Philadelphia Theater Calendar April 2022
What’s onstage in Philadelphia this month?
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Quintessence Breaking the Cycle with Tragi-Comedy The Winter’s Tale
As part of its Transformation Repertory, Quintessence Theatre Company presents one of Shakespeare’s most beguiling plays, The Winter’s Tale. Sometimes classified as a “late romance,” or a “tragi-comedy,” or simply “a problem play,” The Winter’s Tale spans two countries and 16 years.
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Order Up! Interview with Shawn W. Smith of WAITRESS
Shawn W. Smith returns to WAITRESS in the lead role of Earl. Smith joined the national touring cast of WAITRESS in 2019 after playing an ensemble role in the show. The musical is based on the 2007 film of the same name and features music by Sara Bareilles. Smith talks to Phindie about being back in the pie shop.
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‘Catholic Guilt’ Returns for the Fifth Annual Philadelphia Theatre Week
Catholic Guilt might sound like a title for a heavy, depressing show, but Kelly McCaughan leads audiences on an adventure that is much more than that. The show is McCaughan’s “playful and poignant” take on her experiences with Catholicism, a mix of stand-up, improv and what they describe as “sinful audience participation”.
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7 common misconceptions not to be believed by rabona1 players
Despite the fact that modern online playgrounds try to make the process of interaction with the user as transparent and understandable as possible for him,…
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The Wilma Announces A Fundraiser Supporting Ukraine
As the world reaches out a hand to help the Ukrainian people amidst the Russian invasion, the local Philadelphia theater community is finding its own ways to contribute. In solidarity with Ukraine, the Wilma Theater presents a special event next week featuring the work of Ukrainian playwright Natal’ya Vorozhbit, raising money for those affected by the war.
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THE GIN GAME by Donald L. Coburn (1978): Chosen by Committee Episode 52
Two elderly people play cards and talk about their life in Donald L. Coburn’s quietly moving play The Gin Game, winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
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Lantern Theater’s Brave Return to Stage: A Man For All Seasons
What a brave return to live theater this production is! Lantern Theater Company gives us old-time drama and powerful theater, full of big ideas and complex language, rather than a bit of fluff to amuse or console us. With a top-notch cast and clever direction by Peter DeLaurier, it’s a heady three hours.
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The Outfit (dir. Graham Moore): Film review
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.
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Philadelphia Ballet’s Charles Askegard on the Brilliance of Balanchine
Charles Askegard has spent his career perfecting the work of George Balanchine – first as a dancer with NYCB and now as the Philadelphia Ballet’s rehearsal director. The company will be presenting Bold Brilliant Balanchine as part of its commitment to honoring and celebrating its rich Balanchine roots. Askegard spoke about the upcoming program and his time with the Philadelphia Ballet.
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A Powerful Revival: Daniel Fish’s Oklahoma!
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.
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Emerging from the Dark: Sarah Knittel on MAKE A F@CKIN’ SHOW YOU POS
In a post-quarantine world, we often don’t know what to expect, and the same is true of Sarah Knittel and Bradley Kristian Wrenn’s upcoming experience/performance titled MAKE A F@CKIN’ SHOW YOU POS. Sarah Knittel, one half of the director/performer duo, received our smoke signals and exited her cave long enough to discuss her work and the show with Phindie.
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The Return of Circa: Luke Thomas on Humans 2.0
Australia’s renowned Circa continues to defy the laws of gravity in their latest program, Humans 2.0. The contemporary circus troupe is returning to Philly with the follow-up to their 2018 performance Humans. The show promises to push the physical boundaries even further with their 10-member company. Performer Luke Thomas spoke with Phindie about the upcoming program at the Zellerbach Theatre.
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Seasons of RENT: A young cast helps an aging show
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.
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The Shadow Box by actor Michael Cristofer (1977): Chosen by Committee Episode 51
The winner of the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Drama gets the Chosen by Committee treatment this week. Michael Cristofer’s The Shadow Box got the nod…
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Rich and Resonating: Neill Hartley on ’NIGHT, MOTHER from Isis Productions
Winner of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Marsha Norman’s two-woman play ’night, Mother is a tragedy on an intimate, rather than epic, scale. Taking place over a single night, it looks at a widowed mother and her divorced daughter, who is epileptic, depressed, and at the end of her rope. Philadelphia audiences can catch Norman’s award-winner from March 4 to March 27, 2022, in a presentation by Isis Productions starring Kirsten Quinn and Renee Richman-Weisband. Phindie spoke to director Neill Hartley about what makes this such a fitting play for our times.
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2022 Knights Art Fellows Include Philly Artist James Allister Sprang
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, a Miami-based non-profit that supports journalism, arts, and culture, has announced the recipients of the 2022 Knight Arts and Tech Fellowship, one of whom is Philadelphia-based artist James Allister Sprang.
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March 2022 Roundup
Here’s an overview of some of the shows coming to the stage in Philadelphia this month.
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Philadelphia Theater Calendar March 2022
What’s onstage in Philadelphia this month?
View More Philadelphia Theater Calendar March 2022
BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL (National Tour): 60-second review
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…
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