2021 Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Awards — The Nominees
Because of COVID, I saw only 22 plays in the Philadelphia area in 2021. Usually, I present what I call “The Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Award” — Notice the placement of … Continue reading
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
Hand to God, You For Me For You
Something I wrote in April and never published. God knows why. HAND TO GOD — Philadelphia Theatre Company at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Broad and Lombard Streets, Philadelphia, through … Continue reading
The Nether — InterAct Theatre at The Drake
In the course of writing a play about keeping confidences, the modern penchant for intervention, and related issues of trust and meddling, Edward Albee challenges his audience’s possible disdain — … Continue reading
Lights Rise on Grace — Azuka Theatre at the Adrienne
“Tough” is the operative word for the unnurtured souls in Chad Beckim’s “Lights Rise on Grace.” The three focal characters all come from the same lower class New York City … Continue reading
Shipwrecked! — Walnut Independence on 3
Greg Wood practically bounds on stage, the enthusiasm of his “Shipwrecked!” character, Louis de Rougemont, being so great, he can barely wait to tell his stories about 30 years of … Continue reading
Caught — InterAct Theatre
“Caught” is Christopher Chen’s exercise in theatrical trompe l’oeil. Nothing is what it appears to be, and that’s the point. Chen, in “Caught,” at Philadelphia’s InterAct Theatre, captures the storyteller’s … Continue reading
Water by the Spoonful — Arden Theatre
“Water by the Spoonful” is the middle play of a trilogy in which Quiara Alegría Hudes chronicles the life of Elliot Ortiz, a puertoriquen͂o with great teeth and a leg … Continue reading
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