Ballet X: 'Striped Hat' and "Largo'

Dr. Seuss meets Fragonard

Ballet X presented two world premieres whose moods could not have been more different. Christine Cox's wonderfully entertaining The Striped Hat celebrated a child's spirited imagination. Edwaard Liang's Largo plumbed the melancholy emotions that accompany affection.

Jim Rutter

Apr 07, 2009 · Articles · 5 minute read

Art meets science: Ellen K. Levy at Rider U.

Where art meets science, or: Move over, Mother Nature

The maze and the void join in Ellen K. Levy's challenging and complex paintings, which interrogate the juncture between science, art and a human imagination. Levy loves machines, but not the uses to which freebooting capitalism and the military-industrial complex threaten to put them.

Robert Zaller

Apr 04, 2009 · Articles · 5 minute read

Theatrical readings, and where to find them

A playwright's trial by fire

Theatrical readings are getting a bad rap in Broad Street Review. But as a playwright, I can attest that they're a necessary element in bringing a play from a writer's mind onto the stage. The audience (and even critics) benefit too. And in Philadelphia, there are many opportunities to participate.

Mark Wolverton

Mar 31, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

Why "Hamlet' still matters

A distant mirror to the modern world: Why I never grow tired of Hamlet

After 500 years, why does Hamlet still fascinate us? Because Hamlet's character continues to embody every facet of what it means to be a human. He's the thread upon which all our male cultural archetypes, even Mad Max, now unravel. With video interview: Click here.

Jim Rutter

Mar 31, 2009 · Articles · 5 minute read

"Contemporary Voices' at Woodmere Art Museum

‘Contemporary Voices'? Or Menopause Medley?

“Contemporary Voices,” the annual juried exhibition at the Woodmere Art Museum, is for the most part not so contemporary. Where are all the younger artists?

Anne R. Fabbri

Mar 28, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

Simpatico's "Long Day's Journey Into Night' (2nd review)

Long Day's Journey, up close and personal

Simpatico reminds us that Long Day's Journey is an intimate play with a small cast, set in one living room. Very appropriate, then, to see it close up on a small stage, even if the actors look better than they sound.

Steve Cohen

Mar 28, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

Guitarist John Williams at Perelman Theater

The casual virtuoso

Some virtuosos are all about showing you how good they are. John Williams is just the opposite: He actually makes you forget just how good he is, because he never allows his technical virtuosity to overshadow the essential musicality of whatever he's playing.

Mark Wolverton

Mar 28, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Impressionism' on Broadway

Don't stand too close

Michael Jacobs's soggy play isn't drama; it's chick lit, an inspirational sitcom masquerading as a highbrow play about Art. If Oprah had a theater club, Impressionism would be her pick.

Toby Zinman

Mar 28, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

Classical Symphony's "Americans in Paris'

The birth of the world (and jazz too)

The Classical Symphony's music director, Karl Middleman, spotlights a fruitful combination: Paris and jazz.

Tom Purdom

Mar 28, 2009 · Articles · 2 minute read

Carol Jantsch with 1807 & Friends

The tuba gets its turn

It's hard to resist smiling at the thought of a tuba playing the lead in a chamber piece. But Carol Jantsch, the Philadelphia Orchestra's new principal tuba, quickly proved she had come to produce music, not laughs.

Mar 28, 2009 · Articles · 2 minute read