‘MacHomer’ marks 10 years of painting the stage yellow
On its 10th anniversary tour, Rick Miller's “MacHomer” is no longer the hot ticket it once was. Mostly it's due to the source material. Fox's long-running animated television series “The Simpsons” — the character voices of which Miller uses to deliver a hilarious one-man version of Shakespeare's “Macbeth” — is no longer top dog, having been supplanted by sharper-edged satirical 'toons such as “Family Guy.”
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Updated February 16, 2006

Counsel of caveman
Chris Sullivan is not a marriage counselor. But he plays one, however inadvertently, onstage. The Chicago actor — who bears a flank-steak resemblance to Ryan Reynolds from last year's remake of “The Amityville Horror” — stars in Theater League's Mesa Arts Center production of “Defending the Caveman,” a one-man show in which an everyguy finds enlightenment in the battle of the sexes thanks to his Neanderthal heritage.
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Updated February 16, 2006

Capoeira: Brazilian troupe brings spicy dance form to U.S.
The African drums create a rhythmic pulse. “Berimbeaus,” made from gourds, create a swishing “shhh-shhh-shhh” sound that helps the performers keep time.
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Updated February 9, 2006

Dysfunction actress gets to relive youth in 'Kimberly Akimbo'
It's been a long time since Jacqueline Gaston was asked to play a teenager. The sexagenarian has been a staple of Valley stages for more than four decades, typically of late relegated to playing funny old ladies in familiar plays like “Steel Magnolias” and “The Curious Savage.”
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Updated February 9, 2006

Stars of bellydance shimmy their way toward Mesa
Miles Copeland is perhaps best known for managing Sting and The Police. Or founding I.R.S. Records, whose roster included R.E.M. and the Go-Go's.
These days, Copeland is managing and touring with a different sort of group: The Bellydance Superstars.
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Updated February 2, 2006

Two shows ask audiences to look past gay themes
Only a month ago, movie critics and entertainment industry observers were wondering if “Brokeback Mountain” — Ang Lee's critical and film festival darling, centering on a homosexual relationship — could play to a general audience.
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Updated January 26, 2006

Peoria dinner theater not expected to compete with Mesa's Broadway Palm
Even by the standards of live theater — where setbacks and scrambling are more often than not par for the course — the Arizona Broadway Theatre has suffered a particularly inauspicious debut this season.
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Updated January 19, 2006

Warhol's groundbreaking pop prints open at SMOCA
Tomato, Chicken Noodle and Vegetable. The familiar red and white labels bring back memories of sitting down to a hot bowl of soup as a child.
They are beloved and collected now, but when pop artist Andy Warhol introduced his Campbell Soup can series in 1962, he caused a storm in the New York art world.
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Updated January 12, 2006

A quiz of memorable quotes
This weekend, Southwest Shakespeare Company debuts its latest production, the tragedy of “Hamlet,” at the Mesa Arts Center. In the spirit of the play that's spawned oft-quoted phrases such as “To be, or not to be: That is the question,” test your knowledge of theatrical quotes with this stage play quiz.
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Updated January 12, 2006

Valley artist turns trash into treasure with quirky shrines
One man's trash is artist Josh Yeager's treasure.
Altoids tins, cigar boxes, old holiday ornaments and a dirty baby doll are a few of the items Yeager has incorporated into his elaborate shrines. The Phoenix artist, who even has taken a dumpster dive for his art, says he found the doll sitting on the steps of his old apartment building in Philadelphia.
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Updated January 12, 2006

Adult puppet show isn't for the easily offended
It's nighttime at Great Arizona Puppet Theatre, and the children have long since gone home. But the puppets, and their puppeteers, are performing.
Only this time, it's dirty.
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Updated January 5, 2006

Stepping out: Dance companies kick it up at annual festival
From hip-hop to belly dancing, swing to modern dance, you'll find a wide range of dance styles at the annual Arizona Dance Festival on Thursday and Friday. Fifteen dance companies, including 11 Valley groups, one Flagstaff company and three out-of-state troupes, will perform. Among the diverse participants are AZ Swing Network, with swing styles from the 1920s, '30s and '40s; Nebellen Dance Company, featuring hip-hop, liquid and popping; and Flor Y Piedra of Chandler, presenting flamenco and guitar.
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Updated January 5, 2006