2018 Philadelphia Theater Critic’s Awards — The Recipients
Excellence, bred from assurance, has become a constant in Philadelphia theater. Gone, in particular, is the self-consciousness that plagued the early years when Philadelphia morphed from a touring town to … Continue reading
Theater Blitz — An Attack of Catch-Up Comments
As I mentioned in my last post, I needed a break from the keyboard. Apologies that shows that went uncovered, especially those that are about to receive belated favorable reviews, … Continue reading
Breezing Impressions — Catching Up with a Vengeance
Frankly, my dears, I needed a break. My life is spent at a keyboard, and while I have enjoyed writing and adding my deux centimes since childhood, I had a … Continue reading
Pericles — Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
Fashionable though it has become to gush over experimentation and bask in “process,” my firm and decided preference is for the polished and finished. I don’t mind seeing a play … Continue reading
Henry V — Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
The more personal and intimate Matt Pfeiffer’s production of “Henry V” for Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival is, the better it is. Among Shakespeare’s history plays, “Henry V” always seems most to … Continue reading
The Foreigner — Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
Jim Helsinger is a generous director, and actor Jacob Dresch is a worthy recipient of his liberality and trust. Dresch proves this during a seemingly improvisational segment of Larry Shue’s … Continue reading
Around the World in 80 Days — Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
While at times muddying the action that is supposed to taking place or allowing zaniness to go a tad unbridled, director Russell Treyz grants enough quarter to cogent, cohesive storytelling … Continue reading
Les Misérables — Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
Regional theater productions of the perennial Broadway staple, “Les Misérables,” have confirmed how durable Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, and Herbert Kretzmer’s musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 19th century epic is. … Continue reading
Women of Will — Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
Book my trip to Lenox, Massachusetts. After seeing, and hearing, the magic Tina Packer can conjure using primarily language, movement, and attitude, I want to see anything theatrical in which … Continue reading
Macbeth — Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
Patrick Mulcahy’s production of “Macbeth” for Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival takes a sharp turn for the better when Ian Bedford, as Shakespeare’s title character, launches into the soliloquy in which Macbeth … Continue reading
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