Aaron Cammack

INTIMATE APPAREL: It is the great achievement of Arizona Theatre Company that Lynn Nottage's meditation on one woman's loneliness and desire is fully realized. Directed by Oz Scott, with a stellar ensemble, featuring Tracy N. Bonner's tour de force performance, the production is a must-see. Runs through March 3rd at Tempe Center for the Arts.

Arizona Theatre Company presents Intimate Apparel, a stunning drama by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage. Follow the journey of an African American seamstress in 1905 Manhattan.

Subversive and riveting, David Ives's clever adaptation of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's novella titillates and shocks, delving into mythology while blurring the line between the divine and the pedestrian. In channeling Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Ives's stab at foreplay is piquant and dangerous. Should the playwright continue to craft erotic content, he could secure a place among the genre-defining authors alongside Henry Miller and Anaïs Nin.

In its execution, a less than compelling and strategically misdirected production of Tennessee Williams's THE GLASS MENAGERIE is the current fare at Arizona Theatre Company.

For the record, director Chanel Bragg didn't have to secure a movie star to manifest a compelling production of her own. She features a charismatic powerhouse in Lillie Richardson, who submits a resounding performance as the flamboyant matriarch. Ms. Richardson strides with regal confidence and speaks with a stately optimism that defies her fear of an austere future. Amanda has conjured traditional perceptions of an imperious monster, but Lillie Richardson plays against that tendency, showing us an overzealous mother who only wants the best for her children. Indeed she fluctuates between illusion and reality, and in Richardson, we see Amanda's inability to distinguish them as a tragedy.

New American Folk Theatre begins its 2014 season with Dark of the Moon by Howard Richardson and William Berney. The play, directed by Anthony Whitaker and Jamal Howard, runs June 7 through June 29 (previews tonight, June 6) at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60622.

New American Folk Theatre begins its 2014 season with Dark of the Moon by Howard Richardson and William Berney. The play, directed by Anthony Whitaker and Jamal Howard, runs June 7 through June 29 (previews June 6) at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60622. Press Opening Performances are June 7 at 7:30 p.m. and June 8 at 6 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit newamericanfolktheatre.org or darkofthemoon.brownpapertickets.com