Thank God for Taylor Swift. After seeing Luna Theater‘s mindcrushing production of Martin McDonagh’s THE PILLOWMAN last night, I found myself a broken man. I was shellshocked.…
View More The Five Stages of THE PILLOWMAN (Luna Theater)Author: Michael Fisher
THE DISAPPEARING QUARTERBACK (Plays and Players) tackles football’s deadly foible
Yesterday morning, I received an email from the National Football League. I get these every day, more or less—updates from NFL.com on what’s happening around…
View More THE DISAPPEARING QUARTERBACK (Plays and Players) tackles football’s deadly foibleGENDER COMEDY: A LESS STUPID TWELFTH NIGHT GAY FANTASIA (Curio): A loving parody brings infectious glee
Harry Slack has cut the gaping holes in Shakespeare’s logic into microscope slides, and the result is a hilarious and self-aware send-up of the rarely-discussed flaws in the work of our most beloved playwright.
View More GENDER COMEDY: A LESS STUPID TWELFTH NIGHT GAY FANTASIA (Curio): A loving parody brings infectious glee4000 MILES (PTC): What a Long, Strange Trip it’s Been
As someone born in the mid-1980s, I’ve rolled my eyes at the sight of the word “Millennial” more times than I can count. What’s great about Amy Herzog’s 4000 MILES is that she refuses to imprison the characters in any social or political context.
View More 4000 MILES (PTC): What a Long, Strange Trip it’s BeenBLINK (Inis Nua): The Manufacturing of Affection
Phil Porter’s BLINK—making its American premiere with Inis Nua Theatre—is a touching pastiche of romance, high drama and farce. It’s both heavy and light, comic…
View More BLINK (Inis Nua): The Manufacturing of AffectionEMMA (Lantern): Philly falls for Austenmania
Over the past few years, there’s been a surprising and unlikely spark of interest in Jane Austen. Austen’s novels—Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion, et al—have…
View More EMMA (Lantern): Philly falls for Austenmania[56.1] THE TALKBACK (Berserker Residents): Fringe review
Every now and then we need to take a step back and look at the art of theater from a distance—through a microscope, in a…
View More [56.1] THE TALKBACK (Berserker Residents): Fringe review[47] THE TOOLS OF IGNORANCE PRESENT: HIGH CHEESE (Tools of Ignorance): Fringe review
It’s a shame theater and sports don’t intersect more often. The goings-on of the four major professional sports—especially in Philadelphia—never fail to provide fans with…
View More [47] THE TOOLS OF IGNORANCE PRESENT: HIGH CHEESE (Tools of Ignorance): Fringe review[38] MORE SEX-ED BURLESQUE (Chlamydia dell’Arte): Fringe review
The delightful and hilarious ladies of Chlamydia dell’Arte—Gigi Naglak and Meghann Williams—would like to educate you. They would like to sing you a song about…
View More [38] MORE SEX-ED BURLESQUE (Chlamydia dell’Arte): Fringe review[28.2] THIS IS NOT A THEATER (Navin Rawanchaikul, Navin Production): Fringe review
You know those commercials at the movies that play for fifteen minutes before the trailers? You don’t want them, you don’t care about them, but…
View More [28.2] THIS IS NOT A THEATER (Navin Rawanchaikul, Navin Production): Fringe review[30] THE LIVING NEWSPAPER (Liz Magic Laser): Fringe review
Given that you have to sit suffering through the disgraceful This is Not a Theater, it’s almost irrelevant to review THE LIVING NEWSPAPER, but NEWSPAPER is…
View More [30] THE LIVING NEWSPAPER (Liz Magic Laser): Fringe review[7.2] THE SOCIETY (Jo Strømgren Kompani): Fringe review
Let’s be real: Most theater we see these days is at least a little bit pretentious. The very nature of theater is based in pretense.…
View More [7.2] THE SOCIETY (Jo Strømgren Kompani): Fringe review[17] TOUGH COOKIES (Together We Act): Fringe review
First, the elephant in the room: Together We Act is a non-profit theater company for people who stutter. Now, it doesn’t take a cynical theater…
View More [17] TOUGH COOKIES (Together We Act): Fringe review[15] GO LONG BIG SOFTIE (Groundswell Players): Fringe review
As I watch TV and lament the opportunities missed by my fantasy football team (Why didn’t I start Jimmy Graham? I’m an idiot, that’s why.)…
View More [15] GO LONG BIG SOFTIE (Groundswell Players): Fringe review[10] PARTS: A SPEED-THROUGH (Drexel Players): Fringe review
PARTS: A SPEED-THROUGH is an ambitious, outside-the-box piece devised and performed by the Drexel Players. Anyone who has ever been involved in theater knows the…
View More [10] PARTS: A SPEED-THROUGH (Drexel Players): Fringe review[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[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 reviewBARCELONA (People’s Light): Transatlantic tension, transatlantic truth
She’s an American tourist on a girls’ holiday, seeking out a romantic, exotic fantasy of Spain. He’s a dashing, seductive Spaniard who takes her to…
View More BARCELONA (People’s Light): Transatlantic tension, transatlantic truthBOOTYCANDY (Wilma): Bringing genitalia to the stage
There is a certain brand of comedy that bases its entire aesthetic on the idea that genitalia, in and of itself, is hilarious. A lot…
View More BOOTYCANDY (Wilma): Bringing genitalia to the stageThe Purpose of Criticism: Roger Ebert, Lester Bangs, and Psychotic Reactions
Following his much-discussed piece on Gimmickry in Theater, Michael F. Fisher considers the role of the critic, and how theater criticism in Philadelphia compares to…
View More The Purpose of Criticism: Roger Ebert, Lester Bangs, and Psychotic Reactions