David Hirson’s riotous comedy in rhyming couplets evokes the farcical Baroque style of Molière while conveying a timeless message about high art versus low art.
View More LA BÊTE (Arden Theatre Company): “Excellence Must Struggle to Survive!”
Author: Debra Miller
Debra holds a PhD in Art History from the University of Delaware and teaches at Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ. She is a judge for the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre, Philadelphia Arts and Culture Correspondent for Central Voice, and has served as a Commonwealth Speaker for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and President of the Board of Directors of Da Vinci Art Alliance. Her publications include articles, books, and catalogues on Renaissance, Baroque, American, Pre-Columbian, and Contemporary Art, and feature articles on the Philadelphia theater scene.
FROM OUR LIVING ROOM (Birds on a Wire Dance Theatre): Fringe Review 74
FROM OUR LIVING ROOM comprises five original pieces—four duets and one solo—choreographed and performed by the all-female members of the emerging company Birds on a Wire.
View More FROM OUR LIVING ROOM (Birds on a Wire Dance Theatre): Fringe Review 74
AFTER THE SUMMER SUN (BalletFleming): Fringe Review 72
Award-winning choreographer and artistic director Christopher Fleming has created a beautiful program of new works to open BalletFleming’s 2014-15 season.
View More AFTER THE SUMMER SUN (BalletFleming): Fringe Review 72
14 SEQUENZAS (A Change of Harp and Bowerbird): Fringe Review 66
Each of the daring and demanding 14 SEQUENZAS features virtuoso musicians and masterful performances.
View More 14 SEQUENZAS (A Change of Harp and Bowerbird): Fringe Review 66
FLIM FLAM PHANTOM SHAM (Ombelico Mask Ensemble): Fringe Review 56
Ombelico’s latest al fresco offering, FLIM FLAM PHANTOM SHAM, is a delightful synthesis of traditional Commedia dell’Arte with current Philadelphia references, delivered in Italian and English—or Philly’s local version thereof!—which kept me in stitches throughout the entire all-ages show.
View More FLIM FLAM PHANTOM SHAM (Ombelico Mask Ensemble): Fringe Review 56
THE BODY LAUTREC (Aaron Cromie and Mary Tuomanen): Fringe Review 53
THE BODY LAUTREC is not everyone’s cup of tea: a shockingly hard-core depiction of the depravities and debaucheries of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and his art.
View More THE BODY LAUTREC (Aaron Cromie and Mary Tuomanen): Fringe Review 53
BY YOU THAT MADE ME, FRANKENSTEIN (Philadelphia Opera Collective): Fringe Review 51
The compelling two-act opus captures the historic characters, events, and mood with passion and clarity.
View More BY YOU THAT MADE ME, FRANKENSTEIN (Philadelphia Opera Collective): Fringe Review 51
NIGHTMARES IN NEVERLAND (Bri Shaw/Brian Clores/Brey Barrett/Haygen Walker): 2014 Fringe Review 47
Two original one-hour plays inspired by the life and popular children’s book of Scottish author J.M. Barrie
View More NIGHTMARES IN NEVERLAND (Bri Shaw/Brian Clores/Brey Barrett/Haygen Walker): 2014 Fringe Review 47
KILL SHAKESPEARE: LIVE GRAPHIC NOVEL (Revolution Shakespeare and Hear Again Radio Project): Fringe Review 42
Revolution Shakespeare (dedicated to new approaches to the playwright) and Hear Again Radio Project (specializing in the recreation of vintage radio programs) have teamed up for an entertaining presentation of the popular graphic novel series KILL SHAKESPEARE.
View More KILL SHAKESPEARE: LIVE GRAPHIC NOVEL (Revolution Shakespeare and Hear Again Radio Project): Fringe Review 42
ANNA K (Chris Davis): 2014 Fringe Review 40
Can you imagine 19th-century Moscow transported to contemporary Philadelphia, and Leo Tolstoy’s Russian angst-laden tragedy Anna Karenina transformed into a wacky local comedy? Luckily for Fringe audiences actor/playwright Chris Davis could.
View More ANNA K (Chris Davis): 2014 Fringe Review 40
MARBLES (Hannah Van Sciver): Fringe Review 37
Hannah Van Sciver examines the difficult connection and disconnect between two Millennials in her original work MARBLES.
View More MARBLES (Hannah Van Sciver): Fringe Review 37
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME . . . A MUTE PLAY (The Renegade Company): 2014 Fringe Review 35
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME . . . A MUTE PLAY captures the narrative, message, emotion, and beauty of its literary source without speaking a word
View More THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME . . . A MUTE PLAY (The Renegade Company): 2014 Fringe Review 35
TILL BIRNAM WOOD (John Schultz): Fringe Review 30
One way to focus on the extraordinary eloquence and drama of Shakespeare’s language is to eliminate all visual distraction, and that is precisely what John Schultz has done in TILL BIRNAM WOOD—a rapid-fire 55-minute adaptation of Macbeth that is performed before a blindfolded audience.
View More TILL BIRNAM WOOD (John Schultz): Fringe Review 30
iHAMLET (Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre): Fringe Review 28
Robin Malan’s iHAMLET, a stripped-down contemporary one-man adaptation of Hamlet, is performed in The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre’s Fringe production by one impressive woman. Actor/musician/composer Melissa Dunphy displays a remarkable command of the non-linear script, not once misspeaking a word of her 55-minute solo performance.
View More iHAMLET (Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre): Fringe Review 28
TWENTY LOOKS OR PARIS IS BURNING AT THE JUDSON CHURCH (XS) (Trajal Harrell): Fringe Review 25
Trajal Harrell’s TWENTY LOOKS comes in a selection of lengths and sizes, and although the Presented Fringe version of his solo show runs extra small, at a mere 25 minutes to a 25-person audience (hence the XS in the extended title), you will be reminded that good things come in small packages.
View More TWENTY LOOKS OR PARIS IS BURNING AT THE JUDSON CHURCH (XS) (Trajal Harrell): Fringe Review 25
NO PLACE LIKE (Kaleid Theater): Fringe Review 21
Part performance piece and part group therapy session, the self-devised offering is a soul-baring exposé of the growing pains of real people, in which an all-female ensemble of five creators/performers (Jess Brownell, Nina Giacobbe, Rachel O’Hanlon-Rodriguez, Rae Bradley, and Samantha Rose Schwab) explores the concept of “home” through memorable events from their own personal backgrounds.
View More NO PLACE LIKE (Kaleid Theater): Fringe Review 21
THE ADULTS (New Paradise Laboratories): Fringe Review 20
Rhrough minimal, absurd dialogue and highly stylized, disjointed movement, the ensemble-devised work evokes the boredom and bad behavior of a privileged vacationing family of film artists and their guests.
View More THE ADULTS (New Paradise Laboratories): Fringe Review 20
THE RAPE OF LUCRECE (Philadelphia Artists’ Collective): 2014 Fringe review 4.2
PAC’s THE RAPE OF LUCRECE is not only the performance of a lifetime by Dan Hodge, but also a momentous socio-political statement and a stirring call to activism.
View More THE RAPE OF LUCRECE (Philadelphia Artists’ Collective): 2014 Fringe review 4.2
TWO STREET: A TALE OF STAR-CROSSED MUMMERS (Tribe of Fools): 2014 Fringe Review 12.2
Shakespeare meets South Philly in Tribe of Fools’ TWO STREET, a high-energy take on Romeo and Juliet through the perspective of a contemporary gay couple.…
View More TWO STREET: A TALE OF STAR-CROSSED MUMMERS (Tribe of Fools): 2014 Fringe Review 12.2
DEEP BLUE SLEEP (Found Theater Company): Fringe Review 13
This year’s Fringe offering by one of Philadelphia’s most consistently impressive young collectives transports us through a maritime dreamscape of sailors and pirates, shipwrecks and skeletons, sea shanties and sea creatures, as two children drift into a fitful sleep filled with the imagery of bedtime stories and seafaring tales
View More DEEP BLUE SLEEP (Found Theater Company): Fringe Review 13