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
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
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
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
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
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
Antigone — Wilma Theater
Call me Philistine. The pity of Theodoros Terzopoulos’s production of “Antigone” for Wilma Theater is so much effort, exactitude, and fine execution have gone into this handsome, ritualistic staging only … 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
The Screwtape Letters — Lantern Theater
The difference between literature, of which drama is a subset, and theater has rarely been demonstrated as clearly as in Anthony Lawton’s adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s religious satire, “The Screwtape … Continue reading
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