Email Author Robrt L. Pela

2011 Stories by Robrt L. Pela

• Robrt Pela on Local Theater Troupes' Tough Times in 2011

  published December 29, 2011

  Not far from where I sit typing this, theater people are wringing their hands. That's what I picture, anyway: The folks at Actors Theatre,... More >>

• 

  COVER STORY

  "Nathan Sawaya: An American Legocy" at Mesa Contemporary Arts Plays It Safe

  published December 22, 2011

  If the Nathan Sawaya exhibit at Mesa Contemporary Arts is underwhelming, it's only partly because there's so little of it. "People keep... More >>

• For Weird-Looking Churches, Phoenix Is the Patron Saint of the Odd

  published December 8, 2011

  It is, as the song goes, that most wonderful time of the year. The weather is mostly bearable; I have an excuse to listen, nonstop, to my vast... More >>

• The Westward Ho Miraculously Has Maintained Much of Its Original Splendor and Charm

  published November 24, 2011

  I finally made it into the Westward Ho. Big deal, you say? You try getting past the security guard in the lobby of this downtown... More >>

• Race: iTheatre Collaborative Makes the Most of David Mamet's Latest

  published November 10, 2011

  Tolstoy was right: It's more fun watching people be miserable. And so we have David Mamet, the American playwright who has brought us the... More >>

• Rico Solinas' Saw-Blade Paintings Elevate a Folksy Tradition

  published November 3, 2011

  My grandfather died, quickly and unexpectedly, on Thanksgiving Day in 1987. My mother returned from his Ohio funeral with a suitcase full of... More >>

• SHINE: Art

  published November 3, 2011

  The Night Also Rises Scottsdale may not be the only place in the world with a permanently installed skyspace open to the public,... More >>

• SHINE: Shop

  published November 3, 2011

  "It" Kickers Long before it became a statewide chain of eight Western wear stores, Saba's was a Scottsdale institution.... More >>

• SHINE: An Introduction

  published November 3, 2011

  If you grew up in Scottsdale, chances are good that some of your favorite icons — former Mayor Herb Drinkwater, the Safari Resort, Lulu... More >>

• SHINE: Scottsdale Icons

  published November 3, 2011

  Can coolness wedge itself into walls and floors? Because every inch of the Hotel Valley Ho is cool — and has been since 1956. Everyone... More >>

• Stories About the Old Days: Despite Its Sweet Moments, Black Theatre Troupe's Show Fails to Move Us

  published October 20, 2011

  In Bill Harris' Stories About the Old Days, an elderly man and woman stand in an old church and recount their lives. They bemoan the... More >>

• Ted Decker's "Declaring Independence" Spotlights Unrepresented Artists

  published October 6, 2011

  Ted Decker smells really good. But don't ask him what scent he's wearing. Decker can recite the names of every one of the artists who created... More >>

• Wendy's Gets a Makeover -- It's Still Wendy's

  published October 6, 2011

  The fact that Phoenix has become The Home of the Huge Public Embarrassment has its upside. When we're not being shamed by our politicians and... More >>

• Stray Cat Theatre's The Sparrow Is for the Birds

  published September 29, 2011

  Stray Cat Theatre has kicked off its 10th season with a meandering mess of dramatic devices masquerading as a play. A murder mystery of sorts,... More >>

• Edith Head at Actors Theatre Will Entertain Even the Fashion Unconscious

  published September 22, 2011

  We were, as we do most Saturday nights, dressing for theater. "Why does this shirt look so nice on the hanger," I asked my spouse, "and... More >>

• SMoCA's "Extended Collapse" Is a Deconstruction Disaster

  published September 22, 2011

  "Extended Collapse," the striking second installation in Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art's Architecture + Art series, is my kind of show.... More >>

• Andrew Ross' Bird on Fire Outlines Phoenix's Fundamental Problems and How We May Fix Them

  published September 8, 2011

  I am sitting in a downtown cafe, waiting for an out-of-town friend and reading the galleys of a new book that calls Phoenix "the world's least... More >>

• Nearly Naked Theatre's Oedipus for Kids! Makes a Mockery of a Failed Marriage

  published September 1, 2011

  Things were looking up, even before Nearly Naked Theatre's Oedipus for Kids! commenced on opening night. It's always nice to open a... More >>

• Changing Lanes on the Sevenths Increase Confusion

  published August 25, 2011

  I've never been shy about admitting that I'm not the brightest man in town. And so I'm not ashamed to tell you that, for years, I avoided... More >>

• You'll Eat Up Hale Theatre's Little Shop of Horrors

  published August 18, 2011

  My visit to Hale Center Theatre last week marked the fifth production of Little Shop of Horrors I've seen in a decade — no... More >>

• Cannibal Run

  published August 18, 2011

  My visit to Hale Center Theatre last week marked the fifth production of Little Shop of Horrors I've seen in a decade — no... More >>

• Hairspray

  published August 18, 2011

  Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan's Hairspray is, I've decided, made of Teflon. It would appear that nothing can hurt this oft-produced... More >>

• Michael Schroeder Helped Shape the Phoenix Skyline

  published August 11, 2011

  This hasn't been a great year for renowned local architects named Michael. In May, Michael Kemper Goodwin passed away. And now we've lost... More >>

• Baby: The Musical: The 1980s Tuner Is Ripe for a Comeback

  published August 4, 2011

  The nice people at Arizona Broadway Theatre sent someone to lecture me about the way I review theater. Apparently, my last review of an ABT... More >>

• John Spiak's Swan Song at the ASU Art Museum Reminds Us of the Burdens of Beasts

  published July 28, 2011

  One hears ASU Art Museum curator John Spiak's latest show before one sees it. From the landing above the stairwell leading down to the museum's... More >>