Painting the Town Red

INVISIBLE THEATRE STOPS THE WORLD WITH ITS 40^TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

By Chuck Graham
TucsonStage.com

Wow!! What an amazing show! The Invisible Theatre's 40th anniversary "Retro-Spectacular Cabaret" called Painting the Town Red! made that word "Spectacular" feel even bigger. The red and black stage setting at the Berger Performing Arts Center was glowing with magic.

https://docs.google.com/File?id=d5772jn_823rmpqf2nb_b

There was so much heart, so much sincerity, so much to celebrate in the 40 years that Invisible Theatre grew from, literally, a handful of college kids putting on shows to an organization that successfully presented performances by some of the most talented people in show business.

Taking breaks from their complicated schedules to make personal appearances that meant so much to them as individuals were Ken Page, Kathleen Chalfant, Amanda McBroom and Michele Brourman. Each of them poured their prodigious talents into the time they had onstage, giving all of themselves to the moment.

This was exciting theater, to be sure. Topping off the program was a special performance by the Pastime Players touring company, a group that has always been very dear to the Invisible Theatre staff led by artistic director Susan Claassen.

The first half of the program belonged to IT's own remarkable talents, combining looks back at some of the happy company's best -known personalities in their youth and then delivering zippy songs to enhance the memory.

Claassen and her longtime buddy Molly McKasson did a bit of their Mols and Suz improve comedy routine to get the ball rolling. Lisa Otey took her place at the gleaming black grand piano, Rob Boone played trombone and a bit of piano, Pete Swan did most of the drumming while Cory Boone took over for the rock 'n' roll parts.

Jack Neubeck, Betsy Kruse Craig and Liz McMahon added their songs and memories, enhanced with special guest appearances by Mary Baker, Nancy Davis Booth, Jeffrey Haskell, Stuart Moulton doing his Carol Channing tribute and Robert Shaw sounding more like Elvis than ever.

And of course it wouldn't be IT if the show wasn't littered with bales of puns in the process.

Moody noir musical 'Gunmetal Blues' depicts misfortune in surreal world

Moody noir musical 'Gunmetal Blues' depicts misfortune in surreal world December 09, 2008, 9:49 a.m. CHUCK GRAHAM Tucson Citizen "Gunmetal Blues" rises out of the darkened Invisible Theatre stage as a 1930s nightclub gangster caper that's four parts atmosphere and one part action, with a twist. Armen Dirtadian looks terrific as Sam Galahad, the well-dressed loser who's old enough to know better but has never learned to resist. Dirtadian is well-known around Tucson for his dashing roles as the broad-shouldered leading man at Gaslight Theatre, but is keeping his personality in the shadows here. He plays a private eye so down on his luck, no client is ever turned away from his tattered office. Betsy Kruse Craig (another Gaslight star) steps into the IT spotlight as that tall blonde who doesn't care how much trouble Sam gets sucked into. She also plays three other blondes with their own suspicious motives. Taking on several additional roles is Mike Padilla, wh

Broadway World Review: Invisible Theatre Opens 51st Season with THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT

Review: Invisible Theatre Opens 51st Season with THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT https://www.broadwayworld.com/phoenix/article/Review-Invisible-Theatre-Opens-51st-Season-with-LIFESPAN-OF-A-FACT-20220905?fbclid=IwAR2mZ5Iwsj_LVsppP13ho-poXjIDN-MW5ZLgWOnVKAQIzB91JuexqHQOUZo The play is based on a book transcribed from a controversial essay. by Robert Encila-Celdran Sep. 05, 2022 At the heart of THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT is the heady and contentious intersection of journalism and creative prose. Invisible Theatre's 51st season-opener is based on John D'Agata's book of the same title, co-authored by Jim Fingal, who had served as a fact checker of John D'Agata's original essay from which the book was transcribed. Prior to their shared achievement, the authors had a wrangling seven-year discourse related to questionable details about D'Agata's otherwise compelling narrative about the culture of suicide in Las Vegas. The 2003 essay, titled What Happens There

INVISIBLE THEATRE ANNOUNCES AN EXCITING AND DIVERSE LINEUP OF PLAYS FOR ITS 2022-2023 SEASON!

INVISIBLE THEATRE ANNOUNCES AN EXCITING AND DIVERSE LINEUP OF PLAYS FOR ITS 2022-2023 SEASON! (April 1, 2022, Tucson, AZ); Invisible Theatre’s Managing Artistic Director, Susan Claassen and Associate Directors James Blair and Betsy Kruse Craig, announce six plays for the company’s 51st Anniversary Season. The lineup includes the SW premieres of acclaimed Off-Broadway contemporary plays, romantic comedies, the Arizona premieres of the award-winning musical tribute to the great Billie Holiday with BILLIE! - Backstage with Lady Day and intimate portraits of outspoken “Defenders of Liberty” like witty and brassy Molly Ivins in RED HOT PATRIOT: The KickAss Wit of Molly Ivins and the Off-Broadway acclaimed WIESENTHAL that tells the compelling story of Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal. The season also includes THE SABBATH GIRL, a contemporary comedy with an old-fashioned heart, SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS, a unique and compassionate new play that asks how we address life’s biggest questions when words f

Invisible Theatre News

Search This Blog