‘brownsville song’ by Philadelphia Theatre Company (1st review)

No place to hide

“Black Lives Matter” may sound like empty rhetoric. Brownsville song, Kimber Lee’s gritty ghetto drama, may change your mind.

Dan Rottenberg

May 07, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'Biloxi Blues' at People's Light

Humor rooted in pain

Military comedy gets the Neil Simon treatment.

Bill Murphy

May 05, 2015 · Articles · 2 minute read

'Kinky Boots' at the Academy of Music

Gender identity issues set to music

Kinky Boots, with its catchy tunes and outrageous costumes, has come to Philadelphia at just the right time, to remind us that “you can change the world when you change your mind.” And you can have a good time while you’re doing it.

Naomi Orwin

May 01, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

'The King and I,' 'An American in Paris,' and 'Something Rotten!'

Too many musicals?

“Too much of a good thing can be wonderful,” Mae West once said. Does that also apply to Broadway musicals this season?

Carol Rocamora

May 01, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' by Theatre Exile (second review)

Fun and games in academe

Why do some bad marriages last? Perhaps, Edward Albee seems to be saying, because the joy of tormenting each other offers the illusion of happiness.

Naomi Orwin

Apr 28, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

Eugene O'Neill's 'Hairy Ape' at EgoPo (2nd review)

Expressing inequality

The intentions of a playwright and a theater company mesh perfectly as EgoPo presents a visceral, Expressionist production of The Hairy Ape.

Steve Cohen

Apr 28, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' by Theatre Exile (1st review)

The ghosts of Taylor and Burton

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor’s quarreling ghosts must be hovering somewhere over Philadelphia: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and two other Taylor-Burton vehicles are either currently or recently on local stages.

Kathryn Osenlund

Apr 26, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

'The Jungle Book' at the Arden

Learning from the animals

The laws of the jungle, it seems, can be more forgiving than the laws of man. But children still have to learn the rules of the world they live in so they can survive and thrive.

Naomi Orwin

Apr 25, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'Wolf Hall' and 'The Audience'

Brits on Broadway

With Thomas Cromwell and Elizabeth II, Britannia rules on Broadway, at least for this season.

Carol Rocamora

Apr 21, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

Thomas Gibbons's 'Uncanny Valley' at InterAct (second review)

Unnatural scenes in 'Uncanny Valley'

As a warning about technological innovations, Uncanny Valley is a false alarm. Its development of character is as mechanical as its subject matter.

Steve Cohen

Apr 21, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read