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…
The horror of Nearly Naked Theatre’s Monster has nothing to do with the macabre action of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the story on which this play is based. It hasn’t anything to do with the inferior production, the sluggish acting, the slow and dull-witted direction. The real nightmare here is how…
VICE Magazine called it “Comi-Con meets burlesque nerd orgy,” while Esquire minced no words in describing it as “beautiful young women with tattoos.” Each was describing the same scene, one of shimmying Stormtroopers and scantily clad tattooed women dancing and playing dress-up with pop culture references. The show is Blackheart…
Issues related to racial injustice are prevalent in contemporary political rhetoric, as both activists and creatives acknowledge that American society has yet to keep its promise of liberty and justice for all. Artists like Kara Walker, whose large-scale cut-paper silhouettes depict scenes infused with racial stereotypes, are part of the…
Suns vs. Lakers There have always been rumblings that legendary Laker Kobe Bryant might at times be more of a liability than a luminary to his teammates. Well, in what may be Bryan’ts final season, no one is rumbling anymore. It’s obvious. On a roster chockfull of young talent, Bryant’s…
After Jessica Rajko learned about the trend of Europeans holding American-style parties complete with hot dogs and drinks served in disposable cups, she started thinking more about drinking culture among young Americans. The Tempe-based performer, choreographer, and intermedia digital media artist has since choreographed a work titled I’m Not as Think…
Los Angeles theater website Bitter Lemons published a piece by Jason Rohrer on October 23 in which Rohrer takes issue with New Times’ Robrt Pela, in particular his October 9 essay, It’s Not Okay to Review Plays After One Act, Christopher Frizzelle. Pela argued in that piece that it is…
Susan Fritzler’s kids gave her a $55 gift card earlier this year, redeemable at the recently shuttered Palms Theatre. “They fully expected I could use the gift card for dinner or for a show,” Fritzler says. But before she had a chance to enjoy a revival of Kismet, Fritzler heard…
Spillers Storytelling events have been all the rage the last few years. Unlike many of these happenings that feature writers presenting pieces based on their own real-life experiences, the quarterly event, Spillers: Short Fiction and Tall Drinks features six wordsmiths performing edgy, 10-minute, short fiction stories for the crowd. If…
If you’re the sort that wished Halloween would last longer than just one night, we’ve got some good news: While a host of parties in and around the Valley will happen on All Hallow’s Eve, there also will be a multitude of macabre events taking place during the days leading…
WWE superstar Dolph Ziggler is a man of many talents. Besides being one of the more gifted professional wrestlers currently on the WWE’s roster (and a two-time world heavyweight champion to boot), the 35-year-old is also a stand-up comedian and actor. The common trait with all of these pursuits is,…
Day of Our Lives Book-Signing Watch out for fan apoplexy at the Days of Our Lives: 50 Years book-signing event at Changing Hands Tempe. It’s not just a soap opera; it’s a fiercely beloved soap opera that’s been on since 1965. The lovely commemorative book ($34.99) gets you and a…
After three decades of witnessing theater extravaganzas like The Book of Mormon, which launched ASU Gammage’s new season this week, I can sometimes find my attention wandering from the spotlight. In the case of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s irreverent book musical, I was more interested in the adulation with…
You might not know J.B. Smoove by name, but you’ve almost definitely seen him on your television. He’s Leon Black in Curb Your Enthusiasm, a regular in sketches on Conan, and he’s been featured on enough TV (and reality TV) shows to fill an entire network schedule. When he’s not…
As Arizona Opera opened its three-day Phoenix run for an operetta titled Arizona Lady at Symphony Hall on Friday night, the audience was clearly excited by the prospect of hearing a story set in the Southwest. Simply the sight of the set, complete with cactus and a distant mesa, was enough to…
“Engangled” The candles from Standard Wax don’t just smell good; they look good, too. Samantha Thompson and Andrew King’s creations are meant to be art — a decision certainly influenced by King’s outside work as a contemporary painter and pastel artist. A collection of his recent pieces, “Entangled,” debuts this…
Arizona Opera’s falls season opens with a collaboration that sets a high bar. Arizona Poet Laureate Alberto Ríos recently collaborated with Arizona Opera for its production of Arizona Lady, an operetta set in Tucson in 1925. Think gold rush, rodeos, and horse thieves. It’s opera on the lighter side, with plenty…
Frank Higgins’ The Taste Test is a smartly written, talky play about power struggle and betrayal. Its snappy dialogue and brittle undertones require a strong cast and tight direction to sell finer points and to keep the story moving. Unfortunately, the Black Theatre Troupe production does not offer these amenities…
Yakuza Apocalypse Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike’s latest movie Yakuza Apocalypse has been called “inspired lunacy.” This action thriller, packed with martial arts, supernatural beings, and lots of blood, should get you in the mood for Halloween, and it’s screening at FilmBar, 815 North Second Street, October 9 to 13. But…
I have, on very rare occasions, left theater productions at intermission. When I’ve done so, it’s not only because the mess onstage has run me out of the room, but because I’ve also determined I have nothing greater to share about the production than a list of its inadequacies. That…
It’s no secret that budget constraints impact artistic endeavors. For iTheatre Collaborative, it’s a reality played out in the recent decision to scrap a show planned for its current season. After not receiving a $5,000 grant they’d hoped for, the theater company decided to cancel Port Authority, which was scheduled…
Emerging and established dancers are taking to the stage at Tempe Center for the Arts for this weekend’s Arizona Dance Festival, a two-evening event featuring separate lineups. More than a dozen dancers and dance companies will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 9, and Saturday, October 10. The event…
