The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, May 1-8, 2024
An Army of Lovers, Machine de Cirque, and Dual Heritage Month
A new exhibit opens at Fuller Rosen Gallery, a new play from R. Eric Thomas, revisiting (re)FOCUS, and celebrating Jewish American and Pacific American heritage at the Weitzman. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up.
Previews
2 minute read
BSR Classical Interludes, May 1-15, 2024
Singing in the spring
Three operas, an operetta, and new vocal work decorate the first half of a very vocal May. Gail Obenreder previews.
Previews
4 minute read
Opera Philadelphia presents Puccini’s Madame Butterfly
A radiant metamorphosis
Opera is grappling with the iconic creations of
Giacomo Puccini: can we reverse harmful depictions of marginalized people while
honoring the work’s integrity? Opera Philadelphia finds a way with its new
Madame Butterfly. Linda Holt reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
BalletX presents its 2024 Spring Festival
Great ballet meets live music at the Mann
BalletX’s spring 2024 performance combined otherworldliness with riveting historical narrative, all alongside captivating live music at the Mann. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
The BSR May 2024 repertory movie roundup
Fosse, Fosse, Fosse!
Celebrating Bob Fosse, Grey Gardens, and more looks back to the ‘70s. Stephen Silver rounds up area film screenings.
Previews
4 minute read
Koresh Dance Company presents Hollow Apple
Expansive themes in dance
The world premiere of Koresh’s Hollow Apple tackles a timely subject in its 2024 Spring Home Season performance. Melissa Strong reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Curio Theatre Company presents Hannah Moscovitch’s Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story
Our ancestors were immigrants, too
This thrilling music/theater hybrid is inspired by the true story of
two Jewish Romanian refugees, broken by the inhumanities of war, who find love
after arriving on the shores of Canada in 1908. SaraKay Smullens reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Arden Children's Theatre presents Greg Banks’s Pinocchio
The kids are part of the magic
A new production of Pinocchio from Arden Children’s Theatre turns kids into active participants, capturing imaginations and pulling back the curtain on the magic of theater. Natalie Layne reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Six tips for news and social media sanity in the 2024 election cycle (you won’t believe #6)
The news is stressful. Here’s how to stay engaged while keeping your cool.
Our democracy, our climate, our rights, our health, our wars and protests—it’s hard to look at any news at all without feeling like the world is ending. Spend seven minutes with Alaina Johns now and get six tips to help you navigate today’s media.
Editorials
7 minute read
Big Telly and Tiny Dynamite present The Worst Café in the World
An undercooked dramatic menu
Big Telly and Tiny Dynamite present The Worst Cafe in the World, a conceit that offers theater as dinner but never amounts to a complete meal. Kiran Pandey reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Inviting improvisation for everyone, every week at the Rotunda
Medicinal, positive anarchy
Every Wednesday, Philadelphia residents convene at the Rotunda for two hours of musical improvisation, free and open to all, with no leader, no instructions, and no repeating. Thomas Hagen previews.
Previews
3 minute read
Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers presents Breath into Air
Life, breath, and cherry blossoms
Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers shines in the world premiere of Breath into Air alongside Mandala Project and works by Weiwei Ma and Evalina Carbonell. Melissa Strong reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
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Also on BSR
Contemporary West Dance Theater presents Fall in Love Tour
Company founder Bernard Gaddis brings love home to Philly
The new performance by "Phillyboy" Bernard H. Gaddis comes to the Fringe Bar. Camille Bacon-Smith previews.
Previews
3 minute read
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, April 25-May 1, 2024
Hollow Apple, The Naked Show, West Chester Film Fest, BalletX, and more
Festivals from PAFA, BalletX, and East Passyunk, and a variety of performances from Hedgerow Theater, Curio, and Koresh Dance Company highlight the final weekend of April. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up.
Previews
4 minute read
1812 Productions and Delaware Theatre Company present Bruce Graham’s The Flatlanders
Grounded in the Poconos
This world-premiere production of Bruce Graham’s The Flatlanders debuted at 1812 earlier this year, and now the show continues at Delaware Theatre Company. But this script still can’t get off the ground. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, April 18-24, 2024
Sketching Splendor, WANDERING, printPHILLY, and World Circus Day
A week full of curiosity, courtesy of American Philosophical Society, Studio 34, Philly School of Circus Arts, and more. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up.
Previews
3 minute read
BSR Classical Interludes, April 19-May 3, 2024
Music for the Earth, Madame Butterfly, and a heavenly harp
More music for April and early May, including performances by Delaware Symphony, Opera Philadelphia, Mendelssohn Chorus, and more. Gail Obenreder previews.
Previews
4 minute read
Quintessence director Alex Burns addresses community concerns about his “all-male” Shakespeare productions
“When does the community get to abort someone else’s creative impulse?”
When Quintessence artistic director Alex Burns announced plans for his latest all-male Shakespeare production, he struck a nerve with the local theater community. He talks with Alaina Johns in defense of his vision.
Editorials
9 minute read
Resident Ensemble Players presents Ira Levin’s Deathtrap
Well-deserved screams for the stage
Both movie and live theater audiences love thrillers, so why are frightening plays relatively rare? The University of Delaware’s Resident Ensemble Players delivers with a scary new production of Ira Levin’s Deathtrap. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
The Museum for Art in Wood presents To Understand a Tree
Our arboreal family
A new exhibition by woodworker and interdisciplinary artist Gina Siepel at the Museum for Art in Wood asks what happens when we regard trees as “you” rather than “it.” Anndee Hochman reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
Delaware Art Museum presents In Focus
Where women photographers wield intimate power
In a small gallery away from its usual bustle, Delaware Art Museum presents In Focus, a gathering of powerful works by women photographers featured from the museum collection. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
PHILADANCO! presents Roots and Reflections
A vivid history of late 20th-century Black choreography
With its spring program, Roots and Reflections, PHILADANCO! drew on popular works from past decades to prove that the vivid history of Black choreography still speaks to us today. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read