In Fahrenheit 451, books get a bad rap as items capable of corrupting the mind and stirring unrest. In reality, many books are capable of doing this. But beyond that, adept storytelling and creative flare can also spark the boundless imagination inside ourselves. As modernity removes the pages in place…
The setup: Late Victorian children’s novelist Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden is the typical story of a couple of more or less orphaned kids pluckily figuring out how to thrive and then transform the useless adults who were supposed to be responsible for them. One of Burnett’s later works,…
Phoenix native Zach Bootz knows that the way men dress in Phoenix is very much restricted by the state’s weather. “It’s easy to dress well here,” says Bootz, “but a lot of people wear boat shoes and boring shorts and Ts because of the heat.” The 23-year-old has put his…
Adam Sackler, Dark Lord of the Sith? It’s one of the first things that sprung to mind when the much-anticipated cast list for the fanatically awaited Star Wars: Episode VII was revealed Tuesday, April 29, and included Girls actor Adam Driver among the new arrivals to that galaxy far, far…
What goes up must come down, or so the saying goes. In the case of a recent wheatpaste piece by El Peezo, the comedown was quick. The anonymous Phoenix artist put up a wheatpaste rendition of a Jeeves-ian butler on an exterior wall at Bentley Projects on the evening of…
Next weekend, fiction nerds will be taking their noses out of their books and into the convention arena as the Phoenix Marriott Mesa hosts LepreCon 40: 50 Shades of Green. The annual sci-fi and fantasy convention brings together special genres of art and literature and is going all out this…
It’s a rainy day in New York as Mike Birbiglia reflects on comedy. Since beginning a career in stand-up in his early 20s, the Boston-bred comedian certainly has come a long way, both professionally and personally. Between starting out as a pizza-bingeing, commitment-fearing night owl with undiagnosed REM disorder to…
A Phoenix-based Uber driver shares stories from behind the wheel. Two jobs, two sons, and a husband was not enough. I was in a rut and feeling bleh. After running into a childhood friend one day, she put the Uber bee in my bonnet and I was hooked. I have…
South Park fans and musical enthusiasts, rejoice. Mormons, maybe not so much. The Broadway production of The Book of Mormon, which has won nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, has announced it’s taking its national tour to Tempe for ASU Gammage’s 2015-16 season. Exact dates have not been announced…
If you’ve felt down this month over a lack of lovin’, you can take solace in the fact that you weren’t missed by any of the Craigslist posters on this list. From odd locales and sticky situations to misguided attempts at attraction and basic English, we found the past month’s…
Hola, Hollywood. Phoenix College’s 14th Annual Latino Film Festival will include six movies that explore the complexities of Latin cultures in communities across the United States and South America. The festival, which offers six days of independent and documentary screenings, is open to students and the general public alike. Perhaps…
If you’re about to tell us that there’s nothing free going on in the Valley, you can just save it. Literally. There’s plenty of opportunities to cut costs without cutting into your social calendar. From pilates to poetry to painting exhibitions, here are Jackalope Ranch’s top three picks for free…
It’s no surprise that comedian Moshe Kasher has a unique perspective on life that shines through in both his stand-up and written word. Before graduating high school, he was a sign language interpreter, drug addict, Hasidic Jew, and avid gangster rap fan. Both of his parents were deaf and he…
Get out and about this week with Jackalope Ranch’s top picks for things to do in (and around) Phoenix. Spring Fit Fest Let’s face it, you’re not as fit as you’d like to be. That’s okay, because the majority of the population is in the same boat. It’s easy to…
Have a good idea for the community but need plenty more funds to get it up and running? Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art can help with that. Submissions for the 2014 Good N’ Plenty Artists Award are open now through Friday, August 1, and we’ve got a strong feeling this…
We are proud to present the recipients of the New Times’ 2014 Big Brain Awards. The five winners were announced and each received $500 to further their creative endeavors at Artopia on Friday, April 25, at Bentley Projects…
Longtime ASU music professor William Reber has resigned as the director of the university’s Lyric Opera Theatre following a controversial presentation of a scene from Rent to high school students attending the Arizona All-State High School Music Festival, which ran from April 10 through 12. Parents of the students complained…
Free People fans looking for a summery fashion fix, soon you’ll be able to get one in Chandler. The boho-chic brand, which has two locations in Scottsdale, opens a third Valley shop at Chandler Fashion Center on Friday, April 25. And there will be an appropriately stylish soiree to celebrate…
The setup: So Binary Theatre Company is the name of the current incarnation of the student-run live theater production organization (they’re not a gang; they’re a club) under the auspices of Arizona State University Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts’ School of Film, Dance, and Theatre. That is one…
There’s only a month and change left until Phoenix Comicon and the event’s schedule is already packed wall-to-wall with cult heroes, major names, and special guests. But that’s not stopping organizers from dropping a few more living legends into the mix. And one of their most recent additions is pretty…
In honor of the fifth annual Big Brain Awards, New Times is recognizing five Urban Legends, established creative pioneers who have made Phoenix a better, cooler place. Leading up to the Big Brain Award announcement and Artopia on April 25, Jackalope Ranch, Chow Bella, and Up on the Sun will…
Don Pasquale There’s something about the sheen of Old Hollywood that shines after all these years. The glamor of the golden age of the silver screen goes zany when the comic opera Don Pasquale splashes into downtown Phoenix on Friday, April 25…
