Arizona Coyotes vs. Philadelphia Flyers
It's been a rough winter for the Arizona Coyotes. They started the season strong, but the wheels came off after Thanksgiving -- the Yotes lost just about every game for the next month -- and suddenly they seem like a long shot to make the playoffs.
See also: 14 Things to Do on New Year's Eve in Metro Phoenix
The Coyotes can claw their way back into relevance, but it will take an absolutely herculean effort. The first step would be winning Monday, December 29's matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers at Gila River Arena, 9400 West Maryland Avenue. The Coyotes have been awful at defending their home ice (pretty much every loss in their recent skid has happened in Glendale) so a home win would be a big first step.
The puck drops at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $35 and are available via www.ticketmaster.com. Ed Kummerer
"All That Glitters is Not Gold"
It's an official "doy" that all things sparkly are not made of Glenn Beck's go-to metal. And, in fact, the yellow-toned substance has taken a popularity hit in recent years, thanks to the covetable and very shiny platinum. Just so happens, platinum also trumps gold in the photography department, as evidenced by Phoenix Art Museum's "All That Glitters Is Not Gold." The exhibition comprises platinum prints, including works by Margarethe Mather and Dick Arentz, from Tucson's Center for Creative Photography.
See the shiny shots through March 1, 2015, at 1625 North Central Avenue. Hours on Tuesday, December 30, are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults. Visit www.phxart.org or call 602-252-1880. Becky Bartkowski
It's hard to be a black guy on Saturday Night Live. There's no splitting the workload -- if a skit calls for someone playing Denzel Washington, that's you. Kanye West? You. They want a skit featuring Jay-Z, Eddie Murphy, and President Barack Obama? Well, that's you, you, and you, baby. Luckily for us, Jay Pharoah has enough talent to fill all these roles and more. The four-season SNL star's coming to Phoenix for a multi-day showcase of his comedy, meaning Kenan Thompson's going to have a lot of work to do back in New York. Pharoah's sets begin at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wednesday, December 31, at Stand Up Live, 50 West Jefferson Street in Phoenix. Tickets start at $27, and there's a two-drink minimum. Call 480-719-6100 or visit standuplive.com for more. Zachary Fowle
Professional theater companies have struggled fiscally the past several years, and one sign of that is all the plays with itty-bitty casts that they've been presenting. We sentimentally wish that more actors were getting paid, but until that happy day, we'll enjoy the tours de force on display in Murder for Two, a nostalgic and hysterical musical comedy mystery in which one actor plays a police officer, another plays the 12 suspects in a murder, and both play the piano.
Co-creator Joe Kinosian co-stars in Arizona Theatre Company's production, whose Phoenix run opens Wednesday, December 31, at 7:30 p.m. It continues through Sunday, January 18, 2015, at 222 East Monroe Street. Call 602-256-6995 for tickets, $49 to $87, or visit www.arizonatheatre.org. Julie Peterson
This New Year's Eve, we're partying like it's 1922, because resolutions can wait, responsibilities are for morning people, and F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary cult classic is a fine theme for one last hurrah. Stop by the Modern Gatsby Gala on Wednesday, December 31, for a chance to dance in your favorite flapper dress, drink champagne against the Phoenix skyline, and enjoy live performances by CONDER/dance, Flamenco Por La Vida, SambAZ, and The Pyromantics.
The gala goes down from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the The Clarendon Hotel and Spa, 401 West Clarendon Avenue. Tickets are available for $50 per person. This is a 21-and-over event. For information and special room rates, visit www.goclarendon.com/nye or call 602-252-7363. Katie Johnson
