
Herbert Paine
Herb Paine ~ Herb has served as Senior Contributing Editor and lead theatre critic for BWW's Phoenix Metro Region since 2014. He was acclaimed as BEST THEATRE CRITIC by PHOENIX magazine (2022 BEST OF THE VALLEY).
He is President of Paine Consulting Services, now in its thirty-eighth year of operation, specializing in organizational development, strategic planning, turnaround management, mergers, and governance. In addition to his work with corporations and government, he is a nationally recognized expert on all aspects of nonprofit organization management and has consulted extensively with arts and cultural organizations on strategic positioning, branding, and audience development.
His provocative social and political commentaries were a regular feature on KJZZ/91.5 FM, NPR’s Phoenix affiliate. These days, Herb offers his perspectives on a variety of issues at IN THE CENTER LANE WITH HERB PAINE | Substack ~ https://herbpaine.substack.com and commentary on key issues affecting the nonprofit sector at UpYourNonprofit | Herb Paine | Substack
Herb is an avid fan of theatre, both on and off stage. His most recent acting credits include roles as Sgt. Jeff Pugliese in the National Geographic Channel’s April 2014 docudrama "Inside the Hunt for the Boston Bombers;" the King of France/Chaudron the forger/Ser Piero, DaVinci's father in Theater Works' "Finding Mona Lisa;" Inspector LeStrade in Fountain Hills Theater’s "Sherlock’s Last Case;" and Berry Bernard in the short film "Living Will."
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Review: FROZEN: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL at The Phoenix Theatre Company
September 28, 2025

Review: THE ROADS TO LOCH LOMOND at The Phoenix Theatre Company
October 13, 2025

Review: LES MISÉRABLES at The Phoenix Theatre Company
July 20, 2026
A monumental production, brilliantly directed and choreographed by Brendan Stackhouse and true to Victor Hugo's vision.

Review: REVIEW: NEW SUMMER SHORTS – CELEBRATING THE CREATIVE SPIRIT at Theatre Artists Studio
June 15, 2026
An entertaining collection of eight original ten-minute plays that ranges from broad comedy and satire to moments of genuine reflection.

Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN at The Phoenix Theatre Company
June 13, 2026
A bittersweet production with good performances all around.

Review: DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS at Arizona Theatre Company
May 25, 2026
Unabashedly campy, nonstop shtick, pulled off by a sharp ensemble that knows exactly what it's doing with every bit.

Feature: SEEING MAYA -- A Tale of Human Connection Defying Boundaries
May 19, 2026
In Joe Bardin’s SEEING MAYA, peace doesn’t emerge through political rhetoric or grand ideological revelation.

Review: OUTSIDE MULLINGAR at Theatre Artists Studio
May 18, 2026
There are productions that succeed because the script is strong, and productions that succeed because performers manage to elevate familiar material.

Review: THE CHER SHOW at Arizona Broadway Theatre
May 11, 2026
Strong performances, impressive staging, and the sense of fun and theatricality that audiences expect from a jukebox musical built around one of popular culture’s most enduring stars.

Review: ANGELS IN AMERICA at Stray Cat Theatre
May 11, 2026
Stray Cat Theatre’s revival seems to rediscover the volatility in the text and the humor that snaps like electricity.

Review: HELL'S KITCHEN at ASU Gammage
April 29, 2026
HELL’S KITCHEN leaves you with the sensation that at the very least Alicia Keys has done something instinctively theatrical: she’s turned the noise of her youth into music, and the city that raised her into a stage big enough to contain it.

Review: MAZEL at Theatre Artists Studio
April 27, 2026
Theatre Artists Studio's production of Amy Hartman's MAZEL has ended its run, but its themes of remembering, reconciliation, and forgiveness echo beyond the stage.

Review: THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE at Childsplay
April 26, 2026
A production that reveals what the craft of theater can do when it trusts simplicity and emotion.

Review: THE ROOMMATE at Arizona Theatre Company
April 14, 2026
Silverman's dark and witty script, Mason's incisive direction, and two beautifully calibrated performances make this one of the season's more provocative and entertaining productions.

Review: DADDY LONG LEGS at The Phoenix Theatre Company
April 4, 2026
A small, sincere musical that reaches for neither spectacle nor modernity.

Review: THE COCOANUTS at Fountain Hills Theater
March 31, 2026
By the mid-1920s the Marx Brothers (Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo) were already well known on the vaudeville circuit.

Review: THREE SISTAHS at Black Theatre Troupe
March 30, 2026
A tour de force, a musical perfectly crafted and performed, and directed by Dzifa Kwawu with remarkable precision.

Review: MOBY DICK at Southwest Shakespeare Company
March 23, 2026
With four actors on a generally bare deck, and a whale that exists in our imagination, the old story of compulsion and the sea finds a fresh, unexpectedly playful life.

Review: SIX at ASU Gammage
March 18, 2026
What’s more satisfying than watching six wronged women reclaim their power? Watching them do it in rhinestone corsets, backed by a thunderous girl band and enough LED lighting to short-circuit Times Square.

Review: PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL at Arizona Broadway Theatre
March 17, 2026
Stephen Casey, the director and choreographer of Arizona Broadway Theatre’s production of PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL, understands something essential about adapting a modern fairy tale, especially one rooted in a Rodeo Drive fantasy, for the stage: unless the performers anchor the story in authenti

Review: UNCLE VANYA at Theatre Artists Studio
March 4, 2026
UNCLE VANYA arrives at Theatre Artists Studio with thoughtful intentions and a capable ensemble, though the results are somewhat uneven.
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