Let’s say you’re doing an improvisational skit with a friend, and the audience gives you three words you have to somehow incorporate: platypus, anger, and shoes. What do you do with that?A lot of people may be intimidated by the idea of improvisation, and Mack Duncan, member of The Torch…
During the first year of college, advice can be priceless: don’t take so-and-so for Sociology 101,the lot attendant on corner “x” will take baked goods and sandwiches in exchange for free parking, don’t ever lock your bike here, take a shower.Advice to Sink in Slowly is a little more visual…
Set in the months after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, The Conspirator follows the consequences of the fatal shot at Ford’s Theater — specifically, the trial of Mary Surratt, Catholic, 42, and the owner of a Washington, D.C., boarding house who was presented before a military tribunal as the den mother…
I have seen Theatre Artists Studio’s Lenin’s Embalmers, and, oh, the wisecracks I could make about dead comedies and performances by walking corpses. I’ll refrain. But I will say this: I can’t imagine who could make this tedious black comedy shine. At just under two hours, it’s a full 90…
To quote an old Klingon proverb we once heard, “revenge is a dish best served cold.” Well, it’s plenty chilly on the ice at Jobing.com Arena, 9400 West Maryland Avenue in Glendale, which is where the Phoenix Coyotes hope to dish out some payback against the Detroit Red Wings in…
Arizona’s current and former politicians are making a name for themselves – and its not one that we’d repeat in polite company. Former Arizona governor Janet Napolitano legalized airport grope sessions; while Jan Brewer’s busy provoking state tourism boycotts and slashing funds from schools while cutting more big business tax…
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Yet, not all pictures are created equal. A shot of a Lindsay Lohan nip-slip might fetch some big bucks for a paparazzo, but its subtext will only leave you with a few choice words. When it comes to the work of…
All good things must come to an end: Big Love, Medicare benefits, the Phoenix Suns’ playoff hopes. And Black Pearl Poetry Slam, a weekly poetry competition created by Ohio transplant Ed Mabrey in 2009. With the local poetry schedule increasing to capacity, it was time for one major player to…
It’s estimated that the human brain takes 400 milliseconds to conjure up new ideas, which means the participants in the Phoenix Improv Festival better think fast if they hope to fill an entire weekend with quality material. Good thing they’ve been practicing, according to executive producer Bill Binder. “The artists…
Boo Radley is back — and he’s celebrating his 51st birthday. It’s been more than a half-century since Harper Lee first published her stunning novel To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960, taking hostage the conscience of an America immersed in racial strife and prejudice. The theatrical version, which was first…
Those who prefer their movie star bios to be all about tragedy might not enjoy Judy: The Musical — From Gumm to Garland, since it chronicles the life of the Wizard of Oz starlet, but doesn’t focus on her long and hard road through showbiz. Instead, local scribe Richard Sullivan,…
It’s been something of a “best of times, worst of times” kinda year for gay rights. While the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was (thankfully) repealed by Congress, small-minded knuckle-draggers and asshat conservatives worked overtime to deny gays, lesbians, and transgendered folks the basic human right of legal marriage. Still,…
Failure to file your income taxes is generally no laughing matter: Look no further than the plight of Wesley Snipes or Willie Nelson for proof of said statement. So, if you’ve endured through the annual onslaught of accountants, filing, and mailings, chances are good that you’re in need of some…
Anyone can be a bestselling author these days. Writing talent is an entirely optional requirement for getting your title on the New York Times’ list of book blockbusters, as evidenced by the success of the recent tome by Snooki from Jersey Shore. When it comes to Nikki Sixx, however, we’re…
This time of year, Phoenicians are all about orange blossoms and junior proms. It’s the season when puppy love is in the air and overdressed teens grind on the dance floor of some cheesy hotel ballroom. The over-21 crowd, thankfully, has other options — for example, the monthly independent arts…
Singer Jeordie Safka has spent much of her musical career trying to step out from the shadow of her mother’s musical legacy. The daughter of Woodstock legend Melanie Safka, Jeordie was once criticized after a performance by Naomi Judd, who supposedly asked, “are you sure you are from the same…
Watching a wiener dog race is a hysterical, and heartbreaking, experience. These short-legged canines might seem like the unlikeliest of sprinters, but they’ll have plenty of supporters when some of the speediest pooches in the Valley compete at the 15th Annual Wiener Mania. This is one heated battle. Dogs will…
When you hail from the region of ranch dressing and novelty sweaters (a.k.a. the Midwest), a little nonconformity goes a long way. Just ask the members of the Super Happy Funtime Burlesque troupe. Billing itself as “The Rocky Horror Picture Show meets Saturday Night Live,” this naughty-meets-nonsense comedic musical theater…
If your home looks like the set of Mad Men (or you wish it did), then drop that double Old Fashioned and set your WABAC time machine for Modern Phoenix Expo, a showcase of modern and contemporary architecture, interior design, landscaping, furniture, literature and home renovation. This year’s event is…
Two of the most recognizable voices of the seventies are sharing the stage at US Airways Center. Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks have owned the radio waves for decades, with Stewart’s trademark raspy tone and Nicks’ ethereal gypsy mysticism making folks of both sexes weak in the knees. Fri., April…
If you like scary fairy tales but wish they would end before the uplifting turn, then Caryl Churchill’s The Skriker might be your cup of hemlock. This story of an ageless shape-shifter that manipulates two young women is like a feverish midsummer night’s dream that you can’t wake up from…
If you like scary fairy tales but wish they would end before the uplifting turn, then Caryl Churchill’s The Skriker might be your cup of hemlock. This story of an ageless shape-shifter that manipulates two young women is like a feverish midsummer night’s dream that you can’t wake up from…
