Phoenix Metro Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 7

Review: THE LION KING at Gammage Auditorium
by Tim Shawver - July 11, 2022

Disney's THE LION KING has found its way back to Tempe nearly a decade after its sold-out multi-week visit in 2013....

Review: THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL at Arizona Broadway Theatre
by Angela Kabasan-Gonzalez - July 07, 2022

Delightfully campy and nostalgic, The SpongeBob Musical is a much-needed spark of joy at Arizona Broadway Theatre...

Review: Theatre Artists Studio's NEW SUMMER SHORTS 2022
by Herbert Paine - June 22, 2022

What did our critic think? Whether poking fun at human foibles or reflecting on critical social issues, Theatre Artists Studio’s NEW SUMMER SHORTS offers an entertaining potpourri of perspectives. Runs through June 26th at The Studio in Scottsdale, AZ....

Review: COME FROM AWAY at ASU Gammage
by Emily Noxon - June 16, 2022

This amazing show is not to be missed. See what our critic had to say. ...

BWW Review: ATC Closes Season With World Premiere of HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN SON
by Robert Encila-Celdran - June 12, 2022

While vacuous debates are brewing about Critical Race Theory, and noxious mobs are chanting Don't Say Gay, Chris Pena's play reminds us that America is not only a work in progress, but a fragile ship at risk of capsizing. Cries of Replacement Theory are a clear indication of America's Potemkin merit...

BWW Review: THE REVOLUTIONISTS at Stage Left Productions
by Lee Cooley - May 25, 2022

First, a bit of background. Prolific American playwright Lauren Gunderson is a Phoenix favorite; think SILENT SKY at Phoenix College (and the Hale Centre Theater in 2023), JUSTICE and THE HEATH at Arizona Theatre Company, THE BOOK OF WILL at Phoenix Theatre and THE REVOLUTIONISTS at Stage Left Produ...

BWW Review: THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD at Ronin Theatre
by Angela Kabasan - May 15, 2022

Ronin Theatre company to present The Playboy of the Western World May 12-29 at the Irish Cultural Center....

BWW Review: SOMETHING ROTTEN at The Phoenix Theatre Company
by Emily Noxon - May 12, 2022

Something Rotten! is an homage to musical theater and the great bard, William Shakespeare. Come witness the hilarity, amazing music, and heart felt joy of this fantastic production....

BWW Review: ASSASSINS at Stray Cat Theatre
by Herbert Paine - May 10, 2022

Guest contributor David Appleford's review of Stray Cat Theatre's production of Stephen Sondheim's ASSASSINS, directed by Ron May. Runs through May 21st at Tempe Center for the Arts. A stunning reminder about the kind of emotional power that only a live theatrical experience can create....

BWW Review: JUSTICE at Herberger Theater Center
by Lee Cooley - May 09, 2022

I was curious to see how Lauren Gunderson (book), Bree Lowdermilk (music) and Kait Kerrigan (lyrics) could make a musical about former Supreme Court judges Sandra Day O'Connor and the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And how does local performer Chanel Bragg figure into this Arizona Theatre Company world p...

BWW Review: Unique Takes - Kerry Lengel on Ballet Arizona's World Premiere of JUAN GABRIEL
by Herbert Paine - May 08, 2022

Another major first from Ballet Arizona ~ the World Premiere of JUAN GABRIEL, with choreography by Ib Andersen. Kerry Stewart Lengel offers his unique perspective ~ THIS IS NOT A REVIEW: Lonesome George Goes to the Theatre ~ on this remarkable production. Runs through May 8th at Phoenix's Symphony H...

BWW Review: MOJADA: A MEDEA IN LOS ANGELES at Southwest Shakespeare Company
by Emily Noxon - May 06, 2022

Madea and her family have immigrated to the United States from Mexico. Following the turmoil and tragedy of their trip, acclimating to life in a new country proves to difficult and devastating....

BWW Review: HIGH FIDELITY: A Mixtape of Middling Music and Stellar Cast at Arizona Repertory Theatre
by Robert Encila-Celdran - April 24, 2022

The central allure of every iteration is Hornsby's self-absorbed protagonist, Rob Gordon, a 30-something owner of a vinyl record store who suffers from a deficiency of emotional refinement. The first-person narrative gives us a torrent of insights into Rob's pedestrian existence and relationship com...

BWW Review: HADESTOWN at Gammage Auditorium
by Tim Shawver - April 21, 2022

HADESTOWN has arrived in Sun Devil country for a six day run at ASU's Gammage Auditorium. The 2019 Best Musical Tony Winner succeeds with an expressive, haunting score and the dark imagination of director Rachel Chavkin....

BWW Review: JUSTICE Gets It Done Where Decisions Are Made
by Robert Encila-Celdran - April 19, 2022

What's brewing at ATC is nothing short of providential. JUSTICE feels profoundly earnest in its development, and even as the piece is rendered concert-style we're left with a fierce sensation that Arizona's regional theater company has struck gold, albeit mining is still in progress. If Broadway is...

BWW Review: SHALL I COMPARE THEE: THE SONNETS at The Southwest Shakespeare Company
by Angela Kabasan - April 08, 2022

This passion project of Executive Director of Southwest Shakespeare, Mary Way, and written by Dathan B. Williams, offers a different take on the man, the myth, the legend - William Shakespeare - through the words of his sonnets....

BWW Review: YOU AND ME AND THE SPACE BETWEEN: A Whimsical Tale For A World In Crisis
by Robert Encila-Celdran - April 05, 2022

The Island of The Proud Circle floats merrily along on the open sea. It’s the microcosm of organic affluence, an idyllic home to settlers who live their simple lives “from the middle to the outside.” Babies are born in the center and grow old to retire on the waterline, where the sea awaits their fi...

BWW Review: Theatre Artists Studio Presents Sharyn Rothstein's BY THE WATER
by Herbert Paine - April 04, 2022

Sharyn Rothstein's compelling human drama, BY THE WATER, on stage through April 24th at Theatre Artists Studio, benefits from the well-paced direction of Janis Webb and the finely-drawn performances of her seasoned cast....

BWW Review: AIN'T MISBEHAVIN at Black Theatre Troupe
by Nathaniel Jones - April 04, 2022

It is spectacular to see performers execute an iconic show steeped in its history. It’s even more spectacular when you reach those moments that allow you to feel like you were there based on the way the performers connect to the music and transport you to when it began. This production pulled out al...

BWW Review: CAMELOT at Don Bluth Front Row Theatre
by Herbert Paine - March 27, 2022

Co-directors Joe and Lorraine Bousard stage a refreshing and imaginative revival of CAMELOT, featuring shining performances by Alexandra Utpadel as Guinevere, Adam Shelton as Arthur, and Matthew Dodaro as Lancelot ~ running through April 30th at Don Bluth Front Row Theatre in Scottsdale AZ....

BWW Review: The Phoenix Theatre Company Presents THE COLOR PURPLE in A Masterpiece Of Transcendent Theatre
by Herbert Paine - March 21, 2022

In The Phoenix Theatre Company’s current production of Marsha Norman's THE COLOR PURPLE, director Daryl Brooks has crafted a masterpiece of transcendent theatre that embodies all the pain and spirit of a Gospel-sustained and resilient community and one of its children. Starring Andrea Fleming in a d...

BWW Review: Arizona Broadway Theatre Presents FLASHDANCE
by Herbert Paine - March 20, 2022

The problem with FLASHDANCE THE MUSICAL is that it's not the movie. One among those films that just don't make it as stage adaptation. Arizona Broadway Theatre's production makes the point in a show that's more flat than flash. Runs through April 24th....

BWW Review: Unique Takes - Kerry Lengel on TOOTSIE, The National Tour
by Herbert Paine - March 17, 2022

Telling it like it is, Kerry Lengel (THIS IS NOT A REVIEW: Lonesome George Goes to the Theatre) reviews the National Tour production of TOOTSIE, running through March 20th at ASU Gammage in Tempe, AZ....

BWW Review: Unique Takes ~ Appleford on Stray Cat Theatre's SHEEPDOG
by Herbert Paine - March 14, 2022

In Stray Cat Theatre’s Arizona premiere of the absorbing 2019 play SHEEPDOG by Kevin Artigue, now playing at Tempe Center for the Arts Studio Theatre until March 26th, a young police officer in an interracial partnership – he’s white, she’s black - answers an emergency call while on duty. He rushes...