PHOENIX THEATER REVIEWS

A joyful revival that reanimates the spirit of the show that once jolted Broadway....

This is a delightful and fun fairy tale production!...

There have been previous stage versions of the Parker Brothers' board game Clue, none that had any connection to the beloved 1985 film or made any significant mark artistically or commercially....

Wars of the past are viewed by many as a necessary evil, and certain battles are even thought of as glorious or grand. This perspective overlooks the lives lost on both sides, the trauma so many soldiers have faced throughout history, and that many still face today. Southwest Shakespeare Company’s...

Lean and evocative, funny and frightening, tender and profane...reckoning with how to survive trauma....

Mounted with in-the-round polish and flair, Hale Centre Theatre’s GUYS AND DOLLS is bright, brassy, and built on rhythm. And for a few hours in Gilbert, the neon-drenched skyline glows, the dice roll, and Broadway’s Golden Age feels very much alive....

Although society may have tried to conceal them, bold and daring women have existed throughout history. Sisterhood and the realities of being a woman in the Civil War era are central themes in this musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel. The Bridge Initiative’s concert version o...

Audience members who enjoy Shakespeare but are looking for a new take on his classic stories, or those who have struggled with Shakespeare in the past, will enjoy THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. This trailer-park take on the play is full of fun performances and laugh-worthy moments....

The play is suffused with the sympathetic wisdom that defines Wilson’s writing. He looks at lives many would dismiss as small or defeated and finds in them an undeniable nobility....

AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' is a toe-tapping and vocally impressive show now playing at ATC!...

COME FROM AWAY makes you care with a humility and vigor that feel bracingly out of step with our more cynical age....

Grief can feel like its own disease, a highly personalized feeling where no two people will share the exact thoughts or emotional journey. It lingers, and if those facing it are not careful, it can quickly consume the person’s life. Ronin Theatre Collective’s production of Ashley Rose Wellman’...

Titled after Neil Diamond’s 1976 album of the same name, A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL aims for something more intimate and riskier than the average jukebox musical. Rather than simply charting a performer’s rise to fame, it presents a man in conversation with his past where he�...

For most of us, many formative and influential memories start in the kitchen. From recipes being cooked that are passed down from generation to generation, announcing good news, or gathering with family and friends, this place is cemented as the nexus of our lived experiences....

Tom Noga's clear-eyed direction and riveting performances by the ensemble make for a stirring production of a timely and relevant play...APPROPRIATE!...

Sometimes the best friendships come from the most unexpected places. ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE is more than just a tribute to the late singer; it is a showcase of the beauty and importance of female friendships and a little bit of kindness....

This sparkling musical is a brand of theater that’s all surface and shimmer and doesn’t pretend to be otherwise. A showbiz fantasy at full throttle making you feel delightfully upbeat....

Director Jodie Weiss understands the play's challenge and meets it head-on, shaping the production with an ear for the material’s alternating currents of terror and fragile joy....

Set against the backdrop of plague-ridden London, Jane Anger is a clever, bawdy comedy that imagines what happens when a woman refuses to stay in the margins of literary history....

Arizona Theatre Company’s HEIST, directed with style and clockwork precision by Matt August, is the kind of production that reminds you how elastic the boundaries of live theatre can be....

This is a fun Western adventure that the whole family can enjoy!...

This is a brilliant and joyous prequel to PETER PAN....

THE WIZ at Broadway in Tucson is a delightful and extraordinary revival that will have audience members clicking their heels but not wanting to go home. THE WIZ, which plays until January 11, is perfect for the whole family and is my favorite interpretation of 'The Wizard of Oz' story....

In a theatrical era where standing ovations are dispensed like party favors, THE BOOK OF MORMON at ASU Gammage on its opening night elicited a reaction that felt less like polite approval and more like an arena rock concert. Audiences weren’t just clapping, they were erupting, unable to contain th...

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET CHRISTMAS brings sizzling entertainment to Arizona Broadway Theatre this holiday season! The run has closed, so this critic was very glad to have made it to the closing performance! ...