Theater
2725 results
Page 205
"Alexis': Political theater in New York
Where theater and politics meet
How can political theater bring audiences to their feet and change the course of history? Why does it happen in Europe and not here? Motus, a daring new Italian theater company, has provided a vivid model for Americans.
Articles
4 minute read
Annie Baker's "Body Awareness' at the Wilma (3rd review)
Quest for empathy, or: Who are the people in your neighborhood?
Body Awareness plunks us into a snowbound Vermont household whose inhabitants seem as trapped by their dysfunctional relationships as they are by the frost and darkness outside. Yet by disrupting each other's cherished assumptions, each acts as a positive catalyst on the others. The potential implications for the planet are huge.
Articles
5 minute read
Annie Baker's "Body Awareness' at the Wilma (2nd review)
Cabin fever in politically correct Vermont
Mimi Lien's set for Body Awareness permits us to observe the public, domestic and private lives of a family. The snow falling in the background through the windows suggests a cocoon insulated from all foreign forces. It's an effective allusion for Annie Baker's tenderhearted and enjoyable comedy.
Articles
3 minute read
Annie Baker's "Body Awareness' at the Wilma (1st review)
Nobody's perfect
Annie Baker's comedy, Body Awareness, pounces eagerly on its too-predictable targets, and the laughs come a bit cheaply despite good ensemble work by its cast. Theater should ask, and deliver, more.
Body Awareness. By Annie Baker; Anne Kauffman directed. Through February 5, 2012 at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad Street. (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
Articles
3 minute read
"Charlotte's Web' at the Arden (1st review)
A spider your grandchildren can love
My seven-year-old grandson had plenty of opportunities to interact with the Arden's marvelous cast of actors as animals. The grownups had a good time too.
Charlotte's Web. By Joseph Robinette, from the book by E.B. White; Whit MacLaughlin directed. Through February 12, 2012 at Arden Theatre, Haas Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
Articles
1 minute read
"Hair' revival at Academy of Music
Radical for the '60s, passé for 2012?
Hair, that '60s celebration of all things hippie, is closing its revival tour just when the Occupy movement threatens to make it relevant all over again.
Articles
2 minute read
1812's "This Is the Week That Is"
Never mind the week. What year is this?
Just when presidential politics are turning ridiculous, Philadelphia's resident satirical troupe turns soft and fuzzy.
Articles
1 minute read
Billington's assault on absurdism
Absurdism isn't relevant? Don't be absurd!
Abdurdism, a European artistic response to the senseless horrors of World War II, has lost its relevance, according to critic Michael Billington. Yet from Greece to the Tea Party to the Occupy movement, millions of people today wander in aimless stupor like the hoboes in Beckett's Waiting For Godot.
Articles
4 minute read
Vaclav Havel's legacy (2nd commentary)
David had his slingshot, Havel had his pen
As a human rights activist who helped overthrow Communism, Vaclav Havel's political legacy seems assured. But the question remains: What is this playwright's dramatic legacy?
Articles
5 minute read
Vaclav Havel's legacy (1st commentary)
Where do people go? Reflections on Václav Havel's Leaving
Who was the late Czech playwright/politician Vaclav Havel, and what was he trying to tell us? His message is both singular and universal: We have our leaving, our coming, our being and dying; we are in part witnesses, actors, and dramaturges.
Articles
5 minute read