Gregory Burke's "Gagarin Way'

Which side are you on?

Despite the intoxicating power of this play about a labor-management standoff, Gagarin Way shrinks from addressing critical questions, like the use of violence on behalf of a just cause.

Jim Rutter

Jan 26, 2010 · Articles · 4 minute read

Mauckingbird's "Tru' and "The Threshing Floor'

Capote and Baldwin: Where's the beef?

Some one-person plays provide drama, but most devolve into lectures. Mauckingbird's current homages to Truman Capote and James Baldwin fall in the latter camp.

Jim Rutter

Jan 20, 2010 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Peter Pan' at the Arden

Is it true boys have more fun?

Douglas Irvine has apparently heard the Peter Pan story so often that he sees no need to dramatize the contrast between Edwardian London and the mythical Neverland. And without that conflict, the story loses its point.

Dan Rottenberg

Jan 19, 2010 · Articles · 2 minute read

"Becky Shaw' at the Wilma (2nd review)

Adults behaving like children, or: What would Oscar Wilde say?

If nothing else, Gina Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw demonstrates why a universal health care system shouldn't include free therapy— at least not for over-educated, uber-sensitive white people who've never faced a real problem in their lives and generate little in the way of taxable income.

Jim Rutter

Jan 12, 2010 · Articles · 6 minute read

"Becky Shaw' at the Wilma (1st review)

House of mirrors

This remarkably intelligent and moving play can't easily be pigeonholed as either a wicked comedy or a devastating psychodrama. Gina Gionfriddo's concern is the process by which human relationships change people for better or worse. Whether that makes you laugh or cry depends on your individual circumstances at a given moment.

Dan Rottenberg

Jan 09, 2010 · Articles · 5 minute read

"Ragtime' on Broadway, reconsidered (2nd review)

Let's go to the videotape: A few things I missed about Ragtime

Thanks to the Lincoln Center Library's collection of theater videotape recordings, I discovered a few things I'd overlooked in my original review of Ragtime. So why can't Philadelphia find foundation funding for a similar theater video repository?

Steve Cohen

Dec 29, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

Liv Ullmann's "Streetcar Named Desire'

Cate Blanchett's new Blanche DuBois (by way of Ullmann, Williams and Bergman)

In her interpretation of Blanche DuBois, Cate Blanchett appears to be channeling the spirit not only of Blanche but also of Tennessee Williams himself. In her happy first-time collaboration with director Liv Ullmann, it's clear that it takes a great actress to direct a great actress.

Carol Rocamora

Dec 27, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Superior Donuts' on Broadway

A comedy about real people

Superior Donuts is a gem of a comedy, notable for its warm comic interplay among genuinely recognizable characters. Too bad its Broadway run is closing soon.

Steve Cohen

Dec 22, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Holiday Show With the Swing Club Band'

America's last happy New Year's Eve

Instead of pretending to tell a story, this highly entertaining production authentically recreates a nightclub as it would have appeared on the last night of 1949— the last New Year's Eve of a triumphant America at peace.

Steve Cohen

Dec 20, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Sweeney Todd' in Wilmington

Clothes make the killer

Is Sweeney Todd growing too familiar? Michael Gray's new conception of Stephen Sondheim's horror musical focuses on its cast of desperate and volatile characters rather than its time and place. It's like seeing the show for the first time.

Julius Ferraro

Dec 19, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read