Mary Tuomanen Archives

Reviews Theater

AN ILIAD (Arden): Rage returns to Ilium

Toby Zinman November 25, 2019 No Comments

A bold, visceral performance giving the strong script its due.

Reviews Theater

COMPLETENESS (Theatre Exile): Algorithms and geek romance

Kathryn Osenlund December 9, 2018 No Comments

Seduction by examples of computational intractability

Reviews Theater

MR BURNS (Wilma): Darkness on the edge of Springfield

Christopher Munden November 2, 2018 No Comments

Civilization has collapsed but The Simpsons is still going.

Music Reviews

A dilettante at large reviews NE QUITTEZ PAS (Opera Philadelphia)

Toby Zinman October 1, 2018 No Comments

What a complicated evening, filled with gorgeous singing and roiled emotions and puzzling theatrics

Fringe Festival Fringe reviews Reviews Theater

THE PRESENTED (Chris Davis): 2018 Fringe review

Kathryn Osenlund September 17, 2018 No Comments

Chris Davis has come into his own as an exuberant and irresistible Rumpelstiltskin who spins his own life’s straw into gold.

Dance Fringe Festival Fringe reviews Reviews Theater

DO YOU WANT A COOKIE? (Bearded Ladies Cabaret): 2018 Fringe review

Smalley Bogg September 7, 2018 No Comments

“What is cabaret?”

Reviews Theater

FUN HOME (Arden Theatre): LOL misery

Kathryn Osenlund May 29, 2018 2 Comments

The Bechdel family has a funeral home (dubbed Fun Home by the kids) and also a not-fun family home.

Features Interviews Theater

All Things Must Pass: Orbiter 3 members consider their finale

Christopher Munden May 15, 2018 No Comments

In the end, the plays you produce are greater than the plays you don’t

Reviews Theater

JULIUS CAESAR (Quintessence): Why must republics fall?

Julius Ferraro April 2, 2018 No Comments

Quintessence Theatre Group explores the Shakespearean death throes of the Roman Republic.

Fringe Festival Fringe reviews Reviews Theater

ALCHEMIST (Chris Davis & Mary Tuomanen): 2017 Fringe review

Kathryn Osenlund September 25, 2017 2 Comments

A friend “knows who you are and forgives you for it.”

Features Fringe Festival Theater

Fringe in Sketch: ALCHEMIST (Mary Tuomanen & Chris Davis)

Chuck Schultz September 17, 2017 No Comments

Mary Tuomamen and Chris Davis push life size keys that signal to each other through space and time

Dance Features Fringe Festival Theater

24 Picks for the 2017 Philadelphia Fringe Festival

Christopher Munden August 25, 2017 No Comments

What to see at the 2017 Philadelphia Fringe Festival

Reviews Theater

PEACEABLE KINGDOM (Orbiter 3): Can we live in peace?

Toby Zinman May 12, 2017 No Comments

A remarkable play navigating the deep waters of philosophy and the shallow waters of adults wearing animal costumes.

Features Theater

How should Philadelphia Theatre Company rebrand itself?

Cameron Kelsall April 23, 2017 1 Comment

Cameron Kelsall has some ideas for the new executive director.

Reviews Theater

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Arden): Take pains, be perfect

Christopher Munden March 9, 2017 No Comments

Shakespeare made simple, and simply fun.

Features Reviews Theater

Two by Tuomanen: MARCUS/EMMA (InterAct) and HELLO! SADNESS (FringeArts)

Christopher Munden January 28, 2017 No Comments

Two shows by Philadelphia writer Mary Tuomanen opened on consecutive nights last week, providing a singular opportunity to assess common threads tying together works by the author.

Reviews Theater

BORTLE 8 (Tiny Dynamite): Set the controls for the heart of darkness

Christopher Munden December 16, 2016 No Comments

Chris Davis’s imaginative one-man play gets a deservedly professional staging as part of Tiny Dynamite’s A Play, A Pie, and A Pint series

Features Interviews Theater

Drone Warfare Hits Home: Kittson O’Neill on InterAct’s GROUNDED

Christopher Munden October 3, 2016 No Comments

Kittson O’Neill plays a fighter pilot and expectant mother living in a desert suburb in the U.S. Southwest, controlling weapons which kill people in a distant foreign desert.