SEPTA’s “doomsday” cuts would be devastating to Philly arts and culture
Arts lovers must speak up now for public transit funding
A “doomsday” budget that would slash SEPTA service by 45 percent and raise fares by more than 20 percent poses an existential threat to Philly’s cultural sector. But if we all speak up now, we can save our city. Alaina Johns looks closer.
Editorials
5 minute read
Michener Art Museum presents Judith Schaechter: Super/Natural
Embracing the impermanence of beauty
In an eerie, exquisite show at Michener Art Museum, stained-glass artist Judith Schaechter explores the darker emotions and stories that make beauty and joy possible by contrast. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
Brandywine Museum of Art presents This Earthen Door: Nature as Muse and Material
The art of Emily Dickinson’s garden
An elegant conceptual exhibition at the Brandywine Museum of Art explores conservation, the act of noticing, and the poetics of nature and art through the lens of Emily Dickinson’s garden and her historic herbarium. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
InterAct Theatre Company and Theatre in the X present Antu Yacob’s On My Deen
Spotlighting West Philly’s Muslim community onstage
For the start of its ambitious, community-centered Philly Cycle series, InterAct teams with Theatre in the X for this warm, involving exploration of love and faith for two generations of Muslim women in Philly. Maya Arthur reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
The Wilma presents Jon Fosse’s A Summer Day, translated by Sarah Cameron Sunde
A day to remember
Spare and devastating, the Wilma Theater’s A Summer Day gives eloquent expression to the complexity of grief. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
BSR writers speak up about the June 14 No Kings protests in Philly and beyond
Marchers make history, instead of repeating it.
The June 14 No Kings Day, organized to reclaim the American flag and oppose unconstitutional actions by the Trump administration in favor of democracy and the rule of law, drew millions of marchers across the country. BSR writers reflect.
Editorials
8 minute read
The African American Museum in Philadelphia presents Demond Melancon: As Any Means Are Necessary
Preserving culture, one bead at a time
New Orleans glass bead artist Demond Melancon, a modern icon of the Mardi Gras tradition of Black Masking, a confluence of West African, Afro Caribbean, and Indigenous cultures, gets his first solo museum exhibition. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, June 19-25, 2025
Celebrating the 160th anniversary of Juneteenth
Rounding up a variety of Juneteenth events in Philadelphia. Kyle V. Hiller previews.
Previews
6 minute read
Black History in the Philadelphia Landscape: Deep Roots, Continuing Legacy, by Amy Jane Cohen
A must-read for Philadelphians, and Americans
With Black History in the Philadelphia Landscape, author Amy Jane Cohen places Black history at the heart of our city while honoring Black people not as victims, but as agents and victors. Lindsay Gary reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
Pig Iron Theatre Company presents Robert Quillen Camp and Dan Rothenberg’s Franklin’s Key
Discovering shared power in Philadelphia
An ambitious new interdisciplinary stage show from Pig Iron imagines a pair of modern Philly teens who uncover a power source hidden since the days of Ben Franklin, and fight the forces of evil who want to control it. Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
Quintessence Theatre Group Presents James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, adapted by Benjamin Sprunger and Paul Oakley Stovall
The first-ever stage adaptation of a James Baldwin novel comes to Mt. Airy
With exclusive rights to the first stage adaptation ever approved by the Baldwin estate, Quintessence Theatre Group delivers a steamy, affecting treatise on the politics of queer love and desire with Giovanni’s Room. nat čermák reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
Philly’s trans and nonbinary artists push the gendered boundaries of dance
Why is the gender binary so entrenched in dance?
Both locally and nationally, dance is benefiting from increased visibility and representation of openly trans and/or nonbinary artists, but dance still clings to stereotypes of gender more than other art forms. Melissa Strong considers.
Features
5 minute read
Philadelphia Theatre Company presents Mickle Maher, Merel van Dijk, and Anthony Barilla's Small Ball
Foul ball
Small Ball, a fairy-tale musical about pint-sized basketball players, still needs a major assist. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
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Also on BSR
Go behind the scenes with Philly actor Ross Beschler of the Wilma's HotHouse Company
Exploring the Wilma's A Summer Day on the BSR Podcast
Listen in as podcast host Darnelle Radford gets an inside look at the Wilma's acclaimed acting company, and their season-closing show, A Summer Day.
Podcast
1 minute read
Journey Arts presents Table Sessions: Daniel de Jesús at Bartram’s Garden
Heartache, love, and Lorca
In a unique program at Bartram’s Garden, including an Andalusian-inspired dinner, composer/performer Daniel de Jesús honored Federico García Lorca with voice and music. Anndee Hochman reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
BSR Classical Interludes, June 2025
Serafin Summer Music, Chamber Orchestra at the garden, and The Sisters
Serafin Summer Music fills the air with a dozen performances this month, Dolce Suono returns to a 2012 performance, and Orchestra in the Garden blooms. Gail Obenreder previews.
Previews
4 minute read
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, June 12-18, 2025
Space Opera, TERRA, Table Sessions with Journey Arts, and more
Pride continues, spending three weeks in space, and dancing to reconnect with the earth. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up the week.
Previews
5 minute read
Go behind the scenes of June theater on the BSR Podcast with Square Go, Small Ball, and Glitter in the Glass
Artists of Inis Nua, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Theatre Exile sit down with Darnelle
Dive deep into three shows closing out the 2024-25 theater scene. Darnelle sits down with the artists behind Inis Nua's Square Go, PTC's Small Ball, and Theatre Exile's Glitter in the Glass.
Podcast
2 minute read
Theatre Exile presents R. Eric Thomas’s Glitter in the Glass
Siblings face off under the legacy of a Confederate monument
R. Eric Thomas’s Glitter in the Glass gets its East Coast premiere at South Philly’s Theatre Exile in a hilarious and thought-provoking production directed by Ontaria Kim Wilson. Krista Mar reviews.
Reviews
2 minute read
Inis Nua and Tiny Dynamite present Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair’s Square Go
Two popular pub-style theater series collide
In their first collaboration, Inis Nua and Tiny Dynamite unite their popular pub-themed performance styles with the Philly premiere of Square Go, a production about two Scottish teen boys facing a fight. Chhaya Nayyar reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
BSR Book Week staff recommendations: Reading as resistance
Reading is a form of protest. Join us!
In honor of our third annual BSR Book Week, the BSR team offers book recommendations on a theme: reading as an act of resistance. These books inspire us, help us focus and understand the world, and even help us stay fed and rested.
Previews
7 minute read
Kayala’s Southern Thai Kitchen: A Cookbook, by Nok Suntaranon with Natalie Jesionka
An authentic yet accessible guide for home cooks inspired by Kalaya
In Kayala’s Southern Thai Kitchen: A Cookbook, acclaimed chef Nok Suntaranon shares the flavors of her award-winning Kalaya restaurant with home cooks who want to try their hand at authentic Southern Thai cuisine. An Nichols reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
The romantasy genre subverts women’s agency when we need it the most
Is romantasy regressive?
The new romantasy genre—a mashup of romance and fantasy wildly popular with women—is actually full of regressive themes that deny women’s agency and political stakes. Chhaya Nayyar considers.
Essays
5 minute read