The bummer of civilization, in general, is that the human craving for novelty leads people to cross mountains, rivers, and seas to see what’s there and, often, rob, rape, and oppress those they encounter at their destination. However, we have a choice to do otherwise — to listen to our…
Producers of the FOX television show So You Think You Can Dance auditioned thousands of people for the show’s upcoming seventh season, and of those thousands, 11 were picked to show their moves on national TV — including Phoenix resident Lauren Froderman.Froderman, 18, was born and raised in the Valley,…
It is a shame that the written word often can not convey sarcasm as easily as the spoken one. This being the case, please consider the following statement to be dripping with sarcasm: I can not wait to seet Stage 55’s Seven Minutes in Heaven. Lucky you and I have…
A naked septuagenarian stuffs a boiled egg into his left armpit. A woman wearing plastic butterfly wings reads a dour poem, then torches a five-dollar bill. Three drunk guys shave off one another’s body hair. This is Space 55 Theatre’s Seven Minutes in Heaven, a collection of unvetted short skits,…
Comedian Margaret Cho is coming to Dodge Theatre on Saturday, September 18, and she’ll be bringing a whole new arsenal of gay jokes, Korean mother imitations, and comedy music. Cho’s latest tour, “CHO DEPENDENT,” will feature some songs from her forthcoming album of the same name, which includes collaborations with…
I’ll be honest: the idea of being a parent sends chills down my spine. The thought of diapers and sippy cups and Dora The Explorer and some wobbly little human being calling me “Dad” fills my heart with mortal terror. But after spending a night wandering around the Great Arizona Puppet…
Just like the rest of us, sometimes a family of goats has to hit the road and do a little traveling in search of greener pastures, even if there’s a scary, mean, dangerous troll waiting along the way. The basic plot of The Three Billy Goats Gruff is a rather…
A lot goes into Curtains’ decisions about which plays to review for you. But when I opened my program for Central Community Theatre’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar and saw that Robin Vining plays guitar in the orchestra, I became Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction: “Shit, negro! That’s all you…
Most art spaces in this town feel like solid, real world places, built out of the stuff of waking life. Safe places where the art is caged on walls lik e docile zoo animals and can’t get close enough to take a swipe at your face. Walking into Deus Ex…
The debate raging through John Pielmeier’s Agnes of God concerns the veracity of miracles and the possibility of virgin birth. In a series of monologues and flashbacks, it tells a story that’s often ambiguous and deliberately vague. But in its Desert Stages production, one thing is very clear: The young…
Roald Dahl wrote a bunch of dense, sometimes sweetly twisted fiction for adults, but his works that best survived crossing the pond to the U.S. were those for children, including the deliciously cruel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches, and The BFG (short…
Playwright and actor Kim Porter knows a thing or two about writing for the stage. The Texas-born Arizona resident’s yarns have been staged at theaters on both coasts and garnered multiple awards. (Most recently, she received two L.A. Drama Critics awards and three L.A. Weekly awards for the Los Angeles…
There’s a lot to go out and do lately. I would credit my own frolicsome attitude for this observation, but everybody I run into says the same thing. Occasionally, a theater person of my acquaintance (not always the same one) will opine that there are just too many companies and…
The timing, of course, couldn’t be better. A show that spoofs the profundities of Arizona’s many weaknesses — our weather sucks for about half the year, our sheriff is a jag-off, our budget is in the toilet — has premiered so soon after our latest national disgrace that there was…
courtesy of Mesa Arts Center Penn Jillette and Teller Penn Jillette and his professional partner, Teller, are two extremely busy guys. (Full disclosure: I worked for their entertainment lawyer in Manhattan a long time ago.) However boho and edgy they may have once considered themselves, they’ve been performing their irreverent,…
One of our, and your, favorite local stars of both the musical and straight (as it were) stage is the brassy, funny, rangy Johanna Carlisle. And Saturday night, May 8 (tomorrow), is a perfect time to help make it a happy Mother’s Day for this working mom whose son needs…
Scorpius Dance Theatre is known for several things: sensual movements, innovative choreography and Artistic Director/Choreographer Lisa Starry’s creativity in designing shows that appeal to a broad audience. Last night’s performance of Catwalk is no exception. Modeled (no pun intended) after a haute couture fashion show, Catwalk incorporates rock music and…
Kyle Lewis Ina (Lauren Dykes) will take any help she can get in And What She Found There, even from mysterious Joe (Adam Pinti). Some dude online called me strident and condescending yesterday, and I just wanted to say, “I have to be. It’s for the Curtains readers.” So, you…
Platitudes we all oughta write on the mirror in lipstick or shaving cream, as the case may be: All of us can make miracles where one of us will fail. It [everything, by the way] takes a village. The whole is more than the sum of its parts. Need a…
Audience members who attend Stray Cat Theatre’s current show can buy $5 ponchos before entering the playhouse. The ponchos are meant to protect the clothing of those sitting in the first few rows from being spattered with the fake gore that is the real star of this worthless one-act. Unfortunately,…
Homeless no more. Starting May 1, the downtown Phoenix-area improv community, which has really blossomed over the past few years, will have its own digs. The venue, which will most likely be called The Torch Theatre, is an approximately 1,400-square-foot space located at Central Avenue and Highland. Once they get…
Yes, it’s roomy and picturesque here at Jackalope Ranch, but I think my favorite thing is the ottoman — best reintroduction of a piece of furniture in the past two decades! Remember footstools? Fuck that. And if you want to go back to read any of the older Curtains reviews,…
