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Matt Damon as a rugby hero: The truth is more complicated.

Clint Eastwood's "Invictus' (2nd review)

Mandela's world-class try

The blurbs for Invictus give you the impression that South Africa's victory in the rugby World Cup merely boosted the country's morale during a difficult time. The movie actually concerns something more complicated. Invictus. A film directed by Clint Eastwood. With Morgan Freeman (as Nelson Mandela), Matt Damon (as Francois Pienaar). Available on DVD.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 4 minute read
Pilla: Farewell— to earth, love, youth, life.

Childs's "Dance' and Koner's "Farewell' at the Fringe (1st

Back to the future: The return of Childs and Koner

Two revivals— of Lucinda Childs's Dance and Pauline Koner's The Farewell— revealed how outstanding works of art retain their power over time. The two pieces also demonstrate why revivals deserve a presence in performance-focused festivals. Dance (1979). Choreographed by Lucinda Childs, with music by Philip Glass and film by Sol LeWitt. September 9-12, 2010 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. www.livearts-fringe.org/details.cfm?id=12736.
Jonathan M. Stein

Jonathan M. Stein

Articles 8 minute read
Pucklis, Mark Knight, Mike Harrah: BP's business plan?

"Madwoman of Chaillot' (1st review) and "Marat/Sade' (3rd review) at

Blessings of adversity

Many Philadelphia theater companies suffer from budget constraints. But two of them consistently turn these conditions to their advantage, as these two Fringe festival productions amply demonstrate.
Jim Rutter

Jim Rutter

Articles 5 minute read
Rees, Bellwoar: Every word counts. (Photo: Mark Garvin.)

Hollinger's "Ghost-Writer' at the Arden (1st review)

The music of the typewriter

Michael Hollinger's drama about a novelist, his typist and his wife creates characters with whom we can empathize, and whose fates we actually care about.

Jane Biberman

Articles 3 minute read
Jack Gerber's 'Leda and Her Swan' (2008): An abbreviated history of art.

Philadelphia artists at Woodmere Art Museum

Taste of Philadelphia

The Woodmere Art Museum's galleries are bursting with paintings, prints and sculpture that define Philadelphia's urban culture, even if women and/or young artists are hard to find.

Anne R. Fabbri

Articles 4 minute read
Munro: Questions without answers.

Theatre Exile's "Iron' at the Fringe (2nd review)

Like watching real people

Rona Munro's drama about a series of visits between an imprisoned mother and her grown daughter is deeply nuanced, gradually revealing more about each woman while the audience sits in judgment, like a jury.

Pamela Riley

Articles 3 minute read
Slusar: Prison story, feminized.

Theatre Exile's "Iron' at the Fringe (1st review)

No place to hide

In Theatre Exile's production of Rona Munro's Iron, the stunning proximity of a converted South Philadelphia garage allows the audience to peer voyeuristically into the psychological dissection that occurs onstage.

Norman Roessler

Articles 2 minute read
Beth Nixon and Alex Torra in 'Cankerblossom': Sartre said it all.

"Cankerblossom' and "Sanctuary' at the Fringe

Coasting on laurels

In their current Cankerblossom and Sanctuary, respectively, neither the highly regarded Pig Iron Theatre Co. nor Brian Sanders's Junk achieved anything worthy of anyone's time or money.
Jim Rutter

Jim Rutter

Articles 4 minute read

EgoPo's "Marat/Sade' (2nd review)

A setting that could drive you crazy

I've always dreamed of seeing Peter Weiss's Marat/Sade performed live, on stage. Why, then, did I leave at the intermission?

Articles 3 minute read
Spitko, Blatt: A literary text with attention to the body and to space.

EgoPo's "Marat/Sade' (1st review)

So you want real theater?

Taking up where it left off with last season's Beckett Festival, EgoPo once again thumbs its nose at Philadelphia's conservative theater scene with Marat / Sade. Crash-land this cruel concoction in the enormous Sanctuary space at the Rotunda Theater and you just might find the year's most terribly satisfying theater pleasure.

Norman Roessler

Articles 6 minute read