Christmas has come early for fans of good writing and excellent acting, courtesy of Stray Cat Theatre’s production of Steve Yockey’s Wolves. The play, which squeaks onto my list of best plays of 2012 at the very end of the year, is a violent drama with no real gore; a…
The setup: Ironically, it was the almost-entirely-sold-outness of another popular holiday show (iTheatre’s perennially popular Back Home for the Holidays cabaret) that led Curtains to check out this offering in Mesa, which is in its second year. Tonight is actually your best chance to see Southwest Shakespeare Company’s A Christmas…
The setup: For several years, New Carpa has presented an annual holiday pastorela in the Valley. Following a centuries-old tradition, the play incorporates iconoclastic, topical political humor into the story of shepherds traveling to visit the Christ Child, culminating in a battle between Satan and the Archangel Gabriel (because most…
If you have a solid holiday show that people love and buy tickets to, obviously you have to do it at least once more. Or 18 more times. Or whatever. So here we go — this season’s reruns, with links to the original Curtains reviews. 1. Childsplay’s Junie B. in…
Vince Lombardi was a football coach known for his time spent leading the Green Bay Packers to two Super Bowl trophies and a number of league championships in the 1960s. He was enshrined in the NFL’s Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. Lombardi never lost a season as a…
Monkey Pants Bar and Grill’s Thursday night comedy event will feature Jackie Kashian, a comedian who has toured with Maria Bamford, performed on NPR’s This American Life, and does a podcast called The Dork Forest. The show will feature local comedians Teddy Bearskovich, Anthony Desamito, and S&M Comedy Podcast hosts…
I almost never attend Sunday evening theater performances. I did on a recent weekend, when I went to see Arizona Theatre Company’s Lombardi, about the life and football coaching career of NFL hero Vince Lombardi. Sunday night audiences, I can now tell you, are distinctly different from the opening night…
The setup: In 1991, standup comedian Rob Becker developed his observations about men and women into a full-length one-man show, Defending the Caveman. Its premise that the differences between the sexes are age-old, inherent, and the source of our strength must have something to it, because the show is still…
To escape the political commentary and election analyses that are likely to fill the 24-hour news cycle for the next week or so, Ernesto Moncada and his Arcana Cabaret suggest comedy, music, and a little creative movement. The collective’s “Politika” will take over Space 55 this weekend. Moncada says the…
Take a deep breath, ladies — Tefina is on the way. According to medical researchers, a clinical trial is about to begin in Canada, Australia, and other parts of the world to test a drug that could increase a woman’s sex drive … And all she has to do is…
James E. Garcia has a long history of bringing politics to the stage. The Phoenix-based, award-winning journalist, educator, and playwright has told the (abridged) history of Mexico in The Eagle & The Serpent and stories of the border in Amexica: Tales from the Fourth World. For the past few weeks,…
Because there’s no better way to spend $15,000 to accomplish what you/your significant other can’t, LELO unveiled its Inez Gold to the worldwide market. According to LELO’s website, the Inez Gold is “a high quality sex toy for women like no other. The best LELO vibrator is crafted in 24K…
Phoenix’s favorite undead dance company, Scorpius Dance Theater, returns this week for the ninth season of Lisa Starry’s A Vampire Tale. What has now become a local tradition, A Vampire’s Tale is often referred to as the “Nutcracker of Halloween.” This dark and seductive performance assembles a cast of 25…
Through this weekend, the Actors Theatre in Phoenix will stage Mike Daisey’s The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs. The screenplay, written by Daisey, who’s a monologist, author, and solo performer based in New York City, was released to the public under a creative commons licence and has been performed…
I found myself wondering, while watching Ron May being Mike Daisey in Actors Theatre’s The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, how it would be to watch May perform in this piece and not be preoccupied by admiration for his fine performance. Probably I’d have been distracted anyway, wondering about…
The setup: Gregory S. Moss’ Punkplay takes us back to the spiky, neon-tinged ’80s to make some points about the cyclical nature of cultural rebellion and the timelessness of adolescent turmoil. It’s kind of a (mostly) non-musical Spring Awakening with what some of you might see as a happier ending…
When most people were 14 years old, they probably didn’t have the foggiest idea about which particular career path they’d eventually follow in life. Not so with Alex Lemoine, as the Valley teen believed he was destined to be a stand-up comedian. The 16-year-old junior at Skyline High School in…
Comedians like to make fun of stuff. Sometimes they make fun of ideas that won’t offend anyone, and other times they’re not Jerry Seinfeld. The Evolution of Comedy Tour is not Jerry Seinfeld. Comedians Ian Harris, Jason Resler, and Maurice Northrup will make rationalist jokes at on Thursday September 27…
The setup: John Patrick Shanley (Moonstruck) has also penned many’s the popular stage play. His 2005 Tony- and Pulitzer-winning Doubt: A Parable became a film as well, and all four leads were nominated for Academy Awards. With its small cast, simple production requirements, and thought-provoking story, it’s become popular among…
The setup: Last season, Childsplay premièred a new musical, Rock the Presidents, with book and lyrics by the company’s playwright in residence, Dwayne Hartford. It’s back for some local performances and a second nationwide tour to kick off election season. The execution: As you may recall from the South Park…
Three stars of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” will bow out of the show before the upcoming 38th season, including Andy Samberg, Kirsten Wiig, and Abby Elliot, which means there are a few funny slots to fill before the show kicks back off in mid September. And if all goes as…
Nearly Naked Theatre has joined the fray and moved its curtain time from the more traditional 8 p.m. to a half-hour earlier, and therefore I — not having paid attention to these details — missed the first 15 minutes of Parallel Lives, its season opener. Which turned out not to…
