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…
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Category: Theater
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TRUE 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…
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ID: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…
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GRIMMS’ 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…
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TRUE 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,…
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GRIMMS’ 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…
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THREE 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:…
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WATER 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…
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SNOWGLOBE (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.
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Philadelphia Theater Calendar: February 2014
January | February | March | April | May | June July | August | September | October | November | December Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Adapted by John Olive from the books by Louis…
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THE ROOM NOBODY KNOWS (FringeArts): Put your secret emotions, dangerous illusions here
Enter the world of Japanese Japanese theater company Niwa Gekidan Penino: claustrophobic, hallucinatory, voyeuristic, surreal. Niwa is the Japanese word for “garden.” For over a decade…
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GIDION’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.…
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The 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.…
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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…
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THE 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…
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You’re Probably Missing Out: A tour of Kensington’s performance spaces
The performance spaces which have made Kensington their home (Walking Fish Theatre, Hella Fresh, Mascher Space, and fidgetspace) are remote, both financially and physically, from the city, yet still close enough to converse artistically with downtown venues and even to attract funding.
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GHOSTS (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,…
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BEAUTIFUL 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…
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Celebrating Shakespeare at 450: An Interview with The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre’s Carmen Khan
Carmen Khan has devoted much of her life and professional career to Shakespeare. She is well known to the Philadelphia theater community as the founding…
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UP 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…
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