The best source for independent coverage of Philadelphia theater.
Phindie talks to Manon Manavit, a future star of Philadelphia performing arts, before her debut show in the city. She just relocated from Montreal, where she worked with Cirque Du Soleil.
View More Manon Manavit: Taking Philadelphia by Sturm und Drang![CatCal] by Danielle Solomon](https://phindie.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/DSC_1342-jfedit-2.jpg)
SoLow Fest! In the house. (In many houses.) This month. OMG. Across Philly’s various neighborhoods, artists of all shapes, sizes and specialities are working on…
View More SOLOW FLASH INTERVIEWS 2014, EPISODE FOUR: Lesley Berkowitz, Clara Elser & Danielle Solomon
Kate Brennan lit up the Philadelphia stages for years as an actor and producer for BCKSEET Productions. Now NYC-based, she’s back in town this summer for an offbeat theater camp. Phindie asks her about this and her memories of Philly.
View More Philadelphia Misses Kate Brennan: Interview with the now NYC-based actor and producer
Phindie talked to Tamanya Garza, a longtime leader of the Philadelphia Latino theater community and director of EL NOGALAR, part of the three-play 30/30 series exploring Latino theater.
View More 30/30 Vision: Tamanya Garza on Latinos in Philadelphia theater
The fifth SoLow Fest features over forty individual shows across Philadelphia. How are you supposed to pick which ones you want to see? They only cost $5 (or whatever you want to fork over—Lo, the magic of Pay What You Can) so you can see more than one so long as you know what’s going on.
To give you a clearer picture of what’s in store, freelance writer/performer Julius Ferraro conducts a series of flash interviews of our artists!
View More SOLOW FLASH INTERVIEWS 2014, EPISODE THREE: Michael Durkin, Joshua McLucas and Michael Broussard
January | February | March | April | May | June July | August | September | October | November | December Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat. Based on the book by Dr. Seuss. April…
View More Philadelphia Theater Calendar: June 2014
The support for performing arts organizations and artists, of all sizes, pales in comparison to the type of funding that art museums obtain. It is time to start placing more value on the “art” part of performing arts.
View More Putting the value on the art of performing art
The Lantern Theater Company’s remount of THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS by C.S. Lewis is a sizzling show from hell. Kathryn Osenlund’s 60-second review
View More THE SCREWTAPE LETTTERS (Lantern): 60-second review
Needless to say, with over forty individual shows slated to pop up across Philly from June 19-29, it can be hard to decide where you’re going to spend your pocket money.
To give you a clearer picture of what’s in store, freelance writer/performer Julius Ferraro conducts a series of flash interviews of our artists!
In episode two, we get Chaplin in Queen Village, time travel in South Philly, and brain spasms in Kensington.
View More SOLOW FLASH INTERVIEWS 2014, EPISODE TWO: DOUGLAS WILLIAMS, GAVIN WHITT, and HANK CURRY
While excitement mounts for SoLow Fest’s wooden anniversary, our artists are all at different stages of production. Some are re-memorizing old scripts, some are putting on the finishing touches on new compositions, and others are still hard at work in the studio.
Needless to say, with over forty individual shows slated to pop up across Philly from June 19-29, it can be hard to decide where you’re going to spend your pocket money.
To give you a clearer picture of what’s in store, freelance writer/performer Julius Ferraro conducts a series of flash interviews of our artists!
View More SOLOW FLASH INTERVIEWS 2014, EPISODE ONE: COREY BECHELLI, DAVID LAWSON, and ELLIE BROWN
Directed by Marsha Mason, the actress in the original film adaptation, Neil Simon’s CHAPTER TWO is a romantic comedy/drama in the spirit of the Hotel Suite.
View More CHAPTER TWO (Bucks County Playhouse): 60-second review
Plot-wise, 39 STEPS stays quite true to the original film (often down to the dialogue), with a few other Hitchcock references thrown in for good measure. The difference? This play is the height of camp.
View More THE 39 STEPS (Theatre Horizon): Thriller? I hardly know her!
The action in COMMUNITAS could be best described as four people taking turns carrying one another around a space, then falling off, then swapping who carries whom. In a way, it is structured around a continual exploration of ways to make two or more people into one. Balance is challenged not by standing on a tight rope, but by joining two bodies at a single point and leaning precipitously apart; disassemble and repeat as necessary.
View More COMMUNITAS (Almanac): The Contortionist and the Dancer
J. Pierrepoint Finch (Jeremy Morse) is a determined window washer with a handbook “How to Succeed in Business” and a dream to navigate the corporate maze. Step one: apply for the job at a major corporation.
View More HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (Walnut Street Theatre): 60-Second review
When you hear the word “bilingual” what do you picture in your mind? International, business-y personnel? Or one of those lucky kids who happened to have parents who speak different languages? Or growing up in a different country? Well, I’m don’t fit in any of those scenarios, except being international, sure, but that’s about it. None of my family speaks English. I learned it in school because I had to, and was awful at it. I hated the subject throughout the years of forced education. But then life turns in a strange way, and somehow I ended up in this city with an unpronounceable name for almost a decade now. My every day life is in English. I ask myself over and over again: “What am I doing here?”
View More NOTES from the INCUBATOR (Simpatico): Entry Three: World of BI(?!)LINGUAL
Philadelphia’s theater scene is better than ever—haven’t you heard? But so few of its practitioners can eke out a living wage from it. This interview Charlotte Ford takes a serious look at how poor the health of the theater industry is in this city.
View More Interview with Charlotte Ford: The untenable career of a successful Philadelphia theater artist
The fast-paced spoof about a boy band saving the souls of an audience of sinners on the last stop of their “Raise the Praise” tour is filled with witty references to the Bible, the Passion of Christ, and the Catholic liturgy. The Boyz—aptly named Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham–proselytize to prospective believers in real time through their songs, employing post-modern technology, current slang, and choreographed moves that gently skewer such popular acts as the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync.
View More ALTAR BOYZ (11th Hour): Raising the Praise!
Despite the bleak premise, laughter and jokes run throughout Azuka Theatre’s TIGERS BE STILL. This dark comedy looks at the things people do to cope with tragedy, and finds the humor in these strange displays.
View More TIGERS BE STILL (Azuka): 60-second review
Vaudeville, bouffon, and circus meet progressive rock in BRAT Productions’ ensemble-devised cabaret performance ALWAYS COMING SOON: THE FUTURE. It’s a compelling combination that entertains, mocks, and provokes through BRAT’s signature high-energy music, intriguing visual design, and dynamic physical theater which begins the moment you enter the venue as aggressive carnival buskers hawk popcorn, drinks, and breaths of fresh air to the incoming audience.
View More ALWAYS COMING SOON: THE FUTURE (BRAT Productions): Alternative Cabaret with a Timely Message
At the opening night performance of LaBute’s IN A DARK DARK HOUSE I had what alcoholics refer to as a moment of clarity: Suddenly an entire oeuvre littered with cruel antihero bastards made sense.
View More IN A DARK DARK HOUSE (Simpatico Theatre Project): Oh! Neil LaBute is not just a sadistic prig!