The crumbling interior of Eastern State Penitentiary provides the perfect setting for Swim Pony’s sold-out remount of its 2006 Fringe hit THE BALLAD OF JOE…
View More [6] THE BALLAD OF JOE HILL (Swim Pony Performing Arts): Fringe reviewCategory: Reviews
[5.1] THIS IS THE TWILIGHT KINGDOM (Found Theater Company): Fringe review
“You can see–but you cannot change–the choices you have made.” That’s one character’s assessment of the afterworld in Found Theater Company’s THIS IS THE TWILIGHT…
View More [5.1] THIS IS THE TWILIGHT KINGDOM (Found Theater Company): Fringe review[2.2] AJAX, THE MADNESS (Attis Theatre): Fringe review
To call this play My Big Fat Greek Endurance Test would be flippant, but it wouldn’t be far off the mark. Certainly AJAX, THE MADNESS…
View More [2.2] AJAX, THE MADNESS (Attis Theatre): Fringe review[4] 4PLAY (Crack the Glass Theatre Company): Fringe review
Short plays by unknown playwrights, mixed performances by rarely seen actors, an upstart company that takes statement-making risks: this is what the Fringe is all…
View More [4] 4PLAY (Crack the Glass Theatre Company): Fringe review[3] COMPLETENESS (Round Table Theatre): Fringe review
“Noisy and full of crap.” That’s Molly (Clare Mahoney) describing the data one gets when trying to reduce messy living things down to mere data…
View More [3] COMPLETENESS (Round Table Theatre): Fringe review[2.1] AJAX, THE MADNESS (Attis Theatre): Fringe review
Men are made into animals. Animals turn into men, and then are murdered. Bloody, bloody Ajax. His story settles in on you, in the way…
View More [2.1] AJAX, THE MADNESS (Attis Theatre): Fringe review[1.1] BATHTUB MOBY-DICK (The Renegade Company): 2013 Fringe review
We are all searching for something in this life, and oftentimes it’s something that can’t be got. That’s Captain Ahab’s story, but it’s probably yours…
View More [1.1] BATHTUB MOBY-DICK (The Renegade Company): 2013 Fringe reviewAbsolutely Fabulous Off-Broadway Rep: MY BIG GAY ITALIAN WEDDING and MY BIG GAY ITALIAN FUNERAL
There are few events in life as rife with the heightened emotions of love and loss as weddings and funerals. Add to them the unbridled…
View More Absolutely Fabulous Off-Broadway Rep: MY BIG GAY ITALIAN WEDDING and MY BIG GAY ITALIAN FUNERALA DOLL’S HOUSE (Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion): 60-second review
It’s hard to imagine a better set design for Henrik Ibsen’s devastating feminist classic than the living room of the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion Victorian House…
View More A DOLL’S HOUSE (Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion): 60-second reviewTWO NOBLE KINSMEN (Philly Shakes): Shakespeare as entertainment
Aaron Cromie, the director of Philadelphia Shakespeare Company’s academy performance of TWO NOBLE KINSMEN, is one of this city’s best directors. His puppet/live actor version…
View More TWO NOBLE KINSMEN (Philly Shakes): Shakespeare as entertainmentTHE HOMOSEXUALS (Quince): Ten turbulent years for one young man, six friends, and an entire community
And the festivities continue at GayFest! with Philip Dawkins’s acclaimed play THE HOMOSEXUALS. Gritty and thoughtful, with a broad scope of characterizations and universally relatable themes,…
View More THE HOMOSEXUALS (Quince): Ten turbulent years for one young man, six friends, and an entire communityNOIR (GDP): Theater fatale gets off the beaten path
Little known theater company, GDP Productions, takes a shot at classic crime cinema with NOIR. Played in the shadowy, speakeasy-like back bar of R Bar…
View More NOIR (GDP): Theater fatale gets off the beaten pathTHE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (Mauckingbird): 60-second review
Gender roles play an essential part in much classic literature. How many complex pre-1900 plots would be instantly resolved if a woman could just marry…
View More THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (Mauckingbird): 60-second reviewMACBETH (Commonwealth): 60-second review
MACBETH is a violent play, a feature emphasized by the contemporary military garb and extended fight choreography in the worthwhile production by Commonwealth Classic Theatre Company.…
View More MACBETH (Commonwealth): 60-second reviewCIRQUE DU GAY (Quince): Circus in stockings and buttless chaps
Dennis Porter, part of the three-man CIRQUE DU GAY, is trolling up and down the aisle at Plays and Players Theatre in a clown suit.…
View More CIRQUE DU GAY (Quince): Circus in stockings and buttless chapsAVENUE Q (Mazeppa): A puppet oasis in the summer heat
Rob Henry and Brian Seaman, founders of Mazeppa Productions, the newest resident musical theater company in Philadelphia, offer an oasis of entertainment in the Sahara…
View More AVENUE Q (Mazeppa): A puppet oasis in the summer heatRETURN OF CONFESSIONS OF A PLATE AND SHOE (SmokeyScout): 60-second review
Josh McIlvain’s RETURN OF CONFESSIONS OF A PLATE AND SHOE should be put in a time capsule and used by future generations as a how-to…
View More RETURN OF CONFESSIONS OF A PLATE AND SHOE (SmokeyScout): 60-second reviewTHE VIOLENCE OF THE LAMBS (OR THE ANIMAL VS. HUMAN WAR) (Chris Davis): 60-second review
As the established Philadelphia companies enter their long off-season, the SoLow Festival is providing a welcome dose of idiosyncratic theater at some unusual venues around…
View More THE VIOLENCE OF THE LAMBS (OR THE ANIMAL VS. HUMAN WAR) (Chris Davis): 60-second reviewAnother take on GLASS: SHATTERED (Renegade)
Pacified by a pre-show serving of *Little Baby’s* ice cream, the Renegade Company’s audience sat in a cozy room with broken victrola records scattered on…
View More Another take on GLASS: SHATTERED (Renegade)Afterthoughts on UNCLE TOM’S CABIN: AN UNFORTUNATE HISTORY (EgoPo)
EgoPo’s show closes at Plays & Players in Philadelphia tonight. I finally got to see it at the end of the run. The finale of…
View More Afterthoughts on UNCLE TOM’S CABIN: AN UNFORTUNATE HISTORY (EgoPo)