Herbert Paine - Page 13

Director Virginia Olivieri controls the arc and tone of Arthur Miller's DEATH OF A SALESMAN with fidelity, carefully building this American tragedy towards its emotion-laden finale. Featuring Walt Pedano as Willy Loman, the winner of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play runs through April 14th at Desert Stages Theatre in Scottsdale, AZ.

Noel Coward's BLITHE SPIRIT is Don Bluth Front Row Theatre's current production, running through May 24th. Charm permeates this show, directed by Janis Webb and featuring a glorious performance by Joy Bingham Strimple as the clairvoyant Madame Arcati.

MAMMA MIA! ~ Arizona Broadway Theatre's zesty reprise of the ABBA-inspired musical that never flags in its ability to stir up a hearty round of opas. The familiarity of the songs and the characters brings certain comfort to an already appreciative audience. Mark Foreman's orchestra knocks out ABBA's popular melodies with vigor. The ensemble steps lively to their airs. The leads deliver solid performances. Runs through April 20th.

Seth Tucker delivers an astonishing display of jaw-dropping artistry in Elaine 'E.E.' Moe's superbly directed production of Doug Wright's award-winning I AM MY OWN WIFE. A must-see, BLK BOX PHX production, running through March 16th at The Phoenix Theatre Company's Judith Hardes Theatre in Phoenix.

Matt Embry's LIVING PROOF is an inspiring and compelling film account of one man's courageous journey to find viable relief from Multiple Sclerosis. It was one of the featured films at this year's Sedona International Film Festival.

ONE DAY HOME, screenwriter and actress Rebecca Louise Miller's debut as a filmmaker, is a touching and sensitively executed allegory about hope. The short film, deftly directed by Drew Denny and featuring a superb cast, is an enchanting and smile-inducing paean to hope and possibility.

From the exhilarating get-go of BUT FIRST, Erin Brown Thomas's homage to the transformative effects of coffee, three dancers ~ Erin Love, Sarah Housepian, and Tiffanie Carson ~ undulate, thrust, and kick to the pulsating beats of ~ naturally ~ shaken coffee beans. Rich and flavorful, and a great treat for the senses. One of the short film features in this year's Sedona International Film Festival.

Edward James Olmos and Ryan Guzman deliver rich captivating performances in the newly released film, WINDOWS ON THE WORLD, directed by Michael D. Olmos. World Premiere at this year's Sedona International Film Festival.

Sedona International Film Festival presents IN THIS GRAY PLACE, written and directed by R.D. Womack II and featuring Aleksander Ristic. An unconventional but oddly romantic morality tale.

Krista Riihimaki's documentary, CHILD, DISRUPTED,is a compelling and rightfully disturbing 26-minute documentary, that addresses the question, 'As a society, are we in danger of raising a generation of children disrupted by the overuse of technology?' Profound. One of the films at this year's Sedona International Film Festival.

AN ACT OF TERROR, directed by Ashley Paige Brim and co-written with Rachel Rush, is an absorbing and important film of conscience about racial injustice in America, directed by Ashley Paige Brim and co-written with Rachel Rush, featuring a compelling performance by Olivia Washington. One of the screenings at this year's Sedona International Film Festival.

LUCY IN THE SKY, an exceptional 11-minute film, written by Jen Rudin and directed by Bertha Bay-Sa Pan, and featuring Zoe Margaret Colletti, Whoopi Goldberg and an outstanding cast, probes the experience of a 14-year-old girl on the autism spectrum as she enters a mainstream high school. One of the screenings at this year's Sedona International Film Festival.

TO DUST, directed by Shawn Snyder and featuring standout performances by Geza Rohrig and Matthew Broderick, is a strikingly sensitive, whimsical, and intensely human account of a man's struggle not only to reconcile himself to the death of his wife and an illuminating exposition of the Jewish perspective on life and death and the hereafter. One of the features at this year's Sedona International Film Festival, February 23 through March 3.

FOR SALE: BABY SHOES, NEVER WORN, co-directed by Dmitri Milkin and Ryan Turner and featuring Amy Shiels and Asher Grodman, is a poignant one-minute film that propels you into the grief of two people who are letting go of the toys and paraphernalia that might have adorned the room of a baby that died too soon. (The short film is one of the features at this year's Sedona International Film Festival.)

THE BILL MURRAY STORIES ~ LIFE LESSONS LEARNED FROM A MYTHICAL MAN (one of the features at this year's Sedona International Film Festival) is a wildly entertaining and inspiring documentary about a unique urban legend.

Virtuoso performances are the order of the day in Arizona Theatre Company's revival of August Wilson's TWO TRAINS RUNNING, directed by Lou Bellamy and featuring standout performances by James Craven, Alan Bomar Jones, Erika LaVonn, Ahanti Young, Lester Purry, Cedric Mays, and Dennis Spears.

In recognition of the SEDONA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL's 25th Anniversary as unique communal experience for filmmakers and moviegoers. A profile of the event and the man who has steered its course, Patrick Schweiss. Running this year from Saturday, February 23rd, 2019 through Sunday, March 3rd.

If you're looking for a good-natured satire on the excesses of capitalism, you're-in-luck with URINETOWN ~ the Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis musical that riffs on a draconian vision of a pay-to-pee society. If you're looking for a high-spirited rendition of the musical, look no further than the stage of Greasepaint Youtheatre where a stellar cast of young actors is delivering a wicked pissah (i.e., really great) performance, under the direction of Bob Sorrenson.

Barbara McBain and Roger Prenger are arm-in-arm charming in Desert Stages Theatre's production of SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS, directed by Joy Bingham Strimple. Runs through March 3rd.

Childsplay's current staging of Idris Goodwin's AND IN THIS CORNER… CASSIUS CLAY (in co-production with Black Theatre Troupe), features a superb cast, led by Rapheal Hamilton as Cassius and including some of the Valley's heavyweight talents. It packs a solid punch to the heart in an insightful and inspired recounting of Muhammad Ali's formative years. Runs through March 3rd at the Helen K. Mason Performing Arts Center in Phoenix.