Norma Minkowitz at Snyderman-Works Gallery

Magical mystery tour

Norma Minkowitz's work is intriguing and complex yet also deceptively simple.

Apr 27, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

"South Pacific' revival in Wilmington

Still younger than springtime

South Pacific's mix of wartime action, drama, comedy and song still works. The current Delaware production is quite moving. But who today would think of a sexy 44-year-old man as "old"?

Steve Cohen

Apr 27, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

Opera Philadelphia's "Magic Flute' (2nd review)

What should you expect from a dying composer?

If Mozart hadn't died two months after its 1791 premiere, his inconsistent and interminable Magic Flute might well have been remembered as a sideshow on the composer's path to greater achievements.

Steve Cohen

Apr 27, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

Denise Scott Brown, ignored for a Pritzker

A woman's place

As architects, Robert Venturi and his wife/partner Denise Scott Brown did everything together. But he alone received the esteemed Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 1991. That's a reflection on the profession's sexism and the Pritzker's archaic notions about how architects work.

Patrick D. Hazard

Apr 27, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

Lantern's Henry V (2nd review)

None dare call it castor oil

How do you render Shakespeare's histories appealing to folks who attend only because they think it's good for them? Charles McMahon of the Lantern Theater seems to have cornered the formula.

Alaina Johns

Apr 23, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

Oscar Wilde's "Salome' at Villanova (2nd review)

Does Salome still work?

Does Oscar Wilde's Salome still hold up as a drama, without Strauss's thunderous score? I went into the play not expecting much, frankly, and came away pleasantly surprised.

Andrew Mangravite

Apr 23, 2013 · Articles · 2 minute read

Piffaro showcases Laughing Bird

The faces (and voices) are familiar

Piffaro gave a younger early music group a helping hand and hosted a Saturday night musical party.

Tom Purdom

Apr 23, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

Opera Philadelphia's "Magic Flute' (1st review)

Mozart's last hurrah (and a few kind words for the Masons)

Mozart's The Magic Flute is a triumph of comic genius over turgid plot and Masonic mumbo-jumbo. Opera Philadelphia's highly entertaining production, first staged by the Canadian Opera Company, brings it off nicely.

Robert Zaller

Apr 23, 2013 · Articles · 6 minute read

Ira Glass's "One Radio Host, Two Dancers'

Pay no attention to that man in front of the curtain

Can a popular Public Radio host connect the dots between radio journalism and dance? More to the point: Why should he?

Ilene Raymond Rush

Apr 23, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

Oscar Wilde's "Salome' at Villanova (1st review)

A century later, Salome gets her just desserts

Oscar Wilde's Salome is a play critics love to hate, but those disparagements can now be dismissed. Villanova University has revealed Wilde's play for the mesmerizing theater that it is.

Steve Cohen

Apr 20, 2013 · Articles · 5 minute read