Air Time

When The Manic Hispanic: On The Air premieres today at Herberger Theater Center, you can expect caustic mockery of the radio broadcasting business and loads of music. Is that enough? Then how about this: Top 40 veteran DJ James “Manic Hispanic” Rivas stars as himself in the production. Already honing...

By Leslie Barton

October 28, 2010

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When The Manic Hispanic: On The Air premieres today at Herberger Theater Center, you can expect caustic mockery of the radio broadcasting business and loads of music.

Is that enough? Then how about this: Top 40 veteran DJ James “Manic Hispanic” Rivas stars as himself in the production.

Already honing a comedy bit reflecting hilarious and awkward exploits with celebrities and musicians, Rivas collaborated with the prolific James E. Garcia, artistic director for Phoenix’s New Carpa Theater, to stage this pulls-no-punches play.

Garcia tells New Times that he took “a lot of liberties in creating the scenes, but all of them are rooted in some sort of experience [Rivas] had." Then, we asked Rivas about his radio successes, and he advised, "Get a degree . . . then jump into this crazy changing business head on and be ready to work lots of hours for little pay and do the crap job at first."

Tue., Nov. 2, 12:10 p.m.; Wed., Nov. 3, 12:10 p.m.; Thu., Nov. 4, 12:10 p.m.; Tue., Nov. 9, 12:10 p.m.; Wed., Nov. 10, 12:10 p.m.; Thu., Nov. 11, 12:10 p.m., 2010

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