Review: FUNNY GIRL at ASU GammageOctober 16, 2024The national tour of FUNNY GIRL features a knock-out performance by the show's leading lady, Hannah Shankman, and culminates with an audience-pleasing big finish.
Review: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at Arizona Broadway TheatreOctober 8, 2024The real strength of Arizona Broadway Theatre's production of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is the cast – the excellent musician/performers who, while avoiding the imitation of certain obvious well-known character traits in their portrayals, manage to recreate specific elements of their real-life counterparts in a way that most of us will recognize and delight in.
Review: THE MINUTES at Stray Cat TheatreOctober 1, 2024As presented by Stray Cat Theatre as its 23rd season opener, THE MINUTES, a blistering satire of small-town city council meetings, begins as one thing and concludes as something completely different. And no matter what clues or giveaways you think you might have picked up on throughout the play, you won't be prepared for the emotional wallop that will eventually come. And you may not fully recover from its uncomfortable implications, either.
Review: GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY at ASU GammageAugust 21, 2024Written and directed by Conor McPherson, GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY doesn't feel like other jukebox musicals. If anything, with its engrossing dialog, delivered with a heightened sense of heartbreaking realism from an excellent touring ensemble, you're never quite sure how best to describe the production. Is it a jukebox musical, a drama that wants to be a musical, or a play with music in it?
Review: FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at The Phoenix Theatre CompanyMay 30, 2024The Phoenix Theatre Company's edition of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, directed and choreographed by Staś Kmieć, is good and quite entertaining. In its own right, it follows the tradition of the Broadway musical ~ brisk, easy to consume, emotionally uplifting, and endowed with a highly talented ensemble.
Review: GOOD GUY WITH A PUN - A Film With A Heart of PositivityMay 22, 2024The award-winning TV pilot, GOOD GUY WITH A PUN, is an engaging and revelatory narrative about an endearing character whose story line we are eager to follow. Film maker Dmitry Milkin has created a story about resilience and positivity in a digital age.
Review: ROMEO ET JULIETTE at Arizona OperaMarch 5, 2024Arizona Opera's revival of Charles Gounod’s ROMEO ET JULIETTE is, by all measures, a triumph of staging and performance. Following its performances in Phoenix, the production moves to the Temple of Music and Art in Tucson AZ (March 9th and 10th).
Review: ORDER MY STEPS at Sedona International Film FestivalFebruary 27, 2024Filmmaker Augusta Palmer and screenwriter Kathryn Grant's ORDER MY STEPS is an emotionally powerful film about repentance and reconciliation, highlighted by Carla Brandberg's riveting performance. One of the featured shorts at this year's Sedona International Film Festival.
Review: INTIMATE APPAREL at Arizona Theatre CompanyFebruary 20, 2024INTIMATE APPAREL: It is the great achievement of Arizona Theatre Company that Lynn Nottage's meditation on one woman's loneliness and desire is fully realized. Directed by Oz Scott, with a stellar ensemble, featuring Tracy N. Bonner's tour de force performance, the production is a must-see. Runs through March 3rd at Tempe Center for the Arts.