Two Jews Walk Into A War at InterAct
At the Adrienne last Thursday night, the show started before the curtain went up: first there was the woman who got a verbal spanking from…
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World War What? Did PIFA forget a little something in its celebration of Paris 1910-20?
IS it just a little strange that in a festival with a theme of Paris 1910–20, few of the shows and none of the literature seem to mention that there was a little war going on
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Dance and Music Rights, or When Were You Planning To Pay For That Music, Friend?
In the not distant past, I was watching a dance performance, which I was enjoying, and I couldn’t help thinking—if this dance company was caught…
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Bleak Complexity: SPEAKING IN TONGUES at the Walnut’s Independence on 3
As SPEAKING IN TONGUES opens, two couples are about to cheat on their partners. Their dialog develops in unison; each pairing uttering the same lines.…
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In the Swing: A Brief History of Baseball in Philadelphia
Baseball in Philadelphia is riding on a wave of success by the hometown Phillies, winners of four straight National League East titles and two of…
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One Woman, Many Voices: LET ME DOWN EASY at PTC
There are many voices in this nation’s health care debate, and Anna Deveare Smith could probably act out them all. In LET ME DOWN EASY,…
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Five Technical Things About Ancient Roman Comedic Stages You Were Dying To Know
We know about the plays, at least if we have read them. But how much do we know about ancient stages? We’ve asked PPAA classics…
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BCKSEET Productions’ Losing the Shore
You never expect lighthearted comedy when going to a show by BCKSEET Productions. Argentine prison dramas, biting Edward Albee plays, and a Christmas show depicting Santa…
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Updike’s guide to reviewing
Submit to whatever spell, weak or strong, is being cast. Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his…
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Philly For Foodies
Food is an essential part of what makes Philadelphia tick. Each neighbourhood has its own unique style, for instance in West Philly you’ll find traditional…
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Lessons from Newt Gingrich: or how we in the theatre and dance communities can stop acting like losers and learn to make the nation love us
How often have you heard that performing arts are dying, that we’re a niche market, that you can never make a living off of it,…
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It’s The End of the World As We Knew It: New City’s PTERODACTYLS at the Adrienne
PTERODACTYLS takes place in a sterile Main Line living room (set design Cory Palmer), a fitting setting for a work reminiscent of Victorian drawing room…
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Meta is Dead. Long Live Meta.
I want to talk about shows in theatre and dance that deal with the audience head on. In other words, works that acknowledge the existence…
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The New and Old of It: Interview with BCKSEET’s Gregory DeCandia
BCKSEET Productions has staged more than thirty plays in their eleven-year history, about half of those in Philadelphia, the city the company has called home…
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Square 1682: Restaurant review
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Square 1682, which proved that you can have high end service and quality without the high end price tag.
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California Fresh: New theater company launches in Kensington arts space
The back streets of Kensington may not have much in common with Hollywood
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It’s “theater”
Philadelphia is in the United States, so I’ve decided that theater should be spelled theater, not the English/French theatre. Right.
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THE CRUCIBLE (Tri-County Performing Arts Center)
Like many people, I was introduced to THE CRUCIBLE in a high school English class. The teacher dutifully told us that it was a play…
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LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE by Theatre Exile at Plays and Players
Playwright Martin McDonagh delivers a powerful political message in the most palatable of pills
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How To Succeed In Comedy With Really Trying: Interview with The Waitstaff’s Sara Carano
For seven years Sara Carano has been a member of The Waitstaff, a Philly-based sketch comedy troupe that has proven to be one of city’s…
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