Theater

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Three performers in orange, red, and white gowns respectively pose for the camera in a portrait style shot

The 2024 Philly Fringe is heading to South Philly

Find comedy, storytelling, theater, ballet, and music in South Philly this September

The Philadelphia Fringe Festival happens in venues throughout the city, and this year, more shows are popping up in South Philly than ever before. Alaina Johns rounds up the ones she’s hoping to see.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Previews 4 minute read
About two dozen actors in 19th-century costumes pose under dramatic spotlights and fog, each raising one fist in the air.

The Kimmel Cultural Campus and the Shubert Organization present Les Misérables

The people’s song meets theme-park barricades

Despite powerful singing, the national tour of Les Misérables more closely resembles a theme-park attraction than a work of theater. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 3 minute read
Les Mis hero Jean Valjean, with long hair and grimy 19th-century clothes, kneels on the stage and sings passionately.

I loved Les Misérables as a teenager. Now it’s back in Philly, and I want to rediscover it.

Singing the desire for a better world

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer spent her teen years devoted to big books and theater. Seeing Les Misérables all by herself in Philly in 1988 was a formative experience. Now she’s going back to explore what it still means to her.
Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

Essays 6 minute read
Campbell stands between the women, in an avid discussion, one hand on each of their shoulders. They all wear 70s clothes.

Theatre in the X presents Don Evans’s One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show

An excellent night in the park

Theatre in the X presents One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show, by Philly-native playwright Don Evans, for its annual free production in West Philly’s Malcolm X Park. C.M. Crockford reviews.
C.M. Crockford

C.M. Crockford

Reviews 3 minute read
Pancake Queen BSR 7 31 24

The Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival presents Pancake Queen

Pouring over history

Theatre Exile and STARFIRE bring Brie Knight’s play to life at this year’s Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival. An Nichols previews.
An Nichols

An Nichols

Previews 2 minute read
4 actors stand on the ground, 3 of them gesturing to another who perches on high top of two people vertically stacked.

New York Circus Project presents Hamlet at FringeArts

A high-flying Hamlet takes risks

New York Circus Project’s Hamlet put an inventive circus spin on Shakespeare’s well-known tragedy with performances at Philly’s FringeArts in late July. Melissa Strong reviews.
Melissa Strong

Melissa Strong

Reviews 4 minute read
The 4 actors, with different skin tones & genders, pose together in bright, casual summer clothes next to a tree in a park.

Shakespeare in Clark Park presents As You Like It

All the park’s a stage

Annual summer favorite Shakespeare in Clark Park brings the Forest of Arden to West Philly in an energetic new adaptation of As You Like It directed by Ontaria Kim Wilson, running through July 28. It’s free! C.M. Crockford reviews.
C.M. Crockford

C.M. Crockford

Reviews 4 minute read
All 4 performers outside in a park smiling and laughing, looking towards Kanu’s character. Lindner holds a mandolin

Shakespeare in Clark Park presents As You Like It

A little taste of dystopia

Shakespeare in Clark Park presents As You Like It with a modern twist, transposed to near-future Delaware to explore themes of exile, love, and community. Kiran Pandey previews.
Kiran Pandey

Kiran Pandey

Previews 2 minute read
Selfie of Docherty in a booth with lighting consoles and monitors behind her, a stage can be seen through a window

The art of lighting design with Alyssandra Docherty

Lighting up the space

Freelancer Alyssandra Docherty talks about her work as a lighting designer, how the light bulb got turned on for her, and how she manages to keep learning and growing. Melissa Strong previews.
Melissa Strong

Melissa Strong

Profiles 4 minute read
Johnson, a Black woman wearing a long flowered skirt & striped blouse, sings passionately with her hands outspread.

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival presents Alice Walker’s The Color Purple

Celie’s story comes to the Center Valley stage

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival mounts an excellent production of The Color Purple with acclaimed local director Amina Robinson,
but the show glosses over some of the difficult moments so important to this story. An Nichols reviews.
An Nichols

An Nichols

Reviews 6 minute read