A new play by Bruce Graham considers the sadness that often underlies comedy and the need to adapt to changing styles and the struggles of life.
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Tag: Matt Pfeiffer
Second Acts: Top Philly playwright Bruce Graham talks FUNNYMAN and life in the theater
When you think Philadelphia theater, you think Bruce Graham. He shares his thoughts about his latest play, the state of theater in Philadelphia, and the art of writing plays.
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And the Winners Are… 2015 Barrymore Award winners
2015 Barrymore Awards recipients by award category
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THE LIGHT PRINCESS (Tony Lawton with Ugly Stepsister): 2015 Fringe review 43
This hilarious musical workshop reading of an adapted 19th-century fairytale is a treat for all ages!
View More THE LIGHT PRINCESS (Tony Lawton with Ugly Stepsister): 2015 Fringe review 43
Fringe Preview: THE LIGHT PRINCESS (Tony Lawton with Ugly Stepsister)
The creators/performers of THE LIGHT PRINCESS discuss the development of their adaptation of the 19th-century Scottish fairytale before its workshop production in the Fringe.
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HENRY V (PA Shakespeare): The king is but a man
While HENRY V contains two of Shakespeare’s most stirring speeches, smaller, less rhetorical moments are the more engrossing in Matt Pfeiffer’s staging for Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
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THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (Lantern): 60-second review
The adaptation appropriates the ludicrous plot points and outlandish characters in Arthur Conan Doyle’s opus for a fast and fun theatrical comedy.
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TO THE MOON (1812 Productions): An homage to The Great One, who was not so great after all
Whether you were a fan of The Honeymooners, or have never seen more than a clip on YouTube, this homage to The Great One reminds us of what comedy used to be like.
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THE WHALE (Theatre Exile): Intelligence and transformation moving under the surface
Not many plays have this kind of unmistakable resonance. When you encounter such a play, you know it. With works of consequence you can feel the pull of intelligence and transformation moving under the surface.
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THE SANTALAND DIARIES (Flashpoint): The return of a hilarious holiday tradition
Flashpoint Theatre Company brings back its signature show for the holidays, David Sedaris’s THE SANTALAND DIARIES, for a ten-performance pre-Christmas run.
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THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival): Fickle Love and an Irresistible Canine
Contrasting the giddy inconstancy of youthful passion with the unconditional love for and the stolid fidelity of a pet dog, THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA—one of the Bard’s earliest works—is a delightful rom-com/bromance (descended from the medieval genre of male friendship literature) that offers the perfect entertainment for a summer audience. And the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival’s production, as directed by the ever-masterful Matt Pfeiffer, strikes the perfect balance between the comedy’s irrepressible fun and playfulness and its more serious message about regret, repentance, forgiveness, and camaraderie.
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THE 39 STEPS (Theatre Horizon): Thriller? I hardly know her!
Plot-wise, 39 STEPS stays quite true to the original film (often down to the dialogue), with a few other Hitchcock references thrown in for good measure. The difference? This play is the height of camp.
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DOWN PAST PASSYUNK (InterAct): Theater ‘wit’ a taste of South Philly
I once heard then-governor Ed Rendell give some cheesesteak advice: for the real deal don’t go to one of the big name line-around-the-block places, go to a food truck or your local deli and get one made-to-order. I was thinking about this truism and our prevailing infatuation with authenticity as I watched A. Zell Williams’s world premiere production of DOWN PAST PASSYUNK at InterAct Theatre.
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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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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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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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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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Phindie Podcast 02: Brian McCann
For the second of Phindie’s Philadelphia Independent Theater podcasts, hosts Christopher Munden and John Rosenberg talk to talented and versatile local actor Brian McCann. We…
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Best of Philadelphia Theater, 2010-2011
The Barrymore Awards ceremony is tonight, and I’m not there, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have my own opinions about the best actors and…
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Brat Productions’ CRAIC Fringes the Irish Theatre Fest
There are some 400 million native English-language speakers in the world and about 6 million of them live on the island of Ireland, but the…
View More Brat Productions’ CRAIC Fringes the Irish Theatre Fest