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
Two More from ’18 — Next to Normal and Passing Strange
NEXT TO NORMAL, Media Theatre, through February 25 — Krissy Fraelich’s riveting central performance blends with the perfection of Geoffrey Goldberg’s direction to make this production not only powerful and … Continue reading
Blood Wedding — Wilma Theater
BLOOD WEDDING — Wilma Theater, Broad and Spruce Streets, in Philadelphia, through November 19 — Dance 10, Lorca 3. If even. Re: Lorca, poor lad. Csaba Horvath’s muscular production of … Continue reading
A Midsummer Night’s Dream — Arden Theatre
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, Arden Theatre, 40 N. 2nd Street, in Philadelphia, through Sunday, April 9 — The lunatic, the lover, and the poet all seem to have in hand … Continue reading
Peter and the Starcatcher — Walnut Street Theatre
Director Bill Van Horn provides clarity and room for comic ideas to breathe that sets his production of “Peter and the Starcatcher” for a Walnut above any of the previous … Continue reading
The Hard Problem — Wilma Theater
It happened just now. I was playing my twice-a-day online trivia game. I saw the multiple choice answers. I immediately knew which one was right. I saw my 90 percent … Continue reading
Metamorphoses — Arden Theatre
For all that can be commended in Doug Hara’s production of “Metamorphoses” for Arden Theatre, and there’s plenty, the show ultimately suffers from lack of attention to its most important … 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
Great Expectations — Arden Theatre
The “story theater” approach Gale Childs Daly employs is effective in bringing Charles Dickens’s “Great Expectations” to life on the stage at Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre. Director Matthew Decker is adept … 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
NealsPaper 