Herbert Paine - Page 28

John Hutton leads a brilliant cast in Jared Sakren's uniquely intelligent and compelling production of Southwest Shakespeare Company's King Lear.

Alan Ariano embraces the King's role as his own and Chelsea Soto delivers a stirring performance as Tuptim in Arizona Broadway Theatre's lavish production of The King and I.

Richard Warren's Shifting Gears is an intelligent and poignant portrait of an American family in transition. Played out on the stage of Theater Works and astutely directed by Daniel Schay, it features a standout performance by Frank Gaxiola as a father fundamentally committed to the centrality of family and unyielding in his efforts to retain control of the uncontrollable.

Kate Dulcich and Michael Greer are marvelous in Annabelle Gurwitch and Jeff Kahn's high voltage comic epiphany, 'You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up!,' directed by Van Kaplan.

Enduring Arizona Theatre Company's current production of Murder for Two is like watching two cute hamsters incessantly rolling on a wheel, keeping pace with its speed but going nowhere fast. It's curious, but, in the end, unsatisfying. While Joe Kinosian and Ian Lowe make a great team and are, each in his own way, versatile and immensely talented performers, this murder mystery musical whodunnit s laborious.

Scottsdale Musical Theater Company has presented a rib-tickling production of Mel Brooks' The Producers, directed by David Hock and featuring standout performances by Hector Coris, Matt Newhard, Marina Blue Jarrette, Patrick Russo, Terry Gadaire, and an energetic ensemble.

The Quiltmaker's Gift, adapted from Jeff Brumbeau's book nine years ago by Alan J. Prewitt, with music by Craig Bohmler and lyrics by Steven Mark Kohn, is enjoying a delightful and lighthearted reprise at Theater Works. Directed by Rusty Ferracane, it features a standout performance by Joshua Vern as the petulant king in search of happiness and a jubilant staging of color and choreography by Tamara Treat and Cydney Trent.

Space 55's A Bloody Mary Christmas is not your typical Holiday fare, but it is most assuredly, raucous run of laughs, featuring the comedic trio of Toni Jourdan, Paula McKenny, and Lee Quarrie as distressed, disgruntled, over-the-hill denizens of a condo in senior city.

In a beautifully designed and rustically appointed set, director Brad Allen has choreographed a sensitively balanced dance of requited and unrequited loves, supported by a marvelous cast, in Ernest Thompson's ON GOLDEN POND. Michael Fleck and Judy Lebeau have crafted an attractive and endearing portrait of a couple in the prime of their lives. Together, they are terrific and, in their distinctly understated but effective ways, offer a masters class in acting.

Roosevelt Watts and Sarah Chapman bear the slings and arrows of racial stereotyping in Mark Medoff's riveting TOMMY J AND SALLY, now on stage at Black Theatre Troupe and smartly directed by Janet Arnold.

The musical version of Miracle on 34th Street is a weak substitute for the film classic, a point validated by The Palms Theatre's current production.

The Capitol Steps, a marvelously talented and creative group of satirists remind us how important a healthy sense of humor is, particularly given the foibles and follies of the politically powerful.

It's Yuletide at Arizona Broadway Theatre, and the musical du jour is the ever-appealing White Christmas, served with all the sugar and spice that has made Irving Berlin's classic a seasonal favorite. In his directorial/choreographic debut at ABT, Stephen Casey has imbued this production with distinctive style and energy. His ensemble has laced the show's punch with elixirs of song and dance that leave you wanting an encore. A special moment in this production is Rori Nogee's oomphatic delivery of Let Me Sing and I'm Happy.

JoAnn Falletta guest conducts the Phoenix Symphony with authority, conviction, and intensity. Dvo?ak's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, From the New World., is in the best of hands. Chloe Hanslip delivers a virtuoso performance of Prokofiev's Concerto No. 1 in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 19.

Phoenix Theatre has rolled out the Holiday Season carpet with a Mary Poppins that will delight children of all ages and set the standard for this musical for years to come. The beauty of Michael Barnard's direction and musical staging is the seamless welding of a top-of-the-line cast and a brilliant technical crew. Trisha Hart Ditsworth is dazzling in her portrayal of the enigmatic nanny who literally descends upon the Banks household. Toby Yatso delivers a knock-your-socks-off performance as Bert, the jack-of-all-trades narrator. Lots of exceptional performances to delight one and all.

No matter if you saw the original Broadway production or the classic film version of Wait Until Dark, the fact of the matter is that Arizona Theatre Company, in co-production with Geva Theatre Center, has mounted a show that stands on its own two feet as riveting and suspenseful drama.

If only there was no closing date to Childsplay's heartwarming and uplifting production of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane…David Saar's brilliance and sensitivity infuse his direction of Dwayne Hartford's enchanting and inspirational play, based on the book by Kate DiCamillo. A remarkable cast ~ Katie McFadzen, David Dickinson, Kyle Sorrell, and Debra K. Stevens ~ breathes life into each character they portray, and through them, Edward, initially all about himself, becomes the embodiment of love.

Arizona Opera's production of Rigoletto, directed by Fenlon Lamb, is a noble and well-constructed effort in portraying the ironic misjudgments of its main characters. It is gifted with notable performances by Peter Volpe as Sparafucile, the assassin; Joseph Barron as Count Monterone; Beth Lytwynec as the assassin's sister; and Michael Corvino as Rigoletto. It is, however, Sarah Coburn, who defines and gives glory to this production in her sterling tour de force performance as Gilda.

Theater Works' revival of H2$ features some fine turns by Joshua Vern, Michael Schwenke, Jeffrey Middleton and Osiris Cuen in a crowd-pleasing but uneven production.

Phoenix Theatre has done Shear Madness justice by staging an energetic and attention-riveting version and assembling an outstanding cast to rev up the audience's curiosity and suspicions in this whacky whodunit. If you want an ensemble that has the poise, presence of mind, and charisma to carry the play, then Director Robert Kolby Harper wins the prize for exercising brilliant judgment in bringing together Pasha Yamotahari, Elizabeth Brownlee, Patti Davis Suarez, Mathew Zimmerer, Gene Ganssle, and Mark Jacobson.