Doug Stanhope stands atop a tiny stage the size of a wooden coffin, ready to unleash his vitriolic humor upon an audience whose members have come like willing lambs to slaughter. He’s a misfit, a carnival barker dressed in a pea-green thrift-store sports coat and sickish-yellow shirt, topped off by…
Hey, the 1990s called. And actually, they are mad stoked about your nostalgia for them. Not only are all your favorite shows from the era — Full House, Twin Peaks, The X-Files — getting the reboot treatment, but ’90s Saturday Night Live heavyweights are banding together and stepping into the spotlight, too. Case…
New Times picks the best events and things to do in metro Phoenix from January 4 to January 10. “Ecosystem” Are you one of those people who sees bubble wrap and can’t keep your hands off its plastic pearls? That overwhelming desire to pop those little pods is something you must…
Masses of nude bodies photographed floating in the Dead Sea, fine art paintings by graffiti artist El Mac, and plays performed on Valley Metro Light Rail trains — they’ll all be part of the 2016 arts and culture scene here in metro Phoenix, where works of visual and performance art…
For 32, dancer and instructor Liliana Gomez has a lot under her belt. She’s family- and community-oriented, patient, informed, and incredibly sweet. Gomez’s dance classes are bright and positive, billed as Contemporary Modern with Liliana Gomez on Monday nights at Metropolitan Arts Institute. She claps, she snaps, she laughs. She…
As the year winds down, I find myself wanting a lot—especially from the local creatives, and their audiences, in our fair city. A higher level of sophistication about the local arts scene Pretty much everyone who lives in Arizona knows that the Cardinals are not a baseball team, so why…
New Times picks the best events and things to do in metro Phoenix from December 28 to January 3. Holidays at the Heard There’s no place like Heard for the holidays — for a few reasons. It’s one of the premier Native American art and culture museums, for starters. But during…
The audience was sparse one late October evening at Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix. A curtain opened to reveal dancer Lenna DeMarco seated center stage atop a simple, pine-colored chair. With her short, silver-streaked hair tucked behind her ears, the 67-year-old dance faculty emeritus with Glendale Community College wore…
Between scoping out the best holiday lights displays throughout the Valley, wrapping up last-minute shopping, and balancing out your cookie consumption with hiking, here are 11 things to add to your to-do list that’ll be totally worth it. Hannibal Buress It’s been a big year for Hannibal Buress, the stand-up comic…
Hannibal Buress had a very busy 2015 — and the comedian isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon. He’s been on numerous episodes of Broad City, of course, where he plays the laidback Lincoln Rice (a.k.a. the on-again/off-again paramour of main character Ilana Glazer), and starred in his own Comedy…
I very much wanted to love Heathers: The Musical, which you will find screaming its head off at the Tempe Performing Arts Center for the next couple of weeks. I’ve counted Daniel Waters’ 1988 film about murderous high schoolers among my all-time favorite movies since its release, and was looking…
If you sense some magical vibrations coming off of High Street this weekend, there’s a good reason for it. Piff the Magic Dragon (the world’s funniest performing magic dragon and America’s Got Talent finalist) will be showing off his hilarious brand of magic at the House of Comedy. The magic…
I am not sleeping with actor/director Ron May. I am a happily married man who’s a sucker for a well-crafted theater performance. I mention these simple facts because, in reviewing the best theatrical events I saw in 2015, I find that I have as usual favored productions in which May…
Tempe dance company CONDER/dance has announced the 2016 edition of its annual film and dance festival Breaking Ground. Since 2007, CONDER/dance’s namesake and founder Carley Conder has organized the festival to spotlight local and international contemporary dance, choreography, and, more recently, filmmaking. Held Friday and Saturday, January 29 and 30,…
New Times picks the best art and culture events in metro Phoenix from December 11 to 13. See more on our curated calendar of events. Herakles We’d say that each performance of Orange Theatre’s Herakles is limited to 25 seats, but that isn’t quite right. More like 25 people, who…
It could have ended in Dallas last June, when 18-year-old Miami tap dancer Gaby Diaz auditioned for season 12 of the FOX reality TV competition So You Think You Can Dance. Diaz didn’t make the cut that time around, after performing a routine the judges described as way too busy…
New Times picks the best arts and culture events and things to do in metro Phoenix from December 4 to December 6. Heathers Heathers could have passed as a horror movie, but with a tender-yet-squicky love story and a trio of characters basically dressed as a traffic light, it wound up…
Need proof that the Phoenix arts scene is filled with diverse and intriguing offerings? You’ll find plenty of evidence during December’s First Friday art walk, which features artworks exploring urban decay, ice, gender identity, light, and celebrity. Here’s a sampling of shows, including one that couples visual art with dance,…
It’s easy to get a steady flamenco fix in metro Phoenix, thanks to Flamenco Por La Vida, the dance company founded in 2009 by Angelina Ramirez, who continues to perform with the company and serve as its artistic director. This week, Flamenco Por La Vida presents its third Lluvia Flamenca…
Thanksgiving is approaching and with the holiday comes visiting relatives, vacation days, and the serious consumption of deliciously starchy foods. We found a couple things to keep you and yours busy during Thanksgiving week 2015. No matter what you’re into, there’s something to keep you entertained including parties, runs, art…
Stray Cat Theatre, a Tempe-based indie theater company that presents classic and contemporary works with a smart and edgy vibe, will move to Tempe Center for the Arts in June of 2016, artistic director Ron May says. Stray Cat’s final production at its current venue, Tempe Performing Arts Center (TPAC) located…
New Times picks the best in art, culture, comedy, and theater events in metro Phoenix from November 20 to 22. For more things to do, see our curated calendar of events. Emerging Artists II There’s not enough modern dance hereabouts. Meanwhile, performing arts grad students can’t just toil away at…
