Herbert Paine - Page 25

Stray Cat Theatre scores a huge hit with SEX WITH STRANGERS. Heather Lee Harper and Tyler Eglen deliver spell-binding performances.

Hale Centre Theatre is showcasing the popular comedy/fantasy, HEAVEN CAN WAIT, in a light-hearted and highly satisfying production, directed by Alaina Beauloye and featuring Josh Hunt as Joe Pendleton, the aspiring boxer whose lease on life gets an unexpected left hook.

In Phoenix Theatre's Season-opening production of CHICAGO, Michael Barnard has gathered a storm of production quality ~ uplifting music, sexy and vintage costumes, elegant set design, and kickass choreography. The show, however, is all flash without the fire of Bob Fosse's satiric vision.

Cambrian James once again demonstrates his remarkable directorial gifts by elevating a light-hearted comedy, SOMETHING'S AFOOT, into a showcase of marvelous gags and surprises and demonstrating just how joyous and side-splitting melodrama can be. He is aided and abetted in this endeavor by a perfect and highly entertaining cast, extravagantly wrapped in Mary Atkinson's beautifully tailored garments.

Theatre Artists Studio in Phoenix presents a stirring production of Beth Henley's CRIMES OF THE HEART, directed by Brad Allen and featuring a compelling performance by Dee Rich as the eldest of the three Magrath sisters.

LUCKY STIFF, the rib-tickling musical farce by the team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty is ringing out Arizona Broadway Theatre's hit-loaded 10th Anniversary Season with broad peals of laughter and a cast that you'll walk away loving. Directed by Evan Pappas, the show runs through September 20th.

Caitlin Newman delivers a powerhouse performance in iTheatre Collaborative's production of George Brant's GROUNDED, directed by Rosemary Close, running through September 5th in the Kax Stage at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix. From the moment Ms. Newman marches on to the stage to her climactic epiphany, she controls the oxygen in the theater, and by play's end, we are left breathless.

Scottsdale Musical Theater Company presents GYPSY, featuring Debra Qualtire, Terry Gadaire, and Sarah Cassidy at Tempe Center for the Arts from August 20th through the 23rd.

A/C Theatre Company, the Valley of the Sun's fresh new entry in local theater, has charged out of the chute with a magnificent and electrifying staging of MURDER BALLAD, directed by Tim Shawver and featuring four of the Valley's top talents ~ Cassie Chilton,Kim Richard, Miguel Jackson, and Marshall Glass.

Peter J. Hill rocks and rolls with a punchy and spirited production of Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story, featuring Jack Lambert's flawless performance as the legendary singing idol, now on Fountain Hills Theater's Mainstage through August 16th.

With a raw authenticity that derives from the astute and inspired direction of Scott Johnson, the cast of Desert Foothills Theatre's production of THE CRUCIBLE gives weight and urgency to Arthur Miller's allegory.

AZ Broadway Theatre's LEGALLY BLONDE features standout performances by Leanne Smith, Abigail Raye, and Jesse Michels, backed up by a sterling cast. Great production with a message!

Cambrian James directs and choreographs a lively and spirited production of TARZAN at Hale Centre Theatre in Gilbert AZ ~ featuring a colorful cast of splendidly wardrobed characters swinging their way through an imaginative and intricately designed jungle paradise.

In its first-time festival of the works of women playwright's, The Bridge Initiative features the world premiere of Kat Ramsburg's Anatomy of a Hug, a gripping statement about the emotional miles that can divide the human heart. Allison Sell is the sharp knife of this play, delivering a riveting and stirring performance.

Theatre Artists Studio has set the table for a healthy, satisfying, and inspiring feast of plays in its 2015 NEW SUMMER SHORTS which runs through June 28th. The play's the thing in a festival of short works written and directed my members of the co-op. At ten minutes a pop, each of the eight productions in this year's showcase catches the audience's conscience, at one level or another. As mirrors of human foibles and affects, their themes resonate with the familiarity of an old mistake, eliciting a knowing smile or a reluctant frown.

With a 22-member cast, ranging in ages from 13 to 19-years-young, featuring remarkable performances by the likes of Alex Kirby and Sam Primack, Valley Youth Theatre is staging INTO THE WOODS, now at the Herberger Theater in Phoenix.

Christopher Haines delivers a masterfully crafted performance in iTheatre Collaborative's staging of AN ALMOST HOLY PICTURE, directed by Rosemary Close.

A bullet train of laughs is reverberating across the Opening Night walls of Desert Stages Theatre, thanks to the deft direction of Virginia Olivieri and Gary Zaro and the quirky comic thespians who breathe fire into the script of Neil Simon's elegant farce, RUMORS.

Lynzee Jaye Paul 4man and Jill-Christine Wiley lead a high-octane cast in Arizona Broadway Theatre's resplendent and enchanting production of THE LITTLE MERMAID.

Theater lovers have a sizzling menu of choices for their viewing pleasure this Summer in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area ~ from delightful old chestnuts to spirited and timeless musicals. Here are the picks of the crop.