Author Graham Moore (who adapted his book The Imitation Game for the Benedict Cumberbatch-starrer of the same name) makes his writing-directing debut, and he decidedly shows a lot of skill in ratcheting up tension and claustrophobia in mostly one room for one long night. It’s a little like Hitchcock’s Rope in that way, but with more sharp objects.
View More The Outfit (dir. Graham Moore): Film review
Walking into the Forrest Theatre, patrons are assaulted by the glaringly-bright light of the stage. This production of Oklahoma!, the lights seem to say, will hide nothing. In many ways, Daniel Fish’s revival lives up to this promise.
View More A Powerful Revival: Daniel Fish’s Oklahoma!
For millennial theater kids, it is hard to overstate the cultural importance of Rent. First produced in 1996, the contemporary retelling of Pucini’s La bohème introduced me and my peers to rock ballads, profanity, drug use, sex, homelessness, and AIDS. Presented in Philly as part of its “25th Anniversary Farewell” tour, this Rent feels adolescent, that is: young, passionate, loud, and slightly dumb.
View More Seasons of RENT: A young cast helps an aging show
If you missed Beautiful: The Carole King Musical during its five year run on Broadway or in its previous two Philadelphia tour appearances…chances are you…
View More BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL (National Tour): 60-second review
Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown is a blend of retold Greek myths, written in the rich folk-musical language of the American south, focusing on the stories of Orpheus and Eurydice, and Hades and Persephone.
View More HADESTOWN (National Tour) at the Kimmel Center
It’s a new world with Philadelphia Ballet. Vaccine checks and face masks, a new name (is there any state with less state pride than Pennsylvania?),…
View More NEW WORKS FOR A NEW WORLD (Philadelphia Ballet): An evocative and uplifting program by three impressive choreographers
Chosen by Committee podcasters Josh Herren and Christopher Munden tear themselves from the Pulitzer bookcase to see a live Pulitzer-winning show.
View More Pulitzer Podcast Review: STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at the Arden
“Are you still a communist?” yells an edgy CPAC attendee as Van Jones passes by. “You’ll have to watch my show to find out,” laughs…
View More The First Step (dir. – Brandon Kramer): Philadelphia Film Festival review
Excerpted from Nealspaper.com by kind permission.In HAMILTON, Lin Manuel Miranda manages to ace a feat that has daunted and defeated many. He has taken a…
View More HAMILTON (National Tour): Admirable history
I love boxing, and I love boxing movies, so I knew I couldn’t miss a movie starring and co-written by real-life boxer Kali Reis. Catch…
View More Catch the Fair One (dir. Josef Kubota Wladyka): Philadelphia Film Festival review
With all concessions which must be made for a movie like Agnes in place, namely that it was made rather quickly and on the cheap,…
View More Agnes (dir. Mickey Reece): Philadelphia Film Festival review
Time travel is my favorite storytelling device in existence. It’s a great way to explore a wealth of themes, and as a concept it’s just…
View More Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (dir. Junta Yamaguchi): Philadelphia Film Festival review
I thought I’d never forget what it was like to be a kid, and I thought I hadn’t forgotten, but then I saw Petite Maman…
View More Petite Maman (dir. Céline Sciamma): Philadelphia Film Festival review
Every year I try to see a movie, picked at random, for which I have no information. A total blind date with a film. Sometimes…
View More One Second (dir. Yimou Zhang): Philadelphia Film Festival review
Somewhere between Tom Green, Quentin Dupieux, and that shithead kid across the street who always seems to be getting in trouble exists Mother Schmuckers, a…
View More Mother Schmuckers (dir. Harpo Guit, Lenny Guit): Philadelphia Film Festival review
Mass is a movie that feels like a play. The basic gist is that four individuals are sitting around a table discussing the fallout from…
View More Mass (dir. Fran Kranz): Philadelphia Film Festival review
Sean Baker has built a career making films that shed a light on fringe communities
View More Red Rocket (dir. Sean Baker): Philadelphia Film Festival review
No matter what you think, you don’t have Wes Anderson pegged.
View More The French Dispatch (dir. Wes Anderson): Philadelphia Film Festival review
I didn’t expect to have my stomach turned in any notable way.
View More The Sadness (dir. Rob Jabbaz): Philadelphia Film Festival review
A basic description of The Novice would be “Whiplash, but with rowing instead of drumming.”
View More The Novice (dir. Lauren Hadaway): Philadelphia Film Festival review