Laugh Lines

Fri 6/18 Being funny on cue is kind of like peeing on command. You gotta have it in you. Improv master Colin Mochrie’s got it. “Because it’s basically my only skill, I find it fairly simple,” says Mochrie (foreground), best known as the guy constantly ridiculed for his nationality (Canadian)…

THE NIGHT:Standard at Elixir

THE SCENE: Girls in tight jeans or miniskirts and low-cut tank tops grind on the laps of preppy, spiky-haired college guys in button-down dress shirts, who outnumber the girls (as usual). THE VIBE:Old-school L.A. chic meets modern hipster as a fashionable blend of twentysomethings sips Long Island iced teas, bumpin’…

Cardiac Arrest

6/11-6/20 With titles such as Death and Taxes, The Trouble With Death and A Prison in the Heart in its repertoire, Phoenix-based Sharkey Productions could win a prize for the most depressing act in town. But since the independent theater company prides itself on producing original plays with a touch…

Draggin’ Tale

Sat 6/12 An old Sesame Street ditty (“One of these things is not like the others . . .”) will prove useful this Saturday, June 12, when Hamburger Mary’s hosts the AIDS Walk Arizona Launch party at 5111 North Seventh Street. The myriad events at the fund raiser include Chelle’s…

Asylum Street Spankers

If you dig a little digga digga doo, Asylum Street Spankers has a paddle for you. Jazz and swing at the core, the Spankers (a “spanker” is slang for someone who plays an acoustic instrument) will dip into any genre, turning rap songs and television show themes into riotous swing…

Ballethoo

6/3-6/6 George Balanchine once opined, “In my ballets, woman is first. . . . They are not equal to men: They are better.” Well, the old Russki would be proud, as Ballet Arizona’s celebration of the legendary choreographer’s 100th birthday spotlights women — one woman, to be exact: Yen-Li Chen-Zhang…

Bottoms Up

Feeling creative, but need a jump start? We crawled the local bars, quizzing (okay, sometimes harassing) the help and compiling a list of cool summer drinks. Bartenders at several favorite Valley spots were kind enough to share signature (sometimes secret) recipes — so you can whip up everything from a…