This review aired on KBAQ November 26, 2015

BROADWAY HOLIDAY DISASTER “A CHRISTMAS STORY” OPENS AT ASU GAMMAGE

“A CHRISTMAS STORY – THE MUSICAL”
Broadway Across America, ASU Gammage
Tempe, AZ

It’s easy to feel sorry for ASU Gammage Executive Director Colleen Jennings-Roggensack who tries to present what audiences here demand like when she was asked to include a holiday show on her annual Broadway series.

Unfortunately, this season the only touring holiday show available was “A Christmas Story – The Musical,” a 2010 Broadway disaster based on the 1983 film that took it’s time to become a holiday classic on cable television.

The touring production struggles … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ November 23, 2015

PHOENIX THEATRE’S “THE WIZARD OF OZ” DISAPPOINTS

“THE WIZARD OF OZ”
Phoenix Theatre, Mainstage Theatre
Phoenix, AZ

Since Michael Barnard, Phoenix Theatre’s producing artistic director, arrived 17 years ago, he’s dramatically improved the company’s offerings so PT musicals, many masterminded by Barnard, have set a high standard expected by local theatergoers.  That’s why it is so difficult to report that the latest PT production, Barnard’s holiday staging of “The Wizard of Oz” disappoints dramatically.

There are a few good things about this “Wizard” including a trio of PT stalwarts who play the friends Dorothy finds on her travels … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ November 16, 2015

“DISGRACED” IS SMASHING AND “FLORENCIA en el AMAZONAS” IS FINE

“DISGRACED”
Arizona Theatre Company, Center Stage, Herberger Theater Center
Phoenix, AZ

Two different but rewarding performing arts events greeted Phoenix audiences this past weekend when Arizona Theatre Company premiered a smashing production of the recent Broadway hit “Disgraced” and Arizona Opera premiered a fine presentation of the first Spanish opera commissioned in the United States, “Florencia en el Amazonas.”

You will never guess where “Disgraced” is headed when the 90 minute play begins and launches into a wild ride as characters evolve, develop, and change with split-second dialogue … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ November 9, 2015

NEARLY NAKED THEATRE’S “MONSTER” BORES AUDIENCES

“MONSTER”
Nearly Naked Theatre, The Hardes Theatre, Phoenix Theatre
Phoenix, AZ

When theater bores a receptive audience, there’s nothing worse.  That’s the impact of Neal Bell’s “Monster,” Nearly Naked Theatre’s lifeless, ineptly acted, and blandly directed current production.

It takes place in “the early 1800s somewhere in the Arctic Ocean and Europe” but you’d never guess the locale from the miserable set.  So “Monster” starts with a dreadful script, a terrible setting, but then a seven person acting ensemble arrives to play a variety of characters.  You will rarely witness such miserable performing … Continue Reading

This review aired on KBAQ November 2, 2015

MADCAP “TOXIC AVENGER” GUARANTEED TO DELIGHT AUDIENCES

“THE TOXIC AVENGER”
Phoenix Theatre
Phoenix, AZ

As the raged and wrinkled curtain parts to begin Phoenix Theatre’s “The Toxic Avenger,” a massive monstrosity of junk appears as the show’s unit set.  It’s the perfect look for the Tromaville, New Jersey setting of this madcap and riotous comedy that is filled with a succession of superlative jokes, catchy but innocuous songs, plus an inane story about a slovenly town where Manhattan deposits its toxic waste.  The odious trash impacts everyone living there including a competitive money-driven mayor who leads the … Continue Reading