There’s a rather presidential-sounding voice that answers Tommy Davidson’s cell if the comedian doesn’t happen to pick up in time. In fact, it’s a dead ringer for the current commander-in-chief: “Hi, I’m Barack Obama and you just called Tommy Davidson’s phone.” It ain’t the actual POTUS on the comic’s outgoing…
Since 1994, Flam Chen has been perfecting the art of circus fire performance in Arizona and around the Southwest. It’s one of the country’s premier circus arts and fire performance troupes, best known for its participation in the Tucson All Souls Procession, the city’s annual public ceremony for which a…
The setup: The 1992 film Sister Act was the perfect storm of Motown girl-group revival, a dream cast including Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, and Kathy Najimy, and a feel-good story that made Catholics and the sketchy denizens of Reno, Nevada, both seem a bit nicer than they probably are. It…
Geeky standup Dan Mintz is awkward as all get out, and that’s not a detriment in the slightest. In fact, the comedian and humorist’s ill-at-ease stage presence, deer-in-the-headlights gaze, and ultra-deadpan delivery while performing are all part of his bizarre charm. It also makes the often-surreal non-sequiturs — including many…
Shaking your groove thing on a dark dance floor in the club can be intimidating enough, but in front of a mirror in a brightly lit dance studio? Well, that’s a whole different ballgame. There are scores of places where you can learn to pas de chat and pirouette, but…
The setup: Damn Yankees is a zippy, popular 1955 musical about a rabid baseball fan, Joe Boyd, who says he’d sell his soul for a long-ball hitter for his beloved Washington Senators team. Satan, badly disguised as a guy named Mr. Applegate (and it’s taken me my whole life to…
Good news, comedy nerds. The first-ever Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival presented by Funny or Die will stop in 13 cities across the U.S. this summer. And what city just happens to be the final stop for this one-of-a-kind stand-up celebrity showcase? You guessed it. Phoenix. Headlining the tour will…
A rock musical American history lesson that commences with the line “Here’s the thing about the Indians!” then segues into a song whose refrain is “Populism, yeah, yeah!” can’t be all bad. And in its brand-new, Ron May-directed Phoenix Theatre production, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is sublime. See also: -Space…
The setup: Cheaters’ short Broadway run in 1978 put then 22-year-old playwright Michael Jacobs in the record books as the youngest documented author to open a show on the Great White Way. Jacobs went on to run a couple of the most popular TV shows of the following decade: Charles…
Father’s Day is Sunday, and because we at Jackalope Ranch can think of nothing sexier than a man willing to change a diaper, see the Wiggles, and sing “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” we’ve compiled a list of our five favorite FILFs; fathers we’d like to… y’know. The Rocker: Josh Homme…
Well all know that girl. Hell some of us are that girl — the girl whose facial default is downright bitchy. Blame it on bone structure, PMS, or the fact that she is simply not amused, but Bitchy Resting Face (or BRF) is condition that countless women are plagued by…
Whitney Cummings has gone from pranking celebrities on Punk’d to becoming one herself. The comedian became a regular on Chelsea Lately and Comedy Central Roast, which led to her starring in and writing her self-titled series, Whitney, hosting a talk show, and co-creating the sitcom 2 Broke Girls. Now Cummings…
Phoenix native and past winner of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance Lauren Froderman will perform a guest solo at Scorpius Dance Theater’s Kick-A Dance Showcase. Froderman’s sexy, high-energy and contemporary dance style will be a perfect fit for the collection of kick-ass dance. Her impressive flexibility, both physically…
The setup: Side Show, with music by Dreamgirls’ Henry Krieger, was not a Broadway hit upon its 1997 debut. The play about the fame of Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twins who made it out of the freaks’ tent (but not too far) in the 1930s, is generally referred to…
For the second year Lisa Starry of Scorpius Dance Theater will bring together dancers and choreographers from around the state for a showcase of kick-ass contemporary dance. The show is a take on the highly acclaimed Choreographer’s Carnival, except Kick-A Dance Showcase features work from Arizona choreographers. If you enjoyed…
Kids say the darnedest things. But when those same things escape the mouth of a grown man in his underwear, the result is a prefect blend of extremely creepy and equally hilarious. A new web series by Warmland Films is quickly working its way into the browsers of parents and…
Fans of reality television dance shows will recognize the names Travis Wall, Nick Lazzarini, Teddy Forance, and Kyle Robinson. Wall earned an Emmy nomination for his work on So You Think You Can Dance, Lazzarini won the first season of the show, and Forance has been a part of recent…
The setup: Jon Klein wrote “picaresque” antihero-buddy-comedy T Bone N Weasel more than 20 years ago. It became a made-for-TNT film starring Gregory Hines and Christopher Lloyd in 1992 and continues to be a popular show at offbeat regional and community theaters. Currently, iTheatre Collaborative is presenting the rarely-seen-in-Arizona play…
Ballet Arizona’s Topia takes Ib Andersen’s choreography, sets it to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, and places it on an 80-foot-long stage at Desert Botanical Garden with the Papago Buttes as a backdrop. As reviewer Katrina Montgomery stated, the combination makes for the most sensory ballet experience we’ve ever had. For…
To the average person, the name Paul Rodriguez invariably brings to mind memories of his numerous appearances in flicks like Tortilla Soup, A Million to Juan, or Born in East L.A. (the film that launched his cinematic career). Those are merely one part of Rodriguez’s lengthy and varied résumé over…
The setup: The only 20th-century book for young readers that’s sold more copies than Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time is Charlotte’s Web. Childsplay’s current production of John Glore’s stage version of Wrinkle is a great introduction to L’Engle’s Time Quartet/Quintet/Murry-O’Keefe series for those who might not have read the…
The setup: Local writer Charlie Steak’s short play Woman and Girl follows its two characters through a stressful period of accepting change and learning to live together. (It’s quite different from Steak’s popular short, I’m Voting Republican.) The première production is at Phoenix’s Space 55. See also: – “Where’s the…
