Filament presents Rococo Dialogues

The birth of the keyboard sonata

Anne Louise Brillon de Jouy, a friend (and paramour?) of Benjamin Franklin, was famous in her time for her keyboard sonatas. Early music trio Filament gives her music a well-deserved modern premiere. Gail Obenreder reviews.

Gail Obenreder

Feb 11, 2025 · Reviews · 4 minute read

The Crossing presents what can I know?

“America’s most interesting choir” lives up to its reputation

Following a fourth Grammy Award, The Crossing presented a concert in Chestnut Hill featuring the world premiere of Sebastian Currier’s Mysterium and the North American premiere of Linda Catlin Smith’s Folio. Gail Obenreder reviews.

Gail Obenreder

Feb 10, 2025 · Reviews · 4 minute read

Drexel University’s Pearlstein Gallery presents A Certain Slant of Light

Illuminating nature

A new Pearlstein Gallery show featuring three former Drexel professors spans sculpture, photography, and painting to explore our relationship with nature as part of a larger whole. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Feb 04, 2025 · Reviews · 4 minute read

Opera Philadelphia and Boston Lyric Opera present Joseph Bologne’s The Anonymous Lover

The genius of the Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Opera Philadelphia, selling out the season after offering $11 tickets to all, delighted a packed house with a faultless production of the only surviving opera by an 18th-century genius, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Gail Obenreder reviews.

Gail Obenreder

Feb 03, 2025 · Reviews · 5 minute read

Penn Live Arts presents Benjamin Bagby’s Gregorius, The Holy Sinner

Loving a long-ago language

Veteran musician, performer, and scholar Benjamin Bagby returns to Philly alongside French Medieval music ensemble Sequentia for a thrilling performance of Gregorius, The Holy Sinner. Gail Obenreder reviews.

Gail Obenreder

Feb 03, 2025 · Reviews · 5 minute read

EgoPo presents Mae West’s The Drag, adapted by Thomas Choinacky and AZ Espinoza

A deconstructed drag

EgoPo Classic Theater’s Queer Revolutions season opens with a reworking of Mae West’s The Drag that often feels condescending toward its source material. Cameron Kelsall reviews.

Cameron Kelsall

Feb 03, 2025 · Reviews · 3 minute read

The Institute of Contemporary Art presents Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses

Designed to destruct

The Institute of Contemporary Art hosts the first major museum survey of innovative interdisciplinary artist Carl Cheng, who has challenged ideas of art, science, culture, and nature for 60 years. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Jan 28, 2025 · Reviews · 6 minute read

Penn Live Arts presents Agora de la danse’s Koros

Contemporary dance in virtual reality

Montreal’s Agora de la danse, a venue and incubator for contemporary dance, brought its virtual reality experience, Koros, to Philly for the first time with a weekend of showings at the Annenberg Center. Melissa Strong reviews.

Melissa Strong

Jan 27, 2025 · Reviews · 4 minute read

Tectonic Theater Project presents Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich’s Here There Are Blueberries

A picture’s worth

Here There Are Blueberries, a touring production of Moisés Kaufman’s Tectonic Theater Project now onstage at McCarter Theatre Center, grapples with how to present the history of the Holocaust. Cameron Kelsall reviews.

Cameron Kelsall

Jan 27, 2025 · Reviews · 3 minute read

Arden Theatre Company presents Michael Hollinger’s Holy Grail of Memphis

The past is not through with us

Philly playwright Michael Hollinger’s Holy Grail of Memphis, premiering at the Arden, follows the white owner of a historic Memphis music studio where the lost recordings of a Black blues legend are hiding. C.M. Crockford reviews.

C.M. Crockford

Jan 27, 2025 · Reviews · 3 minute read