It’s probably true that behind every great man stands a great woman. And if you’re Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, that woman is most likely wearing a rhinestone tiara. And clutching a stopwatch. And laughing a whole lot. Because Phoenix First Lady Christa Severns finds humor in pretty much everything –…
You can dress a bunch of actors in grease-stained coveralls and make them sing a lot of songs about women they’d like to bed, but give them synchronized dance moves to do and they’ll always look like a line of chorus girls. Proof of this is expertly and rather loudly…
While the rest of us are roasting on the spit of yet another Phoenix summer, Laurie Notaro will be holed up in air-conditioned comfort, pounding out her fourth collection of humor essays for Random House. Which sounds cool and kind of glamorous, until you ask her about it. “Oh, God,”…
Last month, the Arizona Legislature killed a bill that would have required convicted drunken drivers to attach a fluorescent sticker to their auto license plates. Republican Senator Slade Mead, who introduced the bill, isn’t discouraged — he plans to reintroduce the bill, because he swears that only shame will keep…
Summer is almost here, and theater companies are winding down their seasons, mostly with fluffy nonsense meant to lure us out of our air-conditioned caves. As ever, Nearly Naked Theatre is giving the finger to the notion that it’s too hot to think; thus, its production of Gilgamesh, an ancient…
Ask a grown man to squawk like a chicken or impersonate Michael Jackson, and you risk a knuckle sandwich. Ask Jef Rawls to make like a rooster or mimic a pop star turned would-be pedophile, and he’s off and running. “Improv is life,” according to Rawls, co-founder of the Valley’s…
She’s 14 years old, cute as heck, and she can spell “festschrift.” Which ought to come in handy when Ingleside Middle School eighth-grader Maddy Kloss represents all of Arizona next week at the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. The winner of the 2004 State Spelling Bee is no Little…
The King has seen Louise’s panties, and her husband is unhappy about it. Strange men begin turning up at Louise’s door, hoping her drawers are still around her ankles. Hilarity ensues. Sound familiar? If so, you’re up on your obscure German playwrights of the early 20th century. But even those…
Hold tight during Act One of Alternative Theatre’s A Night in Vegas — or plan to arrive at intermission and miss it altogether. Either way, you’ll want to see “Helen and Jack,” the Act Two opener featuring Teresa Ybarra’s delightful performance as the anxious mother of a man who’s about…
She’ll let you chew gum in class, but if she catches you saying “fuck,” reading teacher Elizabeth Anne Moore might very well drag your ass into court. The Trevor Browne High School instructor made national news last month when she filed harassment charges against one of her surliest students, and…
There was a time, not so long ago, when “edgy” theater produced by young thespians in tiny black boxes was a hit-or-miss proposition, often involving tunics and more than a little angry posturing. Today, local companies keen on selling oddball stories are riding high, and Stray Cat Theatre is ahead…
Ugly, boring guys with no prospects, take heart: John Adams’ A Foreign Affair can help you bag a gorgeous Russian bride faster than you can say “Imperialist Murmansk.” For a sneak peek at what this Phoenix-based betrothal business can do for you, check out A Foreign Affair, David Arquette’s new…
All season long, Actors Theatre has been threatening us with its production of Tapestry: A Musical Revue Based on the Music of Carole King. Earlier this month, this usually clever troupe delivered on that threat. The good news is that the horror will end shortly — Tapestry closes on Sunday…
In his new book, Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America, journalist Jonathan Rauch argues that same-sex marriage is a social policy issue, and not about insurance benefits or sex. Rauch, a former Phoenician, swears that legally wed gays will strengthen the…
Nestled onto Gregory Jaye’s magnificent set for Morning’s at Seven is a relatively quiet, old-fashioned play that shines like a bright beacon. Set in the joined yard of two massive bungalows, this is a comic, almost musical tale of forbidden love among the neurotic and the infirm. Its more-than-slightly fusty…
The heck with paper routes. Seventeen-year-old Christian Alf is earning pocket money by fending off the nasty roof rats that have invaded his hometown. The Tempe teen not only launched his own roof rat-proofing business this past winter, but has also prevailed over the wicked bureaucrats who tried to shut…
What a shame that most stage fans will probably miss Hale Center Theatre’s Over the River and Through the Woods rather than drive the dozens of miles to this shiny new playhouse in (gasp!) far-off Gilbert. Joe DiPietro’s bittersweet, sometimes witty comedy is enlivened by a topnotch cast that reads…
Last year, Playboy proclaimed Arizona State University “America’s biggest party school.” This year, students can study the anatomy of the university’s own Jaime Hammer, who graces the cover of the magazine’s annual College Girls issue on newsstands now. Inside, the comely co-ed displays her school spirit in sharp stilettos and…
In an era where film studios make movies based on old TV series and broadcast networks make TV movies about the making of ’70s sitcoms, it’s only natural that three of Broadway’s most recent successes — Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Producers and Hairspray — are based on big-screen favorites. Theater…
John Epperson is more than a man in a dress. He’s Lypsinka, a man in a dress whose off-Broadway, award-winning act (Lypsinka! Boxed Set, playing this weekend at Scottsdale Center for the Arts) is a post-modern commentary on men in dresses. And women. And homos. All of it lip-synched to…
It’s been a little while — several months, at least — since I’ve seen a play performed as gracefully as Black Theatre Troupe’s production of The Sty of the Blind Pig. The four actors assembled to bring this dramedy to life are the only real reason to consider seeing Phillip…
Internet, Schminternet. Bonnie the Matchmaker says the best way to meet your one true love is by exploiting her peculiar talent for tying people’s knots. Miss Wills, who disdains online dating services (her Web site, bonniethematchmaker.com, doesn’t provide hookups), is responsible for hundreds of marriages — so who are you…
