Herbert Paine - Page 19

Compass Players, in an act of remarkable prescience, has resurrected Gore Vidal's THE BEST MAN, revealing that the more things political change, the more they remain the same. Directed by Jeanna Michaels, Steve Murphy and Matthew Cary deliver solid performances as two candidates in the political dogfight of their lives. Running through January 28th in the McMillin Theater at Peoria Center for the Performing Arts.

Every now and then, a transformational moment will occur in the theatre, transporting the audience into new realms of experience and understanding. Such a moment is at hand in David Bennett's vivid and compelling interpretation of MAN OF LA MANCHA. (Arizona Theatre Company's third production of the season, running through January 28th at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix.) Bennett's work is a grand and inspired achievement. It touches the soul and ignites the emotions.

HARVEY, Mary Chase's 1945 Pulitzer Prize winning comedy, is slated to hop into the Don Bluth Front Row Theatre in Scottsdale from January 12th through February 24th. In its multiple adaptations, most notably the 1950 film with Jimmy Stewart, the tale of Elwood P. Dowd and his imaginary pooka has always been a source of amusement and inspiration. In advance of the opening, Herb Paine sat down with Lee Cooley, who plays the role of Elwood, to get a rabbit's-eye view of the show and some perspective on the actor himself.

David Hock, Scottsdale Musical Theater Company's founder and executive producer, struck it rich when he snagged two prominent theatre veterans, Bronson Pinchot and Kaitlin Hopkins, to co-star in ANNIE THE MUSICAL (on stage now at the Tempe Center for the Arts through January 7th.) He appears as well to have made a novel if not daring choice in the interpretation of their characters. The result is a light-hearted, easygoing and amusing production but one without the essential shadows, tensions, and chemistry that commonly stir one's emotions, seize the heart, and make for a memorable experience.

Leave the kids at home! Abandon all sense of propriety! Embrace the risqu ! Because the Calamari Sisters, Delphine and Carmella, are at the beach, dishing out hot plates of irreverent, edgy, and bawdy humor, all seasoned with equally hot saucy quips. As they note, without equivocation, this is nothing like a New England clambake far from it. (They're kicking up a storm at the Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix through January 21st.) Jay Falzone and Stephen Smith are a great team!

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 in this must-see family fare.

Solid performances by Jeanna Michaels, Megan Holcomb, and Frances Murphy make for a riveting and provocative production of John Pielmeier's AGNES OF GOD, now through December 17th at Peoria Center for the Performing Arts.

In Arizona Theatre Company's reprise of the work that it first honored four years ago with its National Latino Playwriting Award, director Kinan Valdez conveys Marisela Trevi o Orta's THE RIVER BRIDE into a vivid sensory experience, moving her characters through a dreamlike voyage to a destination that has its own bank of ironies.

Under the direction and choreography of Robert Kolby Harper, a cast of sparkling talents brings scads of oxygen and energy to William Finn's A NEW BRAIN the second featured production of ASU Lyric Opera Theatre's current season.

B3 Productions presents a double bill of one-acters that feature riveting performances by Kim Lavelle in TRUE BELIEVER and Franc Gaxiola (THE LAST CASTRATO). Nailing down B3's distinctive niche as experimental provocative theatre. Gaxiola is masterful!

SOMETHING ROTTEN! is spectacular! Pure platinum! The tour is now rocking the house at ASU Gammage through November 5th. From the moment that Nick Rashad Burroughs ignites the house with an electrifying Welcome to the Renaissance, the show is a splendid nonstop concatenation of music (Brian P. Kennedy), choreography (Casey Nicholaw), sets (Scott Pask), and wardrobe (Gregg Barnes). Nicholaw's flawless direction leaves no theatrical stone unturned. At the center of this whirlwind are the sterling performances of Rob McClure, Josh Grisetti, and Adam Pascal, supported by a terrific ensemble.

Valley Youth Theatre's current production of MADAGASCAR: A MUSICAL ADVENTURE, directed by Bobb Cooper is an entertaining showcase for some young and very promising song-and-dance talents, The show runs through November 19th at the Herberger Theater Center's Stage West.

Patti Suarez and Joshua Vern deliver riveting performances in the deliciously absorbing production of Joanna Murray-Smith's SWITZERLAND, now center stage at Theatre Artists Studio through November 5th.

A compelling theme and strong technical elements set the Theater Works stage for a reenactment of Victor Frankenstein's ill-fated exercise to reanimate life but do little to compensate for a performance that plods along like the iconic monster at the center of Victor Gialanella's torturous FRANKENSTEIN.

In Arizona Broadway Theatre's spirited production of MAN OF LA MANCHA (running through November 11th, James Rio is a dynamic force, fulfilling Dale Wasserman's vision of a Cervantes who is erudite and pragmatic and a Quixote who is starry-eyed, vulnerable, and determined to save the day at whatever cost. A wholesome and uplifting show.

The essence of Neil Simon's CHAPTER TWO is finding full and glowing expression in Arizona Theatre Company's opening production of its 51st Season. The show is directed by the marvelous Marsha Mason and features stellar performances by David Mason, Blair Baker, Ben Huber, and Diana Pappas.

Under Virginia Olivieri's inspired direction, Stephen Mallatratt's play adaptation of Susan Hill's novella, THE WOMAN IN BLACK is more cerebral than scary but gifted in the production by the performances of two excellent actors, J. Kevin Tallent and Tim Fiscus. The is on stage now at Mesa Encore Theatre's Black Box through October 22nd.

Theater Works' production of THE LITTLE PRINCE, directed by Paul Pedersen, is technically elegant and sublimely well-acted, featuring standout performance by Scarlett Abernathy in the title role. A must-see reminder of universal truths about love, friendship, and loyalty. Now at Peoria Center for the Performing Arts through October 8th.

ASU Lyric Opera is fulfilling Bed ich Smetana's vision in a production that is resplendent with vocal excellence (Emily Botts, Justin Carpenter), spirited choreography (by the terrific Molly LaJoie), the vibrant colors of Alfredo Escarcega's set and Sharon Jones's costumes, the brilliant instincts of Director Dale Dreyfoos, and a highly gifted ensemble. The show runs through October 1st at ASU's Evelyn Smith Music Theatre.

As political theatre goes, Guillermo Calder n's KISS, Stray Cat Theatre's 16th Season opener, directed by Ron May, occupies the terrain between parody and reality, melodrama and documentary, laughter and catharsis. It is a play that works on a number of levels: startling an audience out of its comfort zone, engaging it in the shared discovery of uncomfortable and inconvenient truths, revealing the barriers that must be surmounted to achieve cross-cultural understanding. KISS runs through September 30th at Tempe Center for the Arts.