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Belver (left), Coon: One man's identity quest.

'Beautiful Boy' at the Walnut

A male Alice in a Catholic Wonderland

Under the skillful direction of David Stradley, Eric Conger’s riveting tragicomedy about a young man’s search for his birth mother becomes a memorable experience.

Henrik Eger

Mar 04, 2014 Articles 4 minute read

Bill McKibben’s ‘Oil and Honey’

The Jeremiah of global climate change

In his new book, Oil and Honey, Bill McKibben, America’s foremost environmentalist, describes his own journey from prophet of disaster to political activist. It’s a crusade with the highest of stakes: our planetary future.

Robert Zaller

Mar 04, 2014 Articles 4 minute read

Cooley (left), Kearns: Fish out of water.

Nina Raine’s ‘Tribes’ by PTC (3rd review)

Struggling to be heard

An increasing number of plays portray the problems of minority groups. Tribes, about the hearing-impaired, achieves a rare universality. On the surface, it’s about deafness; at a deeper level, it’s about anyone who’s ever struggled to be heard.

Steve Cohen

Mar 04, 2014 Articles 3 minute read

Cooley (right) and Hoeffler: No easy answers.

Nina Raine’s ‘Tribes’ by PTC (2nd review)

Empathy for the deaf

With one exception, everyone involved with Nina Raine’s Tribes knows about deafness, but they don’t know deafness. That’s the big stumbling block for any work on this subject aimed at a hearing audience.

Naomi Orwin

Mar 03, 2014 Articles 4 minute read

Kate Javens, “Named for Martha Ballard.” 2005. Oil on theater muslin, 64x106". (Flying beyond limitations.)

Freedom of a moth

Does seeing become meaningless without the experience of freedom? Circularly, do I (or does anyone) have freedom to see the world — to see the sky before I’m taught to reduce my experience of it to blue or gray; to good or bad?

Treacy Ziegler

Mar 03, 2014 Articles 5 minute read

'Inside Llewyn Davis' and 'Her'

The production value of nostalgia

As period films, Inside Llewyn Davis and Her create new worlds for the camera. Through intricate production design, they evoke a particular kind of nostalgia, making viewers miss something they have never known.

Kayleigh Butera

Mar 03, 2014 Articles 3 minute read

Robert Gumpert, “Tameika Smith, 22 February, 2013.” From the series "Take a Picture; Tell a Story."

Prison Obscura at Haverford College and 'Exonerated' in Wilmington

Prison stories

The prison stories on display at Haverford College and onstage in Wilmington, Delaware are imbued with dignity and consequence.

Joanna Rotté

Mar 03, 2014 Articles 6 minute read

The year I didn't go to the Academy Awards

And the winner is . . .

I truly care that quality films are made. But who actually wins an Oscar makes absolutely no difference to my life.

Susan Beth Lehman

Mar 01, 2014 Articles 4 minute read

Audience members at Punchdrunk's “Sleep No More” (photo by Jason Goodman for “Vanity Fair”)

An immersive experience or audience abuse?

Is there such a thing as audience abuse? More and more these days, you run that risk when you go to the theater. The question is: Is it worth it? And why do we tolerate it?

Carol Rocamora

Feb 27, 2014 Articles 6 minute read

Constantin Brâncuşi, “Bird in Space (L'Oiseau dans l'espace),” 1932–40, the Guggenheim Museum.

Dolce Suono plays Jay Reise's 'Shadow of the Red Sea Swallow'

The swallow at bay

Is music the only art that can depict the last flight of an extinct bird?

Tom Purdom

Feb 27, 2014 Articles 2 minute read