In keeping with their native tradition of storytelling, Irish playwrights Paul Meade and David Parnell weave an engaging tale of two estranged men who reconnect…
View More TROUSERS (Inis Nua): The Proof Is in the PantsCategory: Reviews
ONDINE (Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium): At sea with emotional hyperbole
Talented and celebrated director Aaron Cromie teams up with the idiosyncratic Idopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium to tackle French impressionist Jean Giraudoux at the Walnut Street Theatre…
View More ONDINE (Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium): At sea with emotional hyperboleONDINE (Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium): Nature versus Human Nature
When Hans, a handsome but not-so-smart knight-errant of Wittenstein, meets the unbridled naiad Ondine at a fisherman’s cottage in the woods, they fall recklessly in…
View More ONDINE (Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium): Nature versus Human NatureTRUE WEST (Theatre Exile): Sibling rivalry and the American dream
Sibling rivalry, conflicting personalities, and antithetical lifestyles regress to anti-social antics, primal rage, and role reversal in TRUE WEST, Sam Shepard’s dark comedy about two…
View More TRUE WEST (Theatre Exile): Sibling rivalry and the American dreamID:3 (Hybridge Arts): Tapas of challenging dance and theater
Last night at Christ Church Neighborhood House, Hybridge Arts Collective brought it to me live with ID:3, an evening of three performance works by the…
View More ID:3 (Hybridge Arts): Tapas of challenging dance and theaterGRIMMS’ JUNIPER TREE (Renegade): 60 Second Review
GRIMMS’ JUNIPER TREE weaves in plot points from various famously morose Grimm brothers’ fairy tales around one lesser known story—that of the Juniper Tree. This…
View More GRIMMS’ JUNIPER TREE (Renegade): 60 Second ReviewTRUE WEST (Theatre Exile): a rare, in-your-face take on a modern classic
Theatre Exile mounts new, dicey plays and modern classics—badass classics, that is, from outstanding contemporary playwrights like Tracy Letts, Martin McDonough, and in this case,…
View More TRUE WEST (Theatre Exile): a rare, in-your-face take on a modern classicGRIMMS’ JUNIPER TREE (Renegade): Important Lessons to Be Learned
Based on the dark and disturbing folktales of the Brothers Grimm, James Stover’s original world-premiere adaptation for the Renegade Company, GRIMMS’ JUNIPER TREE, examines the…
View More GRIMMS’ JUNIPER TREE (Renegade): Important Lessons to Be LearnedTHREE CHORD FICTION: LOVE BITES (BRAT): A Riotous Night of Rock-Theater Cabaret
BRAT Productions, Philly’s foremost purveyor of fearless rock-and-roll theater, rocks the Tin Angel with a new installment of its Barrymore Award-winning series THREE CHORD FICTION:…
View More THREE CHORD FICTION: LOVE BITES (BRAT): A Riotous Night of Rock-Theater CabaretWATER BY THE SPOONFUL (Arden Theatre): Dissonance v. harmony
The tragic news of Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s death by OD has, for the moment, wrested the subject of substance abuse from the shadows and thrust…
View More WATER BY THE SPOONFUL (Arden Theatre): Dissonance v. harmonySNOWGLOBE (MacKnight Foundation): 60-second review
With clever repartee, SNOWGLOBE cleverly tackles deep existential questions. Under Bill McKinlay’s direction, the actors bring life and nuance to the clever Beckettian back-and-forth.
View More SNOWGLOBE (MacKnight Foundation): 60-second reviewGIDION’S KNOT (InterAct) is a two-person powerhouse
Though the classroom where GIDION’S KNOT takes place looks as cheery, bright, and typical as any, the story that unfolds in it is certainly not.…
View More GIDION’S KNOT (InterAct) is a two-person powerhouseThe Five Stages of THE PILLOWMAN (Luna Theater)
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)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 foibleTHE PILLOWMAN (Luna Theater): 60 Second Review
With all the claustrophobia of an Otto Dix painting, Luna Theater’s production of Martin McDonagh’s THE PILLOWMAN is a delicious 140-minute-anxiety attack. Robert DaPonte is remarkably arresting…
View More THE PILLOWMAN (Luna Theater): 60 Second ReviewGHOSTS (People’s Light): Just give in to the melodrama
At People’s Light and Theatre’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s GHOSTS, the program note written by dramaturg Gina Pisasale discusses Ibsen’s life and work. In his theater,…
View More GHOSTS (People’s Light): Just give in to the melodramaBEAUTIFUL THING (Mauckingbird): Boy meets boy and love conquers all
To mark the 20th anniversary of BEAUTIFUL THING, Mauckingbird Theatre Company, dedicated to gay-themed work, begins its 2014 season with a production of English playwright…
View More BEAUTIFUL THING (Mauckingbird): Boy meets boy and love conquers allUP FROM THE ASHES (Iron Age Theatre): A bit shy of genius
Saturday, March 25th, 1911, 4:40pm a fire broke out on the eighth floor of largest blouse making factory in New York City, the Triangle…
View More UP FROM THE ASHES (Iron Age Theatre): A bit shy of geniusEL AÑO EN QUE NACÍ (FringeArts): Living mosaic
EL AÑO EN QUE NACÍ (THE YEAR I WAS BORN) is the January installment in FringeArts’ year-round programming at their Race Street Pier theater, and…
View More EL AÑO EN QUE NACÍ (FringeArts): Living mosaicWilma Theater’s CHEROKEE impresses, in a way
John, a baby boomer, patriarch, and oil exec who has spent his life gaining, has lost quite a lot in a short period of time:…
View More Wilma Theater’s CHEROKEE impresses, in a way