the Valley's Latino and American Indian communities.
Says co-creator Chris Danowski, ‘‘All voices that aren't usually represented will take center stage.’’