Theater Review – December 11, 2022

“THE WICKHAMS: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY” IS ANOTHER DELIGHTFUL HOLIDAY ENTERTAINMENT

“THE WICKHAMS: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY”
Arizona Theatre Company, Center Stage, Herberger Theater Center
Phoenix, AZ

By Chris Curcio
Theater Critic

There’s a second wonderfully festive show in town to put theatergoers in a rich holiday mood.  The first is The Phoenix Theatre Company’s delightful “Cinderella” and Arizona Theatre Company’s “The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley” continues last season’s superb first installment with a bright new take on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”

Instead of centering on the Wickhams and their relatives, the Darcy’s, this year we learn how the Darcy’s servants, Mrs. Reynolds, … Continue Reading

Theater Review – December 7, 2022

AMAZING “MOCKINGBIRD” STUNS IN AN ASTONISHING TOURING PRODUCTION AT ASU GAMMAGE

“TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD”
Broadway Across America – Arizona, ASU Gammage
Tempe, AZ

By Chris Curcio
Theater Critic

Dramatizing Harper Lee’s sprawling and moving 1960 novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” is no easy task.  The 1962 now classic movie version was vibrant but a stage version has remained elusive.  Since 1990, a mediocre and unauthorized adaptation by Christopher Sergel has played schools and community theaters.  In 2019 Aaron Sorkin’s interpretation took Broadway by storm. It was a vehicle for Jeff Daniels who triumphed as Atticus Finch, the small-town Maycomb, Alabama … Continue Reading

Theater Review – December 4, 2022

“LA RUTA” IS A POWERFUL AND WELL ACTED PLAY ABOUT THE AWFUL TREATMENT OF WOMEN

“LA RUTA”
Stray Cat Theatre, Tempe Center for the Arts Studio Theatre
Tempe, AZ

By Chris Curcio
Theater Critic

We all know, though some deny, that women are not always well or equally treated.  Playwright Isaac Gomez’s powerful “La Ruta,” receiving its Arizona premiere in a robust Stray Cat Theatre production, has chosen the abused and maligned Hispanic women who live in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico but work in U.S. factories as its focus.

The women slave for 12 hours, six days a week in a non-descript factory … Continue Reading