The best source for independent coverage of Philadelphia theater.
NICE AND FRESH October (SmokeyScout): New art pops up
by Kathryn Osenlund - October 6, 2013 - Dance, Reviews, Theater
Fresh from the inaugural weekend of NICE AND FRESH, I'm heartened to report that SmokeyScout Productions (founded by Josh McIlvain and Deborah Crocker in 2008) now offers something new and…
12 ANGRY MEN (Gokash): A revealing look at social justice
by Philly "Art" Blog - October 4, 2013 - Reviews, Theater
According to Wikipedia, 12 ANGRY MEN was originally a television play broadcast in 1954, eventually making its way to the (actual) stage and then to the silver screen. I've gotta observe—this seems…
THE MUSIC YOU REMEMBER (White Pines): An Introspective Journey through Love, Loss, and '60s Nostalgia
When burned-out middle-aged Professor Paul Diollio (Jerry Perna) learns via cell phone messages that he has been denied tenure, his car has been repossessed, and his girlfriend can't take anymore…
PARADE (Arden): A Musical Tragedy of Bigotry and Injustice
Set in Georgia between 1913 and 1915, PARADE examines the true story of Leo Frank, a transplanted Brooklyn-bred Jew accused of killing a thirteen-year-old girl in the Atlanta pencil factory…
EMMA (Lantern): Meddlesome Matchmaking and Regency Amusements
by Debra Miller - September 29, 2013 - Reviews, Theater
The Lantern opens its twentieth anniversary season with the Philadelphia premiere of Jane Austen's class-conscious romantic comedy of manners, in which a young idle-rich heroine's matchmaking and meddling go awry…
NICE AND FRESH theater in Mount Airy
by Christopher Munden - September 29, 2013 - Dance, Features, Previews, Theater
What a pleasant corner of Philadelphia is Mount Airy. A suburban urban neighborhood: trees and grass yards but also sidewalks and train lines; driveways and quiet but also co-ops and…
EMMA (Lantern): Philly falls for Austenmania
by Michael Fisher - September 27, 2013 - Reviews, Theater
Over the past few years, there's been a surprising and unlikely spark of interest in Jane Austen. Austen's novels—Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion, et al—have been required reading for over…
The Best of the 2013 Philly Fringe Festival
by Christopher Munden - September 25, 2013 - Features, Fringe Festival, Theater
Phindie's recent Critics' Awards proved very popular. These awards used input from theater reviewers across town to compile a list of the best performers of the 2012/13 season. We considered…
THE RAINMAKER (People's Light): The Promise of Hope in Times of Hardship
People's Light & Theatre Company has enjoyed success with its past offerings of masterworks about life in America in the first half of the 20th century (John Steinbeck's Of Mice…
[78] STUDY HALL (Philly Improv Theater): Fringe review
by JB Farley - September 24, 2013 - Fringe Festival, Fringe reviews, Reviews, Theater
The conceit of Philly Improv Theater's STUDY HALL is that we the audience are a bunch of prep school students, awaiting a lecture in an auditorium. A few uniformed "classmates"…
[77] BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL (Life Theater Company): Fringe review
Weekly World News is known for a lot of things, but heartfelt sentiment isn't one of them. Surprising, then, that the tabloid birthed BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL, an honest-to-goodness tearjerker…
[76] BASTARD PIECE (No Face Performance Group): Fringe review
by Julius Ferraro - September 24, 2013 - Fringe Festival, Fringe reviews, Reviews, Theater
You are in a spacey kind of facility thing. It's all white in there, with some technological lookin' kinda lights. There are three doors; soon, there are three actors, too….
[75] REGGIE'S BRODIE: A VAUDEVILLE EXTRAVAGANZA (Cut House Productions): Fringe review
Is your only experience with burlesque the 2010 Christina Aguilera / Cher movie? Never fear: the good people of Cut House Productions are here to help, with a show so…
Victor Fiorillo, A Doll's House, and the role of the reviewer
by Julius Ferraro - September 23, 2013 - Features, Fringe Festival, Theater
A review by Victor Fiorillo of EgoPo Classic Theatre's A Doll's House got Phindie writer Julius Ferraro contemplating the role of reviewer. This is part of Phindie's ongoing series on theater criticism….
[72] XY SCHEHERAZADE (Unstuck Theater): Fringe review
XY SCHEHERAZADE works very hard to conjure the moment when "a story that you're telling a friend becomes, for a minute, a shared perspective." But it deploys about every tool…
[71] STRIPPED OF COMMON SENSE (Joint Bender Productions): Fringe review
by Christopher Munden - September 22, 2013 - Fringe Festival, Fringe reviews, Reviews, Theater
"Back to the grind. Literally." So begins a shift for five young women, dancing for a living. Set in the dressing room of a strip club, STRIPPED OF COMMON SENSE…
[70] ONE YEAR (MamaCITA Five): Fringe review
Anyone stumbling into ONE YEAR by accident, like I did, will realize immediately that they had broken in on something transcendent. In front of a backdrop of white curtains, seven women…
[69] BASEMENT (Gunnar Montana): Fringe Review
by L. Haber - September 22, 2013 - Fringe Festival, Fringe reviews, Reviews, Theater
This is the only place where baby doll dismembering, Santa Claus chopping, guts wearing, head smashing, dub-step listening, and wrapping a woman in plastic are okay. Crawling into the BASEMENT…
[68] EMANCIPATION SWEET, A PLAY WITH MUSIC (Theatre for Transformation): Fringe review
Theatre for Transformation is a Lancaster-based company focused on performing African-American stories for diverse audiences. This active group has toured their original works to over 100 schools, college, faith groups,…
[67] LUCINDA'S BED (Brainspunk Theater): Fringe review
Mia McCullough's LUCINDA's BED has a great premise: a monster hiding under a young girl's bed continues to haunt her into adulthood. The monster (Brendan Whelan) may take the form…
WAITING FOR GODOT (Curio): Highlighting the hilarity of Beckett's classic
Curio's designers have created a bubble of no time, no place, in which anything or nothing can happen. more…