Email Author Robrt L. Pela

2009 Stories by Robrt L. Pela

• It's a Family Affair

  published December 31, 2009

  Nothing says “holiday season” quite like an African-American, pistol-toting gramma with attitude. Or so says Tyler Perry, who’s... More >>

• Tour de Force: What Happens When You Open the Doors to Your Historic Home to Strangers

  published December 24, 2009

  My spouse and I recently invited 2,000 strangers into our home. Friends roll their eyes when I admit this, but for me, the only weird part... More >>

• Prima Divas

  published December 24, 2009

  It’s not about man-on-man action anymore. In order to truly be gay, it appears, a homosexual man must name a “diva” – a... More >>

• Stray Cat Theatre’s “Speech & Debate” Smells Like Teen Angst

  published December 17, 2009

  The irony in the failure of Stray Cat Theatre's current production of Speech & Debate is that it falls short largely because its lead... More >>

• Found: Stray Cats

  published December 17, 2009

  Apparently some misguided fans of Stray Cat Theatre have been heading for the flashy new Tempe Center for the Arts, rather than the older Tempe... More >>

• 

  COVER STORY

  Chasing Pablo: For Old-School Art Pickers, the Thrill Is Fading – and So’s the Payoff

  published December 3, 2009

  There's a big plaster duck in the driveway of Rick Orr's mobile home. If you know Rick Orr, you know this can't possibly be just any plaster duck;... More >>

• Secret Service

  published December 3, 2009

  Just when you thought it was safe to keep a secret, Frank Warren turns up with another of his PostSecret books. Warren, “the most... More >>

• Murder, He Wrote

  published December 3, 2009

  Novelist Zachary Lazar has a reporter’s heart. In Evening’s Empire, a Phoenix-centric account of the murder of his father,... More >>

• "Canalscape for Metro Phoenix" Closing Reception

  published November 26, 2009

  Who needs Venice? Like that lovely city, Phoenix may, if Dr. Nan Ellin and her students have their way, be fronted by waterways one day soon.... More >>

• George Is Dead, and Even Marlo Thomas Can’t Resurrect This Play

  published November 26, 2009

  Oh, dear. And I was so looking forward to seeing Elaine May's new comedy, too. Most of the rest of you — those of you unfortunate... More >>

• Theater Works' The Smell of the Kill Is a Little Off

  published November 12, 2009

  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... More >>

• A Maker of Wacky Birdhouses and Other Phoenix Artisans Must Fly the Coop Because a Circle K Is Moving In

  published November 12, 2009

  If you've ever driven along Indian School Road, just east of Seventh Street, you may have noticed the wacky birdhouses displayed on a long, low... More >>

• Black Beane

  published November 12, 2009

  The only thing better than a play by Douglas Carter Beane is a play by Douglas Carter Beane -- the author of As Bees in Honey Drown, the... More >>

• Changing the Channels

  published November 12, 2009

  Who needs Venice? Like that lovely city, Phoenix may, if Dr. Nan Ellin and her students have their way, be fronted by waterways one day soon.... More >>

• Topical Paradise

  published November 12, 2009

  Everyone is plotzing because Marlo Thomas is coming to town to do an Arizona Theatre Company play, but how about this? That play, George Is... More >>

• Changing the Channels

  published November 5, 2009

  Who needs Venice? Like that lovely city, Phoenix may, if Dr. Nan Ellin and her students have their way, be fronted by waterways one day soon.... More >>

• Desperate Housewives

  published November 5, 2009

  Your husband sucks. So do the husbands of your two best girlfriends (whom you actually don’t know all that well, and aren’t sure you... More >>

• Actors Theatre's Boom Turns the End of the World Into a Blast

  published October 29, 2009

  Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's creationist comedy about the end of the world is, excuse the pun, built for disaster. Apocalyptic commentaries on theories... More >>

• Best Fiends Forever

  published October 29, 2009

  You think you know some scary people, but you haven’t met Screwtape. He and his nasty nephew -- both demons in the literal sense -- are... More >>

• Design of the Times

  published October 29, 2009

  For fans of Eames chairs, nylon Frieze, and built-in blond-wood cabinetry, the title says it all: “Modernism Revisited: An Exploration of... More >>

• Pathetic Sex Between Weirdo Losers

  published October 22, 2009

  Jules is a guy looking for a quickie. But be forewarned: If you want to hook up with him, you have to do it in his subterranean biology lab.... More >>

• Arizona Theater Company’s The Kite Runner Is a High-Flying Version of Khaled Hosseini’s Novel

  published October 15, 2009

  The Kite Runner has finally received the adaptation it deserves. Its Arizona Theater Company production, now flying high at the Herberger,... More >>

• The Lizard of Odd

  published October 15, 2009

  Global elite, beware: David Icke is coming to town. The British author, public speaker, and conspiracy theorist has spent the past two... More >>

• The Coolio World

  published October 15, 2009

  Most of us know one: a clever 20-something who dresses exclusively in vintage clothing, listens to big-band music, and is obsessed with Joan... More >>

• Al Beadle’s Mountain Bell Building Implodes Before a Cheering Crowd

  published October 8, 2009

  The worst part was the cheering. On the other hand, there wasn't much to love about that particular Sunday morning in the first place. It... More >>