The writing life: Theresa Rebeck's "Seminar' at PTC

Do you want to be a writer, or do you want to write?

At one level, Theresa Rebeck's Seminar is a remarkable feat: a rare comic drama that insightfully engages us in the world of writers and writing without actually subjecting us to the tedious and lonely writing process itself. The problem is that most really good writers aren't nearly as interesting people as Rebeck's characters.

Dan Rottenberg

Mar 21, 2013 · Articles · 7 minute read

"Under the Whaleback' at the Wilma

Down to the sea in ships, from generation to generation

The impact of individuals on later generations lies at the heart of Richard Bean's Under the Whaleback, a gripping look at a quaint foreign culture, full of foreboding and culminating in painful violence.

Steve Cohen

Mar 19, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

Foote's 'Trip to Bountiful' at People's Light

Homeward bound, as the past slips away

Horton Foote's plays may not soar to the literary heights of Tennessee Williams, but they do hold up a clear mirror to everyday Southern life. This charming production of The Trip to Bountiful captures Foote's larger theme: the need to embrace change.

Bill Murphy

Mar 17, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

Orson Welles's "Moby Dick Rehearsed'

Herman Melville meets Orson Welles

Can a whale and an ocean be captured on stage? Iron Age Theatre made wondrously creative use of a small theater space and expanded its horizons to represent an endless sea. But this production cries out for filming or televising.

Steve Cohen

Mar 12, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

Quintessence Theatre's "Diary of a Madman'

Send in the clowns (and the shrinks, too)

Who among us has not allowed our fantasies and obsessions to get the best of us from time to time? But this updating of Gogol's short story treats the protagonist not as everyman or even as a clown, but as a diagnosis.

Kelly George

Mar 09, 2013 · Articles · 5 minute read

The education of Toby Zinman

A pariah who bounced back: The education of Toby Zinman

American Theater Magazine recently named the Inquirer's Toby Zinman one of the nation's 12 most influential theater critics. How did she reach that lofty plateau? And how did a gentle academic develop a skin thick enough to survive a public assault on her character?

Nathan Skethway

Mar 05, 2013 · Articles · 8 minute read

Beckett's "Endgame' at the Arden (3rd review)

Beckett for a new century

Beckett's Endgame— an often baffling intellectual relic of the ‘50s— can be off-putting to a young theatergoer like me. The Arden production bridged the generation gap with brilliant performances and a mesmerizing set that created a genuine sense of sensory deprivation.

Becca Kaplan

Mar 05, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

Beckett's "Endgame' at the Arden (2nd review)

The man with his heart in his head

Edward Sobel's production strives to make Beckett's Endgame more user-friendly without sacrificing its values. A strong performance by Scott Greer goes a long way toward validating his approach.

Robert Zaller

Mar 05, 2013 · Articles · 7 minute read

"Laramie Project Cycle' in Brooklyn

The dark side of ‘Our Town'

The courageous Tectonic Theatre Project has dedicated more than a decade of its artistic life to a single tragedy: the brutal murder of a gay college student in Wyoming in 1998. It's a demonstration of theater at its best, but it's also a reminder of theater's limitations.

Carol Rocamora

Mar 03, 2013 · Articles · 6 minute read

Theatre Exile's 'The North Plan'

When paranoids are realists

Who are our “enemies”? Who gets to decide? You could listen to diatribes on MSNBC or Fox News about these issues, or you could see this seriously funny, serious show.

Pamela Riley

Feb 23, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read