This review aired on KBAQ March 30, 2015

ATC’S BOLD “ROMEO AND JULIET” MOVES BRISKLY AND HAS FINE CAST

”ROMEO AND JULIET”
Arizona Theatre Company, Center Stage, Herberger Theater Center
Phoenix, AZ

Arizona Theatre Company publicity states that the company’s first production of William Shakespeare’s classic love story, “Romeo and Juliet,” “takes on a bold new theatricality under the ambitious and creative hand of award-winning director Kirsten Brandt and designer David Lee Cuthbert.”  It’s rare that such glowing marketing proves so true.

Re-envisioned by Brandt, Shakespeare’s classic dialogue and the familiar plot that includes jealousy, revenge, prejudice, and evil betrayal is intact as is the Verona, … Continue Reading

This review and season announcement aired on KBAQ March 23, 2015

HALE CENTRE’S “MY FAIR LADY” IS BEAUTIFUL AND THOUGHTFUL

”MY FAIR LADY”
Hale Centre Theatre
Gilbert, AZ

Two items today, first a review of a “My Fair Lady” production and second, the Broadway musicals to be included on the 2015/16 ASU Gammage Broadway season.

“My Fair Lady” is a tough musical to stage but Gilbert’s Hale Centre Theatre presents a beautiful and thoughtful staging with a fine local cast.  The musical challenges because it’s a period piece set in 1912 London that mandates two very different English accents, accomplished singers, and actors who can create … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ March 16, 2015

CHILDSPLAY’S “GIRLS WHO WEAR GLASSES” HAS GREAT MESSAGE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES

”GIRLS WHO WEAR GLASSES”
Childsplay, Tempe Center for the Arts
Tempe, AZ

Childsplay develops charming plays that have a great teaching message and re-enforce serious life lessons for young kids.  But, unlike too many children’s theaters, Childsplay always employs enough theatrical panache and flair that the learning tools are entertaining.  That generalization applies to Childsplay’s current production, “Girls Who Wear Glasses.”

Local playwright Anne Negri wrote the play that is having its world premiere here and she crafts a captivating tale about accepting differences between people because … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ March 12, 2015

BROADWAY REVIVAL OF “CINDERELLA” ENCHANTS AUDIENCES AT ASU GAMMAGE

”CINDERELLA”
Broadway Across America – Arizona, ASU Gammage
Tempe, AZ

I love big, splashy old-fashioned musicals and the enchanting fairytale “Cinderella,” this week’s Broadway production at ASU Gammage, is a tunefully pleasant 1957 Rodgers and Hammerstein classic that was originally created for television until a successful Broadway revival last season gave the show new life on stage.

“Cinderella” is now on tour as it enchants audiences across America.  The opulent and stylish production includes elaborate costumes, lush settings that transform from locale to locale with the magical precision expected … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ March 9, 2015

SSC’S “UNCLE VANYA” LAGGARDLY PACED AT MESA ARTS CENTER

”UNCLE VANYA”
Southwest Shakespeare Company, Anita Cox Farnsworth Studio Theater, Mesa Arts Center
Mesa, AZ

Southwest Shakespeare Company describes itself as “Arizona’s Professional Classical Theatre Company.”  That definition implies that Mesa’s 21-year-old theater performs the often ponderous scripts that can bore audiences as chatty characters spew endless dialogue that takes a play’s heavy theme and drags them out for a lengthy performance of often bland monotone drama.

Such is the case with the company’s first Anton Chekhov drama, “Uncle Vanya.”  The complex work explores bleak late 19th century Russian … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ March 2, 2015

PHOENIX THEATRE’S “ANYTHING GOES” IS EXUBERANTLY STAGED AND WELL CAST

”ANYTHING GOES”
Phoenix Theatre, The Mainstage Theatre
Phoenix, AZ

From the first bouncy notes of Phoenix Theatre’s exuberantly staged and smartly cast “Anything Goes” Cole Porter’s charmingly melodic 1934 show sparkles as it entertains mightily.  Director/choreographer Robert Kolby Harper wisely chose the musical’s 1987 Broadway version when the original book was sharpened to a more contemporary sensibility.  Even though the revised show touches on contemporary social commentary about women’s rights and the need for equality, all of Porter’s original songs were restored and some additional Porter tunes … Continue Reading