Arthur Ross Gallery presents Songs for Ritual and Remembrance

How do we remember?

At UPenn’s Arthur Ross Gallery, four artists consider what shared memory signifies for marginalized peoples, and how they preserve it. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Jul 20, 2023 · Reviews · 5 minute read

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival presents Shakespeare’s The Tempest

The formal tension of Shakespeare’s last storm

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival closes its 2023 season with bold comedic swings and infrequent wonder in an ultimately uneven Tempest. Kiran Pandey reviews.

Kiran Pandey

Jul 18, 2023 · Reviews · 4 minute read

Applied Mechanics presents Other Orbits

A universal convention

Applied Mechanics produces an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure work of theater in its latest Other Orbits installment, inviting audiences to a convention that is both surreal and oddly familiar. Jill Ivey reviews.

Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey

Jul 18, 2023 · Reviews · 3 minute read

The Barnes Foundation presents William Edmondson: A Monumental Vision

Still a fascinating figure

In its exhibition featuring sculptor William Edmondson, who blurred and subverted a lot of what institutions expect from great artists, the Barnes begins to grapple with ways of seeing the artist’s legacy. Hanae Mason reviews.

Hanae Mason

Jul 17, 2023 · Reviews · 6 minute read

BalletX presents Nicolo Fonte’s Sidd: A Hero’s Journey

Siddhartha reimagined in dance

BalletX presents Nicolo Fonte’s Sidd: A Hero’s Journey, an evening-length ballet inspired by Herman Hesse’s classic novel about the journey of self-discovery. Melissa Strong reviews.

Melissa Strong

Jul 14, 2023 · Reviews · 5 minute read

Nadia Boulanger: War Years in America and Her Last Decades, by James Whipple Miller

An artist and a woman, in her own words

Philadelphia-based author James Whipple Miller offers a valuable portrait of the legendary composer and pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, told largely through letters to her longtime friend Ruth Robbins. Cameron Kelsall reviews.

Cameron Kelsall

Jul 08, 2023 · Reviews · 3 minute read

Let Your Heart Be Broken: Life and Music from a Classical Composer, by Tina Davidson

An esteemed Philadelphia composer tells her story

Composer Tina Davidson, who lived in Philadelphia for about 25 years, offers a memoir that isn’t the story of a solitary artist obsessed with a craft, but rather the worldly, spirited life that informs the art. Peter Burwasser reviews.

Peter Burwasser

Jul 08, 2023 · Reviews · 3 minute read

Done Doing Time: A Portrait of Life After Prison, by Hinda Schuman

Every neighborhood, every human life

In her second book, Philadelphia photographer Hinda Schuman’s sensitive and unflinching lens documents the lives of two women struggling to rebuild their lives after incarceration. Anndee Hochman reviews.

Anndee Hochman

Jul 08, 2023 · Reviews · 5 minute read

Working 9 to 5: A Women’s Movement, a Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie, by Ellen Cassedy

Women workers have come a long way—but the fight continues

This book by longtime Daily News columnist Ellen Cassedy explores the roots of a modern movement for women workers’ rights—a fight that continues today. Anndee Hochman reviews.

Anndee Hochman

Jul 08, 2023 · Reviews · 5 minute read

Philadelphia, Corrupt and Consenting: A City’s Struggle Against an Epithet, by Brett H. Mandel

Still crooked after all these years

In a new book that promises to infuriate and illuminate in equal measure, Brett H. Mandel traces the roots of Philly’s notorious corruption, from the days of William Penn to Bobby Henon’s 2023 sentencing. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Jul 08, 2023 · Reviews · 5 minute read