I sometimes like to use the word “fearless” about a performance, and it may not always mean that much to you, the audience member. But it means a lot when you go to see Th [sic] Sense sketch comedy troupe, because all of them are fearless, and it’s what makes…
Apollo 12 moon mission: A lightning strike during launch meant that both astronauts might be killed during re-entry — with absolutely no way to know ahead of time. Apollo 12 longform improv troupe: also absolutely no way to know ahead of time, with all the excitement and none of the…
With what the economy’s done to our tax base, we probably wouldn’t be enjoying Shemer Art Center & Museum’s exhibitions and classes this year had the private-sector Shemer Art Center and Museum Association not stepped in. SACAMA operates the center right now, while Phoenix Parks and Recreation maintains the historic…
Things that once seemed so clear, such as the vital roles played in U.S. history and culture by immigration and the labor movement, are a freakin’ can of worms these days. But here at Curtains, none of that matters. Here, we review plays. Theater of the human condition. Theater that…
With what the economy’s done to our tax base, we probably wouldn’t be enjoying Shemer Art Center & Museum’s exhibitions and classes this year had the private-sector Shemer Art Center and Museum Association not stepped in. SACAMA operates the center right now, while Phoenix Parks and Recreation maintains the historic…
Viewing the works of big-time Southwest painter Merrill Mahaffey, you’d never suspect that “things God made are harder to draw than things man made,” as a teacher once told us. Mahaffey’s discipline applies fractal modernism to the wonders of nature. Somehow, in Mahaffey’s landscapes, the sun looks brighter but also…
Good and useful news: Noises Off, originally scheduled to close Sunday, September 12, has been extended through Sunday, September 19, at Phoenix Theatre. It’s a hot ticket — and this is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see crisp, impeccably executed farce at its best.Now and then, I look at…
Viewing the works of big-time Southwest painter Merrill Mahaffey, you’d never suspect that “things God made are harder to draw than things man made,” as a teacher once told us. Mahaffey’s discipline applies fractal modernism to the wonders of nature. Somehow, in Mahaffey’s landscapes, the sun looks brighter but also…
Remember birthday parties where the main entertainment was playing with all the kid’s new stuff? Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art must feel that way about the gift they received earlier this year: works from the collection of Don and Carolyn Eason. The just-opened treasures in “Thirty Years of Collecting: A…
From time to time, our theater guru, Julie Peterson, dishes helpful advice before you head out the door with your own or your companion’s disability. If you have more tips, especially about local theater-going with non-mobility impairments, please comment or drop her a note. Any time you’re planning to see…
Poetry readings can be all over the map — and what’s for you depends partly on whether you prefer listening or performing. The gamut runs from chancy-but-adventurous open mics to competitive slams to official, pre-planned literary events, like the three-year-old Phoenix Poetry Series, currently caressing our ears at Urban Beans.The…
The rare objects in America that’ve endured since the 17th century tend toward breadbox-size, fragile, and amazing . . . just like the oldest pieces in “Lasting Impressions: Japanese Prints from the ASU Art Museum,” the first exhibition of several dozen prints usually housed in the museum’s Jules Heller Print…
The rare objects in America that’ve endured since the 17th century tend toward breadbox-size, fragile, and amazing . . . just like the oldest pieces in “Lasting Impressions: Japanese Prints from the ASU Art Museum,” the first exhibition of several dozen prints usually housed in the museum’s Jules Heller Print…
C4 Martini & Wine Bar/Cave Creek Coffee Company has long been a favorite spot for getting just barely away from it all, with its slightly-lower-than-Phoenix temps and great musical acts, both indoors and in the funky Camp. Add daily roasted coffee, kick-ass martinis, wine, and “eclectic bistro” cuisine, and it’s…
Since December, I’ve lived with a fascinating condition called foot drop, in which a loss of communication along the nerves in my lower leg makes my toes drag on the floor like Jar-Jar Binks. As my rehab progresses, I’ve gone out on the town with a crutch; a walker; fearless,…
How about something mellow to ease that transition to the work week? During the first and third Sunday evenings of each month, we suggest you hit HomeBase: The Poets’ Poetry Set. Sign-up for spoken-word and musical performers starts at 6 p.m. for the 7 o’clock open-mic set. Or just listen…
courtesy of Great Arizona Puppet Theater It’s Hunca Munca and Tom Thumb, the title characters of Two Bad Mice. I try to bring a kid along (a friend or relative, not a random kid I’ve abducted from the street) when I’m reviewing a kids’ show. I can’t really gauge audience…
We like novels that are merely inspired by the weird crap that happens around here. It’s a relief to read something we know isn’t actually happening right now, probably right outside our window. Arizona-raised best-selling author Brenda Novak delivers the goods with White Heat, about a possibly murderous couples-only cult…
Phoenix Theatre’s Hormel New Works Festival wrapped up Sunday night with the presentation of the 24-Hour Theatre Project, five fully produced 10-minute plays that had been created entirely in the previous 24 hours.Actors (who were cast as an unassigned group a week or so ago) showed up Saturday night in…
Not every theater company can take a metal-roofed, tin-ceilinged building with no central A/C in a Phoenix July (“an oven,” as Soul Invictus artistic director Franc Gaxiola astutely described it in his curtain speech) and turn it into a venue that’s relatively comfortable if you dress appropriately and sit still…
Count on Mesa Arts Center to bring the quirky. Not every venue is savvy enough to bring us a live taping of an acclaimed program from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. That’s right — it’s Jonathan Goldstein with “Wire Tap Live!” The Wire Tap radio show features Goldstein engaging in conversations…
Opportunities to perform, direct, or see decent theater slow to a trickle during Phoenix summers. Therefore, Phoenix Theatre’s Hormel New Works Festival has been an oasis for culture vultures since 1998. Scott McCarrey’s play Robot Songs gets its staged readings (directed by the venerable Robert Kolby Harper) this weekend. The…
