Articles

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Keeping the faith: Hirano as Hirabayashi. (photo by Daniel Kontz)

Jeanne Sakata’s ‘Hold These Truths’

Do Americans really believe in self-evident truths?

Hold These Truths, about the U.S. government’s internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, may make you think that things haven’t changed much in America.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Articles 5 minute read
Mahler: not just out to make a lot of noise.

Chamber arrangements of full symphonies

The fine art of downsizing

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presented a pair of small-scale transcriptions that produced a large-scale impact.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 4 minute read

Michael Whistler's 'Mickle Street'

When Oscar Wilde came to Camden

What is our fascination with Oscar Wilde? In 1882, he stopped in Philadelphia to give a talk on aestheticism, and it seems he never left. Now he has taken the town by storm once again, appearing in the opera, the theater, and the library.
Naomi Orwin

Naomi Orwin

Articles 4 minute read
Never friends: Pinkins and Wiest (Photo credit: Monique Carboni)

'Rasheeda Speaking' at the New Group

“You need to be careful”

Actress Cynthia Nixon makes her directorial debut with impressive skill and control. The threat of violence hangs on the air from the moment the play begins, and Nixon keeps her foot on the pedal as the conflict escalates to a shocking, unbearably painful final scene.

Carol Rocamora

Articles 4 minute read
Peter Serkin plays pieces so demanding only he dares take them on.

Peter Serkin and the Orion Quartet

On the edge of musical revolt

The Orion players considered the Haydn masterworks worthy of the same attention as the Reger and Schoenberg. Their playing effectively countered the tendency to hear Haydn as a lightweight compared to those who followed him.
Victor L. Schermer

Victor L. Schermer

Articles 5 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
Yeah, yeah, that was great. (© European Union 2013 - European Parliament)

Reforming applause

The stuffiness of the modern classical concert must end, but the music must also be heard. Our best model would be rock performances in dive bars.

Michael Lawrence

Articles 4 minute read
Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything."

The case against Oscar-bait biographies

Bio(nit)pic

My beef with biopics goes way back to when I was 11 and Gandhi beat E.T. for Best Picture.

Paula Berman

Articles 6 minute read
Will history repeat?

Top ten reasons you should watch the Oscars Sunday night

In honor of David Letterman — the Worst Oscar Host Ever — Armen Pandola presents a Top Ten list of reasons to watch the Oscars.
Armen Pandola

Armen Pandola

Articles 5 minute read
Dueting princes: Ben Michael and Alex Bechtel. (photo courtesy of Theatre Horizon)

'Into the Woods' at Theatre Horizon

A gathering around a campfire

Into the Woods is Stephen Sondheim’s most complicated musical — so intricate that major theater companies have trouble fitting the parts together. So it’s amazing to see the small Theatre Horizon pull it off successfully with an innovative approach that’s more imaginative than any I've seen.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 2 minute read