Performing Arts

Although Gary Owen might not look like the bulk of his audience (he’s often one of the only white guys in the room at his performances), he connects with his fanbase on a level that few comedians can…

Local artists are putting their creative spin on social justice conversations surrounding immigration, LGBTQ rights, and the Black Lives Matter movement in a collaborative performance piece they’ll present Friday, May 1, at Mesa Arts Center. It’s part of The Social Justice Project, an ongoing enterprise in promoting community awareness and…

Childsplay founder and artistic director David Saar announced in a press release on Wednesday, April 22, that he will retire at the end of the 2015-16 season. Saar started the acclaimed professional children’s theater company in 1977 as a graduate thesis project. Its aim has been to engage children with…

Are you looking to go see a huge production involving costumes, complex special effects, and several musical numbers? Then you should stay away from Stand Up Live on April 24 and 25. If you want to see some old school raunchy comedy, definitely head there to see Dave Attell perform…

Promising a gut-busting, grin-’til-it-hurts good time, the Phoenix Improv Festival returns to Herberger Theater Center this week. Now in its 14th year, the funny fête blends local talent with national names with sketch performances and situational comedy. Boasting 27 improv troupes from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York…

“I slipped and fell, hit my head, and then when I came to, I had a career.” According to Iliza Shlesinger, that’s the short and “less boring” version of how she got into stand-up comedy…

Scorpius Dance Theatre is serving up a smorgasbord of dance this month with a 15-piece repertory showcase being performed April 18 and 19 at Peoria Center for the Performing Arts. The center is best known as the home of Theater Works, which operates the venue and often features productions by…

David Hallberg, principal dancer with both American Ballet Theatre in New York City and the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, returns to Phoenix this April to teach master classes, coach emerging dancers, and help raise funds for his eponymous scholarship at The School of Ballet Arizona. The scholarship helps boys receive…

Arizona Theatre Company’s Romeo and Juliet is a treat, but only for those who haven’t already witnessed a previous parade of updated, restructured Shakespeare productions. And for those who don’t care whether the Bard’s verses are well-delivered or his young hero and heroine are nicely acted. Everyone else would do…

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…

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…

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…

Lisa Chow, artistic director for Desert Dance Theatre, performs this week in the Arizona première of South of Gold Mountain, a multi-media modern dance work exploring the lives of Chinese immigrants in the American South during the post-Civil War era. H.T. Chen & Dancers, a New York City-based company that…

Beyond Ballet Arizona and Center Dance Ensemble, longtime mainstays of ballet and modern dance in metro Phoenix, there’s a whole world of dance experimentation taking place. For eight years, CONDER/dance has presented a contemporary dance and film festival called Breaking Ground, which features two distinct programs performed on two consecutive…

Consider yourself on notice, Phoenix. Here are 10 things to do in the next three years…

Carrie Marill pauses. Over a hot cup of Earl Grey at Songbird Coffee & Tea House in downtown Phoenix, she’s considering what it’s like to be a working artist in a city where art isn’t a top priority, where artists get burnt out, where being talented isn’t enough.  “It can…

They can sing, they can dance, after all this is — well, okay, it’s not France, but Phoenix will get its fair share of talented actors taking to the stage for the spring season. Between Broadway musicals, Shakespearian adaptations, and centerstage comedies, we’ve found 15 good reasons to start buying…

When Jackalope Ranch issued a 10-question survey asking Phoenicians (and anyone with an opinion of Phoenix) to sound of on the state of the arts in the Valley of the Sun, dozens provided insights on what’s happening in the city’s creative realm. We’ll present a selection of survey responses here…

The man, the myth, the legend Dave Chappelle is coming to Phoenix. Live Nation announced on Thursday, March 5, that the comedian, who visited the Valley on the final stop of the 2013 Oddball Comedy Tour, will return for one night only this month…

Even at its most depraved, the comedy of Kyle Kinane exudes a sort of busted up Zen quality. The Midwesterner is uproarious and crass, but also curiously positive. “Yeah, well sometimes it seems like a comedians make a conscious choice make to fun everything and act superior to [their] surroundings…

Maysoon Zayid is becoming a master a getting the last laugh. As a woman of Palestinian descent with cerebral palsy who lives in New Jersey and works in show business, Zayid has managed to spin day-to-day challenges into comedic material on her own terms. Since earning a BFA in acting…