This review aired on KBAQ August 29, 2011

“BOEING-BOEING” HAS NO SURPRISES OR LAUGHS AT PHOENIX THEATRE

“BOEING-BOEING”
Phoenix Theatre
Phoenix, AZ

The dated comedy, “Boeing-Boeing,” is certainly predictable with no real surprises and few genuine laughs as Phoenix Theatre’s season opener.  The Marc Camoletti farce is reputed to be the most performed French play.  As adapted in 1962 by Beverly Cross, its successful London premiere was followed by a disastrous 1965 Broadway debut.  Recently revived in London, that version played to middling Broadway success in 2008.  Maybe the French farce doesn’t translate well because what’s on stage at PT lacks any comedic punch.

Set in … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ August 22, 2011

NEARLY NAKED THEATRE MOUNTS HYSTERICAL “OEDIPUS FOR KIDS”

“OEDIPUS FOR KIDS”
Nearly Naked Theatre
Phoenix, AZ

“Oedipus for Kids” is, of course, an oxymoron.  The epic story dramatized by Sophocles that everyone studies in high school is packed with adult themes loaded with sexual implications.  That Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother is certainly not something for children.

So the musical’s writers, Gil Varod, Robert J. Safestein, and Kimberly Patterson, want laughter at turning this tale into a children’s show by the ragtag troupe Fuzzy Duck Theatre Company.  And laughing uproariously is exactly what you’ll … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ August 1, 2011

HOLMES PLAY DISAPPOINTS AT FLAGSTAFF’S THEATRIKOS

“SHERLOCK’S LAST CASE”
Theatrikos Theatre Company
Flagstaff, AZ

Another Sherlock Holmes murder mystery?  That’s what playwright Charles Marowitz creates in his 1984 play “Sherlock’s Last Case.”  It doesn’t exploit a tired and true story, but it uses the famous characters, relies on all the Holmes clichés in creating a far-fetched, convoluted tale that demands rapt attention to follow the multitudinous twists and turns that lead to the play’s conclusion.  Unfortunately, by the end of Act I, Marowitz tells exactly where the play is going so the ending is no surprise.

Flagstaff’s community … Continue Reading