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FSO preview: A touch of Europe (AZDailySun)
It's time to put on your best beret when the music of two very different composers -- George Gershwin and Maurice Ravel -- are featured in the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra's season opener, titled "The French Connection," this Saturday at Ardrey Auditorium.
The lives and careers of the two men intersected in the late 1920s in
Gershwin, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, is of course known as the composer of countless songs that are still standards of the popular music repertoire, as well as for his larger works for piano and orchestra, symphony orchestra and his immortal opera "Porgy and Bess."
Ravel was born into a mixed Basque and French heritage, but spent most of his life in Paris and southern France.
The two met in 1928, when Gershwin was on a three-month sojourn in
Ravel was one of those, but he politely declined to offer Gershwin lessons in composition.
Ravel's own cross-Atlantic venture a few years later exposed him to many of the American jazz influences that were part of Gershwin's musical makeup.
MASTERPIECE IN THREE WEEKS
Pianist Sara Buechner, now a resident of
Buechner, a very diverse musical personality and performer, will be featured as guest pianist in Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."
This work launched him into a new phase of musical accomplishment, apart from his earlier career as a "tin-pan alley" pianist and writer of Broadway musicals.
"Rhapsody in Blue" was written in the space of three weeks in 1924, after Gershwin had forgotten that orchestra leader Paul Whiteman had commissioned a piece for a Carnegie Hall program of "modern music" in February of that year.
He was surprised to read in the paper that he was "hard at work" on the promised composition.
The rhapsody is now a standard part of the concert repertoire for piano and orchestra.
FORGING A REMARKABLE CAREER
Buechner won a gold medal in the prestigious Gina Bachauer competition in 1984 and a bronze medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition in
She has since forged a remarkable career in the concert world, has commissioned numerous works from contemporary composers, and often accompanies silent films for the Film Festival of Lincoln Center in
Opening Friday's concert is Gershwin's symphonic poem, "An American in
A bustling opening evokes the street sounds of
"An American in
CAUSING QUITE A STIR
Ravel was known as a master orchestrator as well as composer, and he arranged one of his solo piano pieces, the "Alborado del Gracioso," for full symphony orchestra.
The piece strongly reflects his Basque heritage and interest in the rhythms and structures of Spanish music, as does the final piece on Saturday's program, "Bolero."
First performed as a ballet in
Many will remember the piece as background to the Dudley Moore film "10."
MANY MEMORABLE EVENINGS
Laura Kelly, the FSO's general manager, says of this season's programming, "We have tried to come up with a richer and more varied format for the season."
The varied format for this, the 61st FSO season, will include the Gershwin/Ravel pairing this month, a more traditional classic repertoire in October and the always sold-out Nutcracker at the Christmas holidays.
Memorable evenings with the symphony continue in 2011 with the monumental Bach "Mass in B Minor" with NAU choral forces in January, a Chinese connection in February, another traditional program of Mozart and Dvorak in March, and at the end of the season, a partnering with Flagstaff Friends of Traditional Music, featuring the Kruger Brothers, a banjo, guitar and bass bluegrass ensemble.
NOTE: The French Connection concert is dedicated to Pat Curry, a beloved figure and devoted former conductor of the FSO, who passed away earlier this month after a long illness.
IF YOU GO...
WHAT: The French Connection, Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra Kick-off concert of the 2010-11 season, featuring pianist Sara Buechner and with Elizabeth Schulze, conductor
WHEN:
WHERE: NAU's Ardrey Memorial Auditorium
TICKETS: Tickets at the Central Ticket Office, call 523-5661
or visit www.nau.edu/cto.
RELATED EVENTS
WHAT: "An American in
This 1951 movie starred Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. Featuring the music of George Gershwin.
WHEN:
WHERE: Orpheum Theater,
ADMISSION: $5 admission, to include drawing for FSO concert tickets
WHAT: "We Choose What We Hear: Listening to Gershwin and Ravel," a free, lunchtime lecture series; bring your lunch. Presented by educator and FSO cellist Mary Nebel
WHEN:
WHERE:
'Argyle socks have never been so sexy' (AZDailySun)
A sexual fetish for socks shapes the storyline of "Psychopathia Sexualis," the farcical comedy by award-winning playwright John Patrick Shanley, which opens Friday night in the Studio Theatre on the NAU Campus.
Produced by the Peaks Theatre Fest/Town and Gown Theatre Company, the new name for the NAU Theatre summer season, the play is a humorous look at male and female friendships, relationships, psychoanalysis, and above all, a particular pair of socks.
"Basically, Arthur is a fetishist who cannot 'perform' without his father's old argyle socks nearby," explained director Kathleen M. McGeever, chair of the Department of Theatre at NAU. "It's a very funny play about people and their problems and all the troubles that happen when you partner up."
A LOT OF INNUENDO
The production has a small cast of five, consisting of NAU theatre students Tony Latham as Arthur, Angela Kriese as Arthur's fiancee Lucille, Nathan Spector as Dr. Block and Heather Vaughn Shoemaker as Ellie.
Tim Clark, an NAU business professor, plays the role of Howard, Arthur's stuffy best friend.
McGeever said the playwright plays with our minds.
"There is a lot of innuendo, but it is never spoken about graphically," said Spector, who in his role as shrink steals the said socks in a last-ditch effort to cure Arthur of his fetish.
Shanley, the author of "Moonstruck," "Joe Versus the Volcano," and "Doubt," wrote "Psychopathia Sexualis" in 1996.
The play is based on an 1886 book by the same name of notable case studies of human sexual behavior by Richard von Krafft-Ebing.
Von Krafft-Ebing was an Austro-German sexologist and psychiatrist. Essentially he was the Dr. Ruth of the 19th century, McGeever explained.
The play explores intimate relationships between non-homosexual males. As the play starts, we watch Latham, as Arthur, bounce around neurotically while sharing his secret with the condescending and aloof Howard.
"Being physical and intimate with another male is so uncomfortable nowadays," Latham said. "There are stigmas and punishment for saying the wrong thing, even with your best friend. It's the contemporary male's plight."
ROOKIE TO THE STAGE
As theatre students in a small program, the four students have worked together numerous times before, including in a 2009 NAU Theatre production of "The Bald Soprano," with McGeever also as their director.
Not only does Clark get to tackle taboo subjects onstage and break into a tight-knit crowd, but he is a rookie to acting.
"We seldom take on things that we don't have prior assurance of succeeding at," Clark said. "I think I'm learning courage."
Clark is the only "community player" in the cast for this production.
"The Peaks Theatre Fest/Summer Town and Gown Theatre encourages community involvement, mixing professional theatre artists, students and talented community volunteers," McGeever added.
Working with a new cast can be challenging, but the 40-something Clark has bonded with the crew.
"The way he carries Howard is just lovely," said Vaughn Shoemaker, who plays Howard's wife, Ellie. "Tim has that vulnerability and honesty. The audience will really see this man has two different sides."
In a live stage performance that primarily works with witty dialogue and the intense interaction between characters, chemistry is extremely important.
"Working with Tim is a different dynamic, which keeps us on our toes," Spector said. "If we were too comfortable, the show wouldn't be worth watching."
Howard's British accent comes easier to Clark, who has British parents. Clark also says that he can relate to Howard.
'The Vast Difference': Macho Man meets his match (AZDailySun)
Male mid-life crisis, vasectomies and our perspectives of gender identity -- everything male is fair game in this contemporary play about a nearly middle-aged man questioning his role in life.
George Noonan is a flight attendant for Heartland commuter airlines. His wife has given him five daughters and constantly nags him to get a vasectomy. He's tortured by visits from his long-deceased father, a man's man, who idolizes John Wayne and the Detroit Tigers. Dad, who was a barber, can't stand the thought that his boy, Georgie, is a "stewardess."
"The Vast Difference" by Jeff Daniels is a satirical look at all things male. Did he really intend to rhyme the title of his play with vas deferens? Whether he did or not, the play is well-written and the dialogue between the players is natural and spot on.
George decides to give in to his wife's nagging and schedules an appointment with a urologist, Dr. Hala Howard, who, he is shocked to find out, is a woman.
Eventually, George begins confiding in Dr. Howard and his visits start becoming psychotherapy sessions for him. She lends an unsympathetic ear to him, finally persuading George that his masculinity is measured by his life's good deeds, not by his, well, you know.
ALL IN HIS HEAD
"The story takes place in George's head while he undergoes his vasectomy," says director and Theatrikos veteran Mickey Mercer. "While he's under [the anesthesia], George dreams of encounters with his father and his macho friends at typical male bonding venues like the ballpark, in his dad's barbershop, the gym and even a men's therapy group."
The male bonding and locker room jokes abound as George struggles with his decision to have the vasectomy and his life after the big snip.
This is one of 11 plays written by Daniels, best-known for his acting in movies like Woody Allen's "A Purple Rose of Cairo," "Dumb and Dumber" and the docudramas "Gettysburg" and "Gods and Generals."
In addition to writing plays and acting in movies and television, Daniels is a gifted musician/songwriter and founder/executive director of The Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea, Minn.
WEALTH OF LOCAL TALENT
In between acts at a recent rehearsal, I had the opportunity to sit down with the cast and find out a bit about them and why they auditioned for "The Vast Difference."
I asked Mercer why he chose this play.
"I chose to direct this play because it is very funny. It makes fun of men and all things generally thought of as masculine."
Mercer also mentioned that Daniels' plays are based on masculine themes. Of the three or four plays by Daniels he has read, this is his favorite.
I also asked Mercer what he thought of the talent pool in Flagstaff.
"There is an amazing amount of talent. For a small town, it's amazing what shows up at the auditions."
And Mercer says he "can sleep at night" because the players work so hard and professionally.
Leading the cast is Scott Ballou, who moved to Flagstaff about a year ago to "get away from the Phoenix heat." He's acted in supporting roles in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and "A Flea in Her Ear." He wanted to be George because it's "a good role, with a lot of emotional depth."
Playing George's father, Earl, is Dennis Hattem, a Theatrikos veteran who wanted the role because he loves to play "curmudgeonly types and quirky characters." Besides, his character "loves John Wayne!"
SON CONVINCED HER
Amanda McDonald plays Dr. Hala Howard, George's "female" urologist. This is McDonald's second role on stage at Theatrikos. Originally, she wasn't going to audition, but her son convinced her.
The rest of the cast is made up of Scott Kennedy, Rob Peters and Corey Wegwert as the Four Men, and Sydney Tolchinsky as George's nagging wife, Rita.
The cast is well-balanced and the acting and timing in rehearsal was well done. You will enjoy Theatrikos Theatre Company's production of "The Vast Difference." You'll howl with laughter as you watch the cast confront the stereotypes of the macho male.
Because of adult themes, this production is not recommended for children.
Fringe Festival coming to town (AZDailySun)
Best be in a mood for dance this spring, as 12 different performance groups will be showing off their work in 19 dance events at four different venues throughout Flagstaff during the first two weekends in May.
Billed as the first-ever Flagstaff Performance Arts Fringe Festival, the festival will kick off with a gala performance Friday, April 30, which will feature a party with all companies dancing at Coconino Center for the Arts.
The festive name is linked in history to 1947, when the first Edinburgh International Festival was created as a post-war initiative to reunite Europe through culture.
Eight theater groups participated in a variety of locations, mostly away from the big, public stages.
In 1948, a journalist coined the name "fringe festival," the concept of an entertainment event with no central box office, no publicity or program, staged in unconventional spaces.
AN IDEA IS BORN
Gina Darlington, of Canyon Movement Company, and Jayne Lee, of Human Nature Dance Theatre, are the festival organizers.
They met at Brandy's for dinner in November 2009 to share their dreams for dance and the performing arts in Flagstaff.
On her website, Lee said she had performed at the Boulder Fringe Festival with Human Nature Dance Theatre in August 2009; she had also, many years before, performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Darlington, who is the executive director of Canyon Movement Company, said the success of last year's "summer of dance" pushed them to initiate the fringe idea here.
"We wanted to create a festival where local and visiting companies could share their work, while contributing to the Flagstaff arts scene," Darlington said. "Based loosely on the Boulder Fringe Festival, it is an unjuried, uncensored two weekends of dance and other performance art that will enliven and enhance our community."
TUCSON TO COLORADO
There are a number of companies featured in the festival: AnaTomia Dance Collective (Tucson), Encore Dance Company, Canyon Movement Company, Human Nature Dance Theatre, Isolated Incident Performance Group, Al Rakasaat, Flagstaff Dance Fusion & Sambatuque, Dynamic Rhythm, Velocity Dance Company, CCC Emerging Choreographers' Showcase (all from Flagstaff), Pash Galbavy (Sedona) Gregg Tobo and Astonishing Productions (Colorado).
"It's a chance for Flagstaff to experience many of our fabulous local dance groups including modern, jazz, ballet, ethnic and performance art," Darlington said. "We also have a magician coming from Colorado, as well as Aeriel dancers from Tucson."
Big love versus little love? (AZDailySun)
Charles Mee's play, "Big Love," is inspired by what some believe may be the earliest surviving play of the Western world, "The Suppliant Women" by Aeschylus, a story as old as time and as new as tomorrow's wedding page.
Twenty-five hundred years hasn't brought the sexes one inch closer to resolving the timeless questions of love and duty.
The patriarchal roles thrust upon the boys leave them little choice but to follow in their father's footsteps. The women are chained to pre-ordained roles but seem to be evolving into the male mythology.
Small love is arranged societal legal contracts like marriage that sell women to the highest bidder and demeans both parties.
"Big love" is the spontaneous eruption of an individual's instinct that lacks reason and plays out like a fine sonnet.
A CAUTIONARY TALE
As a cautionary tale, in 2,500 years, future playwrights may bend this tale to meet their needs.
The male argument runs thus: "You can't stop the clock. Tomorrow will take today by force whether you like it or not. Time itself is an act of rape. Life is rape. No one asks to be born. No one asks to die. We are all taken by force, all the time. You make the best of it. You do what you have to."
With Mee's play, we recognize, for a brief moment, that we're in the hands of perennial wisdom.
What we choose to do with these moving insights can inform our future interactions. His play challenges us to examine our relationships.
This is the story of 50 sisters, who have promised their hands in marriage to 50 cousins, who flee from Greece and seek sanctuary in Italy.
The brothers find the girls under the protection of Pietro and Bella, the personification of the patriarchy and the matriarchy.
PROMISES WERE MADE
But the women, as represented by Lydia, Olympia and Thyona, make a good legal case that they've been sold, by fathers, to men they don't love.
Thyona states their position bluntly: "The male is a biological accident, an incomplete female the product of a damaged gene, a half-dead lump of flesh trapped in the twilight zone somewhere between apes and humans always looking obsessively for some woman... Boy babies should be flushed down the toilet at birth."
As the helicopters fly over with the "husbands-to-be," the women threaten to hang themselves.
Nikos, Constantine and Oed represent the 50 men. The men argue that the girls' fathers made a deal, before the girls were born, to marry the brothers.
Constantine states the brother's legal position: "What is it you women want? You want to be strung up with hoods and gags and blindfolds stretched out on a board with weights on your chest. You want me to sew your legs to the bed and pour gasoline on you and light you on fire. Is that what I have to do to keep you? We never agreed to release you from your promise."
A VIOLENT COMEDY
We're in a violent comedy, like life, that yanks and pulls us with layered depths.
The language of the play is so vital and fresh, it shakes us out of our slumber. We laugh to keep from crying.
The logic in the earth-shattering actions of the women brings us back to Greek tragedy. The women and men take turns throwing themselves to the ground in epileptic fits of confusion at the historical inevitability of their role-playing.
Music, poetry, song and dance surround the climax wherein we understand what is meant by the apocalypse.
Any wedding, any love should be consummated with the kind of hellish commitment this play unveils. It's a metaphor for one single love and it's a bloodbath juxtaposed to a new beginning.
"When you fall in love, what choice do you have?"
The implications are big.
Mee implodes the primal dialectic, perhaps, so we can see our way to a new synthesis.
Are we ready to go there? Go to "Big Love" and find out!
Sex and Satire (FlagLive)
With laugh-out-loud comedy, a boisterous cast and a visually impressive set, the new Theatrikos production “A Flea in Her Ear” is a raunchy romp through top-notch theatrical absurdity...
From Broadway with love (AZDailySun)
Ending its 60th season with a visit to the Great White Way, the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra will present "Bravo Broadway," its annual Percival Lowell Concert, this Friday night in Ardrey Auditorium. The Broadway offering during the last season was an enormous hit, and this time a special touch will be added by Kresley Figueroa...
A taste of whimsy (AZDaily Sun)
What do you get when you throw together a totem pole from plastic bottles, a black standing elephant created from rubber tires and a female mannequin clothed in Japanese newspapers? Try the annual Recycled Art Exhibition for an answer...
Sorting out a reopening (AZDailySun)
Even though their Flagstaff store was closed by a roof collapse two months ago, Bookmans employees are again sorting books into piles, buffing scratches from used CDs and DVDs and combing through video games. But their workspace is a cavernous warehouse that is largely empty as Bookmans attempts to build up a new inventory before an anticipated reopening in late fall...
Theater Review: 'A Flea in Her Ear': Amorous antics abound
(AZDailySun)
After years of wedded bliss, Raymonde Chandebise confides to her best friend, Lucienne Homenides de Histangua, that she is beginning to doubt the fidelity of her husband, Victor, who suddenly has become sexually inactive. As she puts it, "after having been a husband -- and what a husband! -- suddenly stopped -- like that. Between one day and the next....
(Flagstaff Live)
The raw determination and restless spirit of Flag rock band Fight the Quiet is evident in the reaction of Nathan James in a recent interview when asked, “What would you say to younger musicians who are waiting to get discovered?” he responded with shock. “Waiting to be discovered? Well, first off, you can’t wait,”...
Shepherds, Rejoice! Borderlands' merry 'Pastorela' once again reflects the spirit of Tucson (Tucson Weekly)
In this age of big-budget movies and streaming video, it's easy to question the value of live theater. A movie ticket is cheap, and theater certainly can't compare in terms of pyrotechnics or CGI.Is there, in fact, anything you can do onstage that can't be done better on film? The answer is a resounding yes, and anyone who doubts this should attend Borderlands Theater's A Tucson Pastorela, now making its 14th annual appearance in the Old Pueblo...
Drums, Dance, Mime (Tucson Weekly)
Odaiko Sonora enlists some friends for their first full concert in two years... Yarrow King has the answer to the great mystery of Batucaxé: How do you pronounce the name of the lively troupe that's been bringing the rhythms of Brazil and Africa to Tucson for the last eight years?
Gordon Knox named new ASU Art Museum director (Arizona State University)
The ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts announced the appointment of Gordon Knox as the new director for the ASU Art Museum. Knox, currently a core collaborator for the Stanford Humanities Lab (SHL) at Stanford University, will begin his duties as museum director on a part-time basis on Jan. 11, 2010, assuming the position full-time July 1....
ShowUp.com celebrates 5th anniversary (The Arizona Republic)
ShowUp.com, the Valley's one-stop shop for arts and culture listings and discount tickets, marks its fifth anniversary Sunday, Nov. 15, with plenty to celebrate. Nearly every Valley arts group participates, from such major institutions as the Phoenix Symphony, Ballet Arizona and the Desert Botanical Garden on down to tiny alternative theaters. And this year, ShowUp.com expanded, creating mirror sites for Tucson and Flagstaff...
Rent’s going up in Mesa (Echo Magazine)
Mesa may have a conservative reputation, but Mesa Encore Theatre won’t be doing the high school version of Rent when the show is staged there. “No, no, no, no, no! We are doing all of Rent from beginning to end,” director Phillip Fazio said. “I know it’s hard to believe that this is actually going to happen in Mesa, but I guess it’s one of those ‘you’ll have to see it to believe it.’” ...
Theater Works' The Smell of the Kill Is a Little Off (Phoenix New Times)
The Smell of the Kill is an awful name for a play, especially one as smartly written as Michele Lowe's tart black comedy, now on display at Algonquin Theater in Peoria. The story concerns three 21st-century wives stuck in pre-feminist marriages; each has a husband who's lacking in some real way and who's keeping his wife down with his rotten behavior....
"Fools" (KBAQ)
KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company's production of Neil Simon's comedy "Fools," that tells of a small Russian town, Kulyenchikov, where the inhabitants are plagued by a curse that makes them all foolish.
Lodestar Day Resource Center at the Downtown Phoenix Homeless Campus Offers Art Classes and a Place to Create (Phoenix New Times) This year, we asked artists and other creative types we know to come up with something that reflected their idea of Phoenix as their own personal Wonderland, this year's theme...
KBAQ and Phoenix Chorale Scavenger Hunt (KBAQ)
KBAQ Classical 89.5 FM and the Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Chorale challenge you to identify these 18 Sites You'd See on a First Friday Art Walk. Entry deadline is First Friday, October 2, at 5:30 PM online or 9:00 PM in person at Trinity Cathedral....
Recession hits arts groups (Jewish News of Greater Phoenix)
Arizona Jewish Theatre Company's decision in April to cancel the last show of its 2008-2009 season was one of the most visible signs of the effects of the current American recession on Arizona arts organizations, but it was not the only one...
ShowUp.com expands reach (Jewish News of Greater Phoenix)
Local arts and culture patrons in the know already use ShowUp.com to find out what's going on in the Valley. Starting Aug. 24, the Web site will expand its scope to Flagstaff as well. This comes only a few months after ShowUp.com began serving the metropolitan Tucson area. "Flagstaff and Tucson have really vibrant arts and cultural happenings that in many ways are very different from what goes on in the Valley," says Matt Lehrman, executive director of Alliance for Audience, the nonprofit organization that founded ShowUp.com in November 2004...
Local arts find silver lining in cloud of economic woes (The Arizona Republic)
The economic storm that has washed away arts funding has also grown creativity and strengthened relationships, members of the state's local arts agencies say.As artists, art advocates and executives met this week during the Southwest Arts Conference in Carefree, one workshop discussed the hardships and successes of local arts agencies.The hardships, naturally, involved funding. Some agencies, such as the Phoenix Arts Commission, saw their funding cut by as much as 50 percent. The Arizona Commission on the Arts saw its funding cut by 42 percent...
Classical Indian dance at Tempe Center for the Arts (The Arizona Republic)
Before attending Harvard University as a Coca-Cola scholar in the fall, Smitha Ramkrishna will perform her Bharatnatyam Arangetram before an audience at Tempe Center for the Arts.
Red Rocks Music Festival launches eighth season (Jewish News of Greater Phoenix)
After eight years, the Red Rocks Music Festival is still going strong. The annual cultural event, which brings classical music performances to venues in Sedona and around the Valley, will be held Aug. 30-Sept. 6."We try to reach a broad audience and come up with programs that are appealing and...
The Year in Gay Theater (Echo Magazine)
Okay, this is where I roundly castigate local theaters for their lack of LGBT content, right? But believe it or not, if you look hard enough, there are plenty of shows that tell our stories, or are written by gay playwrights. Of course, who could have imagined that one of the prime theaters for gay-friendly work is little Mesa Encore Theatre, which opens with Ken Ludwig’s cross-dressing comedy Leading Ladies (September), follow it with their version of Rent (November)...
After 45 years, the Guarneri Quartet retires (KBAQ)
With its final Valley performance, the Guarneri Quartet says farewell after 45 years of glorious music-making. Hear excerpts from a backstage interview when violinists Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley and violist Michael Tree talked with Katrina Becker...
Meeting Anthony Rapp & Adam Pascal.- Mark and Roger of Broadway's RENT. (azTeen Magazine)
What is RENT? No, it’s not a payment made periodically by someone in exchange for land or a home. RENT is one of the most famous shows to have been on Broadway. More than 13 years ago, a man named Jonathon Larson created this show. It started out as a workshop then grew to be what it is now....
DuoWest Presents the World Premiere of "Artifacts" (KBAQ)
Piano-cello chamber ensemble DuoWest performs the world premiere of "Artifacts," a song cycle inspired by the lost civilization of the Hohokam, created by local composer Craig Bohmler and lyricist Marion Adler...
Columbine revisited (Echo Magazine)
Columbinus takes a look at what leads to high school shootings- Created by the United States Theater Project, columbinus seeks to make sense of the horrors of the Columbine High School massacre and the social hierarchies that helped foster it.
Tucson Pima Arts Council to start online directory (Tucson Citizen)
An online directory will be launched April 10 to provide a one-stop look at all arts and entertainment options in the Tucson region, the Tucson Pima Arts Council announced. Tucson will join cities around the country where arts organizations have consolidated color-coded arts and entertainment listings plus the ability to buy tickets onto a single Internet site. Tucson's listings will be available on a dedicated button at ShowUp.com..!
High on Rent (Echo Magazine)
When the much-anticipated tour of Rent arrives in Tempe at Gammage Auditorium, a lot of the cast will look familiar to those who know the show’s history or who saw the amazing DVD of the final Broadway performance. Original stars Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal have joined the tour to recreate their iconic roles of Mark and Roger...
Just a Stage- Die laughing with Killer Joe at Nearly Naked Theater (Echo Magazine)
Nearly Naked premieres Tracy Letts’ horrifyingly hilarious comedy. If you thought the Palins were the worst white trash family in America, think again! The benignly named Smiths of Tracy Letts’ brutally black comedy, Killer Joe, definitely take the deep-fried Twinkie in that contest....
Arizona State University's Future Arts Research is Shortsighted in Failing to Focus on Phoenix (Phoenix New Times)
Let's get this straight: Millions of dollars are being hacked from Arizona university and college budgets. Entire university programs are being eliminated. There's talk of actually closing down some of ASU's satellite campuses. ASU employees are forced to take furloughs. The downtown Phoenix arts community is tenaciously hanging on by its fingernails. And Michael Crow's latest brainchild is...
Latino arts groups call for a cultural home (The Arizona Republic)
When Elizabeth Gauna closed the Museo Chicano in January, it wasn't just the end of a small Phoenix museum. It left a city of 1.5 million people, 40 percent of them of Hispanic descent, without a Latino art museum. While major Latino museums have sprung up in big cities, including Long Beach, Calif.; Albuquerque; and San Antonio, Phoenix has lagged behind.
Arts World Weight-Sharing Techniques (The Bulletin, PA)
To dig each other out of the current economic morass, a fundamental integration of the arts and business worlds is urgently needed. Instead of segregating each into right- and left-brain domains relegated to work versus leisure time, these two equally important elements must finally be united into one forceful whole. Artists know...
Arts Groups Lose Out in Fight for Funds (The Wall Street Journal)
Museums, theaters and operas, already reeling from the recession, are having a tough time attracting support amid perceptions that vital services like soup kitchens and homeless shelters should receive funds first. Arts organization are retrenching, and in some cases closing, as a result of fewer sales of tickets and merchandise, arts leaders say. They're also seeing fewer donations from individuals and corporations, and cutbacks in government funding. About 10,000 arts organizations, or 10% of the U.S. total, are at risk of folding, according to Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit lobbying group in Washington, D.C....
Shakespeare feast: Original recipe, 2 adaptations(The Arizona Republic)
This month, Valley theaters are offering a three-course feast for Bardophiles. Southwest Shakespeare has a more or less traditional Othello, while Black Theatre Troupe is serving up a hip-hop musical version of Hamlet called Revenge of a King. Over at Theater Works, there's Premiere!, a new comedy by Dale Wasserman about a successful playwright who decides to pass off his own work as a "lost" tragedy by the greatest dramatist in history...
Get Ready to Burp These Babies! (Echo Magazine)
Who is Dixie Longate and why is she calling me “Hooker?!” Not to worry, it’s a term of endearment from the big-hearted and even bigger-haired Queen of Tupperware...check out this interview wiht the star of Dixie’s Tupperware Party...
The buzz on 'Triple Espresso'(The Arizona Republic)
The creators of the showbiz comedy Triple Espresso might not have imagined that their pet project would become such a gigantic hit, running for 12 years in their hometown of Minneapolis and playing in theaters across the country. But even before they booked their first performance (at a local church), they had big ambitions: to write "the funniest show in America."...
'Hair' long on appeal, power(The Arizona Republic)
Peace, love, harmony? Check. Sex, drugs, rock and roll? Check. But there's a lot more powering Arizona Theatre Company's revival of Hair than flowers and nostalgia...
No Bailout for the Arts? (Washington Post)
While government bailouts are being offered or considered for financial institutions, the auto industry, homeowners, and so many other needy and worthy sectors, one group is quickly and rather quietly falling apart: our nation's arts organizations...
Life is wild with 'Lion King' (Arizona Republic)
Elephants, giraffes, gazelles: The Lion King may be the most dazzling Broadway show in a generation, but the supporting roles played by the ensemble sound like something out of a grade-school pageant... review by Kerry Lengel
Life’s a Stage, Even When You’re Sitting in Front of One (Phoenix New Times)
As usual, I saw a hell of a lot of plays this past year. But I suspect 2008 is the year I'll remember not so much for what took place on stage (although it's hard to forget a production as flawless as Childsplay's A Tale of Two Cities, or one so mind- and ass-numbing as Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde) as what happened around me before, during, and after the show...
Robert Harper Q&ARobert Harper (Echo Magazine)
One of the Valley’s most beloved actors talks about the Phoenix Theater scene. If you’re a fan of professional theater in Phoenix, you have either seen Robert Harper onstage or seen his inventive choreography....
Logainne has two daddies and a really long last name!The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee (Echo Magazine)
Echo talks to Putnam County’s littlest overachiever. William Finn’s (Falsettos) humorous musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, may seem sweet on the surface...William
“Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting” at SMoCA Manifests in the Form of Lead Teddy Bears and Car Wreckage(Phoenix New Times)
At Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art's "Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting," charred car parts equal lace and lead yarn equals teddy bear. See, unlike me, the artists in this show successfully push the boundaries of method and material....
Behind-the-scenes work garnering rave reviews( Jewish News of Greater Phoenix)
Multicultural approach suits ASU events chief-"She is a creative and dynamic person who has brought a tremendous commitment to taking the arts out to the community, involving more people of different backgrounds and in different ways than anyone I've ever met," said Rabbi Barton Lee, director of the Hillel Jewish Student Center at Arizona State University.
Deavere Smith to Raise Issues in 'Arizona' (Back Stage.com)
Playwright-actor Anna Deavere Smith will present The Arizona Project — a one-woman show exploring women's relationships to justice and the law — at Herberger Theater in Phoenix.
Curtains: A New Brain at Soul Invictus(Phoenix New Times)
Nowadays most theatergoers have at least heard of Avenue Q, Angels in America, and Urinetown, but the original offbeat, snarky, hyper-literate, queer-friendly Renaissance man, in my opinion, is William Finn, composer/lyricist of the Falsettos trilogy and, most recently, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Artists' Theatre Project, informally known as @Pro, has built their reputation by programming on the daring side (especially for the Valley) and mounting energetic, respectable....
Chihuly helps us see life anew ( The Arizona Republic)
Dale Chihuly is ambitious.The Seattle glass artist built a marketing empire, selling his signature as a brand name and single-handedly raising the profile of glass as an art medium for the wider public.
Out of the mouths of babes comes … Scientology? (Echo Magazine)
Neil Cohen covers The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Stray Cat’s newest holiday offering — A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant and Holly Jolly Christmas a seasonal treat at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre.
Arty Girl: Artists on Artists: "The Re-Imagined Space" Series at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (Phoenix New Times)
If you grew up in the West, you’re probably pretty hungry for space. With our ranch-style homes, big back yards and seemingly endless desert, we’re sensitive to the way our walls block us from that which we crave. Such is the focus of a discussion, curated by local artists Steven Yazzie and Sue Chenoweth, that focuses on three artists’ work
“Lowriders and Tattoos” at Mesa Arts Center Is an Audiovisual Attack That Hurts So Good (Phoenix New Times)
It's difficult to enter "Lowriders and Tattoos" at Mesa Contemporary Arts without preconceptions. Let's be honest: Both cultural phenomena carry a negative stigma, even in a country where Hispanic culture is blossoming and, according to exhibit curator Patty Haberman, nearly half the population is inked....What happened? The show kicked my presupposing booty into sensory overdrive and knocked me off my stereotyping course....
Reviews for: "The Producers" - Phoenix Theatre and "Everything Will Be Different" - Stray Cat Theatre Media Reviews for Everything Will Be Different: (Cutain Up Phoenix)
Two diverse but well staged theater events premiered over the weekend. For its 1,000 show, Phoenix Theatre mounts a thoroughly entertaining staging of “The Producers,” Mel Brooks’ hilarious musical based on his film that slams crackpot Broadway producers. The other show is Stray Cat Theatre’s fascinatingly dark character study of a troubled teenage girl devastated by her mother’s death, “Everything Will Be Different,” subtitled “A Brief History of Helen of Troy.” This production marks the alternative theater company’s move to the downtown Tempe Performing Arts Center....
Stray Cat brings old spirit to new digs in 'Everything' (The Arizona Republic)
You can take the cat out of the alley, but you can't take the alley out of the cat. Stray Cat Theatre has moved into new digs for the 2008-09 season, at the Tempe Performing Arts Center. The venue is not to be confused with the $63 million Tempe Center for the Arts, but it's a vast improvement over the alternative troupe's last theater, with better lighting and sight lines....
Vegas, baby! (Echo Magazine)
Get ready to see the original coolest of the cool when The Rat Pack Live at the Sands hits Gammage. You might be tempted to think that The Rat Pack Live at the Sands is a tribute show where the performers just mimic icons like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin, and that the show had to be made in America. You’d be wrong on both counts...
Talk about Dysfuntional! (Theater Maven)
Take one imaginative teen age girl whose mother has died and who does not communicate with her father at all, mix in some fantasy involving her sexuality, demeanor and need for a confidante and you have the recipe for a very intriguing evening of theater!...
'BS4P' makes pop-culture point, over and over (The Arizona Republic)
Part sketch comedy, part performance art, Britney Spears for President is billed as a "pop culture disaster." Which is as good a description as any. A demented fantasia on celebrity worship, plastic surgery and post-9/11 politics, it's the brainchild of John Caswell Jr. and his Progressive Theatre Workshop....
10/2-11/15: 'All Shook Up' (The Arizona Republic)
In an unlikely pairing, Shakespeare meets Elvis Presley in Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre's next offering. The result is a sweet tangle of romantic love and high energy rock and roll. All Shook Up opens Thursday, Oct. 2, and runs through Nov. 15 at the Mesa theater....
Dinner theater options (The Arizona Republic) Caberet and All shook Up!
It doesn't matter whether you order the chicken or the beef, the main course at a dinner theater is always nostalgia. Even when it's a "new" musical, it's usually a revue packed with familiar melodies. A comparison of this month's openings at the two big dinner-and-a-show venues in the Valley...
Art comes out at night at Tempe Marketplace (East Valley Tribune)
A partnership between Tempe Marketplace and ASU Herberger College of the Arts, Night Gallery is a showcase for graduate students, faculty and alumni...
>> Hits ‘Lion King,’ ‘Wicked’ return in ‘08-’09 Gammage season (East Valley Tribune)
Stage musical versions of television’s “Happy Days” and Disney’s “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” plus returns of hit musicals “The Lion King,” “Rent,” “Cats” and “Wicked,” headline the 2008-’09 Broadway Across America season at Tempe’s Gammage Auditorium.
>> 9 Parts of Desire: a story of Iraqi women searching for freedom (Phoenix New Times)
...Raffo's remarkable one-woman show unfolded before me, moved not only by the depth of emotion she brought to each of her nine characters but by the subtlety with which she led me (and, I'm guessing, much of the audience) to...
>> Innovative band keeps Basie's jazz alive, fresh (The Arizona Republic)
What a difference a day makes. Very little if it's the Count Basie Orchestra. William "Count" Basie has been dead for 23 years, but it would be difficult to tell from the group's performances
>> Through 4/20: 'Jekyll & Hyde' is a macabre spectacle (The Arizona Republic)
Fans of such macabre musicals as Phantom of the Opera and Tim Burton's latest big-screen bloodletter, Sweeney Todd, will want to head over to Arizona Broadway Theatre for Jekyll & Hyde. Frank Wildhorn's hit Broadway musical is running at the Peoria dinner theater through April 20.
>> Joanna Settle on directing 9 Parts of Desire and what she refuses to ask an actor to do (Phoenix New Times)
Director Joanna Settle is the other woman behind playwright/actor Heather Raffo's acclaimed 9 Parts of Desire as well as...
>> 'Merry Wives’ of whimsy (Get Out)
Dressed up in the fat suit and fineries of bloated grifter Sir John Falstaff in Southwest Shakespeare Company’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” Ben Tyler is so much more than the funniest sight gag this season. He’s a source of architectural wonder.
>> Sirens of Song will sing for Opera's benefit (The Arizona Republic)
The Sirens of Song, three East Valley sopranos, will fill Steinway of Scottsdale's hall with music in a fundraising concert April 4 for the Phoenix Metropolitan Opera. The concert, from 6 to 8 p.m., is one of a series of community events for the Phoenix Metropolitan Opera, which was founded in 2006 by Metropolitan Opera star and mezzo soprano Gail Dubinbaum and her husband, John Massaro, an award-winning arranger, conductor, composer and producer of North Phoenix.This community fundraiser will feature...
>> Cyber sins – dark play weaves a dangerous web (Echo Magazine)
Director Jonathan Bellar is about to take audiences on a scary ride through the secret worlds of the Internet when his production, dark plays or stories for boys opens at ASU’s historic Lyceum Theatre.
>> 'Kissing' leaves emotional mark (The Arizona Republic)
Theatre Artists Studio bills itself as a workout space for actors and directors, rather than a producing company in competition with the dozens of others in the Valley. But with its onstage offerings, this "co-op" is aggressively staking out a prominent place in the theater scene.
>> As WGA Nears Deal, Is SAG Next? (Backstage.com)
The timing of a potential resolution -- less than five months before a potential actors walkout -- means there will be no immediate greenlights based on the work of returning writers....
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