Email Author Robrt L. Pela

1998 Stories by Robrt L. Pela

• Insane Clown Pass

  published December 31, 1998

  On the day after Christmas, I found myself at Circus Flora, a spectacle I opted for over yet another Neil Simon comedy at the Herberger. ... More >>

• Reverb of the Native

  published December 17, 1998

  If there were any real justice in the world, Larry Shue would be considered the greatest comedy writer of the American theater, and Neil Simon... More >>

• The Return of Nativity

  published December 17, 1998

  The best news about the Christmas pageants playing professional stages this holiday season is that not one of them features a fat guy in a red... More >>

• One Plays, the Other Doesn't

  published December 10, 1998

  There's no synopsizing Gus Edwards' new play. Four Walls' brief, unformed trio of scenes whizzes by like the trailer for a bad movie--one with no... More >>

• Frying Chaucer

  published December 3, 1998

  Someone asked me the other day what I want for Christmas, and I didn't have to think very long before replying that I want no one in Arizona--no... More >>

• Tyrone Power

  published November 19, 1998

  If they'd been written today, the Tyrone clan of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night would be just another dysfunctional family whose... More >>

• Acting Up

  published November 12, 1998

  These days, the best way to get a laugh in the theater is to hum the theme song from Laverne and Shirley. But references to my favorite sitcoms... More >>

• Street Smarts

  published October 29, 1998

  A pair of plays that hovers tantalizingly between success and failure caught my attention this past weekend. Both of them are commentaries on... More >>

• The Tango Lesson

  published October 29, 1998

  Thanks to the success of shows like Riverdance and Stomp, dance programs with vaguely cultural themes have formed a kick line across the country.... More >>

• The Muzak Man

  published October 22, 1998

  I figured I wouldn't like Barry Williams. I expected that if I didn't find him personally repellent, I'd at least hate his performance in The... More >>

• Private Parts

  published October 22, 1998

  Although psychologist Mel Roman took down his shingle more than 10 years ago to concentrate on his visual art career, he's still manipulating... More >>

• History Is Easy, Comedy Is Hard

  published October 15, 1998

  There are worse things to do than sit through a boring history lesson--like attending a dismal comedy trying to pass itself off as a history... More >>

• West Side Glory

  published September 24, 1998

  The first weekend of the theater season looked like show business as usual. Phoenix Theatre was kicking off its 78th year with another... More >>

• Trophy Life

  published September 10, 1998

  I once interviewed a film actress who was attempting a comeback with her own television show. "I always tell people that I do this for the art,... More >>

• Beetlemania

  published September 10, 1998

  John O'Neal knows that the road from political activism to the stage of the Kennedy Center is a long one. O'Neal is artistic director of Junebug... More >>

• Tales of Tiara

  published July 30, 1998

  Pageant is not a drag show. Although its leads are all women played by men in wigs and dresses, this kitschy comedy isn't aimed at gay audiences... More >>

• Good Shakespeare Hunting

  published July 23, 1998

  I was one of those guys holding his head and groaning when, in the early Eighties, Ted Turner and his pals began colorizing classic films. I hated... More >>

• No Flash in the Pan

  published July 23, 1998

  The ads proclaim that Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan, but of course that's not entirely true. Peter Pan was a lot of things, but he was never an Olympic... More >>

• Playwrights of the Western World

  published July 16, 1998

  Andy Warhol's 15 minutes of fame formula does not apply to undiscovered playwrights. They get only seven minutes, if they're lucky, rarely get... More >>

• Stomp and Circumstance

  published July 2, 1998

  An indefinable tribute to all things rhythmic, Stomp has officially made the transition from hip happening to pop-culture reference. Though it... More >>

• Tempting Fete

  published June 25, 1998

  Say what you will about the state of theater in Phoenix; at least our mask and wig clubs know their limitations. I've seen smallish Los Angeles... More >>

• She Is Woman, Hear Me Snore

  published June 18, 1998

  In Hollywood, sequels are compulsory. Live theater, unlike Tinseltown, tends to be more selective about revisiting its characters and stories.... More >>

• Shtick Shift

  published June 11, 1998

  If it isn't surprising that this theater season began and ended with Neil Simon plays, it's at least comforting that both of them--if not the... More >>

• Dazzled and Confused

  published June 4, 1998

  Would that every local theater company could afford nine-month rehearsal periods for each of its shows. Then maybe every production would be as... More >>

• Good Head

  published May 28, 1998

  There's a curse on Christopher Wynn's new play. Four of the show's seven cast members suffered physical injuries during rehearsal; one of the... More >>