Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a jukebox show about the singer and songwriter whose extremely successful career spanned decades. First through songs she wrote for others, ultimately culminating in a solo career. Originally premiering on Broadway in January 2014, it received several Tony nominations including Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical. Beautiful played over 2,400 performances at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, launching its first national tour in 2015, and closing in October 2019…
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‘Anastasia’ at ASU Gammage
Anastasia is a Broadway musical based on the animated 1997 feature film of the same name. An exploration of the long-held rumor that the Grand Duchess Anastasia survived the Bolshevik’s murder of the Raminov family, a tale DNA evidence has debunked. Twenty years after the movie was released, its newly-envisioned stage production premiered on the Great White Way. Magical characters replaced by historically-relevant ones. Slightly less focused on the fairy tale, and more with addressing the plight of the time…
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The Canterbury Tarot at Aside Theatre Company
The Canterbury Tarot is a new play by local playwright Ashley Naftule, whose other works include Ear and The First Annual Bookburners Convention. It is a mashup of Chaucer’s classic novel “The Canterbury Tales” and characters from Alejandro Jodorowsky’s tarot deck. Our players converge in an inn that sits in the shadow of Canterbury Cathedral, sharing stories as they make their pilgrimage. Motivations unfolding as interactions do…
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‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ at The Phoenix Theatre Company
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a play by Simon Stephens based on Mark Haddon’s book of the same name. And it is staged in a way to viscerally convey how overwhelming existence can be as a child who is special, and brilliant, and often afraid. A child with sensitivities to light, sound, and touch. A savant who finds solace in numbers and the stars…
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‘Sweeney Todd’ Strikes True at Arizona Broadway Theatre
A fantastic production of the musical is an ideal way to start the Halloween season. And that is exactly what Arizona Broadway Theatre is delivering. A witty yet horrifying, gorgeous yet grotesque, incredibly impressive version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street…
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‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Tackles Mental Illness, Social Media, and the Insecurity In Us All
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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I’ve read the script to Dear Evan Hansen. Listened to the cast album so frequently I know nearly every lyric. I’ve seen several videos and cast performances on YouTube and broadcast television. In other words, I went in ‘knowing’ the show. Feeling like I had a grasp on what to expect. Turns out, I knew nothing…
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‘Titanic: The Musical’ Offers Mesmerizing Glimpse of History at Arizona Broadway Theatre
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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Titanic: The Musical has a somewhat tumultuous history.
The grandeur of the original set prevented out of town tryouts, so kinks had to be worked out in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre where it ran on Broadway in 1997-1999…
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Arizona Theatre Company Kicks Off 52nd Season with ‘Native Gardens’
Rebecca caught ‘Native Gardens’ at the Herberger and files this report…
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The First Annual Bookburners Convention Lights Up Space 55
Rebecca Rudnyk checks out Space 55’s’ The First Annual Bookburners Convention’ and is not disappointed…
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Quintessential Classic West Side Story Comes to Phoenix Theatre
Theater Critic Rebecca checks out West Side Story at Phoenix Theatre!
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Valley Youth Theatre’s Newsies Sends Spirits Soaring at the Herberger
by Rebecca Rudnyk – Newsies is a musical inspired by the Newsboys Strike of 1899, when impoverished children who sold newspapers on the streets of New...
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Avenue Q: Unadulterated Fun at the Phoenix Theatre
Rebecca caught Avenue Q at the Phoenix Theatre
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