Email Author Robrt L. Pela

2009 Stories by Robrt L. Pela

• Death on Two Legs

  published March 12, 2009

  Jason Webley used to stage his own theatrical death each Halloween -- until a couple of years ago, when he announced that he would no longer... More >>

• Bless Our Homo

  published March 12, 2009

  It seems, somehow, a little late in the game for another film about the religious condemnation of homosexuality. But while Daniel... More >>

• Art Detour 2009

  published March 5, 2009

  For proof that art lovers are about more than schmoozing and sipping cheap wine from plastic glasses, one need look no further than Art Detour,... More >>

• First Christian Church is a Real Frank Lloyd Wright

  published March 5, 2009

  I'd always assumed that the peculiar church on Seventh Avenue was a Frank Lloyd Wright knockoff, one of dozens of acclaimed buildings around town... More >>

• Hollywood Ending

  published March 5, 2009

  Fans of Tinseltown tripe may be disappointed by “The Last Mile: An Exhibition of Rare and Private Photographs by Barbara McQueen”... More >>

• Landmark Victory

  published March 5, 2009

  You think you know Phoenix until you see it through Jason Hill’s eyes: the Luhrs Tower, the Westward Ho, the Rosson House, and especially... More >>

• Through the Looking Glass, Lightly

  published March 5, 2009

  Its plot, in summary, sounds like the synopsis of a Lifetime TV movie. Its accolades, which include a 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, give it a... More >>

• Black Theatre Troupe's The Bluest Eye Portrays Adult Issues with Adults Convincingly Portraying Children

  published February 26, 2009

  Lillie Richardson is not 11 years old. I had to keep reminding myself of this during her performance in Black Theatre Troupe's production of... More >>

• Town and Country Mall Embodies the Lingering Spirit of Old Phoenix

  published February 26, 2009

  I live in fear of a few things: That Frank Rich will retire. That the writers of Lost will add yet another character to the show. That... More >>

• Landmark Victory

  published February 26, 2009

  You think you know Phoenix until you see it through Jason Hill’s eyes: the Luhrs Tower, the Westward Ho, the Rosson House, and especially the... More >>

• 28 is Enough

  published February 26, 2009

  It’s tough to look away from a story that begins, “I was one of twenty-eight children born to my dad and his three wives.” So... More >>

• Look Homeward, Fallen Angel

  published February 26, 2009

  Thomas Wolfe was apparently mistaken: You can go home again. But if you do, terrible things may well befall you, as happens to Bruce... More >>

• Sub Pop

  published February 19, 2009

  In the late Fifties and early Sixties, a handful of artists -- most notably, Edward Hopper, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol -- elevated Pop... More >>

• Sub Pop

  published February 19, 2009

  In the late Fifties and early Sixties, a handful of artists -- most notably, Edward Hopper, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol -- elevated Pop... More >>

• Black and Blue

  published February 19, 2009

  Eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove is a young, black girl growing up in Ohio in the 1940s. But she’d like very much to be someone else. She... More >>

• Middle Age Crazy

  published February 19, 2009

  Today, getting someone’s attention is all about texting and tweeting and maybe starting a rumor about the size of certain of one’s... More >>

• Of Human Bondage

  published February 12, 2009

  Should African-Americans cling to the legacy of slavery as part of their identity or should they distance themselves from this shameful,... More >>

• Surburban Gothic

  published February 12, 2009

  The Apocalypse nears. The new baby is coming. And one of the neighbors won’t keep his damn dog off the freaking lawn. This is... More >>

• Turn the Other Sheik

  published February 12, 2009

  Head’s up: Duncan Sheik is coming to town. But the singer/songwriter won’t be performing his ’90s radio hits “Barely... More >>

• Arizona Theatre Company's A Raisin in the Sun Induces a Standing Ovation

  published February 12, 2009

  I have finally seen a play that made me want to stand and applaud at the end. First time ever. I figure I've been to the theater on the... More >>

• Will the L. Ron Hubbard House Turn a Camelback Neighborhood Into a Scientology Recruitment Mecca?

  published February 5, 2009

  On a recent December Sunday, on a still street nestled against Camelback Mountain, a party is in full swing at the L. Ron Hubbard House. It's... More >>

• Condo Complex PRD845 May Be Eco-Friendly and Full of Modern Amenities, But That Doesn’t Make It Less of an Eyesore

  published February 5, 2009

  I've been working overtime lately to not hate the newish, ultra-modern condominium complex that was dropped into my historic neighborhood near... More >>

• Concrete Angel

  published February 5, 2009

  Just when you thought there was no possible new approach to life, some guy -- an architect like Bernard Khoury, for example -- creates a... More >>

• The Check Is in the E-mail

  published February 5, 2009

  It sounds sublime: A C-list television actor receives an e-mail from a con artist who’s posing as the wife of a dead Nigerian leader in... More >>

• A House with No Walls at the Herberger Theater Center Fails to Set Free the Emotions Associated with Slavery

  published January 29, 2009

  A House with No Walls is neither an enlightening history lesson nor a compelling entertainment. Thomas Gibbons' play tells us nothing we... More >>