For weeks, Gerry Cullity has been surrounded by whores -- yes, whores, good golly!
"And isn't that a little bit like heaven?" says Cullity, director of Desert Stages Theatre's mainstage production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, which opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 9, at 4720 North Scottsdale Road. "There's a bevy of whores--about 15 of them!," he reports. "That's certainly a perk of the job."
For those who've only seen the 1982 film starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds, Cullity says the stage production might surprise audiences. "I couldn't even make it through the movie," Cullity admits. "The film took away the charm and the energy of the original story." Thankfully, the stage production doesn't include a rendition of "I Will Always Love You," nor the riding-off-into-the-sunset ending.
Tickets to the musical, which runs through August 1, are $15 in advance, $18 day of show. Call 480-483-1664. -- Joe Watson
Hard Corey
Last Comic Standing 2 competitors visit the Improv
7/08-7/11
Comedian Corey Holcomb ain't wholesome, and he'll tell you that much. "I've got two 7-year-olds, and they ain't twins," he jokes. Competing on NBC's Last Comic Standing 2, Holcomb--with his women-bashing jokes and admissions of men's bad behavior (particularly his own) -- has endeared him to disgruntled single guys everywhere. And women -- the ones who can take a harsh joke -- dig his shtick, too. With Todd Glass (also from Last Comic Standing), Holcomb co-headlines the Tempe Improv this Thursday, July 8, through Sunday, July 11, and, as Holcomb says, he's "the ghetto part of the show." Tickets are $12 to $15; call 480-921-9877. --Niki D'Andrea
Shrink Rap
Play puts loco in motion
7/13-7/22
Crazy people are funny, and so are their therapists, and in American Latino Redux: The Therapy Sessions, it might be difficult to tell the difference between the two. The Colores Actors-Writers Workshop production showing at the Herberger Outreach Theater, 222 East Monroe, peeks into the shattered mind of Al, a Latino-American harboring several identities, including Speedy Gonzales, Cesar Chavez and possibly his own ethno-therapist. Phoenix playwright James Garcia explains that ethno-therapists help people cope with the psychological damage caused by their ethnic heritages. Garcia intends for the play to incite a violent uprising against the current political regime, but he'll settle for sharing a little Latino culture. The play opens Tuesday, July 13, at 12:10 p.m., and runs through July 22. Call 602-252-8497 for tickets, $5. --C. Murphy Hebert
