It’s been a good year in the movies for Jane Austen, and who deserves it more? A month ago, we had a good, workmanlike version of her final novel, Persuasion; and, by far the best Hollywood comedy of the year, Amy Heckerling’s Clueless is a free adaptation of Emma. Austen’s…
thursday december 21 The Phantom of the Opera: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, based on the novel by Gaston LeRoux, stars Rick Hilsabeck as the title spook, aspiteful composer who haunts the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House and loves young soprano Christine (Sarah Pfisterer). Broadway vet Harold Prince directed the…
’tis the season “Holiday Happenings Around the World”: Phoenix Zoo, 455 North Galvin Parkway, in Papago Park, hosts the latest installment in its yearlong festival “The Celebration of the Natural World,” which continues through September. Kids learn about the seasonal celebrations of other cultures via events like the “Ho!Ho! Holiday…
Jumanji, in the film of the same name, is a magical board game in which each roll of the dice conjures up some new terror from the Jungian jungle of childhood imagination. Once you have commenced play on the seductive-looking board, you must continue to the end, despite the attempts…
Father of the Bride Part II: Directed by Charles Shyer; with Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Kimberly Williams and Martin Short. Rated PG. Is it my imagination, or do the soundtracks of every movie from Touchstone Pictures include a faux-Leon Redbone vocalist crooning “The Sunny Side of the Street,” or some…
’tis the season Breakfast With Santa: Kids dine with the jolly old elf at sittings scheduled for 8:30 and 11a.m. Saturday at Beside the Pointe restaurant atPointe Hilton at Squaw Peak, 7677 North 16th Street. Also on the agenda: cookie decorating and a performance by a children’s choir. The cost…
thursday december 14 A Christmas Carol: Actors Theatre of Phoenix’s traditional production ofCharles Dickens’ ghost story, adapted by Richard Hellesen and featuring music by David de Barry, continues with performances at 8p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday and 8p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in Center Stage at Herberger Theater Center,…
With Ruby Christmas, Planet Earth Multi-Cultural Theatre gives us another fine production. No frills, and not a false step in the dance: These people make theatre look as easy and natural as sliding into old jeans. Playwright Sarah Dreher transports us to a conjoint Christmas and 40th-wedding-anniversary celebration at the…
Black Theatre Troupe is taking people to church with Mama, I Want to Sing, the first production of its silver-anniversary season. With a program that reads more like a Sunday bulletin than a playbill, this production got a hearty “amen” from the opening-night audience: The powerful musical brought the full…
In Wild Bill, wildness has taken its toll on Bill. As played by Jeff Bridges in this shifting fever-dream from director Walter Hill, Bill, though not yet 40, is a grumpy old man–mean, dim, unimaginative, indignant over his legend. He’s a short-fused galoot, and a more-or-less heartless killer. Yet he…
’tis the season Arizona Snow Day: In conjunction with Tempe’s Fantasy of Lights (see Events listing), the city hosts this free event from 11a.m. to 5p.m. Saturday at Hayden Square, Fourth Street and Mill. Highlights include a freak fall of 12tons of snow, a visit from Santa, arts and crafts,…
thursday december 7 ZooLights: Phoenix Zoo, 455 North Galvin Parkway, in Papago Park, is garbed in its usual Technicolor dreamcoat of lights–600,000 strong–during this glorious annual event. The after-hours fun continues from 6 to 9 nightly (except Christmas Eve), through January 27. New this year: “The Enchanted Forest,” including the…
Touring the artworks at the three terminals at Sky Harbor International Airport provides a lesson in Phoenix’s progressive sophistication in relation to public art. The big bird mosaic at Terminal Two looks as dated as a Depression-era mural. The big metal turds and huge woven wall hangings at Terminal Three…
’tis the season “Cowboy Santa”: Sort of a cross between Tom Mix and Saint Nick, this version of the jolly old elf wears an honest-to-gosh ten-gallon hat instead of that little red number adorned with the cotton ball. He delivers gifts and good cheer via horseback in benefits planned for…
Sean Penn’s The Crossing Guard is an examination of how different people cope with devastating grief. Jack Nicholson is a jeweler whose young daughter was run over and killed by a drunken driver, David Morse. The story starts five years after the tragedy, with Morse being released from prison and…
In Get Shorty, John Travolta glided through his role with the confidence and smoothness of a true star, and with an infectious delight at being allowed to show it. The film was a trifle, finally, but Travolta’s effortless command of the screen was reestablished beyond doubt. It’s pleasing to see…
thursday november 30 Capitol Steps: If you consider Newt Gingrich unintentionally hilarious and stuff like the recent shutdown of the government funny as a crutch, this troupe’s for you. The Washington, D.C.-based Steps were born in 1981, when three congressional aides were drafted to provide entertainment for a Senate Foreign…
It’s the end of an era. Theater Works, arguably the best community theatre in the Valley, must be out of its Glendale facility by December 31. The troupe plans to move to a new site at 91st Avenue and Thunderbird in Peoria, but that venue won’t be ready until next…
Optimism is the chief cash crop of Las Vegas, and everything about the city–the seductive casinos, the fast marriages, the endless, artificial daytime–is carefully devised to cultivate it. What sets Ben (Nicolas Cage) apart from the millions of other people who go to Vegas is that he’s not in the…
The title of Smoke, which is set in a Brooklyn cigar store, refers to what the characters spend much of the movie blowing at each other. Its informal companion piece, set in the same store, is called Blue in the Face. This time, the title refers to the state that…
’tis the season Here Comes Santa Claus: He might be a bit pressed for time, but magic–like being in two places at once–is one of the jolly old elf’s strong suits. Saint Nick takes up residence for the season at 9:30 a.m. Friday at Christown Mall, 19th Avenue and Bethany…
thursday november 23 Turkey Trot 10K: Organizers bill the traditional Thanksgiving Day run as the oldest annual 10K in Arizona. This year’s event also includes a two-mile fun run and a one-mile fitness walk; they both step off at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, with the Trot following at 9. The scene…
