Theater

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Lawton (left), Poe, Moseley: Unbearable decisions. (Photo: Mark Garvin.)

Bruce Graham's "Outgoing Tide,' by PTC (1st review)

Why again are we laughing?

Bruce Graham's The Outgoing Tide confronts Alzheimer's disease with wisecracks like, “Are you crazy?” The playwright's immense talent, a first-rate cast of three, and innovative staging create a powerful theater experience nevertheless.

Marshall A. Ledger

Articles 5 minute read
Ellen Tobie, Jeffrey Coon: What's a priest's desire?

Doubts about Shanley's "Doubt' at Walnut's Studio 3

Without a Doubt

Deep down, even a hard-assed nun is a woman, right? Which means she's a sexual creature. And if a charismatic priest doesn't pay attention to her, well”¦.
Jackie Schifalacqua

Jackie Schifalacqua

Articles 3 minute read
Summoning the golem, one last time. (Photo: Ian Paul Guzzone.)

EgoPo's "The Golem'

Protector of the Jews

EgoPo previously made its reputation by reviving classic theatrical works; here its ensemble has created a new play, albeit one based on old legends, amalgamating the cultural, spiritual and artistic history of Jewish life in Europe.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 5 minute read
Ortiz and Lekites: So young, so innocent.

"West Side Story' at Academy of Music

Jets and Sharks for a new generation

West Side Story revolutionized musical theater in the ‘50s by virtue of being set in the here and now. That's no longer the case, but the current revival is a revelation in other respects.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 4 minute read
Joffrey: A catalogue of suffering.

Lanna Joffrey's "Valiant,' by InterAct

War is hell, and what else is new?

Lanna Joffrey's Valiant relates the suffering of 13 women in conditions of war and exile, as if war is an exclusively male activity. The cumulative effect of their recitations is more stultifying than enlightening.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 5 minute read
Smith with McCool: Did he or didn't he?

"Shipwrecked!' at People's Light

A South Seas state of mind

In this entertaining true tale of a man who was either the greatest adventurer or greatest hoaxer of his time, Donald Margulies has fashioned a stimulating piece of children's theater that will appeal to adults as well.

Bill Murphy

Articles 2 minute read
Edmond, Hoffman, Garfield: Recreating a play, or paying tribute to it? (Photo: Charles Sykes/AP.)

"Death of a Salesman' on Broadway

The way we were, and still are

Mike Nichols's loving production, historically meticulous in every detail, plays curiously more like a museum piece than a fresh, dynamic new exploration of Arthur Miller's 1949 masterwork. It performs a valuable service nevertheless.

Carol Rocamora

Articles 6 minute read
Ivory, Sahr Ngaujah: A mother's love, and polygamy. (Photo: Tristam Kenton.)

"Fela!' at Academy of Music (2nd review)

Not your mother's Broadway musical

Pity the Kimmel season subscribers who arrived at Fela! without advance preparation. This is a political musical with some very discomfiting edges— and that's to its credit.
Judy Weightman

Judy Weightman

Articles 4 minute read
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

Robert Zaller

Articles 5 minute read
The real drama begins here.

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

Alaina Johns

Articles 4 minute read