Bill Murphy

Contributor

BSR Contributor Since March 17, 2009

Bill Murphy is a news and entertainment journalist who lives in Havertown, Pa.
Bill Murphy is an arts and entertainment journalist. He was previously entertainment editor of the Main Line Times and editor of its arts supplement, Main Line Ticket. He lives in Havertown, Pa.

By this Author

36 results
Page 1
Irresistibly evil: Pryor as Richard III. (Photo by Paola Nogueras)

'Richard III' at People's Light

Disorder in the court
Any production of Richard III stands or falls on its leading actor, and Pete Pryor is splendid in the role. He's at turns frightening and repulsive, and he taps into the currents of extremely dark humor that underlie the character.

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read
A woman and a man in lavish Regency costumes are coming close to kissing.

'Sense and Sensibility' at People's Light

A rocky road to marriage
People's Light stages the regional premiere of a fine adaptation of Jane Austen's beloved novel.

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read
Charming, defensive, and ruthless: Michael Genet as Joe Keller. (Photo by Mark Garvin)

Arthur Miller's 'All My Sons' at People's Light

Fissures in the family
People's Light stages a solid, traditional production of All My Sons in which race is largely beside the point and the characters just happen to be black.

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read
Unraveling tangled emotions: Saunders, Teti, and Greer. (Photo: Mark Garvin)

Bruce Graham's 'Stella and Lou' at People's Light

Lonely hearts in South Philly
Stella and Lou is good, not-too-heavy summer fare, a play with humor that also offers food for thought and characters who stay with you after the lights have come up.

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read
A recognizably ordinary family: Novelli and Wood. (Photo by Mark Garvin)

'How to Write a New Book for the Bible' at People's Light

Family ties
How to Write a New Book for the Bible is a fine piece of personal theater and one of the most unusual new works to grace our stages in some time.

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read
An odd quartet: Mulhearn, Lambert, Geiger, and O’Brien. (Photo by Mark Garvin)

'Biloxi Blues' at People's Light

Humor rooted in pain
Military comedy gets the Neil Simon treatment.

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read
Clinging to the past: Mary McDonnell and David Strathairn. (Photo: Mark Garvin)

'The Cherry Orchard' at People's Light

The times they are a-changin'
Oscar-nominated actors Mary McDonnell and David Strathairn join the People's Light & Theatre Company ensemble in a fine production of Chekhov's Cherry Orchard.

Bill Murphy

Articles 3 minute read
There’s nothing like a dame: Mark Lazar as the Dame of the Lake. (Photos by Mark Garvin)

'King Arthur': People's Light's annual panto

Kidding a legend
In its annual panto, People's Light takes the Arthurian legend and slapsticks it up for kids, with corny jokes, wildly mugging actors, a large man dressed as a woman, songs, puppets, and lots and lots of audience participation.

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read
Stop with the sexist BS! Lamm, Bergen, and Zielinski play multifaceted characters. (Photo by Mark Garvin)

'Row After Row' at People's Light

Past and present collide in 'Row After Row'
Jessica Dickey's Row After Row, currently playing on People's Light & Theatre Company's Steinbright Stage, probes the lives of Civil War reenactors. Do they need to get a life, or is borrowing someone else's good enough?

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read
Brian Anthony Wilson, Melanye Finister, and Michael Genet in "Fences." (Photo: Mark Garvin)

August Wilson's 'Fences' at People's Light

Reviving a modern American classic
People's Light & Theatre Company opens its season with a superb revival of August Wilson's Fences, which explores African-American life in the 1950s.

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read
Making a list and checking it twice: David Ingram and Kevin Bergen. (Photo by Mark Garvin)

People’s Light presents ‘Bach at Leipzig’

Musical mayhem
Treacherously competitive baroque musicians battle it out in Itamar Moses’s farce Bach at Leipzig, which closes People’s Light and Theatre Company's season.

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read

'Woody Sez' at People's Light

This music is your music
Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie, currently playing at People’s Light & Theatre Company, is a tribute to the legacy of one of America’s folk music icons.

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read
Approaching and retreating: Julianna Zinkel, Clare Mahoney, Jessica Bedford, and Becky Baumwoll (left to right) in “Pride and Prejudice” at People’s Light. Photo by Mark Garvin.

‘Pride and Prejudice’ at People’s Light

The delicate dance of courtship
Dance plays a large part in the dramatization of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice currently playing at People’s Light & Theatre Company.

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read
Braden: One singer’s pain.

‘The Devil’s Music’ at People’s Light

The night before Bessie Smith died
Miche Braden offers a dazzling performance as Bessie Smith, the singer known as “the Empress of the Blues.”

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read
Pryor (left), McNulty: Must a plain girl settle?

‘The Rainmaker’ at People’s Light

Between pessimism and delusion in the Great American heartland
The Rainmaker, a compelling character study set on an Iowa farm during the Great Depression, lacks the psychological depth of Cather’s work, but it’s undeniably charming.

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read