This review aired on KBAQ September 29, 2011

SHARP “WEST SIDE STORY” REVIVAL PLAYS ASU GAMMAGE TO SUNDAY

“WEST SIDE STORY”
ASU Gammage
Tempe, AZ

The Jets and Sharks are again battling it out in original book author’s Arthur Laurents’ sharp 2009 revival of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece “West Side Story.”  The touring version of this recent Broadway success is playing through Sunday at ASU Gammage.

The Broadway production lacked the intensity, power, and throbbing drive of this superior road staging.  Laurents’ revival brought fresh ideas to this now 54-year-old musical that uses Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” as its inspiration.  Although Laurents died earlier … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ September 26, 2011

STRAY CAT’S “THE SPARROW” FASCINATING AND SUPERBLY EXECUTED

“THE SPARROW”
Stray Cat Theatre, Tempe Performing Arts Center
Tempe, AZ

Leave it to Stray Cat Theatre to mount a fascinating, well written, and superbly executed new play dealing with a dramatic occurrence in a young person’s life.  “The Sparrow” traces Emily Book, a high school senior who was the only survivor of an accident that killed the rest of her elementary school class.  Everyone in her graduating class knows about the incident and it still plagues the town.  The play begins with Emily’s return to the town and … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ September 19, 2011

FASCINATING “CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD” ALLOWS MEETING WITH HOLLYWOOD’S LEGENDARY COSTUME DESIGNER

“A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD”
Actors Theatre, Stage West, Herberger Theater Center
Phoenix, AZ

We all know Hollywood costume designer Edith Head’s memorable creations from her 1,131 films.  Even though she died in 1981 just short of her 84th birthday, what a joy it is to meet her anew in Susan Claassen’s fascinating “A Conversation with Edith Head.”  While the show starts the new Actors Theatre season, Claassen has performed her show to great acclaim throughout America and the world.

Not only does Claassen resemble the … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ September 12, 2011

“THE MOUSETRAP” LACKS BRITISH SENSIBILITY IN HALE CENTRE STAGING

“THE MOUSETRAP”
Hale Centre Theatre
Gilbert, AZ

Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap,” Hale Centre Theatre’s current attraction, is the definitive murder mystery, the play on which other thriller’s are based.  Since its 1952 London debut, the play has been a continuous West End resident playing over 24,000 performances and it’s had American success.  Although I am ashamed to admit it, I’ve never seen “The Mousetrap” before.

That is the best way to view this play.  Don’t know who the victim or murderer are and react to the myriad of clues … Continue Reading