4/8-4/11 “When you watch anything in performing arts,” explains Ballet Arizona’s artistic director Ib Andersen, “or you go and see a painting, it’s all about you as an individual.” His baritone voice reaches an even lower pitch as he lingers on the last “you.” Andersen can describe the abstract sets…
Fri 4/2 First Friday visitors will schlep about longer than usual this week, thanks to the debut of the Gold Spot Transitional Bar & Gallery, where the spirit of “carpe diem” holds court. Fancy an oil-on-canvas by one of the seven or eight featured artists? Buy it while you’re there…
3/12-3/13 It took Joye Sass four months to write her play. But she’s spent half her life coping with the rape that inspired Demons, written and directed by Sass, which opens at the Paper Heart Gallery on Friday, March 12. Sass, 37, wrote Demons four years ago. “But I wasn’t…
3/12-3/14 Here’s a thought for all you conscientious drivers out there: If you need a parachute to stop your car, you may be exceeding socially acceptable speed limits. Try telling that to a drag racer, a thrill seeker who, on the danger scale, makes Indy and Formula One racers look…
Thu 3/11 Nearly a decade before San Francisco’s mayor incited a bold uprising of gay marriage supporters, Sandi DuBowski, a soft-spoken director from Brooklyn, was flirting with the idea of making a film. Jewish and gay, DuBowski is no stranger to discrimination. Indeed, his life would make for a riveting…
If it weren’t for a regular heartbeat, we’d have no rhythm at all. But we may take to the dance floor yet, thanks to inspiration from dancer/choreographer Marlies Yearby and the cast of New Danceworks II, to be performed this weekend by ASU’s Dance Arizona Repertory Theater. Yearby has created…
2/26-2/29 A saucy mix of horny and corny, the British sex farce drips with mishaps, missteps and mistaken identity — think Three’s Company with Cockney accents, gov’nor. The genre inspires Noises Off, Michael Frayn’s play-within-a-play about the troubles and tensions dogging a touring theater troupe. Plots, props and pants fall…
3/1-3/7 Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick — the oldest American man ever to finish among the top four men’s tennis players in the world, and the youngest American man ever to finish number one — are coming to volley in the Valley this week. But forget about Andre versus Andy…
Sat 2/21 Who nuzzles our necks and sits all day on the couch with us when we’re sad? Dogs do. Pam Gaber knows the healing power of a pooch, so she started Gabriel’s Angels to take Fido’s fidelity to those who need it most. Volunteer Angels pad into Valley hospitals,…
Sat 2/21 Your boys don’t brake for art? Bring ’em along for the rides. Chandler’s “Saturday Music and Art in the Park” boasts a new attraction this go-around: the inaugural Classic Car and Hot Rod Show. Some 130 cars are set to roll in to Historic Downtown Chandler for the…
Wanna party with some celebrity swingers? Keep your pants on — we’re talkin’ softball. This Monday, February 16, the Scottsdale Charros present the 1st Pitch Celebrity Softball Game & All-Star Concert at Rawhide Wild West Town. Combining line drives and line dancing, the 1st case scenario includes a 3:30 p.m…
Sat 1/31 Strength in numbers, indeed. For the first time, all seven East Valley cities — Tempe, Scottsdale, Chandler, Guadalupe, Gilbert, Mesa and Queen Creek — are joining forces to celebrate Black History Month with the inaugural East Valley Regional Unity Walk and Diversity Festival on Saturday, January 31. For…
Sat 1/10 Whatever your plans for Saturday night, give them a makeover and spend “An Evening of Positive Energy” at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts. Benefiting Body Positive HIV and AIDS Research and Resource Center, the show features the Arizona debut of the Kinsey Sicks (“America’s favorite dragapella beauty…
1/9-1/25 Stuart Little — everyone’s favorite mouse, adventurer and exceptionally good guy — has taken to the boards, hoofing and singing in the musical adaptation of E.B. White’s beloved book. Just like in the book, Stuart dodges the malicious Snowbell in search of his wren friend Margalo and, on the…
1/8-1/11 Few festivals celebrate a culture’s past and present simultaneously. Yet this is exactly the point of the American Express Invitational Native American Arts Festival, as guests see both modern Native American art and the traditions that influenced it. The festival is preceded by a free lecture and demonstration series,…
On Wednesday, January 7, the Herberger Theater Center pays tribute to the burgeoning and much ballyhooed downtown arts scene with “Celebrating Visual Arts in Downtown Phoenix.” If you’re not a denizen of the frantic First Friday art walk scene, this exhibition should be a fitting introduction to the artists and…
12/26-1/11 “It’s intimidating when you play anybody who’s lived a life,” says actress Joan Pringle (best known for playing Sybil Buchanan in the 1980s TV series The White Shadow) about playing Billie Holiday. The role is also daunting, she says, because she has to sing Billie Holiday. “I’ve been trying…
12/19-12/20 This weekend marks your last chance to take home the bull-riding jackpot at Mr. Lucky’s. Winners earn the age-old claim, “I busted my butt to buy you that.” Buck up and ride this Friday, December 19, and Saturday, December 20, and see how cowgirls cheer — God bless ’em…
Sun 12/21 It’s a highly unorthodox matchup. A team of local rabbis takes the field — and takes on the world — at this weekend’s Rabbis vs. the World Softball Challenge.”The Challenge pits the Orthodox Rabbis of the community — including members of the Phoenix Community Kollel, Young Israel of…
It’s no surprise that religious people live longer — not when Christians get to share communal traditions by candlelight and whack the stuffing out of piñatas to celebrate the birth of Christ. This Thursday, December 11, you can observe such traditional Mexican Las Posadas festivities at Phoenix College. Dr. Trino…
Fri 12/5 “I’m sure a lot of people used to fantasize about Cris [Kirkwood] or [Derrick] Bostrom as a woman, so no, I don’t think it’ll be a stark departure,” Curt Kirkwood says of his former Meat Puppets bandmates, comparing his new project with singer/guitarist Lisa Newmyer to the local…
11/2811/29 Before the holiday avalanche thunders down on you, stop and enjoy a shot of winter wonderland. From 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, November 28, and Saturday, November 29, the Glendale Glitters Spectacular Opening Weekend ignites the annual festival of lights that transforms downtown Glendale into fairyland. At 6 p.m…
