Phoenix Theater Reviews
View the latest BroadwayWorld reviews of live + streaming theatre in Phoenix.

by Jeanmarie Simpson - January 18, 2021
Equal parts Bugs Bunny and Guillermo del Toro, THE SLAUGHTER BROTHERS DIME CIRCUS - A RADIO FANTASY is a meta-theatrical reflection on the nature of power and revenge. A highly theatrical blend of low-end carnival, violent vaudeville, clowns with issues, and insectoid horror, elevated by original mu...

by Herbert Paine - January 08, 2021
FATAL DISTRACTION, Susan Morgan Cooper’s gripping documentary on a national crisis ~ hot car deaths ~ that begs for resolution....

by Maria Nockin - December 21, 2020
On Saturday evening, December 19, 2020, Arizona Opera premiered its third Studio Spotlight Series Concert online at no charge. The first part of the program featured tenor Bille Bruley, soprano Kaitlyn Johnson, and bass-baritone Brandon Morales singing opera arias. The second part was a performanc...

by Maria Nockin - December 13, 2020
Faced with the inability to perform live opera because of COVID, Opera San Jose opted to film an opera that could be made to fit California health regulations in its new Fred Heiman Digital Media Studio. General director Khori Dastoor chose Jake Heggie’s three-person chamber opera, Three Decembers. ...

by Seth Tucker - December 09, 2020
UNWRAPPED: An Original Christmas Revue not only represents the topnotch entertainment and production quality we’ve come to expect from The Phoenix Theatre Company (TPTC), but this unique partnership with Brock Pro Entertainment (BPE) also offers a glimpse into the role collaboration may play in rebu...

by Emily Noxon - November 15, 2020
How do you prove you aren't a murderer when the whole town is against you?...

by Emily Noxon - November 10, 2020
Richard Hannay is tired of his boring life. It becomes far from boring after meeting a dark stranger. Murder, mayhem, and hilarity ensue....

by Maria Nockin - November 07, 2020
Cheyanne Coss opened with “Qui la voce,” Elvira’s mad scene from Bellini’s bel canto opera, I Puritani. Elvira lived in a time when women had no rights, so in opera madness allowed her to proclaim her true feelings. Coss expressed them most eloquently. Terrence Chin-Loy as Des Grieux sang “Ah! Fuye...

by Lee Cooley - October 14, 2020
With a few streaming exceptions, including some political fundraisers, it looks like Broadway will remain dark through May of 2021 thanks to the pandemic. ...

by Herbert Paine - October 09, 2020
TRIPLE THREAT, Stacey Maltina??s first feature film as a director, is a beautifully crafted and finely acted ode to theatre and the dreams and realities that imbue it with energy and vitality. Scheduled for screening at BelAire Diner Drive-In (31-91 21st Street, Astoria, New York) on October 11th....

by Maria Nockin - October 06, 2020
On October 5, 2020, I listened to Arizona Operaa??s Studio Spotlight Series online concert held in the newly named the Shoshana B. and Robert S. Tancer Plaza adjoining the companya??s building on Central Avenue in Phoenix. General Director Joseph Spector greeted the tiny audience of donors and the m...

by Herbert Paine - September 26, 2020
WEEZY GOES OUTSIDE is a delightful cine-epiphany about fidelity, love, and eternal life ~ produced by Little y and featuring a sterling performance by Heloise Wilson. One of the Comedy Shorts to be screened at the Coney Island Film Festival and available for virtual screening between September 22nd ...

by Herbert Paine - September 16, 2020
Wendy MacLeod's hilarious comedy, SLOW FOOD, is the latest in Arizona Theatre Companya's series of online digital play readings, this one co-directed by the company's Artistic and Associate Artistic Directors, Sean Daniels and Chanel Bragg. Featuring delightful performances by Daina Griffith, Joel V...

by Herbert Paine - August 23, 2020
In WOODEN NICKELS, holistic healer and playwright Devorah Medwin has crafted a unique theatrical approach to exploring aging and dying with dignity. Bristling with the emotion of a family facing questions of filial fidelity and quality of life choices, the delivery of the play is blessed and enhance...

by Herbert Paine - August 20, 2020
Arizona Theatre Company's production of Benjamin Bennea??s emotion-laden drama, ALMA (livestreaming through August 22nd, at 5:00 p.m.PT/8:00 p.m. ET), while promoted as an online reading, is something far more. Directed by Catherine María Rodríguez and featuring riveting performances by Danaya Esper...

by Timothy Shawver - July 29, 2020
THE ISOLATION PROJECT is two one-acts told through a series of Zoom chats between teenage friends (and frenemies), both set during the current health crisis....

by Seth Tucker - June 14, 2020
The a?oeBroadway Drive-In Theatrea?? at Fountain Hills Theater (FHT) is a significant step for the performing arts and a largely successful early attempt to recapture the magic of live performance....

by Herbert Paine - May 10, 2020
LIVE BENEFIT READING OF SEAN DANIELS' THE WHIT CHIP at Arizona Theatre Company, to be broadcast at 5:00 p.m. (Pacific/Arizona Time) / 8 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time), Monday, May 11th, simultaneously on Arizona Theatre Company's Facebook page and YouTube channel....

by Nathaniel Jones - March 05, 2020
If I could just write a?oeThis show was perfect. The enda?? for this production, I would. It would be the simple truth for a show so breathtaking, that trying to put words on this page is near impossible. There are no words that I could type that would truly encompass what is the Magnificence of ONC...

by Emily Noxon - March 01, 2020
Richard II was crowned King at a young age and his immaturity ultimately causes his downfall when his Crown is threatened by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke....

by Emily Noxon - February 26, 2020
2 couples head into a forest and get caught in the middle of a magical prank that leads to disastrous and hilarious results....

by Jeanmarie Simpson - February 23, 2020
Heart-warming, indeed. It's in the writing, yes, but it's the great acting, deft direction and excellent production values that takes this production the distance....

by Timothy Shawver - February 23, 2020
BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING STORY is the most earnest jukebox musical to date. The chord progressions and resolutions felt like being at an oxygen bar. It's ripe with nostalgia, fascinating for its window into 1960s pop and rock music, and spirit lifting for its recording of a beautiful human life...

by Timothy Shawver - February 20, 2020
Arizona Theatre Company's current production hits the mark as a historical reminder and, through masterful performances by its cast of three, depicts institutionalized racism's capability to destroy even the most loving relationships....

by Maria Nockin - January 29, 2020
At the University of Arizona's Centennial Hall. on January 28, 2020, the Tucson Desert Song Festival presented Thomas Hampson, baritone, with Lara Downes, piano, and the Beyond Liberty Players: Stephen Buck, synthesizer; Judy Kang, violin; Jesus Morales, cello; and Alex Laing, clarinet; The show lib...