PHOENIX PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

by Greg Kerestan - April 15, 2024

I've posted many times about how much of an institution Saint Vincent Summer Theatre has become: you know you're going to get a slapstick farce, a Golden Age or earlier revue, and usually a musical comedy with pop oldies. ...

by Greg Kerestan - April 05, 2024

Oscar Wilde's comedy of manners, lightly reconceived as a screwball farce, is a refreshing summer treat....

by Greg Kerestan - March 11, 2024

James Ijames's Pulitzer-winning comedy Fat Ham is less an adaptation or reimagining of Hamlet, and more a play ABOUT Hamlet, a response to Hamlet. The characters are all too aware of how their stories and behaviors are mirroring characters from Shakespeare's tragedy: they quote it, riff on it, confi...

by Greg Kerestan - February 26, 2024

The rediscovered orchestrations of John Williams make a beloved musical just that much better. If you were a movie or musical fan during the VHS era, you likely remember Fiddler on the Roof as one of those unwieldy three-hour films that require two different cassette tapes to watch in full, like Tit...

by Greg Kerestan - February 14, 2024

Sara Porkalob's solo show is a captivating mix of musical, monologue and alternative vibes. Solo shows are growing in popularity, both due to their artistic charms and their economic advantages post-COVID. Solo musicals, however, are still a rarity. What's the last one you can think of? ...

by Greg Kerestan - February 14, 2024

CLO's Spark program has a large-sized hit with the latest small-scale musical it commissioned. As a musical writer, let me just say: it's TOUGH to launch a new musical. The best thing you can do is have a company commission a show from you based on your pitch, otherwise you're going to have a long, ...

by Greg Kerestan - February 05, 2024

If you asked me about important works of twentieth century literature, I'll rattle off all the obvious ones like The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman, but I'll also make a case for the first ten years of The Simpsons as an essential piece of American literature. Hyper-referential, joke dense, to...

by Greg Kerestan - February 05, 2024

Leave it to a musical based on George Bernard Shaw to have audiences debating in the aisles after bows....

by Greg Kerestan - January 15, 2024

I'm still not quite sure how I feel about this show, but it sounded like heaven....

by Greg Kerestan - December 14, 2023

It's back! Just last year I made the prediction that Philip Grecian's A Christmas Story: The Play would become a yearly staple, becoming the Christmas equivalent of Rocky Horror. To my delight, I was correct. Distinct from the more popular but more sentimentalized musical version by Pasek and Paul, ...