The Arden Hits a High Note with A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC
Stephen Sondheim’s transcendent musical exposé of love, liaisons, and life in 1900 Sweden.
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VENUS IN FUR (PTC): 60-second review
Leopold von Sacher-Masoch is known today primarily for the word derived from his name: masochism, and for his scandalous 1870 novel VENUS IN FUR, the…
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Just one asshole with an opinion: theater critic Mark Cofta on the art of reviewing and observations on Philly’s theater scene
Originally published on the FringeArts blog. Republished with kind permission. “I see 150 to 180 plays a year, and still always regret missing a bunch.”…
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HEROES (Lantern): Quieter guns of August
It’s 1959. Two veterans of the Great War sit in silence. HENRI: I love the month of August GUSTAVE: I knew it couldn’t last, the…
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BOOTYCANDY (Wilma): Bringing genitalia to the stage
There is a certain brand of comedy that bases its entire aesthetic on the idea that genitalia, in and of itself, is hilarious. A lot…
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THE LYSISTRATA PROJECT (Simpatico): A momentary delight
Ancient Greek historian Thucydides introduced his majestic History of the Peloponnesian War by claiming it was “not a piece of writing designed to meet the…
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THE GAMBLING ROOM (Hella Fresh Theater): An ambitious conundrum
Hella Fresh is staging THE GAMBLING ROOM at Papermill Theater in Kensington. One of several little companies working in small neighborhood venues, Hella Fresh is…
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Azuka Charms with FAILURE: A LOVE STORY
In 1900 the city of Chicago reversed the flow of the Chicago River so that it discharged into the Mississippi River instead of Lake Michigan.…
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THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (Curio): 60-second review
“Rare moths, wives pretending to be sisters,” deadly moors, escaped killers, and a legendary hellhound: the plot points of Arthur Conan Doyle’s THE HOUND OF…
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THE MISANTHROPE (Quintessence): What’s not to like?
I hope one day to see (and understand) a Moliere play in the original French, though as I’m not doing anything about that desire except…
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The Purpose of Criticism: Roger Ebert, Lester Bangs, and Psychotic Reactions
Following his much-discussed piece on Gimmickry in Theater, Michael F. Fisher considers the role of the critic, and how theater criticism in Philadelphia compares to…
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Studio X-hibition at Studio X
On May 6 this reviewer took in the second of three play readings in Theatre Exile’s New Play Development Series. On tap was FLESH, celebrated…
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JAPANAMERICA WONDERWAVE (Team Sunshine): Post-tsunami, pre-understanding
I came to theater through literature: words brought to life onstage. But seeing any small amount of theater, you quickly realize that that much is…
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NORTH OF THE BOULEVARD (Theatre Exile): If the Boss wrote plays he’d write this one
A few years ago I was at that good used bookstore on 20th Street by the Free Library and saw a crowd gathering on the…
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KARMA 101 (GoCar Productions): 60-second review
It’s a pretty safe bet that you didn’t have a high school teacher as cool as Aaron “Gobanna” Pleasant. By turns musician, radio DJ, and teacher at Philadelphia Mennonite High School, Pleasant wrote KARMA 101 to teach high schoolers about the realities of growing up, making decisions, and higher education.
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Phindie Podcast 03: Michelle Pauls
For Phindie’s third Philadelphia Independent Theater podcast, hosts Christopher Munden and John Rosenberg visit the Walking Fish Theatre in Kensington to talk to owner Michelle…
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ARMS AND THE MAN (Quintessence) plays up the farce
Two main threads run through George Bernard Shaw’s plays: social critique (he was an early member of the socialist Fabian society) and sharp observant humor.…
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Jenna Horton And The Birth Of Etna
Interview with Jenna Horton about her Jumpstart piece MOUNTING ETNA.
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60-second review: FUTURE FEST (Luna)
“One generation’s Orwellian dystopia is the next generation’s comfort-inducing lifestyle.” J. Ferron Hiatt, FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI TOY AND NOVELTY. The six short plays in Luna Theater’s…
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Literary Legacy: A History of Philadelphia Writers
If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth the reading, or do things worth the writing.
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