2020 Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Awards — The Nominees
From the beginning of the abbreviated 2020 theater year in Philadelphia, sterling performances were seen in several shows. I noted some of them when posting nominees and recipients of … Continue reading
Soprano, Describe, Eleanor, Alice, Lear, Man of God, Rachel
THE BALD SOPRANO — Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, at Bethany Mission Gallery, 1527 Brandywine Street, Philadelphia, info@idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org, through February 16 — Tina Brock constantly sophisticates and updates her act as she … Continue reading
Romeo and Juliet — Wilma Theater
Forget the bold but unnecessary opening that has a stomping group of chanters pulsating through a mostly alphabetized litany of key words and themes from “Romeo and Juliet,” punctuating every … Continue reading
Funnyman — Arden Theatre
Laughs are Chick Sherman’s life. And lifeblood. From his infancy, his primary lessons, and primary mission, was to get yuks from audiences attending vaudeville show, the Ziegfeld Follies and Broadway … 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
Quickies on the Current — Ainsleys, Children’s Hour, Comedy of Tenors, Disgraced
To keep up with the glut, here is a listing of plays running currently in the Philadelphia region and some quick comments about them. ANTIGONE — Wilma Theater, Broad and … Continue reading
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead — Wilma Theater
Squirming, gyrating, turning slowly at odd angles, and other unnecessary, unenhancing, unedifying bursts of the-uh-tuh aside, Blanka Zizka gets to the witty core of the play that thrust Tom Stoppard … Continue reading
Hamlet — Wilma Theater
For years, I have collected “Hamlets,” going hither and yon to see any production I could find. By now, I’ve seen more than 100 renditions of Shakespeare’s story about the … Continue reading
Red Speedo — Theatre Exile
Stupidity threatens to take a severe toll on three lives as playwright Lucas Hnath demonstrates that ignorance does not lead to bliss in his funny, sidewinding tale, “Red Speedo,” given … Continue reading
Don Juan Comes Home From Iraq — Wilma Theater
In a folk song from the 1960s, Buffy Sainte Marie writes about “The Universal Soldier,” a man who transcends time, religion, nationality, ideology, and physical features to represent willing warriors … Continue reading
