"Light in the Piazza' by PTC (2nd review)

An emotional Renaissance

This first-rate adaptation of Elizabeth Spencer's novella combines elements that are more original, sensitive, personal, even courageous than we're accustomed to find in musical theater. But The Light in the Piazza suffers from two serious flaws.

Dan Rottenberg

Nov 22, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Light in the Piazza' by PTC (1st review)

Hope vs. fear in Florence

The Philadelphia Theatre Company's version of The Light in the Piazza is a unique accomplishment, adapting the look of New York's spacious Lincoln Center production to a smaller stage. It's a great re-interpretation of a gentle musical about fragile people.

Steve Cohen

Nov 22, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

Verdi's "Falstaff' by the Academy of Vocal Arts

An intimate Falstaff

Can a mere 17 voices (and no chorus) do justice to Falstaff? As the Academy of Vocal Arts demonstrates, Verdi's last masterpiece is an opera that benefits from intimacy.

Steve Cohen

Nov 22, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

Eschenbach conducts Mahler's Seventh

Mahler's mystery (and Eschenbach's)

Gustav Mahler's seldom-performed Seventh Symphony lacks— or deliberately eschews— the narrative drive that makes his symphonies popular, but its appearance in Christoph Eschenbach's assured performance was all the more welcome for its rarity. Make of it what you will, the music is glorious and the invention unflagging.

Robert Zaller

Nov 21, 2009 · Articles · 5 minute read

"Oliver' at the Walnut

Oliver and Broadway's underdog ennoblement schtick

What is it that attracts Broadway musicals to urban poverty? Great performances can cover a multitude of sins. But with merely competent performances, like those in this production of Oliver, you begin to notice cracks in the show's underlying structure.

Dan Rottenberg

Nov 20, 2009 · Articles · 5 minute read

The home as art: practical advice

My home, my museum, or: How to handle ‘a woman's third crisis'

Home design is one of the few opportunities American adults have to express themselves with genuine creative freedom. The process really can be pleasurable— even exciting— if you develop the basic design skills and seek expert advice when it's necessary.

Caroline Dunlop Millett

Nov 19, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

French landscapes at the Getty

When French painters preferred Italy

“Capturing Nature's Beauty,” a small but scintillating show, misled only in its title, for it was not so much about nature as man's relation to it. In its Italian and French landscapes lay a tale, not of French subservience to Italian taste but of subtler forms of the imperial assertions that marked early modern France before Napoleon.

Robert Zaller

Nov 18, 2009 · Articles · 5 minute read

The Barnes: A protester's story

Radicalized by the Barnes: My new life as a public protester

I never thought much of protest demonstrations during their heyday in the '60s. But if you care passionately about keeping the Barnes Foundation in its original home, what other option do you have these days?

Victoria Skelly

Nov 18, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Memphis' on Broadway

Love, sex, race and the birth of rock & roll

In the ingenious and lively Memphis, a white radio DJ falls in love with the music of his soul, and with the African-American woman singing it. These two rich characters from the ‘50s and their equally rich music crystallize the role played by rock n' roll in the downfall of racial segregation.

Julie Morcate

Nov 17, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Fraulein Maria' by Doug Elkins (3rd review)

How do you solve a problem like the Nazis? (Well, you could try ignoring them)

With Fräulein Maria, choreographer Doug Elkins purports to radically deconstruct The Sound of Music. But how radical is it, really?

Judy Weightman

Nov 17, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read