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The ensemble of 7 women, in a variety of outfits, pose smiling on the White House set, with the Presidential seal above them.

The Arden Theatre presents Selina Fillinger’s POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive

A faulty feminist farce

A lack of laughs and reliance on stereotyping hampers the feminist farce POTUS now onstage at the Arden. Cameron Kelsall reviews.

Cameron Kelsall

Sep 23, 2024 Reviews 3 minute read

The cast of 10, dressed in baggy 90s stripes, plaid, polos, and corduroy, strikes sassy poses on the record-store set.

McCarter presents Carol Heikkinen and Zoe Sarnak’s Empire Records: The Musical

A 1990s cult classic hits the stage

Empire Records bombed when it first came out in 1995, but the soundtrack was a sensation. Now, the movie is a cult classic, inspiring a new musical getting its world premiere at McCarter. An Nichols reviews.

An Nichols

Sep 23, 2024 Reviews 4 minute read

A painting with reds and browns that roughly reveal a face; eyes, nose, and mouth more apparent, the rest are soft lines

Philly Fringe 2024: Liberty City Arts presents Erwartung

A voice of discovery

Philadelphia-based soprano Amanda O’Toole makes a memorable impression in a rare performance of Arnold Schönberg’s Erwartung, presented in the Fringe by Liberty City Arts. Cameron Kelsall reviews.

Cameron Kelsall

Sep 21, 2024 Reviews 2 minute read

Adams, a white woman in maroon blazer, lectures onstage between signs saying “god’s still dead” and “you’re still stupid"

Philly Fringe 2024: Jenn Adams presents An Evening with August Strindberg: Followed by a Perfectly Normal Performance of Miss Julie

If Strindberg got a TED talk

Writer, director, and actor Jenn Adams takes an ambitious leap by portraying the complex and often problematic playwright August Strindberg in her new show for this year’s Fringe. Josh Herren reviews.

Josh Herren

Sep 20, 2024 Reviews 1 minute read

Four women, wearing drab dresses with puffed sleeves and white aprons, extend one arm upward in a dance.

Humble Materials presents Jessica Noel’s All Quiet on the Western Front

A new adaptation of the iconic war novel explores the home front

In this year’s Philly Fringe, Humble Materials adapts the classic war novel All Quiet on the Western Front to focus on the ones who are most often left behind: women. Jill Ivey reviews.

Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey

Sep 20, 2024 Reviews 3 minute read

Six performers on stage, all wearing blonde wigs and framed glasses, in song. Five are around a couch, one on the couch

Philly Fringe 2024: Pig Iron presents Poor Judge

How many Aimee Manns does it take to patch a broken heart?

Pig Iron presents Poor Judge, an exuberant piece of dance-theater cabaret that finds the personal in the music of Aimee Mann. Kiran Pandey reviews.

Kiran Pandey

Sep 17, 2024 Reviews 3 minute read

Close-up on Davis, a 42-year-old white man with a short graying beard, arms in a balletic pose, wearing a pale rain jacket.

Philly Fringe 2024: Chris Davis presents The 40-Year-Old Ballerino

Dancing with memoir

Chris Davis continues his tradition of audience-pleasing solo Fringe shows with The 40-Year-Old Ballerino, one of his most personal creations to date. Alaina Johns reviews.

Alaina Johns

Sep 17, 2024 Reviews 3 minute read

Three puppeteers in all blue on stage with Winnie, Eeyore, and Piglet puppets, full trash bags, balloons, outside in a park

Philly Fringe 2024: My Mother Once Read presents Hundred Acre Park

Honey Buns and woozles

Part of the Cannonball Kids series, a Winnie the Pooh production attempts to transcend the limits of a Philadelphia urban park. Helen Walsh reviews.

Helen Walsh

Sep 16, 2024 Reviews 3 minute read

Breen, a white woman with blond hair wearing a gold top, sits and speaks with her hands folded in her lap.

Philly Fringe 2024: Tennessee Playwrights Studio’s That Woman – The Monologue Show and Becky Bondurant’s Penis Envy

Politics, patriarchy, and women’s lives

A pair of timely monologue shows in this year’s Fringe, That Woman – The Monologue Show and Penis Envy both explored the high stakes for women’s autonomy in the modern political era. Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer reviews.

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

Sep 16, 2024 Reviews 4 minute read

In a wash of blue light, Feldman & Howard play a Hasidic couple looking at each with tired but tender expressions.

Lantern Theater Company presents Anna Ziegler’s The Wanderers

Williamsburg, now and then

The Philly premiere of Anna Ziegler’s The Wanderers at the Lantern is a compelling yet uneven exploration of marriage, identity, and religion featuring two Williamsburg couples decades apart. Josh Herren reviews.