December 19, 2005
The Nutcracker
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio continues his annual holiday show reviews with Ballet Arizona's annual production of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" with its charming story about Clara's Christmas Nutcracker and her dream of The Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
www.balletaz.org
This year production moves back to the renovated Symphony Hall where it plays through December 27. For tickets, call the Ballet Arizona box office at 602-381-1096 or Ticketmaster at 480-784-4444 or visit www.balletaz.org.
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December 12, 2005
A Christmas Carol
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio continues his annual review of holiday productions with Actors Theatre's annual production of "A Christmas Carol," Charles Dickens' classic tale of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge's magical transformation after a Christmas Eve dream that wakes him up to reality.
herbergertheater.org
It plays at the Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix through December 24.
ticketmaster.com
For tickets, call the Herberger Theater Center box office at 602-252-8497 or order online at www.ticketmaster.com.
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December 08, 2005
Evita
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's pop opera, "Evita," that tells the story of Eva Duarte and her rise to become the spiritual leader of Argentina after her marriage to Juan Peron who became the country's President.
ticketmaster.com
"Evita" continues through December 11 at ASU's Gammage Auditorium in downtown Tempe. For tickets, call the Ticketmaster box office at 480-784-4444.
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December 05, 2005
Seussical
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews Childsplay's new holiday show, "Seussical," a musical based on Dr. Seuss' stories about Horton, the dedicated elephant, who sits on Mayzie's egg until it hatches.
tickets.com
"Seussical" continues through December 23 at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts in Scottsdale. For tickets, call the Scottsdale Center for the Arts box office at 480-994-2787 or buy online at www.tickets.com.
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November 28, 2005
Spirit of the Season
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the first of several holiday theater shows with Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre's "Spirit of the Season." In six segments, the show mixes traditional holiday tunes with some comic numbers.
broadwaypalmwest.com
"Spirit of the Season" continues through December 25 at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre at Brown and Higley Roads in Mesa. For tickets, call the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre box office at 480-325-6700 or buy online at www.broadwaypalmwest.com.
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November 22, 2005
Bad Dates
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews "Bad Dates," Arizona Theatre Company's new production. In the play, playwright Theresa Rebeck explores a successful woman who decides to re-enter the dating scene after five years. The one character play lets her chat with the audience about the people she encounters on her quest to find that someone special.
www.arizonatheatre.org
"Bad Dates" continues through December 4 at the Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix. For tickets, call the Arizona Theatre Company box office at 602-256-6995 or go online at www.arizonatheatre.org.
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November 14, 2005
Anything Goes
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the first production of the new Peoria dinner theater, the Arizona Broadway Theatre, "Anything Goes," a 1934 Cole Porter show that boasts a great score and big dance numbers that play around a silly story about mismatched young lovers and disguised gangsters on a ship bound from America to Europe.
www.azbroadwaytheatre.com
"Anything Goes" continues through December 11 at a temporary tent at the Peoria Sports Complex while the new theater is finished nearby. For tickets, call the Arizona Broadway Theatre box office at 623-776-8400.
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November 07, 2005
Picnic
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Phoenix Theatre production of William Inge's 1953 play, "Picnic." The play explores the lives of common folks who think sexual escapades can lead them to true love.
Phoenix Theatre
"Picnic" continues through November 20 at Phoenix Theatre in downtown Phoenix. For tickets, call the Phoenix Theatre box office at 602-254-2151.
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October 31, 2005
Blue/Orange
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Actors Theatre's Southwest premiere production of British playwright Joe Penhall's "Blue/Orange," that looks at the conflicting diagnosis of a patient in a London psychiatric hospital by two doctors. A variety of issues face the doctors as they debate the patient's status and what is best for him.
www.herbergertheater.org
"Blue/Orange" continues through November 13 at the Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix. For tickets, call the Herberger Theater Center box office at 602-252-8497 or Ticketmaster at 480-784-4444.
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October 24, 2005
Stray Cat Theatre Double Bill
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Stray Cat Theatre's double bill, "The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love-Suicide" and "Nicky Goes Goth" that look at contemporary society foibles. "The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love-Suicide" looks at bullying through the eyes of a 4th grader who commits suicide to relieve the pain of taunting and leaves his suicide note in the form of a play that his fellow students perform. "Nicky Goes Goth" looks at sisters Nicky and Paris Hilton and how Nicky decides to distinguish herself by going Goth with a bizarre lover.
www.straycattheatre.org
The plays continue in repertory through November 5 at the eleven/twenty/one Theater in downtown Phoenix. For tickets, call the Stray Cat Theatre box office at 602-253-8188 or go online at www.straycattheatre.org.
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October 17, 2005
The King and I
( Scottsdale, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Desert Stages Theatre's production of "The King and I," Rodgers and Hammerstein's exotic musical that tells the story of Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher brought to Siam in the early 1860s to help The King transition his country to new ways.
www.desertstages.com
"The King and I" plays through November 6 at the Desert Stages Theatre in Scottsdale. For tickets, call the Desert Stages Theatre box office at 480-483-1664.
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October 10, 2005
Pride and Prejudice
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Arizona Theatre Company's production of "Pride and Prejudice," a stage adaptation by Jon Jory who also directs Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" that tells the story of the Bennet family's five eligible daughters focusing on Elizabeth and Jane. The story captures the era, the early 19th century in England, vividly but the characters handle romantic entanglements with amazingly contemporary approaches.
www.arizonatheatre.org
"Pride and Prejudice" plays through October 23 at the Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix before moving October 28 to the Mesa Arts Center in downtown Mesa where it plays through November 6. For tickets, call the Arizona Theatre Company box office at 602-256-6995 or order online at www.arizonatheatre.org.
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October 03, 2005
A Midsummer Night's Dream
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Southwest Shakespeare Company's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the first production in the new Mesa Arts Center's 550-seat Virginia G. Piper Repertory Theater. William Shakespeare's early comedy is a magical tale about two pairs of lovers who leave Athens for a nearby forest where, after much comic shenanigans, they unite happily.
mesaartscenter.com
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is the first production at the new Mesa Arts Center's Virginia G. Piper Repertory Theater in downtown Mesa and plays through October 15. For tickets, call the Mesa Arts Center box office at 480-644-6500 or order online at www.mesaartscenter.com.
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September 26, 2005
Camelot
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre's production of "Camelot," Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's musical adaptation of T. H. White's "The Once and Future King." It tells about the legend of King Arthur and also relates his Queen Guenevere's love for the French knight Lancelot that dooms Arthur's Round Table.
broadwaypalmwest.com
"Camelot" plays at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre at Higley and Brown in Mesa through November 12. For tickets, call the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre box office at 480-325-6700 or order online at .
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September 22, 2005
Mesa Arts Center
( Mesa, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Mesa Arts Center's opening theater attraction, Michael Crawford In Concert. Chris tells us about the entire arts complex and he describes the September 17 dedication. Although Michael Crawford's concert was for the opening night only, Chris tells us about free public tours and performances September 24 and 25. The Mesa Arts Center is located in downtown Mesa at Center and Main Streets.
www.mesaartscenter.com
For tickets to future Mesa Arts Center attractions, call the Mesa Arts Center box office at 480-644-6500.
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September 18, 2005
The Will Rogers Follies
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Phoenix Theatre production of "The Will Rogers Follies - A Life in Revue," a musical that tells about America's favorite humorist, Will Rogers, his life, and his witticisms through a series of splashy production numbers that simulate Ziegfeld Follies extravaganzas, something Rogers himself starred in on Broadway before Hollywood stardom turned him into a worldwide phenomenon.
phxtheatre.org
"The Will Rogers Follies - A Life in Revue" plays at the Phoenix Theater in downtown Phoenix through October 9. For tickets, call the Phoenix Theater box office at 602-254-2151.
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September 12, 2005
Nickel and Dimed
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Actors Theatre production of "Nickel and Dimed," a comedy/drama adapted from Barbara Ehrenreich's best selling book about her experiences going undercover and taking jobs that paid $8 per hour or less.
Herberger Theater Center
This is a revival of last season's successful production. "Nickel and Dimed" plays at the Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix through September 25. For tickets, call the Herberger Theater Center box office at 602-252-8497 or call Ticketmaster at 480-784-4444 or go online to www.ticketmaster.com.
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September 08, 2005
Movin' Out
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Broadway in Arizona production of "Movin' Out," a musical that uses Billy Joel pop hit tunes and Twyla Tharp dances to tell a story of five people who come of age during the Vietnam War and how they survive after. The show has no dialogue as dance is the language used to tell the story although the songs are sung and played by a vocalist and orchestra above the dances.
Gammage Auditorium
"Movin' Out" plays at Gammage Auditorium on the ASU campus in downtown Tempe through September 18.
ticketmaster.com
For tickets, call Ticketmaster at 480-784-4444 or go online to www.ticketmaster.com.
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September 05, 2005
Marvin's Room
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Nearly Naked Theatre's production of "Marvin's Room," a strange dark comedy that initially laughs at a middle-aged caregiver who has sacrificed her life until her own leukemia diagnosis forces her to turn to estranged relatives as her only chance at a cure.
phxtheatre.org
"Marvin's Room" plays at the Little Theatre at Phoenix Theatre in downtown Phoenix through September 17. For tickets, call the Phoenix Theatre box office at 602-254-2151.
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August 29, 2005
No Time For Sergeants
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Hale Centre production of No Time For Sergeants, a comedy about Will Stockdale, the backwoods boy who bumbles his way through an Air Force career after being drafted.
Hale Centre Theatre
"No Time For Sergeants" plays at the Hale Centre in downtown Gilbert through October 8. For tickets, call the Hale Centre box office at 480-497-1181.
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August 11, 2005
Little Shop of Horrors
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the touring version of the Broadway revival of "Little Shop of Horrors," a musical based on the Roger Corman film about Seymour, a meek Skid Row florist who cultivates a tiny plant into a man-eating monster to win the heart of Audrey, a fellow sales clerk he loves.
Gammage Auditorium
"Little Shop of Horrors" plays at Gammage Auditorium on the ASU campus ion downtown Tempe through Sunday, August 14.
Ticketmaster.com
For tickets, call Ticketmaster at 480-784-4444 or go online at www.ticketmaster.com.
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August 08, 2005
Nunsense
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre production of Dan Goggin's "Nunsense," a wacky tale of the Little Sisters of Apache Junction who must raise the money to bury 52 of their colleagues who were killed with tainted vichyssoise.
Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre
"Nunsense" plays at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre at Brown and Higley in Mesa through September 17. For tickets, call the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre box office at 480-325-6700 or go online at www.broadwaypalmwest.com.
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August 01, 2005
Beauty and the Beast
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Phoenix Theatre/Valley Youth Theatre production of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." The musical is the stage version of the fairytale cartoon with the romantic story of Belle who transforms the Beast back into a man through love.
Herberger Theater Center
"Beauty and the Beast" plays at the Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix through August 21. For tickets, call the Herberger Theater Center box office at 602-252-8497, Ticketmaster at 480-784-4444, or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
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July 25, 2005
The Wonder Bread Years
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Theater League production of "The Wonder Bread Years." The show is by Pat Hazell and is an affectionate and nostalgic look back at the growing up years of today's Baby Boomers.
Herberger Theater
"The Wonder Bread Years" plays at the Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix through August 14. For tickets, call the Herberger Theater Center box office at 602-252-8497 or Ticketmaster at 480-784-4444.
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July 11, 2005
Oklahoma
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Hale Centre Theatre's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's first musical, "Oklahoma," that tells the romantic story of Curley and Laurey in the turn-of-the-last-century Oklahoma territory just as it was about to become a state.
Hale Centre Theatre
"Oklahoma" plays at the Hale Centre Theatre in downtown Gilbert through August 20. For tickets, call the Hale Centre Theatre box office at 480-497-0277.
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July 04, 2005
A Midsummer Night's Dream
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews The Shakespeare Theatre's production of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," one of the Bard's finest comedies that combine reality and fantasy through three interlocking stories about love and life.
Phoenix Theatre's Little Theatre
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" plays at the Phoenix Theatre's Little Theatre in downtown Phoenix through July 16. For tickets, call The Shakespeare Theatre box office at 602-218-5489.
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June 20, 2005
The Wizard of Oz
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Valley Youth Theatre's stage production of "The Wizard of Oz," that traces Dorothy's dream journey through the magical Munchkinland to the Emerald City where she meets three friends, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man who she takes along on her journey before she awakens to the reality of Aunt Em and Uncle Henry's Kansas farm.
www.herbergertheater.org
"The Wizard of Oz" plays at the Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix through Sunday, June 26. For tickets, call the Herberger Theater Center box office at 602-252-8497.
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June 16, 2005
Sound of Music
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Broadway Palm West Dinner Theatre production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music," that traces postulant Maria who leaves the Abbey to become governess to the seven von Trapp children. She falls in love and marries Captain von Trapp and, as the show ends, the family escapes their Austrian homeland just after the Nazi takeover in 1938.
Broadway Palm West Dinner Theatre
"The Sound of Music" plays at the Broadway Palm West Dinner Theatre at Brown and Higley Roads in Mesa through July 30. For tickets, call the Broadway Palm West Dinner Theatre box office at 480-325-6700.
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June 14, 2005
Phantom of the Opera
( Phoeinx, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's spectacle musical "The Phantom of the Opera" that traces the disfigured Phantom who lives underneath the Paris Opera House in 1881 and who falls in love with opera star Christine Daae. This is the stage versions fifth local stop but the first since the disappointing movie was released.
www.ticketmaster.com
For tickets, call Ticketmaster at 480-784-4444 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Gammage Auditorium
"The Phantom of the Opera" plays at ASU's Gammage Auditorium in downtown Tempe through July 3.
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June 06, 2005
E2
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Nearly Naked Theatre's production of "E2: A Heretical Adaptation of Christopher Marlowe's Edward the Second" that is the company's artistic director, Damon Dering's version of the first play to deal with a homosexual relationship between a weak King Edward II and his lover Gaveston. "E2" plays at The Little Theatre at Phoenix Theatre in downtown Phoenix through June 25. For tickets, call the Phoenix Theatre box office at 602-254-2151.
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June 01, 2005
Father of the Bride
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the Hale Centre Theatre's production of "Father of the Bride," a play set in 1950 when marriage stress rested mostly on the bride's father who had to pay for the marriage ritual and admit his little girl had grown up. "Father of the Bride" plays at the Hale Centre Theatre in downtown Gilbert through July 2. For tickets, call the Hale Centre Theatre box office at 480-497-1181.
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May 23, 2005
Smokey Joe's Cafe
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews Phoenix Theatre's production of "Smokey Joe's Café," a musical revue featuring 40 hit tunes created by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in the '50s and '60s. "Smokey Joe's Cafe" plays at Phoenix Theatre in downtown Phoenix through June 12.
Phoenix Theatre
For tickets, call the Phoenix Theatre box office at 602-254-2151.
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May 09, 2005
Macbeth
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews Arizona Theatre Company's production of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" that is perhaps the greatest tragedy ever written and deals with power and greed and how it changes otherwise rational and intelligent people into opportunists.
Arizona Theatre Company
"Macbeth" plays at the Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix through May 22. For tickets, call the Arizona Theatre Company box office at 602-256-6995 or go online at www.arizonatheatre.org.
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May 05, 2005
Thoroughly Modern Millie
( Phoeinx, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews the touring Broadway musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie" that is based on the 1967 film and focuses on flapper Millie Dillmont, a young lady from Kansas who is in 1922 Manhattan seeking a job and a rich husband. "Thoroughly Modern Millie" plays at Gammage Auditorium on the ASU Campus in Tempe through Sunday, May 8.
ticketmaster.com
"Thoroughly Modern Millie" plays at Gammage Auditorium on the ASU Campus in Tempe through Sunday, May 8. For tickets to "Thoroughly Modern Millie," call the Ticketmaster box office at 480-784-4444 or go online at www.ticketmaster.com.
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April 25, 2005
Sight Unseen
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews "Sight Unseen," a story about artist Jonathan Waxman and how a retrospective of his work prompts him to explore how his life has influenced his work. "Sight Unseen" plays at the Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix through May 8. For tickets to "Sight Unseen," call the Herberger Theater Center box office at 602-252-8497 or at Ticketmaster, 480-784-4444.
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April 18, 2005
Buddy and Dancing in Jackson
( Phoenix, AZ )KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews two theater productions, "Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story," a musical tribute to the rock 'n' roll icon who died in 1959, and "And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson," a play about a young girl with a disability that prompts unnecessary intolerance and prejudice. "Buddy" plays at the Broadway Palm West Dinner Theatre in Mesa through June 4. For tickets to "Buddy," call the Broadway Palm West Dinner Theatre box office at 480-325-6700 or order online at www.broadwaypalmwest.com. "And They Dance real Slow in Jackson" plays at Phoenix Theatre in downtown Phoenix through May 1. For tickets to "And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson," call the Phoenix Theatre box office at 602-254-2151.
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