Through this weekend, the Actors Theatre in Phoenix will stage Mike Daisey’s The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs. The screenplay, written by Daisey, who’s a monologist, author, and solo performer based in New York City, was released to the public under a creative commons licence and has been performed…
I found myself wondering, while watching Ron May being Mike Daisey in Actors Theatre’s The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, how it would be to watch May perform in this piece and not be preoccupied by admiration for his fine performance. Probably I’d have been distracted anyway, wondering about…
The setup: Gregory S. Moss’ Punkplay takes us back to the spiky, neon-tinged ’80s to make some points about the cyclical nature of cultural rebellion and the timelessness of adolescent turmoil. It’s kind of a (mostly) non-musical Spring Awakening with what some of you might see as a happier ending…
When most people were 14 years old, they probably didn’t have the foggiest idea about which particular career path they’d eventually follow in life. Not so with Alex Lemoine, as the Valley teen believed he was destined to be a stand-up comedian. The 16-year-old junior at Skyline High School in…
Comedians like to make fun of stuff. Sometimes they make fun of ideas that won’t offend anyone, and other times they’re not Jerry Seinfeld. The Evolution of Comedy Tour is not Jerry Seinfeld. Comedians Ian Harris, Jason Resler, and Maurice Northrup will make rationalist jokes at on Thursday September 27…
The setup: John Patrick Shanley (Moonstruck) has also penned many’s the popular stage play. His 2005 Tony- and Pulitzer-winning Doubt: A Parable became a film as well, and all four leads were nominated for Academy Awards. With its small cast, simple production requirements, and thought-provoking story, it’s become popular among…
The setup: Last season, Childsplay premièred a new musical, Rock the Presidents, with book and lyrics by the company’s playwright in residence, Dwayne Hartford. It’s back for some local performances and a second nationwide tour to kick off election season. The execution: As you may recall from the South Park…
Three stars of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” will bow out of the show before the upcoming 38th season, including Andy Samberg, Kirsten Wiig, and Abby Elliot, which means there are a few funny slots to fill before the show kicks back off in mid September. And if all goes as…
Nearly Naked Theatre has joined the fray and moved its curtain time from the more traditional 8 p.m. to a half-hour earlier, and therefore I — not having paid attention to these details — missed the first 15 minutes of Parallel Lives, its season opener. Which turned out not to…
See also: A profile of Sam in Phoenix New Times’ Hero Worship See also: Phoenix’s New Theater Season Looks for an Edge No matter what results you were hoping for from Tuesday’s Arizona primary election, no matter how fervently you supported the candidates you supported, at least a handful of…
The upcoming season of theatrical performances kicks off in September on stages of all sizes throughout the Valley. There have been plenty of theater closings in the last year, explains New Times contributor Robrt Pela in this week’s print issue of New Times, but that’s not stopping a number of…
It’s happening again: Another Valley theater season is about to commence. Beginning in September, Phoenicians will step out of short pants (well, most of them, anyway) and into grownup clothes for a couple of hours every few weekends, just long enough to take in a play. One hopes so, anyway…
Laurie Notaro is an author, crafter, and expert at finding a good cocktail. She grew up in Phoenix, but is currently based in Eugene, Oregon. Each week, she’ll be joining us to share a crafting adventure, draw a flowchart, or remember a few of her favorite things about Phoenix. Today,…
Drag is a great way for queens to embrace their inner divas, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. On Friday, August 24, Pandora Boxx performed in front of a sold out crowd at The Rock. Boxx, the drag persona created by Michael Steck, didn’t quite make it to the final…
The setup: In the last of the three installments of Soul Invictus’ Summer of Soul series, Lucas Gomez’ one-act play Moonbeam & the Vampire Girl is followed by a one-man show by Andrew Eninger, The Last Castrato…
Phyllis Diller was an actress and comedian (though she wouldn’t admit to the latter) who was known for her quick wit, self deprecation, and signature laugh. Diller passed away this morning, according to TMZ. She was 95. The entertainer made a name for herself in the 60s and cracked jokes…
Lisa Starry and her Scorpius Dance Theatre have big plans on the other side of the pond. Every October, the contemporary dance theatre has performed Starry’s “A Vampire Tale” to audiences in Phoenix. Last year, the group was invited to The Bram Stoker International Film Festival — four days of…
Shakespeare’s canon contains a fair number of shipwrecks, something I hadn’t really thought about before a big old wind- and thunderstorm pursued Brelby Theatre Company’s Saturday night performance of Twelfth Night, a comedy that begins with wreck survivors cast on shore. The show, originally scheduled for an outdoor patio due…
There are simply not as many plays to go see during the summer, and I’m sure we’ve talked about this before. The upside is that you can fit more arts events into your schedule, because there are fewer conflicts. One of the downsides is that the scaling-back results in almost…
Alex Koll is a comedian who bridges the gap between alternative and mainstream comedy. A market for the comic’s jokes was there, but the venue wasn’t, so he and a couple of buddies started a weekly comedy show called The Business in San Francisco, and as he would put it:…
Desert Stages Theatre’s production of Rent never stops moving. The relentless, often abrasive energy that fuels Jonathan Larson’s musical also holds it aloft in this umpteenth restaging, which may be the brightest adult entertainment July has to offer. Yet in spite of all this frenetic motion, Rent — co-directed by…
In case you hadn’t heard the news, Octomom invaded the Valley of the Sun yesterday. Don’t worry, little harm was done to either person or property. Nadya Suleman, the notorious attention seeker baby factory Orange County mom who birthed a brood of eight children back in 2008, traveled to Phoenix…
