"The Gnädiges Fräulein' by Tennessee Williams

Southern comfort, taken to extremes

In The Gnädiges Fräulein, Tennessee Williams serves up an absurd exaggeration of the kind of Southern myths that Williams himself popularized.

Jim Rutter

Mar 23, 2010 · Articles · 3 minute read

Beckett's "Waiting For Godot,' by EgoPo

New life for Beckett's hobos

Careful, astute direction by Brenna Geffers of EgoPo Productions resurrects the bones of Beckett's existential classic, Waiting For Godot, into a drama that's fresher and more exciting than the raft of “new” plays currently on Philadelphia stages.

Mar 23, 2010 · Articles · 4 minute read

Jurowski conducts the Orchestra (2nd review)

The Jurowski solution: Three parts mad ascetic, one part voluptuary

Vladimir Jurowski is a figure right out of the pages of Dostoevsky. What if he were leading the Philadelphia Orchestra regularly, instead of just once a year? The patrons would be lined up at the Kimmel's doors.

Michael Woods

Mar 23, 2010 · Articles · 3 minute read

Chamber Ensemble's instrument mix

Mozart meets the roaring '20s

The Philadelphia Chamber Ensemble specializes in pieces that employ an unusual mix of instruments, but its musicians outdid themselves at their latest concert, with music that ranges from Mozart to ballets for dancing mummies and tangoing kitchenware.

Tom Purdom

Mar 23, 2010 · Articles · 3 minute read

"The Ghost Writer': Polanski's revenge

Polanski gets even

Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer takes a swipe at imperial America and its far-reaching tentacles. Polanski, who still faces extradition to the U.S. on a decades-old rape charge, has an axe to grind, but he also holds up a mirror that reflects the way much of the world sees us.

Robert Zaller

Mar 23, 2010 · Articles · 5 minute read

Randy Bolton's new prints at Schmidt Dean

Signs for our times

Unlike Picasso, Randy Bolton's art openly invites engagement. It wants to debate you— or perhaps, to bait you.

Andrew Mangravite

Mar 23, 2010 · Articles · 4 minute read

Muti conducts Verdi's "Attila' at the Met

Muti to the rescue

Riccardo Muti is pumping new excitement into Attila, one of Verdi's weakest operas— which, like Muti himself, hasn't previously appeared at the Met.

Steve Cohen

Mar 20, 2010 · Articles · 4 minute read

Barber's "Antony and Cleopatra' by Curtis

Barber's Edsel bounces back

The Curtis Opera has revived the Edsel of American operas, Samuel Barber's ill-fated Antony and Cleopatra. It's a welcome opportunity to reconsider a work that, despite abiding flaws, has too much musical value to ignore.

Robert Zaller

Mar 20, 2010 · Articles · 7 minute read

"The Book of Grace' in New York

An absence of grace

Suzan-Lori Parks's new play, The Book of Grace, is determined to bludgeon every shred of hope, optimism and cheerfulness out of us until we succumb to her grim view of human beings, event outcomes and life generally.

Toby Zinman

Mar 20, 2010 · Articles · 3 minute read

Pennsylvania Ballet's Chopin Celebration

Experiments with Chopin

Choreographers Matthew Neenan and Jerome Robbins both heard something in Chopin's work that suggested movements far removed from gentle early 19th-Century dances. Combine the three of them, as Pennsylvania Ballet's Roy Kaiser did, and you have an exciting program combination.

Janet Anderson

Mar 20, 2010 · Articles · 5 minute read