Articles
6207 results
Page 336
Attis Theater's 'Ajax, the madness' at the Wilma (1st review)
The frenzy of war, then and now
In Ajax, the madness, Theodoros Terzopoulos strips down the Ajax legend from Homer's Iliad and the Sophocles tragedy to its barest essentials, probing the roots of violence that underlie war. For Philadelphia, it was a rare opportunity to experience first-rate experimental theater.
Articles
8 minute read
'Paperback Dreadful' at FringeArts Festival
Beyond Goosebumps: R.L. Stine gets his just desserts
What American kid of the ‘90s wasn't captivated by R.L. Stine's spine-tingling Goosebumps books, with their monstrous apparitions and sinister wishes granted? This send-up of Stine ventures a step further to focus on the real traumas of childhood.
Articles
3 minute read
A selective guide to the 2013-14 season
I'm marking these on my calendar
Here's my idiosyncratic rundown on the coming year's musical events that arouse extra anticipation in this particular reviewer. But remember: My taste may not be yours.
Articles
5 minute read
"Tonalism' at Gross McCleaf
It's all about mood
Gross McCleaf has mounted an engaging teaching exhibition about “Tonalism”— a type of landscape painting that uses atmospheric effects to achieve a mood.
Articles
2 minute read
Pig Iron's "Pay Up' at the FringeArts Festival (2nd review)
Pay Up again (for a show you've seen before)
Pig Iron's hilarious/heartbreaking exploration of how money affects us hasn't changed much since 2005. That's because, director Dan Rothenberg insists, things haven't changed much since then. I beg to disagree.
Articles
4 minute read
Jo StrÓ¸mgren Kompani's "The Society' at FringeArts
Beyond Monty Python
In barely an hour, director/choreographer Jo StrÓ¸mgren and his three gifted dancer/actors provide the most lucid, insightful— and funniest— overview of isolationism and global conflict that you're likely to find today.
Articles
3 minute read
Composer's challenge: From quartet to piano
The glory and the drudgery: A composer confronts a ‘piano reduction'
How dreary it seems to rewrite for piano what I've just written for a string quartet. But it must be done. If my song cycle is ever to have a chance for more performances, it's easier to tempt one pianist than four string players.
Articles
4 minute read
Saki's "Unrest-Cure': Lampooning Britain's upper class
The defeat of the smug and the boring
Every fan of satire knows Wilde and Wodehouse. But don't forget Saki, who introduced talking cats and child-hungry werewolves into upper-class British drawing rooms, on the theory that nothing invigorates a tea party like a ravening hyena.
Articles
6 minute read
Tennessee Williams's "Two Character Play'
A great playwright's dismaying final chapter
The Two Character Play is an agonizing glimpse into the darkness of Tennessee Williams's soul in decline. And yet I can't get the image of the playwright's smiling face out of my mind.
Articles
4 minute read
Our debt to "So You Think You Can Dance'
Where popularity trumps talent (which isn't necessarily bad)
Dance purists find “So You Think You Can Dance” superficial, commercial and degrading. Not me. In an age when dance desperately needs to expand its audience, this popular reality show shows us how to succeed— assuming we can stand success.