theatre review - THE SNOWY DAY AND OTHER STORIES - Childsplay - January 28, 2018

Nathan Alfred, Andre Johnson, and Savannah Alfred
photo by Tim Trumble

Click here for more information on this production that runs through March 11th.

"...I had a huge smile on my face throughout. While it provides a good introduction to the wonder of live theatre for children by using theatrical elements to let childhood adventures that youngsters can easily identify with play out it from of them, it also allows grownups to return to the simple wonders of childhood and experience just how enchanting and delightful the small moments in a child's life can be.. " -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

theatre review - JERSEY BOYS - National Tour: Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre - January 23, 2018

Chris Stevens, Jonny Wexler, Tommaso Antico, and Corey Greenan
photo by Joan Marcus

Click here for more information on this production that runs through January 28th.


"...part docudrama, part rock concert, Jersey Boys...tells the true behind the scenes story of how four guys from New Jersey became the pop sensation The Four Seasons. The national tour of the Tony winning show is in town for a week-long run in a production with a talented cast led by Jonny Wexler, who is excellent as the group's lead singer, Frankie Valli....a gifted cast who effectively evoke the foursome with crisp creative elements and smart direction that are modeled on the original Broadway production. It is a show filled with the rich and intriguing story of the struggles these men endured to make music that is still well-known today, and the combination of the true story with so many hit songs is what makes Jersey Boys incredibly entertaining.. " -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

theatre review - CABARET - Spotlight Youth Theatre - January 20, 2018

Aaron Brown and Sophia Donnell
Photo by Joanne Wastchak

Click here for more information on this production that runs through January 28th.

"... another stunning example of Kenny Grossman's expert directorial abilities and the amount of amazing youth talent in the Valley....In her Spotlight debut, Sophia Donnell is a knock-out as Sally. ..Donnell's performance is one of the best I've seen in a youth production this season. Vincent Pugliese is cunning, lovable, fearless, scary, and forcefully commanding as the Emcee. ..As Cliff, Aaron Brown evokes the realistic sincerity of a young writer as well as an appropriate level of both hesitancy and recklessness once Sally comes into his life. ...With an excellent cast and superb direction, Spotlight's Cabaret is especially potent and shocking. It is a production that explodes with grit and glamour, while also being raw and realistic in portraying the immediacy and heartbreaking horrors of Nazism. Some people don't think a youth theatre should present shows that have serious, adult themes like Cabaret, but when it's done with such honesty and emotion it's hard to argue why they shouldn't." -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

theatre review - VERDICT - January 19, 2018

Bella Tindall, Carrie Ellen Jones, and Peter Cunniff
Photo by Renee Ashlock

Click here for more information on this production that runs through March 4th.

".In Agatha Christie's Verdict, the famous mystery writer goes against her signature style that she so skillfully exhibits in her other plays and books. Instead of slowly providing clues and character's motives, to have the audience guess "whodunit?," she crafts an interesting and intriguing expose into the finer details of just what happens in the aftermath of a murder.
... Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre's production of this psychological drama features astute direction and a fine cast led by Peter Cunniff, who delivers a superb portrayal in his first lead role in a straight play after appearing in dozens of musicals in town...." -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

theatre review - THE GRADUATE - Mesa Encore Theatre - January 18, 2018

Christian Boden and Kim Lavelle
Photo by Candice Thornton

Click here for more information on this production that runs through January 28th.

"The 1967 film The Graduate is a classic movie that still stands today as a biting satire on the young, misunderstood and delusional youth of the 1960s and their bored, materialistic, two dimensional and unappreciated parents. Therefore, I'm not quite certain what's to gain from a stage adaptation when the film said exactly what it needed to say under Mike Nichols' expert direction. Terry Johnson adapted the film screenplay, and the 1963 novel by Charles Webb that the film was based on, into a faithful stage version that loses much of the visual starkness of the movie and adds in several new and not exactly necessary scenes. Mesa Encore Theatre's production does a good job of instilling the requisite anti-establishment tone of the piece and, while the entire cast is fine, Kim Lavelle is simply sublime as the sexy seductress Mrs. Robinson...." -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

theatre review - SHOW BOAT - Arizona Broadway Theatre - January 14, 2018

Jamie Parnell and Brittany Santos (center) and Cast
photo by Scott Samplin

Click here for more information on this production that runs through February 10th.

"When Show Boat premiered in 1927 it was hailed as a landmark musical of the time, as it was one of the first shows to successfully combine both comedy and drama with a story that featured a wide range of characters, including parts played by both white and African-American actors. ...focused on such serious topics as racism, addiction and abandonment....was almost like the Hamilton of its time in that it completely changed the way the musical art form was and would ever be again....With a cast who expertly embody their characters and whose voices deliver some stunning vocals on the show's many classic songs, Arizona Broadway Theatre presents a slightly scaled down and edited version of this groundbreaking show, providing a a beautiful production of this rarely produced American musical classic..." -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

theatre review - LIFE COULD BE A DREAM - Hale Centre Theatre - January 16, 2018

Micah Jondel DeShazer, Kale Burr, Angela Kriese, Vinny Chavez, and Danny Karapetian
Photo by Nick Woodward-Shaw

Click here for more information on this production that runs through April 17th.

"Roger Bean can pretty much be given the title of "King of the Jukebox Musical." The creator of the hit revue The Marvelous Wonderettes, along with its numerous sequels, Bean has also crafted over half a dozen other shows that feature familiar tunes from the 1950s, '60s and '70s. Hale Centre Theatre is currently presenting one of his latest creations, Life Could Be a Dream, and though it isn't quite on the same level as Wonderettes... it still makes for a fun, charming and heartwarming journey back in time with a cast who deliver two dozen well-known tunes with an infectious glee....Hale's cast features five performers who all have numerous previous credits appearing on the Hale stage. Vinny Chavez, Kale Burr and Danny Karapetian make a winning threesome as the school friends Denny, Eugene and Wally, respectively, while Micah Jondel DeShazer does well as the quiet loner Skip and Angela Kriese is charming as Lois. All five create unique individuals while providing a good mix of vocal contributions from solos to harmonies that blend beautifully under Lincoln Wright's astute music direction....Cambrian James' direction and choreography infuse the entire production with a wealth of fun moments, with plenty of humor and always changing dance moves that feature synchronized period moves delivered well by the cast. ...It may be a lightweight musical but it still results in a fun trip down memory lane that is filled with laughs and over two dozen tunes of yesteryear. " -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

theatre review - ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT'S END - Fountain Hills Theater - January 13, 2018

Cathy Dresbach
photo by Carly Weekley

Click here for more information on this production that runs through January 28th.

"...Erma Bombeck was a household name and the voice of reason for housewives and homemakers across the country. Bombeck, who was a wife and mother of three, found great success due to her uncanny ability to write in her syndicated columns and books what people across America were thinking. Fountain Hills Theater presents the Valley premiere of the new one woman show, Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End, which features one of Phoenix's favorite comical actresses, Cathy Dresbach, as Bombeck. While the one act play may be slight, Dresbach's wry delivery and ability to breath life into the somewhat disjointed script results in a fun romp through the past...does a fairly good job of painting the backstory to how Bombeck became a success while folding in many of her funny lines and quotable quips. But there aren't a lot of layers or much substance in the show, which barely runs over an hour. ...What's also missing is any drama or a more in-depth account of the trials and tribulations she went through to become as successful as she did. ...Director Ben Tyler and Dresbach do a good job bringing a liveliness to this slightly static show. ...Dresbach is a gifted comic and knows how to deliver some of Bombeck's most famous lines to get laughs.... " -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

theatre review - GORE VIDAL'S THE BEST MAN - Compass Players - January 12, 2018

C.D. Macaulay and Steve Murphy
Photo by John Menard

Click here for more information on this production that runs through January 28th.

"...with today's politically charged climate Gore Vidal's The Best Man feels like it could have been written as a biting satire and cautionary tale of the result of last year's election. ...Director Jeanna Michaels has assembled a very competent cast to portray the vast range of characters. ...Steve Murphy and Matthew Cary portray Russell and Cantwell, respectively, and they are both well equipped to deliver the necessary gravitas of these vastly different opponents. ...C.D. Macaulay is excellent as the former president...Compass Players' production proves that Gore Vidal's The Best Man is still fresh and, unfortunately, still relevant today. Though the fact that some of the dialogue gets laughs now...only shows how forward-thinking Vidal was in crafting this intriguing expose into the political wheeling and dealing that goes on behind closed doors and how unfortunate and disgraceful the state of politics has become.. " -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

theatre review - MAN OF LA MANCHA - Arizona Theatre Company - January 11, 2018

Philip Hernandez and Carlos Lopez
photo by Tim Fuller

Click here for more information on this production that runs through January 28th.

"Taking a classic musical that is beloved and cherished by many and changing its time period, style of music, and overall feel and visual theme can often prove to be an exercise in futility. Therefore, I'm happy to say that Arizona Theatre Company's production of Man of La Mancha, which adds Spanish and flamenco influenced song and dance to the score and changes the time period from the Spanish Inquisition of the late 16th century to the 1950s Franco-led regime, proves to be exceptionally vibrant and full of life. It's like a breath of fresh new air has been instilled into this 50-year-old classic musical and the end result is one of the best shows I've seen at ATC as well as one of the most exceptional productions I've witnessed since reviewing shows here in the Valley..... " -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

theatre review - SEE HOW THEY RUN - Hale Centre Theatre - December 30, 2017

Lindsay Hope, Vinny Chavez, Ami Porter, Jacob Goodman, and Alexis Harris
photo by Nick Woodward-Shaw

Click here for more information on this production that runs through February 10th.

"Philip King's See How They Run may not be as well known as other classic farcical comedies such as Lend Me a Tenor, but it sure amounts to one fun and funny farce. With the necessary requirements of split-second timing and performances that go far but don't go too far over the edge into caricature, farce is always hard to pull off well. Fortunately, Hale Centre Theatre's cast and creative team hit the ground running and virtually never stop in a production that features excellent physical comedy and a nonstop abundance of hijinks and hilarity....While the play takes about 15 minutes to set the scene and introduce the plot and all of the characters, and some of that is a little slow going to completely jell. Once the insanity starts, the punchlines fly and the parade of characters start to run into and out of the Vicar's house, and you truly appreciate how well crafted King's script is. He even adds a fitting coda at the end for a perfectly hilarious punch. Under Cambrian James' spotless direction...The entire cast are adept at delivering the lunacy and split-second timing the play requires, along with perfectly played facial expressions, double takes, and well delivered punchlines. ...See How They Run is a well written comedy and with a firecracker cast and polished direction. Hale's excellent production is first-rate, fresh, funny and entirely delightful.. " -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)