Fringe 2015: 'Alias Ellis Mackenzie' by Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental

Telenovela or stage play?

Do gimmicks add to or detract from the success of a show? In Alias Ellis Mackenzie, the set and the out-of-sequence presentation challenge the audience to figure out what is going on.

Naomi Orwin

Sep 15, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

Fringe 2015: Iron Age Theatre's 'A Great War'

What price heroism?

In A Great War, we have a courageous, compelling new play by James Christy Jr., a Philadelphia playwright, calling attention to a lesser known aspect of World War I: the participation of German Jewish soldiers.

Carol Rocamora

Sep 13, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

Fringe 2015: 'The Captive' by Philadelphia Artists' Collective (second review)

Is a 1920s shocker worth mounting today?

Who’s the captive here? A lady with a scandalous orientation? Or a whole society that is as obsessed with women’s sex lives now as it was in the 1920s?

Alaina Johns

Sep 11, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

Fringe 2015: '50 Days at Iliam' by Hannah Van Sciver

Coming full circle

Hannah Van Sciver’s take on the creation of Cy Twombly's Fifty Days at Iliam was a sensual, rhythmic, playful, and thoughtful take on the inner workings of the artist.

Lauren Findlay

Sep 10, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

Fringe 2015: 'Reimagine Your Reality' by Frank Perri

Slippery issues of self-will

The participants in Frank Perri's hypnotism show clearly experience no embarrassment, but does their lack of embarrassment — of, literally, self-consciousness — give us permission to laugh?

Judy Weightman

Sep 10, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

Fringe 2015: Jo Strømgren's 'Doll's House'

Shrinking a classic down to size

What is there new to discover in Henrik Ibsen’s Doll's House? Jo Strømgren Kompani proposes a Nora who is much more enlightened than usual, a villainous Krogstad, and a set that is so confined the characters stumble over each other to get from place to place.

Naomi Orwin

Sep 08, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

Fringe 2015: 'The Captive' by Philadelphia Artists' Collective

The love that dares not speak its name

The Captive was written in 1926 when homosexuality was still “the love that dares not speak its name.” The original production’s Broadway run was halted by censors, and the cast members were arrested. This revival proves that the play was a mature treatment of the subject, far ahead of its time.

Steve Cohen

Sep 08, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

Fringe 2015: ‘Slaughter/ette’ by Butter & Serve

A parody of ‘The Bachelor’ kills its ladies, and almost slaughters me

Here’s a show that holds up cutting questions and relatable laughs and horrors for the audience — but what about those who can’t access it?

Alaina Johns

Sep 05, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

Fringe 2015: Idiopathic Ridiculopathy's 'Exit the King'

An excruciating exit

Even though playwright Eugène Ionesco is considered the father of absurd comedy, his Exit the King is terrifying.

Steve Cohen

Sep 04, 2015 · Articles · 2 minute read

Fringe 2015: 'After the Rehearsal/Persona'

The fantasy of film translated to the reality of the stage

Bergman’s oeuvre translated to the stage reconnects us to our early infatuation with the filmmaker and makes us question what he’s saying in a new way.

Naomi Orwin

Sep 04, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read