'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

'A New Brain' by 11th Hour

A lesser-known masterpiece

Philadelphia got to hear a neglected masterpiece about one of America’s best songwriters recovering from near-death.

Steve Cohen

Mar 31, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'Dirty Dancing' at the Academy of Music

A nice Jewish girl in the Catskills

Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage resembles the film on which it’s based, but doesn’t match the original’s charm and connection.

Naomi Orwin

Mar 27, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

'Mystery of Love & Sex,' 'It's Only a Play,' 'Fish in the Dark'

What’s so funny?

As the playwright says in It’s Only a Play: “God punishes people who do plays on Broadway. That’s why they invented regional theater.”

Carol Rocamora

Mar 22, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

‘And Then There Were None’ at Walnut Street Theatre

A classic mystery that’s lost its luster

Reviving classics introduces them to a whole new audience, but maybe some should be allowed to fade away.

Naomi Orwin

Mar 22, 2015 · Articles · 2 minute read

'Field Hockey Hot' by 11th Hour

A future Off-Broadway classic

A wacky satire about school sports competition was a perfect complement to the hysteria of March Madness.

Steve Cohen

Mar 22, 2015 · Articles · 2 minute read

'Baskerville' at McCarter Theatre

‘Baskerville’ resurrects Sherlock Holmes with respectful comedy

McCarter's five-actor adaptation balances theatrical cleverness with a ripping good Sherlock Holmes mystery.

Mark Cofta

Mar 17, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

‘Macbeth’ at the Arden

The couple that preys together….

In the hands of the young director Alexander Burns, Macbeth becomes less a cautionary tale of ambition and power than a love story.

Steve Cohen

Mar 15, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'Hamilton' at the Public Theater

Making history in New York

What makes Alexander Hamilton’s story — and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s way of telling it —so special is the conflation of the historical and the personal.

Carol Rocamora

Mar 14, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'Under the Skin' at the Arden: An interview with Terrence Nolen

The show must go on

Another story — an unscripted one — unfolded while Under the Skin was premiering at the Arden.

Carol Rocamora

Mar 10, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read