Those attending this year’s opening night performance of Ballet Arizona’s The Nutcracker, choreographed by artistic director Ib Andersen, must have thought they’d been treated to a two-for-one special. The ballet we witnessed during the first act bore little resemblance to the ballet we watched during the second — leaving us…
You’ve probably seen or heard Joe Rogan before, whether you intended to or not. He’s a pretty busy guy, considering that he does the color commentary for the major UFC events, has his own successful interview-based podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, and shows up on a wide variety of television…
Year of the Rooster, now crowing its head off at Stray Cat Theatre, serves up a compelling theatrical medley of black comedy, tough characters, and pretty pathos. Intelligently handled by young playwright Eric Dufault, this angst-drenched story is presented by a quartet of characters who demonstrate what happens when pain…
Fans of Disney’s 2013 film Frozen take note: Center Dance Ensemble has been telling the Hans Christian Andersen tale that inspired the movie for more than 20 years in a production called Snow Queen. Performances continue through Sunday, December 21, at Herberger Theater Center, where CDE is the resident dance…
If you’ve been around YouTube, Tumblr, or the general Internet over the past few years, chances are you’ve heard of Mamrie Hart and Grace Helbig, seen one of their videos on either Helbig’s It’s Grace YouTube channel or Hart’s You Deserve a Drink, laughed, cried, and possibly had your life…
Though this winter’s dance calendar promises much in the way of tradition and holiday spirit, those looking for more cutting edge offerings have something to look forward to in the spring. CONDER/dance founder Carley Conder has announced the artist lineup for the eighth annual Breaking Ground contemporary dance festival, slated…
New York choreographer Jessica Lang, artistic director for Jessica Lang Dance founded in 2011, has been spending time on Arizona stages of late. Recently the company performed in Tucson and in Wickenburg, and they’ll perform this month at Mesa Arts Center, with a touring program that includes five dance works…
Full-length story ballets like Swan Lake are all good and fine, but there’s something to be said for mixing it up a bit. Hence the appeal of Dancers’ Choice, a program being presented this Friday by Ballet Arizona inside their own Dorrance Theatre. It’s a one-night only affair that raises…
You might be planning a long road trip or maybe you’ve just exhausted all of your go-to bands on Spotify while sitting at your desk. Never fear — the time to dive head first into the world of comedy podcasts is here. Whether they’re talking about the biz, literature, movies,…
This fall Phoenix Art Museum will feature something a little bit different from its normal exhibitions: Ballet. Through a partnership with the Bolshoi Ballet, the Museum will stream live-captured performances by the well-established Russian dance troupe…
What is the deal with Jerry Seinfeld? Well, the comedian has been up to a whole lot of something lately, recently joining Facebook, making his first Instagram post, and finishing up the fifth season of his web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, which debuts on November 6. And today,…
When the curtain opens on Ballet Arizona’s Swan Lake, the audience is transported to a world reminiscent of Grimm’s fairy tales. Layers of elaborate trees, looking like a cross between delicate ink drawings and woodcuts used to illustrate storybooks long ago, line each side of the stage. Scenic design by…
Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni wants to talk about race in America — and she’s got an idea of where she wants to start. The writer-actor-director-producer extraordinaire will bring her one-woman show, One Drop of Love, to Mesa Arts Center on Saturday, November 1. Inspired by her own experiences with race, family,…
We’re used to seeing dancing vampires this time of year, thanks to A Vampire Tale choreographed by Lisa Starry for her Scorpius Dance Theatre. Now Valley audiences can also enjoy the première of a new Starry work titled Fade, which is part of The Bad and The Beautiful program for…
Cherrie Moraga’s The Hungry Woman debuted on the ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts’ mainstage last weekend. The play, set in a post-Revolutionary, futuristic Phoenix, is a modernized retelling of the tragedy of Medea. Native and Mexican themes and folklore are integrated into the story, which also explores…
The Movement Source Dance Company returns for a second year with The Danse Macabre, an hourlong mash-up of dance, music, and illusion in the spirit of Halloween. It’s being performed at both Willo North Gallery and Crescent Ballroom, thanks to some decidedly undead hustle by Mary Anne Fernandez-Herding, founder and…
Two women are weeping. A man dressed as a Disney dwarf arrives with a tea tray. References to Chekhov are made. It’s plain: We are watching a Christopher Durang play. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play. It is, in many ways,…
There aren’t many people who sound like Wanda Sykes. Then again, there aren’t many people like Wanda Sykes, period. The longtime comedian who’s battled cancer, come out as gay, remarried and had children all while in the spotlight, safely stands in a category all her own. But it’s not just…
ASU’s fall theatre lineup will feature The Hungry Woman by Cherrie Moraga, which promises to be a new — and local — take on an old classic…
Ralphie May didn’t take the stereotypical route to comedy stardom. But it doesn’t really matter how you get there, because you’re going to pay your dues in one way or another. “There are a lot of different paths to be a stand-up comic,” May says. “But there’s no easy path…
This is the story of the time I brought my boyfriend to a dance play about vampires during post-season baseball. More specifically, this is a story about the time I peeled the aforementioned man off the couch and dragged him to Scorpius Dance Theatre’s A Vampire Tale during longest playoff…
Some people choose to do comedy. Others feel like they were born to do it. For Pauly Casillas, it might be a little of both. “Well, I’ve always been fat, so I had to be funny,” Casillas says. “I’m a fat comedian, but I’m not a fat comedian. I mean,…
