It’s that time of year again; time for Orange Theatre to make new friends and fund new shows with its 2015 Spring Mixer. The Big Brain Award-winning theater troupe will be hosting an evening of mixing, mingling, and making some money to produce staged productions and stationed A/C. The party…
Everyone’s favorite cuddly comedian, whose observational humor tackles everything from Muppet Babies and Black History Month to defective cats, is coming to the Valley for the first time. Ron Funches, the stand-up comic who worked his way from Portland to Los Angeles to the stage of the Conan O’Brien Show…
Once upon a time, Kirk Douglas starred in the Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest for a less-than-impressive 82 performances. The breathtaking part of the story is that Douglas wound up with the film rights to Ken Kesey’s novel and kept turning down deals until he was…
Calling the artists participating in the “36th Annual Contemporary Crafts” exhibition “crafters” would certainly do them injustice. These aren’t papier-mâché, Popsicle stick houses, and yarn dream catchers, but finely conceived art pieces formed within traditional craft media such as metals, wood, glass, ceramics, fibers, basketry, jewelry, book arts, and paper-making…
Much of Andy Warhol’s New York has been romanticized, glorified, captured in so many Studio 54 and Factory snapshots. But its ugliness is explored in John Schlesinger’s grim look at a pair of struggling hustlers in Midnight Cowboy. Phoenix Art Museum screens the acclaimed drama at 1 p.m. on Sunday,…
Table tennis? It might be an Olympic sport but we still call it ping-pong. Paz Cantina hosts the rec room favorite with their weekly tournament where up to four tables of ball-smackers vie for a $50 gift card. This is all while noshing on tacos and sipping on margaritas something…
The only predictable thing about the NL West in the last decade has been unpredictability (well, that and that the Rockies won’t win it). Every team has won the division at least twice, no team has stayed on top for long, and no team has stayed in the cellar for…
Television is hitting a new golden age with well-crafted dramas and tightly-scripted comedies catching the attention of even the snootiest of adults. But what about the kids? They’ve been relegated to Disney Channel schmaltz and ABC Family crud. Boo. We’d much rather take young minds to Arizona Opera’s Student Night…
One could argue that the piano is the backbone of jazz music, or the saxophone, for that matter. Names such as Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane have certainly achieved household status. But have either of the two instruments bridged the great noun-to-verb divide the way the trumpet was? Has anyone…
Women and their stories are not being adequately represented in American theater — not here in the Valley, nor on Broadway, nor points between. At least, that’s the message that’s recently gone viral in various social media outlets, in a public conversation sparked by the announcement of next year’s seasons…
Seven Hours in Heaven was poised to be a film audiences could root for at the 2015 Phoenix Film Festival. Except for one, the cast consisted of local actors. It was filmed in Munds Park and Flagstaff. And it was created only a year after co-writers Colleen Hartnett and Kyle…
What happens in the studio, shouldn’t always stay in the studio. Studio Visit Q+A is a new weekly series that profiles artists in their studios. We ask them questions, they provide answers, and then we have a nice discussion about their work. This week: Tempe artist Kristin Bauer. Tempe-based artist…
For the last few weeks or so, Phoenix Comicon fans have probably been wondering if any other big-name special guests were going to be announced for this year’s event, especially since its organizers tend to do that sort of thing right around now. Like, for instance, the big guest they…
Tired of traditional, delusional romantic comedies, Liz Manashil took matters into her own hands. Armed with her own experiences, Manashil wrote and directed her first feature-length film Bread and Butter. During the movie’s 2015 Phoenix Film Festival screening, Manashil (known for Just Seen It) described it as a “healthy romantic…
A little romance, some drama, big laughs, car chases, cowboys, and more make up this month’s lineup of must-see films in the Phoenix area…
Midcentury Modern masters and mavens, we don’t have to remind you what’s happening April 10 through 19 in Phoenix. For everyone else, we’ll give you a hand: It’s Modern Phoenix Week. With 26 speakers and seven event locations, the weeklong architecture and design bonanza is going to be something every…
This April Fool’s Day, expect to see a lot of things that are just too good to be true. But the free events we’re about to show in you this week? They are the real deal. Between nature bike tours, motorcycle shows, and graffiti artists getting the gallery treatment, metro…
This year marks the first time that the Arizona Student Film Festival was featured as part of the Phoenix Film Festival, putting up-and-coming filmmakers right next to the professional entrants. The students did not disappoint. With about 13 of the filmmakers in the audience during the March 28 screening, the…
It must be hard to hold a grudge against Ron Funches. Scratch that. We’d imagine it’s downright impossible. Thanks to the stand-up comedian’s infectious giggle and his laidback delivery, Funches is as warm in his demeanor as he is in his career. As he puts it, he’s “like a big…
Phoenix Film Festival Butter the popcorn and pass the Milk Duds. The Phoenix Film Festival is back for its 15th year. In addition to the industry parties, geeky gatherings, and cinema seminars, this one-week event will bring all forms of film to the big screen from animated shorts and documentaries…
It’s been more than a decade since Ib Andersen, artistic director for Ballet Arizona, wowed us with his choreography and set design for Mosaik, which premièred here in Phoenix in 2004, and was performed again in 2006. It featured not only Andersen’s choreography, but also sculptural set pieces of his…
Scottsdale’s about to get a whole lot funnier, as the newest location of the Laugh Factory opens in Scottsdale presented by the self-proclaimed “George Lopez of [his] day,” Paul Rodriguez. The 398-seat venue will be the largest comedy club in Scottsdale and Rodriguez says he plans to draw nationally recognized…
