Naomi Orwin asks: Would a woman have envisioned a different Nora? A different Torvald?
View More A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 (Arden): Imagining another Nora
Author: Naomi Orwin
Naomi Orwin is a freelance writer who has recently made Philadelphia her home. A native of New Jersey, who lived in Manhattan for many years to be close to her first love the theater, she enjoys getting to see as many plays, concerts and dance performances as she can. After years of teaching screenwriting, most recently at Drexel University, she is now focusing on her own writing about the arts, and developing a blog about what goes on behind the scenes in Philadelphia. Check her out at: offstagephilly.blogspot.com or nomiwrites.blogspot.com.
IRVING BERLIN’S HOLIDAY INN (Walnut Street Theatre): Longing for a time that never was
IRVING BERLIN’S HOLIDAY INN takes us back to a kinder, gentler time when people could burst into song for no reason whatsoever.
View More IRVING BERLIN’S HOLIDAY INN (Walnut Street Theatre): Longing for a time that never was
WHITE FEMINIST (Lee Minora): 2018 Fringe review
A no-holds-barred look at the ways in which white feminists, with the best of intentions, don’t always walk even their own talk.
View More WHITE FEMINIST (Lee Minora): 2018 Fringe review
BEHOLD HER (Half Key Theatre Company): 2018 Fringe review
Publicity for the show focuses on the question, “What is beauty?,” but the show itself goes much deeper.
View More BEHOLD HER (Half Key Theatre Company): 2018 Fringe review
CLOSE YOUR LEGS, HONEY — A NEW MUSICAL (PHIT/Hannah Parke & Shamus Hunter McCarty): 2018 Fringe review
CLOSE YOUR LEGS, HONEY is a cheery musical tackling the difficult subject of societal expectations for women and the shit women have to put up with.
View More CLOSE YOUR LEGS, HONEY — A NEW MUSICAL (PHIT/Hannah Parke & Shamus Hunter McCarty): 2018 Fringe review
THE THREE MARIES (no Attytude productions): Philly Phun on Broad Street
This celebration of all things Philly and silly gets the audience strutting in their seats and laughing as they leave. Shakespeare it’s not, but Ogborn and the producers hope it will be adopted as a Philadelphia staple with a life of its own.
View More THE THREE MARIES (no Attytude productions): Philly Phun on Broad Street
HEATHERS: THE MUSICAL (Vulcan Lyric): A cult classic whose time may have passed
A revitalized opera company offering musical performances in Philly in the summer is a good thing. But maybe some things just aren’t funny anymore, like teen suicide, gay jokes, and trying to blow up a school.
View More HEATHERS: THE MUSICAL (Vulcan Lyric): A cult classic whose time may have passed
Vulcan Lyric: New name, new festival
With a new name and a revived sense of purpose, Vulcan Lyric is prepared to bring new works of musical theater to Philadelphia audiences over the summer.
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What Is the Future of Musical Theater? Thoughts on the Kimmel Center 2015 SEI Residency Program
Is it adaptations of familiar works, or is there another, more intimate kind of musical that can be done without gadgets and effects and superheroes flying across the stage?
View More What Is the Future of Musical Theater? Thoughts on the Kimmel Center 2015 SEI Residency Program
THE THREE CHRISTS OF MANHATTAN: What would a Christ for today be like?
If Jesus were to appear today, what form would he take? A loving son of God, a Marxist activist, or a corporate exec who wants everyone to be rich?
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TO THE MOON (1812 Productions): An homage to The Great One, who was not so great after all
Whether you were a fan of The Honeymooners, or have never seen more than a clip on YouTube, this homage to The Great One reminds us of what comedy used to be like.
View More TO THE MOON (1812 Productions): An homage to The Great One, who was not so great after all
EVERYTHING ONE IN THE DISC OF THE SUN (Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble/FringeArts): Letting go of expectations and having fun
As a child of the sixties who used to go to “happenings” (our version of Fringe) and a devotee of several self-help modalities, I knew I had to go to EVERYTHING ONE IN THE DISC OF THE SUN, .
View More EVERYTHING ONE IN THE DISC OF THE SUN (Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble/FringeArts): Letting go of expectations and having fun
THE (CURIOUS CASE OF THE) WATSON INTELLIGENCE (Azuka): Do we all need a Watson in our lives
In a time-bending script that requires each of the actors to play multiple roles across the last century or so, “Watson”, played in all his guises by Griffin Stanton-Ameisen, is the force that ties them all together.
View More THE (CURIOUS CASE OF THE) WATSON INTELLIGENCE (Azuka): Do we all need a Watson in our lives
WOMEN UN PLUGGED (Dretwin Productions): 2014 Fringe Review 83
WOMEN UN PLUGGED is about women and what they say to each other when they think no one is looking.
View More WOMEN UN PLUGGED (Dretwin Productions): 2014 Fringe Review 83
BY YOU THAT MADE ME, FRANKENSTEIN (Philadelphia Opera Collective): 2014 Fringe Review 51.2
This is an opera about monsters—the Frankenstein of the title, a monster we know well from films if not from literature, and the ways in which people become monsters.
View More BY YOU THAT MADE ME, FRANKENSTEIN (Philadelphia Opera Collective): 2014 Fringe Review 51.2
Intimate Exchanges (1812 Productions): 2014 Fringe Review 1.2
What makes film different from theater is that film is fixed forever, performances and lines repeating endlessly year after year, while theater has the ability to surprise us. And what makes theater different from life is that theater is scripted and life is random, unexpected, not planned out ahead of time. And what makes Philadelphia’s FringeArts Festival fun is that it delights in performances that confound expectations.
View More Intimate Exchanges (1812 Productions): 2014 Fringe Review 1.2
SOME ARE PEOPLE (Quince, GayFest! 2014): Summer loving is no drag
SOME ARE PEOPLE is about summer people. Those people who come into our lives for a time and then go back to wherever they came from, leaving us changed forever.
View More SOME ARE PEOPLE (Quince, GayFest! 2014): Summer loving is no drag