The Chinese Lady — InterAct Theatre Company
The exotic remains a novelty until habit, constancy, and/or assimilation make it more familiar. Think how many foods, from spaghetti to fajitas, from borscht to pho were considered new … Continue reading
Hamilton — National Tour, Academy of Music on the Kimmel Cultural Campus
Sweep on several levels accounts for the achievement and excitement of “Hamilton.” It’s no wonder it’s earned both critical acclaim and popular support since the Lin-Manuel Miranda burst of … Continue reading
Minor Character — Wilma Theater
Usually, I am not a fan of deconstructions. Rather than illuminate, as their creators and directors might claim, they tend to chaotically jumble what was once coherent and devolve into … Continue reading
2020 Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Awards — The Recipients
Difficult! Difficult! Difficult! The shortened theater year — Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Awards are annual based on the calendar year because that’s the way they began when conceived by an … Continue reading
2020 Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Awards — Qualifiers
It’s May 23, 2021. Last week, on May 20, for the first time since March 13, 2020, I, who have seen more than 100 plays a year every year … Continue reading
Fool For Love — EgoPo; Words for Snow — Inis Nua; Outside Mullingar — Delaware Theatre Company
FOOL FOR LOVE — EgoPo Classic Theater at Latvian Society, 7th and Spring Garden Streets, Philadelphia, 267-273-1414, http://www.egopo.org -through Sunday, February 23- EgoPo’s production of “Fool For Love” holds out … Continue reading
My General Tubman — Arden Theatre; A Woman of No Importance — Walnut Street Theatre
MY GENERAL TUBMAN — Arden Theatre, 40 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, 215-922-1122, http://www.ardentheatre.org, through March 1 — “My General Tubman,” is ambitious in its attempt to tie 19th century slavery … Continue reading
2019 Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Awards — The Recipients
In the past week, performances by Marcia Saunders (“The Children”), Janis Dardaris (“The Children”), Dana Delany (“Goodnight Nobody”), Ellen McLaughlin (“Midwives”), and Alicia Roper (“A Woman of No Importance”) were … Continue reading
2019 Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Awards — The Qualifiers
In 2019, I saw and ranked 138 theater productions in the Philadelphia area, which I define as being from New Brunswick, N.J. to Wilmington, Delaware., These shows range from national … Continue reading
O19: A Genuine Festival and an Operatic Feast
Producing one opera is a chore. Even when, in an unusual course of events, scenery and costumes are minimal, there’s a score, orchestrations, a libretto, the staging, and the delicate … Continue reading
NealsPaper 