This is a show—not a play, not musical theater—about bodies and the astonishing things this company of 23 dancers can do
View More MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE (Miller Theater): A sting in the taleAuthor: Toby Zinman
CHILDREN OF THE SUN (PAC): A knockout contemporary production of a rarely seen classic
Now this is what a collective can do: a huge cast all so attuned to each others’ idiosyncrasies that they might as well be the household they are portraying.
View More CHILDREN OF THE SUN (PAC): A knockout contemporary production of a rarely seen classicKILL MOVE PARADISE (South Camden Theatre): 60-second review
South Camden Theatre Company’s latest production of James Ijames’s wildly moving play, Kill Move Paradise, is terrific
View More KILL MOVE PARADISE (South Camden Theatre): 60-second reviewTORCH SONG (1812 Productions): Songs from another time
Although the defense of gay life and the LGBTQ+ community is in a different place now, I imagine for many in the audience, Torch Song still sings.
View More TORCH SONG (1812 Productions): Songs from another timeMADAME BUTTERFLY (Opera Philly): A dilettante at large review
with so many opportunities to put a political foot wrong, MADAME BUTTERFLY is a minefield. Opera Philadelphia has sidestepped the obvious dangers.
View More MADAME BUTTERFLY (Opera Philly): A dilettante at large reviewHADESTOWN (National Tour): To hell and back
What with the solar eclipse and an earthquake, we—sophisticated, scientific, blasé—are in a perfect position to imagine what ancient, primitive people must have thought and felt when the ground shook and the lights went out.
View More HADESTOWN (National Tour): To hell and backOVERWINTER (Azuka): A laboratory for important ideas
Azuka Theatre presents Overwinter, an interesting new play by local playwright Mackenzie Raine Kirkman; it’s about important ideas, making it a welcome change from the…
View More OVERWINTER (Azuka): A laboratory for important ideas2024 PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW: A dilettante at large review
You don’t have to tend your own plot to enjoy the gorgeous colors and scents at the 2024 Flower Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
View More 2024 PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW: A dilettante at large reviewTHE RAPE OF LUCRETIA (Academy of Vocal Arts): A dilettante at large review
DAL continues her musical education with this stunning chamber opera at the Academy of Vocal Arts.
View More THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA (Academy of Vocal Arts): A dilettante at large reviewLUNAR NEW YEAR AT PMA: A dilettante at large review
The Philadelphia Museum of Art celebrated the Chinese new year with some fascinating special events on Sunday
View More LUNAR NEW YEAR AT PMA: A dilettante at large reviewCOST OF LIVING (PTC): A compelling new play, diminished
Diminished or not, it’s worth seeing for the understanding of people living with disabilities and the people who care for them.
View More COST OF LIVING (PTC): A compelling new play, diminishedTHE FLATLANDERS (1812 Productions): Couples theater can be couples therapy
Real-life married couple Scott Greer and Jennifer Childs play a fictitious couple in Bruce Graham’s newest play.
View More THE FLATLANDERS (1812 Productions): Couples theater can be couples therapyAIN’T TOO PROUD: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS (National Tour): Songs, fun, and nostalgia
This is Motown, and this cast is up to the task: good voices, great moves.
View More AIN’T TOO PROUD: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS (National Tour): Songs, fun, and nostalgiaCOMPANY (Forrest Theater): Gorgeously musical if lacking in Sondheim’s subtlety
Sondheim’s genius makes ambivalence gorgeously musical, but his ironic, subtle sophistication is in short supply in this production
View More COMPANY (Forrest Theater): Gorgeously musical if lacking in Sondheim’s subtletyMADAME OVARY (Inis Nua): Theater or therapy?
Madame Ovary is a staged memoir about a young woman who survived cancer; it is the fourth female solo show opening just this week:
View More MADAME OVARY (Inis Nua): Theater or therapy?[NYC] TRANSLATIONS (Irish Rep): Searching for clues
The danger with a Brian Friel play is charm. No stage Irishmen here at Irish Rep’s production, no comical drunkenness. Another danger, especially in a…
View More [NYC] TRANSLATIONS (Irish Rep): Searching for cluesTHE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM (Azuka): Impassioned and interesting sidestepping
In a world full of rooms which are full of elephants, a lot of sidestepping is required of us all.
View More THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM (Azuka): Impassioned and interesting sidesteppingWHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME (Arden): A witch’s cauldron of sometimes magic
Even the most hallowed document is no match for a teenage girl, as Heidi Schreck reveals in her play, What the Constitutions Means to Me.…
View More WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME (Arden): A witch’s cauldron of sometimes magic[NYC] MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (Hudson Theater)
This is vintage Sondheim, the unimaginable flop now on Broadway again, restored to its dazzling, heart-wrenching brilliance. Merrily We Roll Along has been called his most personal,…
View More [NYC] MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (Hudson Theater)[NYC] PURLIE VICTORIOUS (Music Box Theatre): A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Ossie Davis’s brilliant and hilarious play is part vaudeville, part sermon. And if preaching is theater, theater is preaching. And the lesson is that “faith…
View More [NYC] PURLIE VICTORIOUS (Music Box Theatre): A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch