This review aired on KBAQ May 23, 2011

STRAY CAT THEATRE’S “ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S BIG GAY DANCE PARTY” IS FAR-FETCHED MALARKEY

“ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S BIG GAY DANCE PARTY”
Stray Cat Theatre, Tempe Performing Arts Center
Tempe, AZ

Leave it to Stray Cat Theatre to bring unusual and different theater to Valley audiences. Their latest, “Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party” presents a new way to interpret well documented history.

A teacher suggests, as part of a school play, that our 16th president was gay. She even mentions that an earlier president, Buchanan, may have been America’s first gay president. Her interpretation causes furor among the school’s parents causing … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ May 19, 2011

“MAMMA MIA” IS HARMLESS FUN WITH TWO DOZEN GREAT ABBA HITS

“MAMMA MIA”
Broadway Across America, ASU Gammage
Tempe, AZ

The entertaining “Mamma Mia” has those rollickingly Abba songs and a lightweight but charming story about Donna, a hardworking woman with a rundown inn on a small but exotic Greek island. Sophie, her daughter, is about to be married but she wants to figure out which one of three guys is her father. She invites them to her wedding and the fun begins. Two of Donna’s lifelong friends join the festivities as do a bunch of islanders. … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ May 16, 2011

iTHEATRE’S “JACKIE FONTAINE’S…” MIDDLING ENTERTAINMENT

“JACKIE FONTAINE’S CAVALCADE OF CELEBRITIES, SUPER SPOTLIGHT SALUTE TO THE TROOPS, VARIETY SHOWCASE OF THE STARS AND TELETHON”
iTheatre Collaborative, Herberger Theater Center
Phoenix, AZ

Spunky iTheatre Collaborative hangs out in what was an old Herberger Theater Center rehearsal hall.  They are known for doing interesting plays including several worthy Arizona premieres.  They balance their seasons with vaudeville entertainments like an annual Christmas Cabaret, and originals like their current offering, “Jackie Fontaine’s Cavalcade of Celebrities, Spotlight Salute to the Troops, Variety Showcase of the Stars and Telethon.”  An awkward, cumbersome title we … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ May 9, 2011

ATC’s “IRMA VEP” DISAPPOINTS MIGHTILY

“THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP”
Arizona Theatre Company, Herberger Theater Center
Phoenix, AZ

Eleven years ago, Arizona Theatre Company mounted Charles Ludlam’s murder-mystery spoof “The Mystery of Irma Vep.” ATC claims it was a big hit and the most requested show audiences wanted repeated so this season its back.

But opening night not everyone, including this critic, was rolling in the aisles with glee. There were laughs, to be sure, but watching two actors play the multiple male and female characters of Mandacrest, one of those huge, rural mansions where mysteries unfold, turns … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ May 2, 2011

BROADWAY ARRIVES AT ASU GAMMAGE WITH “BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL”

“BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL”
Broadway Across America – Arizona, ASU Gammage
Tempe, AZ

Broadway and London’s West End arrived last week at ASU Gammage when a smashing tour of the brilliant “Billy Elliot the Musical” premiered. This road production is one of the most faithful replications of a major musical to play here in years. The cast is sharp and strong, Stephen Daldry’s staging is artfully reproduced, and the almost identical scenery keeps the show moving at a brisk clip.

The best part of “Billy Elliot” is the … Continue Reading