Herbert Paine - Page 29

Censorship, psychoanalysis, and dysfunctional families all have been at the biting pen's end of Christopher Durang's satirical works. His genius lies in his ability to make us squirm, feel the pain, and yet laugh at the kooky protagonists of his plays ~ or, in his own words, to marry absurdist comedy to real feelings. Would that Theatre Artists Studio's production of Baby with the Bathwater measured up to the challenge!

Among the stars of Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, currently showing at Grand Canyon University's Ethington Theatre, are the crews responsible for set, lights, and wardrobe who have created atmospherics befitting a Sherlockian mystery. Costume designer Nola Yergen, hair and make-up designer Kay Gray, and scenic designer, William Symington, each merit a round of applause. The ensemble of talented young actors in this production of the play by Steven Dietz and directed by Claude Pensis, makes for a highly entertaining account of the (allegedly) final days of the legendary supersleuth as he confronts the double-barreled threats of Irene Adler and his ultimate nemesis, Professor Moriarty.

It's kind of gutsy to feature an alternative musical treatment of Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera when its iconic award-winning Andrew Lloyd Weber namesake is liable to overshadow any such effort, but that's what Hale Centre Theatre has done, and with great success, in its season opener, Phantom.

I'm a great fan of Golden Girls, the legendary and hilarious TV sitcom for which Jamie Wooten was a producer and writer ~ the same Jamie Wooten of the equally prolific comedic trio of Jones Hope Wooten that penned Always A Bridesmaid. I therefore expected a comedy imbued with similar sparkles of wit and sophistication, only to be left at the altar, disappointed by trite, forced, and flat stabs at humor. A bright and shining light of this show is Carli Weekley, as newlywed Kari, whose entr'acte conversations with the guests at her wedding reveal a marvelous comic sensibility. She is joyous in tossing pearls of humor to an audience-in-waiting.

In By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, acclaimed dramatist Lynn Nottage (winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Ruined), has illuminated the irony and hurtful absurdity of the Black struggle in Depression-era Hollywood to break the chains of racial stereotyping and to land good roles with good lines. iTheatre Collaborative, a gem of a company in the heart of Phoenix boldly stages this play under the direction of Charles St. Clair and with a cast that artfully commands the stage. Nicole Belit is exquisite, endowing Vera with elegance, grace, and the self-assurance that was required to leap from handmaiden to film star.

Think about the combined genius of Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Jerome Robbins and the driving inspiration of William Shakespeare that created West Side Story. Then realize how awesome a dare it is to mount this classic musical, to be true to its artistry, its complexity, and its messages ~ especially for an ensemble of teenage actors. And then, stand up and give a hearty hurrah for the cast of Valley Youth Theatre which has aced the challenge. Directed by Bobb Cooper, VYT's Producing Artistic Director, the Jets and the Sharks explode onto the stage of the Herberger Theater with verve and muscularity.

Karen Burns and Debra Rich deliver a pumped up and punchy portrayal of a dynamic duo of complementary if not competing spirits in a short play (of which they are as well the authors) that wonders out loud if the path to self-improvement and self-realization ever ends. They are a delightful team of actresses who ply their stagecraft with finesse and breathe life and relevance into their characters, Carly Stanley (Burns) and Dina Klein (Rich), who, after meeting in Limbo in …and the chihuahua I, manage the Living Legacy Detective Agency.

On a simple stage, set with rough-hewn foot lockers and makeshift bunk beds, Mark-Alan Clemente has assembled an able cast of actors who sing Biloxi Blues the way Neil Simon might have appreciated. It is in the angst and defiance of Arnold Epstein, compellingly portrayed by Todd Michael Isaac and Sgt. Toomey, whose disciplinarian zeal is masterfully captured by Rick Davis, that the powerhouse moments of the play occur.

Jersey Boys is far more than a jukebox musical. It is deeper and richer in story line, texture, and technique than most~ a tale of invention, of the creative work-in-progress, the sometimes perilous and sometimes glorious alchemy that, in the case of four young men from the gritty streets of Newark, transforms them into one of America's iconic rock and pop groups. And their story is brilliantly conveyed in perfect harmony by Hayden Milanes (whose tenor falsetto is spot-on Valli), Nicolas Dromard, Quinn VanAntwerp, and Adam Zelasko.

The one good thing to be said about Desert Stages Theatre's production of Cabaret is Terry Gadaire. As the racy and suggestive Emcee of 1929 Berlin's Kit Kat Klub, he personifies the decadence and ultimately the pathos of a Germany descending through the gates of Hitlerian hell. Gadaire has been a consistently brilliant performer in Valley theatre, most recently delivering a tour de force reprise of his role as King Arthur in Fountain Hills Theater's Spamalot. Once again, he reveals his exemplary singing and acting chops.

Arizona Broadway Theatre has pulled out all the stops and mounted a production of Peter Pan that is unparalleled in its charm and dazzle. David Errigo, Jr. delivers the quintessential Peter Pan ~ puckish, daring, self-assured, clever, poignant, stubborn.

Cambrian James has directed and choreographed an uplifting and super-charged production of Footloose at the Hale Centre Theatre in Gilbert AZ. It's a seamless show with a smartly assembled cast of superbly talented actors and inspired stagecraft.

Actor's Theatre's The Cottage is light and enjoyable fare for a hot summer's night. It's silly and predictable stuff, based on a premise that could have as easily come from the mind of Noel Coward but that to be truly great and live up to its hype would have required his writing prowess.

No doubt about it. The Book Club Play, written by Karen Zacarias and masterfully directed by Matthew Weiner, is an audience's delight and a tribute to the latter's commitment to socially relevant and provocative theatre. The ensemble is as good as it gets ~ a dream cast of dynamic and energetic actors who give fine definition to their roles. However, if there is a fault, it lies not in the stars but in the playwright whose message about culture and relationships gets diluted in this comedy of manners and cross-cutting themes.

Valley Youth Theatre rounds out its 25th Anniversary with a spirited and hugely entertaining production of Peter Pan. From the robust overture to the rousing finale, these young actors from six to sixteen give their energetic all in a Broadway-worthy show about the boy who never grows up.

Imagine a world without music or dance. Walk in the shoes of war veterans who cope in singular ways with their demons. Feel for the husband who can't get a word in edge-wise between two prototypical controllers, his wife and a doctor. Contemplate government-regulated dinners. Feel for the wife who fears for her life and takes necessary measures. Occupy the assassin's psyche before the lethal act. It's this thread of foibles, follies, fears, and fancies that weaves through the eight ten-minute plays currently featured in Theatre Artists Studio's 7th Annual New Summer Shorts Festival.

Steel Magnolias is at heart a play about beauty, not the cosmetic kind that stylists manufacture with gels and lotions and sprays but the kind that tells in the truth lines on a woman's face, in the soul that she bares in private and safe moments with friends. The telling of the tale requires skilled and authentic performances by actresses that can reveal the shades and textures of joy and pain and faith and the will to endure no matter what hand life deals. In Stagebrush Theatre's current production of Robert Harling's play, directed by Judy Rollings, six remarkable actresses grace the stage and deliver the goods.

Men of steel, stripped of their power, can regain their mettle when they dare to drop their fears and self-doubt. The Full Monty affirms this truth and reveals more than bare bottoms in Mesa Encore Theatre's final production of its 76th season. Director Chris Hamby, despite some technical glitches that should be easily fixed and some inconsistent casting that can't, captures both the heart and humor of a story that has as much relevance today as when it premiered in 2000.

Arizona Broadway Theatre gives life to Young Frankenstein in the musical adaptation of Mel Brooks' homage to the classic horror films of the 1930's, which opened on May 23rd and runs through June 22nd.