Talking Sticks Review

Events

One Must-Attend Event This Week in Metro Phoenix by Becky Bartkowski Mon., July 8th at 9:00 AM

Categories: Events

As many of my readers already know, I attend as many theater, music, and film events around the Phoenix area that I can run to. I get many comments at the newspaper and on my blog when I either give a bad review or a good one. For example, I could not stand seeing the new version of The Wizard of Oz on film these past few months. And the new Long Ranger is a total bore. Very few great movies have been coming out; most of them have special effects with no story, so I am waiting for September when the serious films start again. But when I review these, I get so many comments from the readers who love special effects, bad acting, and boring story lines.

Into The Woods at the Phoenix Dinner Theater is terrific, and when I recommended it, I got feedback from some of you that you feel the food there is not up to par. I feel the food there is just what you can expect from a dinner theater. It is not gourmet, but it serves its purpose. For about $75.00 you get a decent meal. And the show is amazing.

I have been hearing on the radio all the publicity surrounding Ira Kandell, who appears from Independence Day to Labor Day at Talking Sticks Resort in their Northern Lights, which holds 1200 seats, and selling out day by day. He has been doing the weather report on local television along with Sirius Radio’s Broadway channel. He recently did a concert at the Red Hat’s annual conference. Kandell I am told has long experience in Broadway shows, regional theater, and the Glenn Miller organization. His five year run with the Hilton Hotels served him well. His recent reviews hit all the local papers, and were repeated on several local radio stations. His management is pushing his name all over the place.

All I can say is that Ira Kandell is one of the best concert singers I have ever seen or heard about. His amazing voice and talent is not only entertaining, he contains both comedy and drama within all the standard Broadway classics. With his big chin and smile, he reminds you of Gene Kelly or perhaps Jay Leno. He is overweight, but it does not him from showing the audience that he can tap dance a little, move around the stage quickly, and use gestures to signal the emotional elements of all the lyrics. The concert is over 90 minutes, and he has incredible energy. His rapport with the audience is truly a surprise, as I saw people walking to the stage area to shake his hand. I decided to see the show twice over the weekend. His ability to act out the songs and make them fresh each time was also a surprise. And although I am sure everything is rehearsed under the watch eye of director Jeffrey Moss, it seems spontaneous and brand new. Moss is from New York City, and has worked with Kandell many times. He also is going to direct the new Theater League production of Hello, Dolly with Sally Struthers that is about to launch around the country. I went back stage to speak with Moss after the show, and met Ira Kandell. His tenor range from the low music scale up into the thrilling endings meets and exceeds the usual singer. Kandell can easily sound almost like opera, and he sings the full register. Kandell even included the oldest chestnut, Alexander’s Rag Time Band; to a wonderful effect. He starts with I Feel A Song Coming On, and we can sense his excitement. It all translates to a wonderful night of theater highlights. Kandell does not sing anything from Phantom, Wicked, Mama Mia, or any recent songs. He does no popular rock songs or Beatles music. Instead, he relies on South Pacific, Oklahoma, Man of La Mancha, Cabaret and music of the Broadway master composers. When he sang Alone Together, it was just superb. And his Maybe This Time certainly outweighs Liza Minnelli.

His 10 piece band is from the Glenn Miller orchestra, all of them experts. The sound inside Northern Lights is superb, along with the lighting. If you haven’t checked Stub Hub, I recommend you get your tickets and don’t miss this great opportunity to see Ira Kandell.