"Worth Dying For': The appeal of Jack Reacher

One man I can trust: The appeal of Jack Reacher

When you're a twice-divorced 73-year-old, living in a trailer and feeling helpless to save the world from going to hell, an invincible fictitious hero like Lee Child's Jack Reacher makes an inspiring companion, even if he is a closet fascist.

Bob Ingram

Jan 15, 2011 · Articles · 6 minute read

Belarus Free Theatre's "Being Harold Pinter'

When theater is the ultimate political act

So you think standing on line for tickets is an act of perseverance? Meet the Belarus Free Theatre, a company whose members are literally prepared to die for their work and for free expression.

Carol Rocamora

Jan 15, 2011 · Articles · 7 minute read

Arresting photography at Print Center and Gallery 339

Worlds we never noticed

In a world overwhelmed by fleeting images, Philadelphia's two premier venues for photography are presenting excellent shows of artists whose work detains us by revealing what we may otherwise have missed, whether in city neighborhoods or rural wilderness.

Jonathan M. Stein

Jan 15, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Sam Maitin's prints at Woodmere Art Museum

An artist and his community

The late Sam Maitin's dedication to both art and social causes is legendary. The Woodmere Art Museum's current show, recently expanded, offers a precious opportunity to revisit an artist whose signature colorful paintings, murals, sculptures and posters were integral to Philadelphia's cultural life.

Jane Biberman

Jan 11, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Black Swan' (3rd review)

Grand Guignol at the ballet

Darren Aronofsky's much-hyped Black Swan is a high-concept slasher film whose director wreaks his fantasies on the world of ballet. Ostensibly a film about ambition and intrigue, it's a phantasmagoric exercise in misogyny.

Robert Zaller

Jan 11, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Yannick and the Orchestra: Mozart's "Requiem' (2nd review)

Let us now praise obscure composers (and Yannick too)

The Philadelphia Orchestra's stellar performance of Mozart's Requiem reminded this listener that great music isn't merely the work of a few giants. Consider the forgotten Franz Xaver Süssmayr, who selflessly finished Mozart's work while others around the master engaged in a post-mortem feeding-frenzy.

Victor L. Schermer

Jan 11, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Les Misérables' on tour

Once more into the sewers, dear friends

The new 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables is actually better than the 1985 London original, which came to Broadway in 1987. In an era when return engagements usually are stripped-down reductions, this re-mounting by the original producer Cameron Mackintosh is bigger and more imaginative.

Steve Cohen

Jan 09, 2011 · Articles · 2 minute read

Punch-drunk in Hollywood: 'The Fighter'

Requiem for a welterweight

What's worse than having your brains punched out in the ring? How about having your courage and integrity watered down into a Hollywood cliché?

Bob Ingram

Jan 08, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Yannick and the Orchestra: Mozart's "Requiem' (1st review)

The chorus and the Orchestra: The real Yannick finally stands up

Yannick Nézet-Séguin cut his teeth as a choral director but has bent over backwards to avoid being typecast as an opera maestro in Philadelphia. But his dazzling Mozart/Debussy concert displayed his love of vocal music, and the likelihood that Philadelphians can expect much more.

Steve Cohen

Jan 08, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

"The Understudy' at the Wilma (1st review)

Three characters in search of an idea, or: Theresa Rebeck, meet Sandy Koufax

This production about the frustrations of three actors is first-rate in every respect except the one that matters most: originality. Why do playwrights persist in confining themselves to their own narrow theatrical world?

Dan Rottenberg

Jan 06, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read