Mark Cofta’s theater picks: September’s classics

While the 20th annual Philadelphia Fringe crowds September with dozens of live productions, most of them premieres, there are plenty more shows outside of FringeArts — many of them classics.

Aaron Posner's Stupid Fucking Bird at the Arden Theatre Company (September 15 - October 16) is a radical adaptation of a classic, Anton Chekhov's The Seagull (which EgoPo Classics Theatre will produce February 1 - 19, 2017). Posner, an Arden co-founder and former artistic director, uses Chekhov's words "as my playground," bringing the play into the 21st century. He directs the play, one of the most-produced in the U.S. last season, for the first time in his Philadelphia return, with a cast featuring Grace Gonglewski, Greg Wood, and Alex Keiper.

Classics ahead of their time

Mrs. Warren's Profession, presented by Lantern Theater Company (September 8 - October 9), is one of many under-produced great works by my all-time favorite playwright, George Bernard Shaw. Director Kathryn MacMillan's production boasts Mary Martello in the title role, with Claire Inie-Richards as her daughter who's oblivious to how Mommy makes her money (hint: it couldn't even be said on stage in 1893). Shaw, a feminist ahead of his time, uses their complex situation (and a surprising amount of humor) to explore the sexes's economic inequality, still a sore subject today. I saw a terrific Shaw Festival production in July that proved how timely a choice this is for the increasingly socially conscious Lantern.

The area's biggest revival of a classic is Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific (September 9 - October 23), which launches the Walnut Street Theatre's 208th season. The 1949 hit is a favorite for its unforgettable songs like "Some Enchanted Evening" and "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Out of My Hair," but has earned praised in recent years for its sensitive exploration of interracial relationships in World War II Hawaii. Director Charles Abbott's cast is led by Kate Kahrner, Paul Schoeffler. Ben Michael, and Alison T. Chi, and also features Philadelphia's Fran Prisco, Ben Dibble, Jeffrey Coon, and Dan Olmstead.

Electra, Godot, and Carnage

Other classics in September include Frank McGuiness's adaptation of Sophocles' Electra at Villanova Theatre (September 20 - October 2), and the Resident Ensemble Theatre at the University of Delaware's revival of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot (September 22 - October 9), running concurrently with Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage (September 15 - October 9) in REP's Studio Theater. Villanova's productions are cast with professional actors earning Master’s degrees, while REP is a professional company in residence; both offer consistently worthwhile productions well worth the trip outside the city.