Articles

6207 results
Page 466
Danielpour: This time it's personal. (Photo: Susan Unterberg.)

Dolce Suono plays Danielpour's trio

Danielpour remembers his roots

Dolce Suono premieres a new trio by Richard Danielpour that successfully navigates the rocky territory where art meets politics.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 4 minute read
Rudderless no more?

Yannick and the Orchestra: So far, so good (1st review)

Yannick, the hopeful one

In his first test since his appointment, music director-designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin's rhythmic freedom and steady pulse gave the Philadelphia Orchestra the confidence to bloom a bit more than usual.

Articles 3 minute read
Can miners paint? Can birds fly?

Lee Hall's "Pitmen Painters' on Broadway (2nd review)

Creativity in the mines

In Lee Hall's The Pitmen Painters, paintings are the stars of the play, and seemingly pedantic dialogue about the meaning of art offers a window into men's souls.

Jane Biberman

Articles 3 minute read
Chekhov's three sisters talk to each other, but....

Should actors address the audience?

Isherwood's complaint, or: One slight problem with 'natural' theater

The New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood recently decried the spread of “direct address”— in which actors speak directly to the audience rather than “naturally” to each other. So much for Euripides, Shakespeare, Beckett, Brecht and Thornton Wilder. Besides, is "natural" theater really natural?
Chris Braak

Chris Braak

Articles 5 minute read
'Phantasmagoria': Brueghel via Taylor, complete with nun and Bowery bum.

Paul Taylor at Annenberg (2nd review)

Sound and fury, signifying…. what?

The great modern dance pioneer Paul Taylor is 80 years old and dripping with honors. But Phantasmagoria, his newest piece, couldn't be weirder or less like the work that has made him a legend.

Janet Anderson

Articles 4 minute read
Frings as Polly: Getting away with murder. (Photo: Mark Garvin.)

"Threepenny Opera' at the Arden

What did Mack the Knife really want?

Although virtually all cultured people are familiar with The Threepenny Opera, the play remains elusive. Contrary to conventional belief, it's not about the plight of the poor. It's about the plight of the poor performers.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read

Sign up for our newsletter

All of the week's new articles, all in one place. Sign up for the free weekly BSR newsletters, and don't miss a conversation.

Pennsylvania Academy's "Narcissus in the Studio'

An artist's favorite subject is....

How do artists see themselves? In Pennsylvania Academy's “Narcissus in the Studio,” more than 100 portraits build an amazing conversation across the centuries.

Anne R. Fabbri

Articles 4 minute read
Stone: Masculine touch.

Lyric Fest's tribute to Barber's songs

Samuel Barber, songster

Samuel Barber liked to sing, but his songs are often given short shrift. Lyric Fest ably presented the most extensive look at his song output most of us will ever encounter.

Articles 1 minute read
Steve Wright and Corinna Burns as worried parents: It's their fault.

Jennifer Haley's "Neighborhood 3'

Suburbia as The Twilight Zone

In Jennifer Haley's Neighborhood 3, all the world's a video game, and the suburban teenagers merely avatars and zombies. It's a clever but superficial idea: The reality of teenage video gaming is more complicated and less frightening.
Jim Rutter

Jim Rutter

Articles 4 minute read
Heimes: Regal greeting.

Piffaro's 1616 baptism and ballet

Once upon a time, in Stuttgart

Piffaro's historical productions can't create a full reproduction of the events they're based on. But this simulation of a 17th-Century royal baptism provided some sense of the way their music felt when it was part of the day-to-day life of the court and the street.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 4 minute read