Articles

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Burgin: The tread of the absurd.

Richard Burgin's "Rivers Last Longer'

Beyond Jekyll and Hyde

Evil, Richard Burgin suggests in his new novel, is a radical form of schizophrenia, and the Devil has an address in a Pennsylvania exurb. Burgin writes knowledgeably about the literary scene in New York and Philadelphia and hair-raisingly about sexual predation in his continuing exploration of the underside of American life.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 5 minute read
Jarboe, Tuomanen, Choinacky, and Jessica Hurley: Choose your adventure.

"Portmanteau' at the Fringe Festival

Choose your ideological baggage (before it chooses you)

The Applied Mechanics troupe typically encourages audience members to follow its characters. In the fascinating and intelligent Portmanteau, whom you choose to follow says something about your ideological leanings.
Jim Rutter

Jim Rutter

Articles 2 minute read
Howard's 'Bottled at the Source': A taste of madness, at sane prices.

First Friday find: Excursion to Fishtown

The grunge and the glory: New life on Frankford Avenue

Don't overlook the forgotten child of Philadelphia “First Friday” arts events— Fishtown's scruffy, eccentric version. It's less polished but just possibly more fun. Less expensive, too.

Jonathan Pappas

Articles 5 minute read
Kreager (right) with McKenna Kerrigan: Revenge of the '70s.

"Freedom Club' at the Fringe (2nd review)

Assassins, past and future

Adriano Shaplin's Freedom Club attempts to link John Wilkes Booth's assassination of Lincoln in 1865 with a radical leftist commune's plot against a president 150 years later. It's an intriguing idea that misses the mark.
Jonathan M. Stein

Jonathan M. Stein

Articles 2 minute read
Pacek in 'Untitled project': A little bit of Piaf.

Fringe Festival's "Thom Pain' and "Untitled'

Child as father to the man

Patrons sifting through the Philadelphia Fringe Festival's 180 acts could ease their confusion by trusting the proven talents of Luna Theater and the 11th Hour Theatre Company. Both refreshingly tackle an old theme: how a grown man deals with the lingering effects of childhood trauma. Thom Pain (based on nothing). By Will Eno; directed by Gregory Campbell. Luna Theater Company production through September 19, 2010 at Upstairs at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St. as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. www.livearts-fringe.org/details.cfm?id=13647.
Jim Rutter

Jim Rutter

Articles 3 minute read
Kreager as Booth: If Jesus were here...

"Freedom Club' and Fugard's "Statements' at the Fringe (1st rev

Myth vs. realism in political theater

Must political plays be preachy and boring? The verdict is mixed for these two Fringe Festival productions.
Jim Rutter

Jim Rutter

Articles 3 minute read
Hsu-Hui Huang demonstrates: Go deeper.

Kun-Yang Lin's quest: Connecting body to soul

Now to connect the body to the soul

The innovative choreographer Kun-Yang Lin has launched a daring dance workshop that seeks to transcend mere movement by getting inside dancers' souls as well. It's a fresh approach with the potential to galvanize today's sometimes forgettable world of dance.
Merilyn Jackson

Merilyn Jackson

Articles 5 minute read
'Christine Lerolle Embroidering' (1897): Where are the headsets?

"Late Renoir' at the Art Museum (5th review)

Closing thoughts on ‘Late Renoir': The giant shadow of Albert Barnes

In a conventional and somewhat lazy show, the Art Museum has thrown in a dozen-odd pieces to illustrate Renoir's influence. The elephant in the room is the collector Albert Barnes, whose valuation of Renoir as a seminal figure in modern art has been co-opted with scant acknowledgment.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 8 minute read
'Still Life With Green and Gray': Memory is his muse.

Carlo Russo's paintings at F.A.N. Gallery

Whistler would have understood

In the great 19th-Century tradition, Carlo Russo's works are splendidly theatrical, always hinting at greater mysteries lurking beneath the surfaces that Russo so loves.

Andrew Mangravite

Articles 2 minute read
'Isolation Ward, Curved Corridor': Who passed this way?

"Ellis Island Ghosts' at Michener Art Museum

Our ancestors, the immigrants

At a time when anti-immigrant feelings run high in America, two photographers of different generations remind us of the need to show compassion to newcomers.

Jane Biberman

Articles 3 minute read