10 Best Graphic Novels to Read This Summer

What make a great summer read? For us, it’s a book takes its readers on some kind of journey, is short or can be read and understood in brief bursts and if I learn or experience something new, it’s a bonus. Above all, it had better be highly entertaining: I’ve…

7 Best Art Works at Third Friday in Downtown Phoenix on June 19

Third Friday has always been more laid-back than its First Friday counterpart. But June’s crowds were a bit thinner than we’d expected, even given the mass exodus that tends to occur this time of year. For those who braved the heat, lines at local coffee joints were shorter, and parking…

3 Best Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Week

Slow Roll In the not-so distant past, Phoenix has been decried as one of the nation’s least bicycle friendly cities. But, as one freewheelin’ poet observed, the times they are a changin’. With a Grid Bike Share system now in place, Phoenicians can expect to see more events like Slow…

Maxine Marshall, Arizona Philanthropist and Journalist, Dies at 89

Longtime Paradise Valley resident, philanthropist, and journalist Maxine Marshall died on Wednesday, June 17. She was 89.  Marshall owned The Scottsdale Daily Progress from 1963 to 1987 with her late husband Jonathan Marshall, who served as the progressive newspaper’s publisher and died in 2008. The Marshalls’ influence extended to Jewish life…

7 Must-See Art Shows in Downtown Phoenix on Third Friday, June 19

We’re about as giddy as we ever get this time of year, thanks to this summer’s magnificent dearth of exhibitions curated around the topic of heat. We get that it’s hot here, so we’re not looking for reminders. Instead, we’re looking for escapes. This month’s Third Friday offerings include a…

3 Best Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Weekend

New Summer Shorts Body-shaming glossy magazines question whether your legs are “ready” for new summer shorts. Screw that. Your legs, along with your brain and your funny bone, are super-ready for New Summer Shorts 2015, Theatre Artists Studio’s eighth annual compilation of short plays by Studio members. This year’s lineup…

Dig a Grave for Joe Dante’s Horror-Comedy Burying the Ex

Of course a 2015 Joe Dante horror-comedy would be some kind of throwback. The Gremlins director has spent a career idealizing the creature-feature jollies of his youth, jolting audiences with wittily vicious nostalgia. Dante’s goofy monster movies have always been more toothy than their antecedents — more technically accomplished, fully…

Phoenix Art Museum’s “Hidden Histories” Is a Political Wake-Up Call

“Hidden Histories in Latin American Art,” currently on view at Phoenix Art Museum until August 23, 2015, brings together distinct perspectives and methodologies that address the personal and the political. The works in this exhibition, by artists from Colombia, Guatemala, Argentina, Mexico, and the United States, are engaged with history,…

Christopher Haines Brings An Almost Holy Picture to Life

Occasionally, a fine play is overwhelmed by actors who wrestle its words to the ground or by a director who tramples the point its author meant to make. In the case of iTheatre Collaborative’s new production of An Almost Holy Picture, now on stage at the Herberger, the opposite is…

11 Best Summer Dance and Theater Events in Metro Phoenix

There’s plenty of onstage action around these parts for those who like to mix their summer heat with short escapes to other worlds created by metro Phoenix artists. This summer’s crop of dance and theater offerings include a classic play about America coming to grips with AIDS, a behind-the-scenes look…

8 Best Trivia Nights in Metro Phoenix

Which is the largest desert in the world? (Answer: the Antarctic) How many presidents have died while in office? (Answer: eight) Where can you impress your friends and your date with all this knowledge? (Answer: team trivia) Whether you’re a genius or just highly competitive, a humblebragger or a boozehound along for…

3 Free Things To Do in Metro Phoenix This Week

Saving something is never a bad thing. Save a life? You’re a hero. Save the world? You’re a super hero. Save the last dance? You’re Julia Stiles. But our favorite kind of saving is saving money. We’ve got three events around Phoenix this week that will help you do just…