International Pop at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Boys and their toys

The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s International Pop exhibit is a far-reaching look into the world of Pop Art, but it lacks a feminine side.

Naomi Orwin

Mar 07, 2016 · Articles · 3 minute read

Kim Davies’s ‘Smoke’ at Theatre Exile (third comment)

Love and pain and reality

Kim Davies’s Smoke has discomfited many people with its unflinching portrayal of sadomasochism. But as a family therapist, I found this portrayal both accurate and valuable.

SaraKay Smullens

Mar 07, 2016 · Articles · 4 minute read

Andrew Haigh's '45 Years'

45 years of marriage and a postscript of unanswered questions

45 Years is like a Rorschach inkblot onto which we can project many layers of meaning. We know that Geoff and Kate are stunned and puzzled, but much of what is going on inside each of them is left to our imagination.

Victor L. Schermer

Mar 05, 2016 · Articles · 5 minute read

'A Better Goodbye' by John Schulian

Living and dying in L.A.

A Better Goodbye might be typified as “nouveau noir,” a seething portrait of the dirty underbelly of that black magical dreamscape known as Los Angeles.

Bob Ingram

Mar 05, 2016 · Articles · 3 minute read

Lonergan's 'Lobby Hero' at Theatre Horizon

Satisfying ethical conundrums

Kenneth Lonergan's taut drama avoids law enforcement stereotypes in favor of complex characters and challenging issues.

Mark Cofta

Mar 05, 2016 · Articles · 2 minute read

Kim Davies's ‘Smoke’ at Theatre Exile (second review)

When are warnings warranted?

We go to the theater to be challenged. Should we be warned when the subject matter may be difficult or remind us of unpleasant experiences?

Naomi Orwin

Mar 05, 2016 · Articles · 5 minute read

Goidel's 'Local Girls' at Azuka

High school in all its terrible glory

Azuka's Local Girls takes us back to the agony and ecstasy of high school through an unlikely friendship.

Mark Coftaand Illustration by Mike Jackson

Mar 04, 2016 · Articles · 2 minute read

'A Wonderful Noise' by Hollinger and Lehmkuhl

Barbershop nostalgia

December 7, 1941, the “date that will live in infamy,” also was the day of the national competition of barbershop quartets. That’s the premise of the new musical comedy by Michael Hollinger and Vance Lehmkuhl in which women try to penetrate an all-male organization.

Steve Cohen

Mar 04, 2016 · Articles · 2 minute read

'Prodigal Son' and 'The Humans' in New York

Growing up and growing older

Two new plays of uncommon power — Prodigal Son and The Humans — will, I hope, make it from Broadway to Broad Street

Carol Rocamora

Mar 04, 2016 · Articles · 4 minute read

Inarritu's 'The Revenant'

We are all savages

The Revenant is an example of a microgenre, the Ghost Western, a film in which a tormented white, male protagonist must avenge himself so his ghost can rest.

Paula Berman

Mar 01, 2016 · Articles · 5 minute read