Friday, December 20, 2013

theatre review ALL NEW PEOPLE, Stray Cat Theatre, December 12

Angelica Howland, Michael Peck, Kim Richard, Joseph Kremer
Click here for my review of Zach Braff's play All New People, running through December 22nd in Tempe at the Stray Cat Theatre.

"The Stray Cat Theatre is presenting the Arizona premiere of Zach Braff's first play All New People. Braff, star of the television show "Scrubs" and the award winning filmmaker of Garden State, has crafted a well written comedy with characters that are well formed and an ending that pays off. The Stray Cat Theatre production has a pretty good cast who easily handles the comic, dramatic and more absurd moments of the play, with nice pacing and direction from Stray Cat's Associate Artistic Director Louis Farber."

Stray Cat Theatre Website

Photo: John Groseclose

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

theatre review EVITA- National Tour - ASU/Gammage - Dec. 3

Caroline Bowman and Josh Young
My Talkin' Broadway review of the national tour of Evita can be found by clicking here.  With a great performance by Josh Young as "Che" this is a tour not to be missed.

"The current national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical Evita has come to ASU/Gammage for a week long run. While this is a fairly well-known musical of a real life woman's rise to power and fame, and the show won the 1980 Tony Award for Best Musical, the score really only has one hit song, "Don't Cry For Me Argentina." However, the touring production is energetic and beautifully designed with a fantastic cast, good direction, stunning choreography and superb orchestrations." 

The tour concluded it's run at ASU/Gammage already but you can find where the tour will go next at this link - Evita National Tour.


theatre review A CHRISTMAS CAROL - Southwest Shakespeare Company, Nov. 30

Jared Sakren as Scrooge
Click here to read my Talkin' Broadway review of the Southwest Shakespeare Company's production of A Christmas Carol.  Running through December 21st, it is one of the best adaptations of this classic tale that I've seen.

"There are probably more theatrical adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol produced across the country every December than any other play or musical the entire year. The classic Christmas story of Scrooge as he is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future never gets old. The production that the Southwest Shakespeare Company is presenting through December 21st is a beautiful throwback to a more traditional storytelling type of play without any over-elaborate theatricality to get in the way of this timeless tale of redemption."

Southwest Shakespeare Company's Official Website

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

theatre review THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Arizona Broadway Theatre, Nov 24

Trisha Hart Ditsworth and John Dooley
Click here to read my entire review at Talkin' Broadway of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic musical The Sound of Music at the Arizona Broadway Theatre.

"Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is suddenly something that everyone seems to be talking about, with the upcoming "live" broadcast of the show on NBC this week starring Carrie Underwood generating a lot of buzz. The production at the Arizona Broadway Theatre may not star a Grammy winning singer but it is a joyous, emotional production with a wonderful cast, colorful sets and costumes and a "live" experience that you just can't get sitting in your living room watching TV."

This most popular of the Rodgers and Hammerstein shows runs through December 29th.

Arizona Broadway Theatre's Official Site

photo courtesy of the Arizona Broadway Theatre


theatre review WHITE CHRISTMAS, Phoenix Theatre, Nov 23

Molly Lajoie, Peter Marinaro,
Debby Rosenthal and Joseph Cannon
My complete review at Talkin' Broadway of the Christmas musical classic White Christmas can be found by clicking here.

"The Phoenix Theatre production of Irving Berlin's White Christmas is a joyous addition to the holiday season. Based on the classic 1954 film, this White Christmas has had holiday season runs on Broadway as well as numerous productions across the country. With wonderful Irving Berlin songs, a fun "let's put on a show" plot, and an engaging and extremely talented cast, the Phoenix Theatre production is top notch."

This upbeat musical runs through December 24th.

Phoenix Theatre's Official Site

photo courtesy of Phoenix Theatre

theatre review FIFTY SHADES OF FELT, Nearly Naked Theatre, Nov 22

Click here to read my entire review at Talkin' Broadway of the Fifty Shades of Grey All-Puppet spoof Fifty Shades of Felt.  It's been extended through December 7th due to demand.

"I'm happy to admit that I have yet to read any of the books in the "Fifty Shades of Grey" series. I'm also happy to report that the all-puppet theatrical parody of the series, Fifty Shades of Felt, a co-production of Nearly Naked Theatre and All Puppet Players, is a hysterical, raunchy and extremely fun night out at the theatre."

Nearly Naked Theatre Company's Official Site