The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, January 16-22, 2025
Celebrating MLK Day and more this week
Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr with events around the city, and plenty of shows, performances, and exhibits to choose from this week. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up.
Previews
6 minute read
Ten questions for everyone at this week’s Sixers arena press conference
BSR has questions for City Council, our reigning billionaires, and YOU
After more than two years of painful controversy over a proposed arena on the edge of Philly’s Chinatown and a massive legislative package, the Philadelphia 76ers joined hands with Comcast and walked away. We have questions.
Alaina Johnsand Kyle V. Hiller
Editorials
3 minute read
Ensemble Arts Philly and the Shubert Organization present MJ the Musical
A Dangerous look back
MJ the Musical, celebrating Michael Jackson’s music in a story about preparations for his Dangerous World Tour in the early 1990s, opts for a polished, estate-approved narrative that leaves Jackson’s life unexplored. Josh Herren reviews.
Reviews
2 minute read
The African American Museum in Philadelphia presents Shaheed Rucker: (re)Covering the Iconic
Reimaging Jet magazine covers with Black Philly-area icons
AAMP continues to lead the Philly area in showcasing Black art with Shaheed Rucker: (re)Covering the Iconic, featuring notable portraits in the striking style of vintage mid-century media. An Nichols reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
Morton Contemporary presents We Are All Doing Time
Illustrating America’s mass incarceration crisis
Morton Contemporary’s new exhibition provides a glimpse into the criminal justice system through the art of six local artists who have experienced it. Kimberly Haas previews.
Previews
4 minute read
The analog revolution is happening at Passyunk Avenue’s Philly Typewriter
Why is Philly the world’s best city for a typewriter company?
Bryan Kravitz and Bill Rhoda never thought their South Philly typewriter shop would thrive in the 21st century, but it did, especially after the pandemic pause brought a surge of new customers hungry for tactile technologies. Erin Dohony visits.
Features
6 minute read
Variant 6 presents RE/IMAGINE
A rare of night secular music for voice and organ
Philly vocal ensemble Variant 6 explored the classic combination of voice and organ, though with a rare focus on secular music, including a world premiere by Benjamin C.S. Boyle, who was in attendance. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
Councilmember Rue Landau and Creative Philadelphia present Transcending Uncertainty: Art Endures at Home in Philadelphia
Honoring the UArts community with a new exhibition at City Hall
City Councilmember Rue Landau and Creative Philadelphia teamed up to honor the UArts community with a special exhibition, free to view at City Hall through January 25, 2025. An Nichols visits.
Reviews
8 minute read
The Fabric Workshop and Museum presents Soft/Cover
Celebrating 50 years of FWM artists-in-residence
The Fabric Workshop and Museum marks 50 years of its artists-in-residence program with this survey of intriguing multi-media works from the 1970s to the present. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
The Museum for Art in Wood presents La Famiglia
Family trees
With this exhibition at the Museum for Art in Wood, turned-wood figures by artist Mark Sfirri explore likeness and difference, ancestry and environment, asking how family takes root. Anndee Hochman reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia, by Peter Schmitz
Exploring the rich past, present, and future of Philly theater
Peter Schmitz is a leading expert on the history of our theater scene, and his new book, Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia, takes us from the US premiere of Hamlet to the TLA and beyond. Cameron Kelsall takes the tour.
Features
4 minute read
The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History presents Humans of Judaism
The popular online platform honoring the diversity of modern Jewish life comes to museum walls
The Weitzman on Independence Mall honors the diversity of the modern Jewish experience with a new exhibition based on the popular social-media platform Humans of Judaism. Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
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Also on BSR
BSR Classical Interludes, January 2025
Concerts to start off the year
Music from East Passyunk Opera Project, Ama Deus Chamber Orchestra, Symphony in C, and more to open the new year in the Philly area. Gail Obenreder previews.
Previews
3 minute read
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, January 9-15, 2025
Apple Picking with Eve, Love Notes 4 Philly, and Chevalier
Bringing in the new year with more laughs from Lady Laughs, a collage workshop at the PMA, multimedia film screenings, and more. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up.
Previews
3 minute read
The BSR January 2025 repertory film roundup
Dinner in America, Glen or Glenda, and more
Kicking off the new year with punk rockers, Glen or Glenda, and a classic documentary about war criminals in costume. Stephen Silver rounds up.
Previews
4 minute read
Looking for that next great book to read? Here are the editor's 2024 favorites.
Build your reading list with help from BSR.
Alaina Johns is not going to rate her favorite 2024 reads, but she will offer you some micro-reviews, so you can figure out if you’d like to read them, too! Everyone is different, and books are individuals, too.
Editorials
13 minute read
The 2024 BSR Year-End Recommend: books, films, TV, music, and more
Build your 2025 lists with personal tips from the BSR team
The BSR Year-End Recommend is back for 2024! Our team shares their favorite movies, books, TV shows, podcasts, newsletters, music, and more.
Features
8 minute read
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, December 19-31, 2024
Winter solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and more
The final roundup of the year is here, with events to close out the rest of December. Kyle V. Hiller previews.
Previews
3 minute read
The Philadelphia Orchestra presents The Muppet Christmas Carol
A frog, a pig, and Constantine Kitsopoulos
The Philadelphia Orchestra scores the 1992 film live this week, and it has us wondering: what Muppet do you relate to the most? Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer previews.
Previews
3 minute read
Building Ghosts: Past Lives and Lost Places in a Changing City, by Molly Lester and Michael Bixler
Revealing Philadelphia’s almost-invisible past
Building Ghosts, an absorbing new book from Temple University Press, grasps a history that we barely know with essays and photos capturing the remnants of Philly’s lost and demolished buildings. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
The Big Story: The Oral History of Philadelphia TV News, by David Grzybowski
A new book takes you inside the TV coverage of Philly’s biggest stories
From Papal visits to sports championships to a blizzard that never was, a new book takes us inside 50 juicy, surprising years of Philly TV news in the words of Jim Gardner, Larry Kane, and lots more. Stephen Silver reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
Final Cut, by Charles Burns
A Philadelphia graphic novelist at the top of his game
Charles Burns, the cult-favorite Philly-based cartoonist behind Black Hole, is back with the graphic novel Final Cut, a new work the artist seems born to create. Kiran Pandey reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read