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McKenzie finds a new way to do laundry. (Photo: Alexander Iziliaev.)

"Curse of the Starving Class' at the Wilma (3rd review)

The American Dream's last victims

The Wilma's revival of Sam Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class is strikingly relevant to our present Age of Foreclosure, yet dated in its Pinteresque violence. It also suggests the limits of Shepard's notion of the imploding nuclear family as a metaphor for America.

Robert Zaller

Mar 27, 2012 Articles 5 minute read

A few words about ladies' restrooms

A woman's curse (at least in Philadelphia theaters)

It's time for somebody to say publicly what Philadelphia women have been muttering to each other in the line for years: The ladies' rooms at many Philadelphia theaters are deplorable. Join me for a guided tour.

Alaina Johns

Mar 25, 2012 Articles 4 minute read

Beale, Jennings: Is the pen really mightier? (Photo: Alistair Muir.)

Stalin meets George III in London

Between tyranny and lunacy

Two plays in London about Stalin, who died nearly 60 years ago? Maybe it's taken that long to appreciate the full measure of Uncle Joe's tyranny — over Russians in general and artists in particular.

Carol Rocamora

Mar 24, 2012 Articles 7 minute read

Sahr Ngaujah: Were Fela's wives really so joyful? (Photo: Tristram Kenton.)

"Fela!' at Academy of Music (1st review)

Cardboard hero

Fela Anikulapo Kuti became famous first for his catchy music, then as an advocate for human rights in Nigeria. This manipulative if entertaining tribute strips the real Fela of his flaws and contradictions, leaving us with a show bereft of any real drama.

Steve Cohen

Mar 24, 2012 Articles 3 minute read

"Curse of the Starving Class' at the Wilma (2nd review)

California surreal

Sam Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class is a fascinating juxtaposition of realism and surrealism. His characters aren't the type I'd hang out with, and their actions are off-putting to the extreme. Yet there's something mesmerizing about their struggles.

Steve Cohen

Mar 17, 2012 Articles 3 minute read

Hissom as Cyrano: A complex character in a modern idiom.

"Cyrano' at the Arden (1st review)

A Cyrano for our time

The polymath playwright Michael Hollinger has done it again. This time he takes a too-familiar century-old classic tragicomedy and infuses it with new allusions and linguistic flights of fancy suitable for the 21st Century.

Marshall A. Ledger

Mar 17, 2012 Articles 4 minute read

Miller (left), McKenzie: No place left to move. (Photo: Alexander Iziliaev.)

'Curse of the Starving Class' at the Wilma (1st review)

Day of reckoning

Eastern urbanites may scratch their heads over the terminally dysfunctional rural family portrayed in Curse of the Starving Class. But Sam Shepard's caricature offers a profound allegory of the unintended consequences of the opening of the American West, more than a century after there was no more West left to open.

Dan Rottenberg

Mar 15, 2012 Articles 7 minute read

Sean Lally (top), Jake Blouch: Where are the social workers?

Lantern's "Romeo and Juliet' (3rd review)

Our grief counselors are standing by….

The Lantern's straightforward production of Romeo and Juliet got me thinking: What would become of these young lovers today, when instead of turning to a priest they could seek out Dr. Phil?

Jackie Schifalacqua

Mar 13, 2012 Articles 3 minute read

Blouch (left), DelMarcelle: Man as a creature at war with himself. (Photo: Mark Garvin.)

Lantern's "Romeo and Juliet' (2nd review)

On the mean streets of Verona

The Lantern's Romeo and Juliet is an American production in the best sense of the word: fresh, brisk and inventive, with insightful direction by Charles McMahon and an able and energetic cast.