Theater
2813 results
Page 222
Lynn Nottage's "Ruined,' by PTC
Sunshine among the ashes
Lynn Nottage's Ruined, set in a bar during the Congolese civil war, demonstrates how people create community and happiness even in the midst of devastation. But how to reverse the world's endless cycle of civil warfare? For the answer to that question, you must search elsewhere.
Articles
4 minute read
"In a Daughter's Eyes,' by InterAct (2nd review)
Daughters without fathers
The shadows of Mumia and MOVE haunt the stage of InterAct Theatre's world premiere production of A. Zell Williams' In a Daughter's Eyes, as they do Philadelphia itself. The play sheds more heat than light, though, as its two characters grope in a world of pain in which neither can truly find the other.
In a Daughter's Eyes. By A. Zell Williams; Rebecca Wright directed. InterAct Theatre production through June 19, 2011 at Adrienne mainstage, 2030 Sansom St. (215) 568-8077 or www.interacttheatre.org.
Articles
6 minute read
"In A Daughter's Eyes,' by InterAct (1st review)
Mumia, and the ignorance of certainty
What if Officer Daniel Faulkner's widow and Mumia Abu-Jamal's wife had to hang out together in a setting that required them to acknowledge their common humanity? That's the intriguing premise of this new play, which unfortunately suffers from superficial execution.
Articles
5 minute read
Directors vs. Critics: BSR's debate (2nd comment)
Who critiques the critics?
Who will hold theater critics accountable? Other critics, for one. But the Internet offers an even more effective solution.
Articles
3 minute read
Directors vs. critics: BSR's debate (1st comment)
Theaters, critics and delusions of injustice
At Broad Street Review's debate on theater criticism, three Philadelphia directors largely ignored the panel's Internet-based critics and mostly complained instead about the Inquirer. Earth to directors: Hip theatergoers no longer care about, much less read, the Inquirer.
Articles
3 minute read
"Vigil' and older audiences at the Lantern
Why was I the only one laughing?
The wicked humor of Morris Panych's Vigil comes mostly at the expense of older audiences. That's bad news for cutting-edge theater in Philadelphia.
Articles
4 minute read
What the pros can learn from "The Cappies'
Teaching the Tonys a thing or two
The Cappies, an international project for high school theater and journalism students, is an awards show without commercials or long-winded acceptance speeches. And it's refreshing to see kids cheering for something other than sports.
Articles
3 minute read
"Miss Saigon' at the Walnut
Beyond Butterfly
The Walnut's new production of Miss Saigon reaffirms the quality of its authors' work when they were at their short-lived peak. This play is more compact and focused than Les Miz, and more nuanced than Madam Butterfly, the play and opera on which Miss Saigon is based.
Articles
4 minute read
Ayckbourn's "My Wonderful Day' at the Wilma
Adults behaving childishly (and vice versa)
In My Wonderful Day, Ayckbourn has pulled off a rare feat: an adult comedy about adult childishness, abetted by the superb Wilma Theater production. It's the ideal tonic for an age that routinely confers responsibility on overgrown adolescents like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Articles
3 minute read
Derek Jacobi as "King Lear' in Brooklyn
Old and foolish
No dramatic work rails against the injustice of aging like Shakespeare's King Lear. So imagine the surprise of visiting the Brooklyn Academy of Music this month to find, in Derek Jacobi, a robust and defiant King Lear not at the nadir but at the height of his powers, with an audience laughing and cheering him on.
Articles
6 minute read