Reviews

880 results
Page 29
An 18th-century letter with ink cursive visible through the paper, directed to Trumbull in ink faded to brown.

The Rosenbach presents Succession: Why Presidential History Matters Now

A precedent for presidents

No, it’s not the hit HBO series about the backstabbing offspring of a fictional media mogul; it’s the Rosenbach’s look at the real-life succession of our own US presidents—reminders we need today. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Reviews 5 minute read
Scene from the play: 9 ensemble members, in dramatic bars of light and dark, gather around a crouching man holding a rifle.

Arden Theatre Company presents Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Assassins

A history of violence

Arden Theatre Company considers Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins through a chilling contemporary lens. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 3 minute read
Bailey, a white woman with luxuriant wavy brown hair, poses in a white shirt and black vest.

Philly Fringe 2023: Ella-Gabriel Mason’s Sex Werque and Kaytlin Bailey’s Whore’s Eye View

Learning from the pros

Cannonball Festival presented two solo shows about sex workers: Ella-Gabriel Mason’s Sex Werque: Notes from the Field and Kaytlin Bailey’s Whore’s Eye View. Melissa Strong reviews.
Melissa Strong

Melissa Strong

Reviews 4 minute read
The cast of nine, looking zany with a variety of expressions, props, and costumes, stands in a gesticulating group onstage

Delaware Theatre Company presents Michael Frayn’s Noises Off

A favorite piece of chaos

Delaware Theatre Company opens the season with a bang of eight doors in the ever-popular, ever-challenging backstage farce Noises Off. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 4 minute read
Scene from the play: sitting in adjacent forward-facing chairs, the two women turn their heads to look fondly at each other.

Resident Ensemble Players presents Eileen Atkins’s Vita & Virginia

For the love of letters

Delaware’s Resident Ensemble Players opens its 15th season with Vita & Virginia, a chamber production exploring a historic intellectual and romantic affair in an era of letters. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 4 minute read
7 Girl BSR 9 26 23a

Philly Fringe 2023: Toni Cannon’s ReFlection and Mae West’s $7 Girl

Circus arts looking inward and outward

Cannonball Festival presents two solo shows at the intersection of trans identity and circus arts, Toni Cannon’s ReFlection and Mae West’s $7 Girl. Melissa Strong reviews.
Melissa Strong

Melissa Strong

Reviews 4 minute read
The orchestra atop a circular gray structure about 10 feet tall, with the cast members performing in front of it.

Festival O23: Opera Philadelphia presents Rene Orth and Hannah Moscovitch’s 10 Days in a Madhouse

“I’m mad they say”

Festival O23’s world-premiere production of composer Rene Orth and librettist Hannah Moscovitch’s 10 Days in a Madhouse is fresh, urgent, and relevant. Alaina Johns reviews.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Reviews 5 minute read
Sulayman sings soulfully at center stage. Dolphin dances at left; at right, Ward & Mirzadegan sit facing each other.

Festival O23: Opera Philadelphia presents Karim Sulayman’s Unholy Wars

Reframing the “Middle East”

Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O23 features the Philly premiere of Grammy-winning Lebanese American tenor Karim Sulayman’s Unholy Wars, with artistic triumph in every detail. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 4 minute read

Sign up for our newsletter

All of the week's new articles, all in one place. Sign up for the free weekly BSR newsletters, and don't miss a conversation.

Against a dramatic cloudy sky projection, Kelsey sings atop a small stone stairway, and Van Horn faces outward at right.

Festival O23: Opera Philadelphia presents Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra

Keeping Philly on the map of grand opera

For its Festival O23, Opera Philadelphia presents a standout production of Verdi’s tragic opera, Simon Boccanegra. Linda Holt reviews.
Linda Holt

Linda Holt

Reviews 3 minute read
Close-up on a light-skinned hand holding a cannoli with blue sprinkles covering one end and pink sprinkles covering the other

Philly Fringe 2023: Alex Marcus presents Waiting for Ganol

Behind the scenes of a gender-reveal party

Waiting for Ganol, a Cannonball Festival show that took us into the backyard of a gender-reveal party with mounting problems, allowed us to make our own approach to the thoughtful story. Crystal Sparrow reviews.
Crystal Sparrow

Crystal Sparrow

Reviews 3 minute read