'Macbeth' at the Arden

'What bloody man is that?'

The Arden Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth has spectacle going for it, but pays less attention to the power couple, Macbeth and his lady, whose interaction is the center of the drama.

Robert Zaller

Apr 10, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' at Paper Mill Playhouse

Dark Disney

Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame comes to the stage with more serious content than other Disney shows and with a superlative score by Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken.

Steve Cohen

Apr 07, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'An Octoroon' and 'The Liquid Plain'

The race to write about racism

Racism in this country today and its origins in American slavery is apparently on everyone’s mind, if the theater is any reflection of the zeitgeist (and it should be).

Carol Rocamora

Apr 05, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

'Honeymoon in Vegas' on Broadway

Local boy makes good

Write down this prediction: South Philly’s Rob McClure will win this year’s Tony Award for best performance by a leading actor in a musical for his role in the otherwise disappointing Honeymoon in Vegas.

Steve Cohen

Apr 05, 2015 · Articles · 2 minute read

'Hamlet' at the Wilma (second review)

Troubled prince or angry teen?

An overstylized Hamlet intrigues and baffles.

Naomi Orwin

Apr 04, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'Hamlet' at the Wilma (first review)

Playing against type

The Wilma Theater’s production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, while elaborately and balletically staged, fails to offer an answer to the play’s most compelling question: Who is Hamlet himself?

Robert Zaller

Apr 04, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

Interview with Christopher Patrick Mullen on the Arden's 'Macbeth'

Drunk at the gates of hell

Rewriting Shakespeare is a risky business. Christopher Patrick Mullen, who rewrote the Porter’s speech in the Arden’s current production of Macbeth, addresses that issue, especially the struggle between irony and clarity for a contemporary audience.

Henrik Eger

Apr 03, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

'Unveiled' by Rohina Malik

Under the hajib

Playwright Rohina Malik argues that a woman’s hijab, or head covering, opens her to the world even as it seems to close her off. It also opens her to some hard truths about looking different.

Marshall A. Ledger

Apr 03, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'The Taming of the Shrew' at the Lantern (second review)

Taming through tango

Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew is not exactly a play for our times, but the Lantern production makes it fun while avoiding some of the tougher issues.

Naomi Orwin

Mar 31, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

'The Taming of the Shrew' at the Lantern (first review)

Shrewed Shakespeare

In the Lantern’s updated Taming of the Shrew, the overall mood is comic and Kate and Petruchio begin as caricatures, but their characters deepen as events unfold. They gradually form a bond that is both stronger and more honest than Shrew’s more traditional couples.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Mar 31, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read