MEN (AND WOMEN) IN TIGHTS posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, July 2nd 2009 at 8:09

In the latest Tucson Weekly, I review the current Gaslight Theatre production ...

SLABS OF COMEDY AND BEEF posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, June 25th 2009 at 8:19

Well, I’m sorry to get back into the blog with the sort of self-promoting post I hate to see from other bloggers, but at least this is really about things out in the community, not just me. I am referring to my contributions to the Tucson Weekly...

MAD GENIUSES posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, April 16th 2009 at 8:25

Yes, I know I’ve been an inconstant blogger recently. I’ve been busy cranking out articles, mainly for Strings magazine, but also for the Tucson Weekly. Here’s the beginning of my latest contribution to the local alternative rag ...

THREE ANGELS AND ONE WHO ISN'T posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, April 9th 2009 at 8:29

My theater review in the latest Tucson Weekly begins with an excuse ...

HANK CINQ posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Friday, April 3rd 2009 at 10:09

Last night I attended Arizona Theatre Company’s presentation of The Acting Company/Guthrie Theatre’s joint touring production of Shakespeare’s King Henry V. I’m not reviewing it for the Weekly, because it will be long gone by the time the review would hit the street, and I’m disinclined to blog a full review. But I do want to call your attention to it; it’s a good production, and I don’t think tickets are selling very well ...

LATE THEATER, GOOD CHINESE posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, April 2nd 2009 at 8:29

The Tucson Weekly has a brand new site design, and here’s your incentive to take a look at it: content provided by little old me ...

IMMORTAL LONGINGS posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, March 26th 2009 at 9:31

Here’s a review of a play in which I get to bring in a reference to music and dancing, too ...

WHERE I'VE BEEN posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Tuesday, March 17th 2009 at 8:39

I’ve been away from the blog and the radio station for a while, occupied with other duties ...

AGAIN UPON THE MATTRESS posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, February 26th 2009 at 8:48

I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time this morning perusing the 25th-anniversary issue of the Tucson Weekly. There’s a lot of fascinating material there, looking back at the last quarter century of the publication and of Tucson, and even looking ahead. But the main item of interest, of course, is my contribution, which this week is a review of a little show on the east side ...

THE POWER AND THE PENIS posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, February 19th 2009 at 8:39

In the latest Tucson Weekly, you can witness my effort to cover four plays in the space of two reviews (damned economy). First, the anatomy lesson: ...

ON THE BURGERS, NOT THE BOARDS posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, February 12th 2009 at 8:19

I’m seeing four plays this week (at this writing: one down, three to go), but nothing opened last week, so I have no theater reviews in the latest Tucson Weekly. I do, however, contribute to the Chow section ...

YONKERS LOST AND FOUND posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, February 5th 2009 at 7:15

Distracted by this week’s membership drive, I’m not blogging faithfully, but here’s an easy one: a link to my latest screed in the Tucson Weekly ...

NO SHOW posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, January 29th 2009 at 7:47

Once again, it's Thursday and I'm not linking to my stuff in the Tucson Weekly. But this time it's because I've got no "stuff" there. I was sick last weekend, and deputized my friend Gene Armstrong to cover two plays for me. Gene was one of the first two people (the other was Ed Severson) to come over and say "hello" and "welcome" when I was introduced as a new contributor to the Arizona Daily Star back in late 1988. Since then, Gene and I have both moved on to better things, including the Weekly. There, he most often writes for the Music section, but you can see his work as a theater critic here.

I HAVE RETURNED posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Tuesday, January 27th 2009 at 8:29

Staying home sick in bed gets boring fast, so I’m actually glad to be back at work. There’s some catch-up blogging to be done, though, starting with links to my contributions to last week’s Tucson Weekly ...

CATCHING UP AGAIN posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Wednesday, January 21st 2009 at 11:06

I’ve been fighting an insidious cold for about a week, and haven’t spent much time in the studio, which means I’ve neglected the blog. Let me try to catch up a little with links to my material in last week’s Tucson Weekly, just before it’s time to replace it all with new stuff ...

DASHED HOPES AND DISILLUSION posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, January 8th 2009 at 7:48

Bad economy means less newspaper advertising means lower page count means I have to cram reviews of two theater productions into a single story in the latest Tucson Weekly. “To say that the main characters in Tell Me on a Sunday and Hedwig and the Angry Inch—both shows that opened here last weekend—are unlucky in love hardly begins to describe their stories. These are two intimate shows of dashed hopes and disillusion.” That’s how the review begins, and you can read the whole thing here.

CATCHING UP posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Tuesday, January 6th 2009 at 7:50

Hello again! I took nearly two weeks off, during which I avoided everything resembling work, including blogging. Now, the first thing I should do is catch you up on my recent contributions to the Tucson Weekly, which I wrote before sequestering myself ...

MORE CHRISTMAS THEATER posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, December 18th 2008 at 8:23

Behold! I bring you tidings of Christmas pageants upon the Tucson stage ...

GUNS, HIPPIES, PANINI posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, December 11th 2008 at 7:32

Talk about the Christmas rush … forget shopping; it’s the almost last-minute reviewing that’s kept me busy. Here’s what I have in the latest Tucson Weekly ...

DESERT VOICES posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, December 4th 2008 at 9:09

Is it Thursday already? I’ve lost track of time, what with all the deadlines I’ve had to meet (I know, losing track of time is not a good thing to do as deadlines approach … and recede). Yesterday alone, I cranked out three scripts for the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music radio series and a little 450-word magazine news item. Today all I really have to do is write a restaurant review, so I can surely find the time to direct you to my latest contribution to the Tucson Weekly ...

CHRISTMAS STORIES posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Tuesday, December 2nd 2008 at 7:43

Last Thursday I never got around to posting a link to my Tucson Weekly contribution, it being Thanksgiving and all, and since then I’ve just been too busy to blog, what with a whole lot of December 1 magazine deadlines hitting me, as well as a 400-page manuscript for a lizard field guide that I had to proofread for a publisher. Anyway, now that that long sentence is over, back to business as usual ...

MURDER, SEX AND TAPAS posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, November 20th 2008 at 9:31

Sometimes I worry (but only for a moment) about over-exposure. Yesterday a magazine editor sent me 13 assignments due at various points between now and next September, in addition to assignments I already have for that magazine, and others that are sure to follow. How much of me can editors and readers really stand in a single issue? And in the latest Tucson Weekly, I make a perhaps excessive three contributions ...

THE LOST AND THE DEAD posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, November 6th 2008 at 7:41

In the latest Tucson Weekly, I review very good productions of newish plays with local connections ...

ADVICE COLUMNS AND CHINESE MENUS posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, October 30th 2008 at 9:34

Time for links to my latest contributions to the Tucson Weekly...

LOVE'S LABOURS posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, October 23rd 2008 at 7:27

Last week, I teased you with a positive comment about the new Arizona Repertory Theatre production. Now here’s the review, from this week’s Tucson Weekly ...

BLIND AND SAVAGE posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, October 16th 2008 at 8:06

This is a great week for theater in Tucson. Besides a wonderful production of Love’s Labours Lost, which opened last night at the UA and which I’ll review next week, there are two other plays running right now that require your immediate attention ..

FROM FARCE TO PHO posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, October 9th 2008 at 8:31

Is it Thursday already? That means I’m smudging a couple of pages of the latest Tucson Weekly ...

IN THE DARK posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Friday, October 3rd 2008 at 8:08

Well, I'm still fending off my case of sinusitis, which returned after a brief hiatus, but yesterday the doc gave me some antibiotics that should rid me of the infection once and for all. I may not be fit for air work, but at least I can point you to my latest Tucson Weekly contribution, a review of the latest Beowulf Alley effort ...

THREE REVIEWS IN SEARCH OF A READER posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, September 25th 2008 at 8:11

No wonder I had a theater-critic dream a couple of nights ago—I’ve been spending a lot of time watching plays. In today’s Tucson Weekly, I cover three productions ...

HAND-MADE posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, September 18th 2008 at 7:53

It’s Thursday, which means I have new spew in the Tucson Weekly. This time, a review of two plays and a restaurant ...

GAY OLD TIME posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, September 11th 2008 at 7:47

In the latest Tucson Weekly, I preview an arts sampler at an unusual performance location, and review two plays that happen to feature gay characters...

ARIZONA ONSTAGE UPDATE posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, August 21st 2008 at 8:28

My latest scribbling for the Tucson Weekly: "Kevin Johnson has been having one of those good-news/bad-news summers." ...

UAPRESENTS CONTINUES ITS RECOVERY posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, August 14th 2008 at 7:52

In the latest Tucson Weekly, you’ll find in the Mailbag section a noble defense of yours truly by a reader I swear I do not know. More pertinent to the self-aggrandizing, self-promoting nature of this blog is my own contribution, checking in with UApresents ...

FOXY posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Wednesday, August 13th 2008 at 8:54

Yesterday I stayed home in the morning to fend off a cold, but I had to rally sufficiently to attend an afternoon meeting with Jim Williams, the new executive director of the Fox Tucson Theatre. We’re trying to work out a co-production with the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, of which I’m the vice-president ...

ORPHANED ORCHESTRA posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, August 7th 2008 at 7:41

In the 1990s, I saw a lot of little local arts groups collapse when they lost their founders/leaders. There just wasn’t enough of an administrative infrastructure or shared artistic vision to sustain the organizations once their charismatic leaders burned out or moved on. Now, the Tucson Chamber Orchestra is facing life after the departure of its founder, but I think that this group just might survive ...

I DON'T posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, July 31st 2008 at 6:52

This week in the Tucson Weekly I review a likeable production of an unlikable show ...

THE ART OF ALMQUIST posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, July 24th 2008 at 7:51

In the latest Tucson Weekly I offer the lowdown on Art Almquist, who is training actors and activists through the theater program at Tucson Magnet High School ...

UNASKED QUESTIONS (ANOTHER IN A SERIES) posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Wednesday, July 23rd 2008 at 7:32

Yesterday, UApresents issued a press release crowing that the campus impresario has ended the fiscal year about $90,000 ahead and with more than $1 million in advance ticket sales for next season ...

OXYMORON: GOOD ENGLISH FOOD posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, July 17th 2008 at 8:11

Two plays and a restaurant fall under my critical scrutiny in this week’s Tucson Weekly. Unfortunately, “fall” is the operative word in the restaurant review ...

DAVINCI PLAYERS posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, July 10th 2008 at 8:11

My contribution to the Tucson Weekly this weekend is a look at the Da Vinci Players ...

NOT A SOCIAL DUTY posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Friday, July 4th 2008 at 12:48

Several people have been e-mailing and even calling me to comment, mostly positively, on my column about deserting the Tucson Symphony. Here are some pertinent remarks from a former professor at one of America's major music schools, quoted anonymously because without permission.

DEFECTION REJECTION posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, July 3rd 2008 at 7:50

And already a response to my TSO defection from a faithful KUAT listener and TSO subscriber, with an important point to make

DEFECTOR posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, July 3rd 2008 at 7:40

In the latest Tucson Weekly, I announce my retirement from the Tucson Symphony Orchestra audience.

POSTLUDE TO "A KISS" posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Monday, June 23rd 2008 at 10:46

My favorable review of Live Theatre Workshop's production of Prelude to a Kiss will appear in this Thursday's Tucson Weekly, but I think I'd like the play even more if it had a darker ending. If you're ignorant of how the play turns out, and want to remain that way, don't read any further.

DOT DOT DOT posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, June 19th 2008 at 8:02

It’s been so long since I blogged that I almost forgot I could always get a quick’n’easy Thursday post by linking to my latest drivel in the Tucson Weekly. If you haven’t kept up with my contributions during the past five months, o faithless ones, you can find my archive here. As for this week’s contribution, it’s a preview of Arizona Onstage Productions’ Sunday in the Park With George.

'SCHUBERT SHADOWS' UPDATE posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, January 3rd 2008 at 8:48

    Chamber Music Plus has found a fine replacement for Richard Moll in Schubert Shadows: Douglas Mitchell, a veteran stage and TV actor I reviewed enthusiastically in an Invisible Theatre production of The Business of Murder and who did a very good job directing Neil Simon's Chapter Two at Live ...

MOLL-IFIED posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, January 3rd 2008 at 8:09

   For health reasons, veteran actor Richard Moll has withdrawn from this weekend's Chamber Music Plus performance, Schubert Shadows, about the relationship between Franz Schubert and a baritone who championed his songs. Bass-baritone Burr Cochran Phillips and pianist Sanda Schuldmann are still in the show, written by Harry Clark, but ...

PLAYERS AT WORK posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, January 3rd 2008 at 7:44

    My contribution to the latest Tucson Weekly considers proposed upgrades at a local community theater ensemble:

    This new year marks the 25th anniversary of the Catalina Players, and the theater group's executive director is ready for a change.
    Oh, Priscilla Marquez isn't going anywhere. She believes in change ...

REVERSION posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, December 20th 2007 at 7:31

    My contribution to the latest Tucson Weekly:

    Max Branscomb is back as the writer of Borderlands Theater's annual A Tucson Pastorela. That means the retelling of Lucifer's attempts to waylay the shepherds making their way to Bethlehem has returned to its old rhythm of gentle laughs.
    Last year ...

BLACK, WHITE AND GRAY posted to Cue Sheet

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, December 13th 2007 at 7:28

    This week I’ve elected not to monopolize the pages of the Tucson Weekly, and give other contributors some space. I have only one offering this time around, a review of a play I highly recommend:

    On a farm outside Johannesburg, South Africa, there lives a little girl named Elizabeth ...