"Nerds' at PTC (second review)

By sticking close to the truth, the playwrights have fashioned a bright satire about the rise of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. The musical is full of snappy dialogue and only runs out of gas near the end.

Nerds: A Musical Software Satire. Book and lyrics by Jordan Allen-Dutton; music by Hal Goldberg. Directed by Philip William McKinley; choreographed by Joey McKneely. Philadelphia Theatre Co. production through February 25, 2007 at Plays & Players, 1714 Delancey St.

Steve Cohen

Feb 17, 2007 · Articles · 2 minute read

"Enemies' at the Wilma (first review)

Singer’s novel offered a rare glimpse into the psyches of Holocaust survivors he knew in New York. From his book, Schulman has produced an intelligent and compelling script that creates original and engaging characters without sentimentalizing them.

Enemies, A Love Story. By Sarah Schulman, from the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer; directed by Jiri Zizka. Through March 11, 2007 at Wilma Theater, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-9345 or

Dan Rottenberg

Feb 17, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read

Lantern Theater's "La Ronde'

Director McMahon and the Lantern Theater crew deserve much credit for re-examining Schnitzler’s Viennese sexual daisy chain, and for taking his work as seriously as they do. But ultimately their experiment fails. La Ronde probably worked better as a concept you can think about than as a play you must actually watch.

La Ronde. By Arthur Schnitzler; directed and translated by Charles McMahon. Presented by Lantern Theater Company through February 25, 2007 at St.

Dan Rottenberg

Feb 12, 2007 · Articles · 5 minute read

Walnut's "Of Mice and Men' (2nd review)

Steinbeck draws his characters in broad strokes, but neither Anthony Lawton nor Scott Greer relies on exaggeration. They play the parts with passion, simple gestures underscoring Steinbeck’s earthy language. The set, designed by New Yorker Todd Ivins, is more beautiful than any seen I’ve seen at Ninth and Walnut in years.

Of Mice and Men. By John Steinbeck; Mark Clements directed. Through March 4, 2007 at Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St. (215) 574-355

Lesley Valdes

Feb 06, 2007 · Articles · 5 minute read

"Nerds' at PTC (first review)

Boil this material down to ten minutes and you have a cute skit for Saturday Night Live. Stretch it out to two hours and you have torture worthy of Abu Ghraib.

Nerds: A Musical Software Satire. Book and lyrics by Jordan Allen-Dutton; Music by Hal Goldberg. Directed by Philip William McKinley; choreographed by Joey McKneely. Philadelphia Theatre Co. production through February 25, 2007 at Plays & Players, 1714 Delancey St. (215) 985-0420 or

Dan Rottenberg

Feb 03, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read

Walnut's "Of Mice and Men' (1st review)

Is this 1937 work still relevant for affluent audiences that never lived through the Depression, if they’ve even heard of it? Oh my, yes.

Of Mice and Men. By John Steinbeck; Mark Clements directed. Through March 4, 2007 at Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St. (215) 574-3550 or www.wstonline.org.

Dan Rottenberg

Jan 28, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read

InterAct's "House With No Walls'

As a play of ideas and a rumination on the use and abuse of cultural memory, Thomas Gibbons’s new black-themed play about the Liberty Bell Center controversy and the struggle for cultural memory in America hits its marks deftly if with no great subtlety. What it foregoes, perhaps inevitably, is any real penetration of character.

A House With No Walls. By Thomas Gibbons; directed by Seth Rozin. InterAct Theatre production through February 18, 2007 at Adrienne Th

Robert Zaller

Jan 27, 2007 · Articles · 4 minute read

'Pippin' at the Forrest (2nd review)

Pippin is ferociously anti-war and condemns the leaders who invoke God as they send young men off to die. It’s as timely today as it was during the Vietnam-war era when it was written. I’d like to see a production that’s more realistic, but director Gabriel Barre emphasizes the circus and the surreal.

Pippin. Words and music by Stephen Schwartz; directed by Gabriel Barre; choreography by Mark Dendy. Presented by Broadway at the Academy through Jan

Steve Cohen

Jan 16, 2007 · Articles · 2 minute read

"Pippin' at the Forrest (1st review)

The legendary director/choreographer Bob Fosse had a knack for saving even the diceyest productions with the sheer charisma of his aura. Without him, this revival is dead on arrival.

Pippin. Words and music by Stephen Schwartz; directed by Gabriel Barre; choreography by Mark Dendy. Presented by Broadway at the Academy through January 15, 2007 at Forrest Theater, 1114 Walnut St. 215-731-3333 or www.kimmelcenter.org/broadway

Lewis Whittington

Jan 15, 2007 · Articles · 4 minute read

Arden's 'BFG' (Big Friendly Giant)

Some kids in the audience may have missed key plot points in Roald Dahl’s creepy fantasy. But that didn’t prevent them from being completely captivated when Meatdripper, Gizzardgulper, Bloodbottler, Fleshlumpeater or Bonecruncher came on stage.

The BFG (Big Friendly Giant). By Roald Dahl; directed by Whit MacLaughlin. Through January 28, 2007, at The Arden Children’s Theatre, 40 North Second St. 215-922-8900 or

Lewis Whittington

Jan 12, 2007 · Articles · 2 minute read