Herbert Paine

Only on Broadway can a show this proudly preposterous, this shamelessly corny, sneak up on the skeptics and knock the wind out of them. SHUCKED, the goofy little musical that could, arrives at ASU Gammage in Tempe like a hayride crashing into a punch bowl.

A rare sequel that understands what made part one beloved, sweeping the audience up in a storm of feeling. It gives us what musicals once promised: a world heightened enough to believe that, like Elphaba, emotion itself can fly.

A big-hearted, crowd-pleasing production that wraps nostalgia, comedy, and a festive score into one joyful package.

Guest contributor David Appleford gives a grateful glowing green light to Childsplay’s production of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER.

In the Tony-nominated musical & Juliet, it’s as if William Shakespeare was handed a bedazzled microphone and told to start writing Romeo and Juliet all over again, only this time he should make it a fizzy, whirling pop fantasia that pulses with enough pop/rock earworms to play in your head on an endless loop for days.

Though modest in scale, Chanel Bragg’s and Kelcey Watson’s production achieves gravitas, a testament to a life fully lived in history’s shadows. They have turned Still’s monologue into a reminder that history is shaped not only by those in power but also by those who carried the trays, polished the silver, and stood just behind them.

THE FRONT PAGE, although it is a crazy and ridiculous scenario, still resonates with audiences today. Fountain Hill Theater’s portrayal of the show is a great take on a classic show. 

A. R. Gurney’s LATER LIFE unfolds on a Boston terrace overlooking the harbor, a space suspended between the warmth of a party and the chill of the night air. It’s the perfect metaphor for the world Gurney’s works chronicle: gracious, tasteful, and ever so slightly paralyzed.

Patrick Hamilton’s Gas Light lit its first flame in 1938, a moody little stage thriller set in the fog-drenched backstreets of 1880s London. It was a venom-laced marital drama where domesticity was turned into a psychological trap.

Change can be the hardest and perhaps even the most horrifying part of life, but it can also be the most rewarding. The Black Theatre Troupe’s performance of the musical CAROLINE, OR CHANGE highlights the highs and lows of change with distinction.

Director Maren Maclean Mascarelli has assembled a remarkable cast in an intense retelling of Orwell's classic.

The National Touring production of the Broadway musical SUFFS, now playing at ASU Gammage until October 19, didn’t arrive on the stage quietly. Like its subject matter, it gathered like a movement and was shaped by persistence. The show, written, composed, and, on its Broadway opening, led by Shaina Taub, is a reclamation of voices long overlooked and of equality battles still to be won. 

THE ROADS TO LOCH LOMOND is a stirring, beautifully crafted musical that wears its heart on its tartan sleeve. The Scots never had it easy in their struggle against the British crown. From 1689 to 1746 – culminating in the devastating defeat at Culloden – the Jacobite Uprisings marked a turbulent chapter of rebellion and loss, as Highland clans fought to restore the Stuart monarchy to the throne.

Héctor Armienta’s operatic reimagining of ZORRO is a richly textured work that fuses bravado and romance into a timely meditation on liberty. This tale of dual identity and defiance receives the full operatic treatment (performed in both English and Spanish) in Arizona Opera’s 2025-26 season opener.

With a running time of two hours plus Jacobs-Jenkins's uneven script may waver at times, yet to the company’s credit, and to director Seth Tucker, this Stray Cat Theatre production remains impossible to ignore.

The Phoenix Theatre Company's production of FROZEN is a delight for those who know and love the film and are looking to be wowed with song and spectacle.

Scott Carter’s THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THOMAS JEFFERSON, CHARLES DICKENS AND COUNT LEO TOLSTOY: DISCORD, directed by Beau Heckman, is a heady and entertaining intellectual feast.

The emotional terrain is fertile, but in Black Theatre Troupe’s 56th-season opener, GRACE AND GLORIE, the production comes close but not quite far enough to capture the fullness and weight that popularized the work.

Arizona Broadway Theatre's staging is a mixed bag – lifted at times by sharp comic performances and spirited choreography, yet hampered by a lackluster book, uneven score, and a central transformation that never fully convinces.

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL is a vibrant, music-soaked love letter to a city that lives and breathes rhythm even in the face of heartbreak and hardship. The Phoenix Theatre Company creates a celebration of a city, its culture, and its music.