This review aired on KBAQ September 29, 2014

STRAY CAT THEATRE’S “THE BROTHERS SIZE” IS EXEMPLARY THEATER

”THE BROTHERS SIZE”
Stray Cat Theatre, Tempe Performing Arts Center
Tempe, AZ

Dramatic but believably compelling acting and superbly modulated but understated staging are the perfect ingredients that make Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “The Brothers Size” an exemplary theater piece for Stray Cat Theatre’s season premiere.

The fine production is masterminded by artistic director Ron May, but it is McCraney’s intelligent play that artfully shows how two brothers and a friend struggle to figure out life’s intricacies.  Set in Ogun’s sloppy rural Louisiana bayou car repair shop, his recently paroled … Continue Reading

Theater Review – September 22, 2014

PHOENIX THEATRE’S “MEMPHIS” ENTERTAINS MIGHTILY

“MEMPHIS”
Phoenix Theatre
Phoenix, AZ

I’ve said it before and I’ll shout it again, Phoenix Theatre knows how to produce marvelous musical theater productions!  Their latest hit is an energized, dynamic, and moving staging of the musical “Memphis” conceived by artistic director Michael Barnard.  Not only is “Memphis” an enormously entertaining show but it deals with the deplorable intolerance of racial and cultural discrimination during the 1950s.  “Memphis” entertains mightily but also leaves audiences with a thoughtful look at one of this country’s biggest challenges.  What a show!

Set in the show’s title city, we … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ September 18, 2014

ENTERTAINING “KINKY BOOTS” OPENS BROADWAY SEASON AT ASU GAMMAGE

“KINKY BOOTS”
Broadway Across America – Arizona, ASU Gammage
Tempe, AZ

Broadway arrived Tuesday at ASU Gammage when the national tour of the charmingly entertaining but silly and daffy musical “Kinky Boots” opened the local Broadway season.  The show was every bit as delightful as the New York production.

But it wasn’t a good night at ASU Gammage when the theater itself crammed a sold-out crowd into the theater’s inadequate lobby space until the theater doors finally opened just 10 minutes before the stated 7:30 p.m. curtain time.  That … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ September 15, 2014

NEW CABARET REVUE FEATURES 50 COLE PORTER SONG GEMS

”I GET A KICK OUT OF COLE”
Theater Works
Peoria, AZ

Cole Porter wrote sophisticated songs with clever lyrics for a myriad of musicals he created from the late-20s through the mid-50s.  His most famous were “Anything Goes,” “Can-Can,” and his masterpiece “Kiss Me, Kate.”

From Porter’s vast repertory of classic hit tunes, Steve Hilderbrand and Gary Gallner string 50 of the best together with an interesting commentary of Porter’s tragic life to create a new cabaret revue, “I Get A Kick Out of Cole.”  They use a chic … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ September 8, 2014

”THE ALBUM PROJECT: JAGGED LITTLE PILL” IS A UNIQUE THEATRICAL EVENT

“THE ALBUM PROJECT: JAGGED LITTLE PILL”
Nearly Naked Theatre, Hardes Theatre at Phoenix Theatre
Phoenix, AZ

“The Album Project: Jagged Little Pill” is a most unique theatrical event.  Leave it to Nearly Naked Theatre to present such a different theatrical event to Valley audiences.  The production is a concert presentation of the 14 songs from Alanis Morissette’s famous album that sold over 33 million copies worldwide.

The recording is a testament to a woman that uses a soft-rock voice to tackle the emotional wreckage of her young … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ September 1, 2014

DIFFERENT “PHANTOM” NICE CHANGE ON THE POPULAR TALE AT HALE CENTRE THEATRE

“PHANTOM”
Hale Centre Theatre
Gilbert, AZ

The famous “Phantom of the Opera” story has a different version besides the popular Andrew Lloyd Webber creation.  Written and originally recorded in 1992 and called just “Phantom,” it has music and lyrics by Maury Yeston with a book by Arthur Kopit, both well-known musical theater writers.  They based their interpretation on the famous Gaston Leroux novel that Lloyd Webber does not credit on his version.

“Phantom” is less obsessed with spectacle and is more focused on the Phantom’s relationship … Continue Reading