If you've ever wondered what kind of music led to The British Invasion of the 1960s, go see LOW DOWN DIRTY BLUES, now through April 22 at the Herberger Theater in Phoenix, Ariz.... (more...)
Adapting a classic film to the stage is no easy task. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT director Erica Parrish found it 'a challenge, but lots of fun.'... (more...)
Ancient Chinese Secret? Harmony in music is a metaphor for harmony in life. Hear it, feel it during the Ancient Musical Treasure exhibit through May 6 at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix.... (more...)
Desert Stages Theatre opened MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT this Friday, January 12th, a musical cited as lovingly ripped off from Monty Python and the Holy Grail . Directed by Dan Ashlock Jr., this comedy had the audience roaring with laughter, eyes brimmed with tears.... (more...)
Continuing an annual tradition this holiday season, Spotlight Youth Theatre features 70 children sorted into three separate casts for their annual no-cut production of THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER.... (more...)
David Dietlein's production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Hale Centre Theatre through December 23 gift wraps the celebrated tale of Ebenezer Scrooge's redemption with all the sparkle, festivity, and messaging that befits the Holiday Season. Cory McCloskey delivers an outstanding performance as Scrooge... (more...)
NUNCRACKERS features a fantastically innovative, combined cast of adults and children who are vividly energetic and jump on each comedic opportunity given to them. The show is a spinoff of NUNSENSE, but showcases the convent during Christmas-Time, since they have decided to host their own Christmas ... (more...)
Childsplay Theatre does a spectacular job of introducing the art of theatre to younger generations through their colorful, energetic, and playful production of GO, DOG. GO! Even though the show is recommended for younger audience members and is based on a children's book, it is greatly enjoyable for... (more...)
What happens when you mix puppets with cult classics like DIE HARD, A WONDERFUL LIFE and A CHRISTMAS CAROL? Just ask the All Puppet Players artistic director and movie buff Shaun Michael McNamara or better yet, see it.... (more...)
Valley Youth Theatre's 29th annual production of A WINNIE-THE-POOH CHRISTMAS TAIL is the perfect show to celebrate the holidays with children and family of all ages. Set in the Hundred Acre Wood, Pooh and his friends set out on a mission to make their friend Eeyore happy for the holidays, searching ... (more...)
Upon first sight of Desert Stages Theatre's PETER PAN, the view is spectacular. From a dazzling lobby to a beautiful and multileveled set, the show is well put together at first glance. The ambiance of the theatre is filled with music that makes the audience feel as if they are in Neverland from the... (more...)
Spotlight Youth Theatre's PIPPIN easily exceeds all expectations for a youth production. A cast constructed of 24 award winners, nominees, and experienced youth, the talent could not be more amusing and breathtaking.... (more...)
Bold, bright, and breathtaking can all be used to describe Desert Stage's production of HAIRSPRAY, an amusing show starring a mix of 31 spectacular performers.... (more...)
The Hale's newest offering is a holiday confection - sweet and delicious - like a freshly shaken up, edible snow globe. Director Cambrian James has put together his finest (thus far) staging of the season. On the marvelous arena stage in Gilbert, the tight, swift-paced send up of the classic 1944 fi... (more...)
Depend on Me is feels like a sitcom filmed before a live audience, until just before intermission, when it takes a turn and feels like late M*A*S*H, when they dropped the laugh track and things got dark. There's a surprise ending and much entertainment in the two-act play.... (more...)
Being out there, in nature, learning what many consider classic or ancient forms of performance, was almost a step back in time. It was a place to strip down theatre to its purest form, the actor/poet in space. It taught me to never take theatre for granted and to understand that it is a sacred prac... (more...)
Loosely inspired by the life of Van Gogh, EAR is a story as old as time. A boy loves a girl. To prove he loves the girl, the boy gives her a gift. A BIG gift. The kind you can't take back. And now the boy is in a mental hospital, at the mercy of a doctor who's even crazier than he is. And the girl? ... (more...)
Whisper Sweetly, directed with crackerjack control and precision by Perovich. Mahon has created a world that is at once funny and terrifying. He has approached his creation with wild abandon, and the story is an hilarious nightmare.... (more...)
Director Cambrian James' fast paced, delightful Kiss and Tell gave this grumpy critic more laughs than she has experienced in a good long time - and the rest of the Hale's opening night audience was right there with her.... (more...)
Amanda Glenn's turn as Louise is lovely and heartbreaking. Glenn has a beautiful voice and exquisite is her painstaking, delicate interpretation of the awkward, plain Jane who becomes the iconic burlesque queen.... (more...)
Fun Home relays the story of Alison Bechdel, a cartoonist who wrote a graphic memoir that serves as the basis for the musical. Fun Home explores Bechdel's life and her relationship with her father, a closeted gay man.... (more...)
I have to admit, I had been counting down the days to see VYT's Shrek The Musical. Ever since seeing Wizard of Oz back in June, I had been itching to see another one of the Phoenix youth theatre's spectacular, cutting-edge shows.... (more...)
Droppin' Johns is as shamelessly subversive, as courageously adventurous and as boldly resolute a piece of Feminist Fringe Theatre as any you'll find, anywhere.... (more...)
When it comes to seeing high school theatre productions, some do not receive nearly as much credit and publicity as they deserve. It is so for Sandra Day O'Connor High School's How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, directed by Toni Fioramonti. The production was put together in a short p... (more...)
BWW Review: LOW DOWN DIRTY BLUES at Herberger Theater Center
BWW Review: IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT at Don Bluth Front Row Theatre
BWW Review: ANCIENT MUSICAL TREASURES FROM CENTRAL CHINA at Musical Instrument Museum
BWW Review: Desert Stages Theatre Opens the Humorous MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT
BWW Review: THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER is a Holiday Hit at Spotlight Youth Theatre
BWW Review: Hail, Hail The Hale's A CHRISTMAS CAROL
BWW Review: Desert Stages Theatre's NUNCRACKERS is a Hilarious Holiday Musical
BWW Review: Childsplay Presents a Perfect Show for Younger Ones This Holiday, GO, DOG. GO!
BWW Review: DIE HARD: A CHRISTMAS STORY at Playhouse On The Park
BWW Review: A WINNIE-THE-POOH CHRISTMAS TAIL is a Family Favorite at Valley Youth Theatre
BWW Review: PETER PAN is Pure Magic at Desert Stages Theatre
BWW Review: PIPPIN at Spotlight Youth Theatre Cannot Be Missed This Fall
Review: HAIRSPRAY Stuns Audiences at Desert Stages Theatre
BWW Review: MEET ME IN ST LOUIS at the Hale
BWW Review: DEPEND ON ME at Brelby
BWW Interview: Ricky Araiza
BWW Review: EAR at Space 55
BWW Review: WHISPER SWEETLY at Brelby - A Weekend of Perovich Part II
BWW Review: The Hale Centre Theatre's KISS AND TELL
BWW Review: GYPSY at Theater Works
BWW Review: FUN HOME at ASU Gammage
BWW Review: Valley Youth Theatre Presents SHREK THE MUSICAL
BWW Review: The Hale's JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT
Review: DROPPIN' JOHNS at B3 Theatre
BWW Review: HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING at Sandra Day O'Connor High School