The Kimmel Cultural Campus presents Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

The Revelations we still need

Alvin Ailey visited the Academy of Music for four performances, including work by Twyla Tharp and Ailey’s own piece celebrating Winnie and Nelson Mandela, and the beloved Revelations. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.

Camille Bacon-Smith

Feb 28, 2023 · Reviews · 4 minute read

Lyric Fest presents Cotton

Recreation and catharsis

Cotton, an immersive multimedia experience recreating generational trauma, marks Lyric Fest’s 20th anniversary, with new music by Damien Geter and a slate of poets inspired by the photography of John Dowell. An Nichols reviews.

An Nichols

Feb 27, 2023 · Reviews · 2 minute read

The Philadelphia Orchestra presents conductor Stéphane Denève and pianist Yefim Bronfman

Observing one year since Russia invaded Ukraine

The Philadelphia Orchestra made an unannounced observance of one year of the war against Ukraine in this program featuring pianist Yefim Bronfman and a US premiere by Elena Firsova. Linda Holt reviews.

Linda Holt

Feb 27, 2023 · Reviews · 4 minute read

People’s Light presents George Stevens Jr.’s Thurgood

Equal justice under the law

People’s Light stages this informative and engaging one-man drama about lawyer Thurgood Marshall, who became the first Black justice on the US Supreme Court. An Nichols reviews.

An Nichols

Feb 27, 2023 · Reviews · 2 minute read

The Walnut presents Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Life and death in the Deep South

Big Daddy steals the show in Walnut Street Theatre’s new production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Cameron Kelsall reviews.

Cameron Kelsall

Feb 23, 2023 · Reviews · 3 minute read

The Kimmel Cultural Campus and the Shubert Organization present the new national tour of 1776

When “Cool, Considerate Men” aren’t men at all

It’s fitting that the new national tour of 1776 (without any cis men in the cast) is getting started here, in the city where it happened. Jill Ivey reviews.

Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey

Feb 21, 2023 · Reviews · 4 minute read

Inis Nua Theatre Company presents Zinnie Harris’s Meet Me at Dawn

Beyond the coastline

Inis Nua brings a popular Scottish playwright to the Philly stage with Meet Me at Dawn, but the performance is more moving than satisfying. C. M. Crockford reviews.

C.M. Crockford

Feb 21, 2023 · Reviews · 3 minute read

Museum of the American Revolution presents Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia

Three generations of seeking justice

A new exhibition revealing 100 years and three generations of the Forten family in Philadelphia is a must-see. Crystal Sparrow visits.

Crystal Sparrow

Feb 21, 2023 · Reviews · 4 minute read

Philadelphia Theatre Company presents Ana Nogueira’s Empathitrax

Better loving through chemistry

Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Empathitrax tests the limits of love and pharmaceutical intervention. Cameron Kelsall reviews.

Cameron Kelsall

Feb 17, 2023 · Reviews · 3 minute read

Hedgerow Theatre Company presents Ngozi Anyanwu’s Good Grief

How do we document sorrow?

Good Grief, in its regional premiere at Hedgerow Theatre Company, offers a sometimes touching, mostly frustrating, portrayal of grief. Kiran Pandey reviews.

Kiran Pandey

Feb 14, 2023 · Reviews · 3 minute read