All Stories by Jon Town
Is What It Is
"Is What It Is" theater is a valley leader in alternative theatre. They open their 13th season with "The Woodsman" beginning Thursday, May 18th thru June 4th. KBAQ's Jon Town talked with Tom Laveen and Michael Peck, who stars in the leading roll about the production and some new changes for "Is What It Is" this season.
The Pirates Of Penzance
Arizona Theatre Company will kick off the new year with the Gilbert & Sullivan musical 'The Pirates Of Penzance'. ATC Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein, who is an avid Gilbert & Sullivan fan, spoke with KBAQ's Jon Town about the production and gave some interesting insight about the show and why it is still relevant today.
102
Is What It Is Productions (a.k.a. IWII Theatre) will perform "102" an original play written and directed by Artistic Director Tom Laveen. This will be their first original play since 1997 and is a heavier, darker production than you might expect from IWII. KBAQ's Jon Town talked to Tom Laveen about the new play and what you can expect to see on stage. Performances begin Friday, April 8th and will continue through April 23.
Interview with Chris Curcio
Chris Curcio , the resident theater critic at K-Bach, has a theater lover's dream job. He get's to see any production he wants on opening night, then get's to tell you about what he saw, and what he thought. How did he get the job? KBAQ's Jon Town spoke to Chris about what it takes to be a critic.
Phoenix Theater New Works Festival
Okay, this is for all you theater lovers. You want to see a good production, but not something that's been done to death, something new that's never been seen or performed anywhere else. The place you need to be is Phoenix Theater for their annual New Works Festival. Now in it's 8th season the festival is getting lot's of attention from noted play writes from across the country all clamoring to come to Phoenix to show off their latest works. As a n added bonus, the audience is invited to stay after the performances for a question and answer session with the actors, director and writer. KBAQ afternoon host Jon Town spoke with New Works Festival co-founder and Phoenix Theater resident play write Dick Warren about the upcoming productions. The New Works Festival begins Friday, July 22nd and continues weekends through August 20th.
Fat Pig
KBAQ theater critic Chris Curcio reviews another Arizona premier this week, Stray Cat theater's production of "Fat Pig".
macbeth
KBAQ Theater Critic Chris Curcio reviews Arizona Opera's production of Verdi's "Macbeth", co-produced by the Seattle Opera.
Howard Shore on "The Lord of the Rings Symphony"
Jon Town interviews Howard Shore about the Phoenix Symphony performance of the Western United States premiere of "The Lord of the Rings Symphony", Shore's new concert work created from his music for the multi award
winning film trilogy. For this performance, Guest conductor Alexander Mikelhwate will be joined by the Phoenix Symphony Chorus and then Phoenix Boys Choir.
Interview with Daniel Bernard Roumain
Jon Town speaks to Daniel Bernard Roumain about being a resident violinist at ASU and about using music to connect communities of artists of all disciplines and cultures.
New Works Festival, 2006
Summer in the valley can be a hard time for theater lovers with many of the major companies busy at work on the upcoming season. There is a place for you to get your fill of theater however, at Phoenix Theater’s annual New Works Festival which begins Friday. The festival features staged readings of 4 new plays and an audience question and answer period at the end of each performance. KBAQ’s Jon Town spoke with Dick Warren, the resident playwright of the festival about the lineup this year.”


