It’s a tragic, recurring cycle. Every generation loses artistic visionaries too soon, and the mourning of that loss embeds itself into the fabric of popular culture. Jonathan Larson, the creator of Rent, died suddenly in 1996 at the age of 35, leaving a gaping wound in the theatre-loving community upon which he had already generously bestowed his talent and vision. Although he was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize, as well as several of the most coveted Tony, Drama Desk, Obie and Outer Critics Circle awards, he passed before seeing his greatest success open on Broadway, and its subsequent meteoric rise…
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Weird West: ‘be my little baby’ at Space 55
by Dale I. Rasmussen
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The deserts of Arizona are a place of mystery and myth.
The environs are harsh, uncompromising, and teeming with menace. However, even amidst the unyielding cruelty, there is beauty, at times, even peace. The winds whisper of both dreams unimagined and tragedies untold. Such is the backdrop and setting of Space 55’s newest offering, be my little baby, an original production by local playwright John Perovich with directtion by Ilana Lydia…
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Greek Classic, American Contemporary: Now & Then’s New Take on Antigone
by Dale I. Rasmussen
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How do we define “loyalty?”
When confronted by others whose viewpoints we find toxic or offensive, just how important is steadfast resolve to our own values? Are there prices for “being right” that are too high to pay, and if so, where is that threshold? At what point does fidelity to our responsibilities to God or country mutate into obstinate, self-serving pride?
These questions, which haunt us in 2019 America form the spine of a story first told nearly 2,500 years ago in Sophocles’ Antigone, and this shockingly contemporary work is being told anew in Now and Then Creative Company’s final show of their second season, directed by Cody Goulder…
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Experience ‘Wicked’ at ASU Gammage
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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I have a confession. From the outset, I must admit that my perspective on Wicked is well established and unwavering…
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‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ Does Everything Right at ASU Gammage
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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The Play That Goes Wrong is a play within a play. A college production with a small but mighty cast, making due as things go devastatingly awry. Bringing back memories of shows from childhood when everyone invests their entire soul into a production, building sets from scraps and piecing together costumes from Goodwill finds and parents closets. Desperate to making it work. Improvising as things fall apart along the way. Yet this is not a cobbled-together, low budget passion project. It is a Broadway show with a Tony Award-winning set, perfectly constructed and capable of doing the unimaginable. Accompanied by a script with carefully considered errors yielding hilarious results. And as if that wasn’t enough, there are some very impressive magic tricks sprinkled in for good measure…
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‘Airness’ Shreds at The Phoenix Theatre Company
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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Many months ago, when I first heard that The Phoenix Theatre Company was doing a show about competitive air guitar, I was absolutely fascinated… and super stoked…
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Phoenix Theatre Company’s Annual Festival of New American Theatre Brings Promising New Plays to Light
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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As a lover of theatre, and everything that goes into developing a production, nothing quite compares to experiencing a new work as it comes together. From concept to paper. From paper to initial performance. From cold read to fully-staged. So the Phoenix Theatre Company’s Festival of New American Theatre is a dream come true event for anyone who loves the forum and appreciates the process…
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Aladdin Brings Spectacular Performance to ASU Gammage
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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Disney knows how to do Broadway.
They’ve proven it again and again, arguably most successfully with The Lion King which began its run on the Great White Way in 1997 and is ranked amongst the longest running Broadway shows of all time. Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and most recently Frozen. Disney has proven that animated films built on a foundation of magical and unhappenable-happenings can be adapted for the stage and brought to live audiences. Aladdin proves it yet again…
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‘Hello Dolly!’ and the 2019 ASU Gammage Season
It’s the start of a new year. The brief reflective period when we pause, if only for a few moments, for an exercise in introspection. Contemplation of the year past. Ambitions for the months to come. Even if things are good, we imagine how they can be better. How we can be better. Yes, January is a wonderful, fleeting, hopeful month…
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The Second City’s ‘It’s Not You, It’s Me’ Slays Phoenix Theatre
It starts with a song.
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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It starts with a song.
An irreverent and discourteous song. And anyone who knows me knows I’m a sucker for a waggish song. This one happens to be about our social malaise and the fronts we all begrudgingly present to each other. Golden! So I was buttered up from the outset…
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Catch the Holiday Spirit with Valley Youth Theatre’s ‘A Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas Tail’
by Rebecca Rudnyk
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Much of theatre is about moments. Moments that touch us and stay with us. Sometimes it’s an impactful scene, a performance so good it lingers, a note so arresting it haunts. And sometimes it’s the moment when when a young person in our life gets bitten by the theatre bug, as we once did, and we know there is no going back…
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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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