Tommy and Me, by Ray Didinger, directed by Joe Canuso. World premiere by Theatre Exile, Philadelphia, 2016; revived at Media Theater, Media PA, August 2018. This successful theater pi…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 10:28AMOn the Exhale by Martin Zimmerman, Theater With a View, Pottstown PA, July 2018. On the Exhale is a disturbing play. It’s a great vehicle for its solo performer, in this case Nina C…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 02:01PMTuesdays With Morrie. Act II Playhouse, Ambler Pennsylvania through July 29, 2018. The memoir called Tuesdays With Morrie is famed for its portrait of a real-life inspirational profes…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 10:37PMVolta by Cirque du Soleil, Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks, Pennsylvania, through August 19, 2018. The word volta means a turn in time, or a return. Cirque du Soleil says tha…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 06:03PMThe transcendent talent of Oscar Hammerstein II was displayed in a one-night-only event June 23 at Bucks County Playhouse, near the farm where Hammerstein lived. This was a semi-staged conce…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 02:06PMSkeleton Crew, by Dominique Morisseau. Peoples Light Theater, Malvern, PA, through July 15, 2018. Skeleton Crew takes an issue that’s normally associated with Trump supporters and s…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 03:18PMHalf Time. Paper Mill Playhouse, June 2018. The idea for this new musical seemed promising. New Jersey’s pro basketball team recruits old people to stage a halftime dance routine. T…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 03:46PMDisney’s Aladdin on tour. Academy of Music in Philadelphia, through July 1, 2018. The most cheerful of all Disney theatrical properties is Aladdin. It’s a feel-good, smile-on-your…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 08:03PMFun Home. Music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, directed by Terrence J. Nolen. Through June 17, 2018. Of the three productions I’ve seen of the provocative musical …
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 08:17PMCamelot by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Matt Pfeiffer directs at Act II Playhouse, Ambler PA through June 24, 2018 It’s good to see Camelot back on stage. Warts and all. “…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 05:01PMPeter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice, directed by Matthew Decker. Theatre Horizon in Norristown PA, May 2018. The 2009 play Peter and the Starcatcher is, ostensibly, the story of h…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 06:23PMSing the Body Electric by Michael Hollinger, directed by Deborah Block. Theater Exile, Philadelphia, May 2018. Michael Hollinger’s newest play, Sing the Body Electric, presents two …
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 12:49PMLydie Breeze trilogy by John Guare. Directed by Lane Savadove. EgoPo Classic Theater. April 2018. John Guare’s Lydie Breeze trilogy has now concluded with EgoPo’s production of th…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 09:57PMAipotu by John Guare. Directed by Lane Savadove. EgoPo Classic Theater. March 2018. The major revelation of part two of the Lydie Breeze trilogy is how dramatically the characters cha…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 11:54AMWhen I learned that Rob McClure was starring in the national your of Something Rotten!, I was pleased. This Philadelphia actor/singer was the best thing in the Broadway musical Honeymoon in …
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 02:17PMWaitress. Music by Sara Bareilles. Directed by Diane Paulus. National tour production at the Forrest Theater in Philadelphia, February 2018. Waitress is a feminist fable with an indel…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 04:18PMThe Revolutionists by Lauren Gunderson; directed by Kathryn MacMillan at Theatre Horizon in Norristown, PA, February 2018. This play, part of Theatre Horizon’s “Women Who Dare”�…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 09:47PMCold Harbor by John Guare. Directed by Lane Savadove. EgoPo Classic Theater in Philadelphia, February 2018 The first part of John Guare’s Lydie Breeze trilogy is unlike any work I�…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 12:46PMThe Humans by Stephen Karam. Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, January 2018. The Humans is a warm-sad, interesting play. I am surely in the minority, however, in saying that I’m …
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 08:48PMThe Lydie Breeze Trilogy is the pinnacle in the career of playwright John Guare, best known for The House of Blue Leaves and Six Degrees of Separation. Film director Louis Malle said that Gu…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 04:39PMFathom Events is presenting Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn for Christmastime enjoyment on movie screens. Berlin conceived Holiday Inn as a live stage show, so the concept of adapting it as a …
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 04:04PMYannick Nézet-Séguin seems to be a logical leader of the celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s centennial, because he’s today’s most prominent conductor who straddles the worlds of conc…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 11:48AMSpongebob Squarepants, The Broadway Musical. Palace Theatre, New York. In a time & place as bleak as America 2017, we could all use the unbridled optimism of Spongebob. Adapted f…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 03:10PMThe Craftsman, a new play by Bruce Graham. World premiere at the Lantern Theatre, Philadelphia, November 2017. No previous play by Bruce Graham has the seriousness of his latest, The …
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 12:06PMThis is the Week That Is. 1812 Productions, performing at Plays & Players Theatre in Philadelphia, December 2017. This Is the Week That Is has returned, refreshed, this December. …
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 01:35PMFinding Neverland is one of a large number of spin-offs of J. M. Barrie’s play, Peter Pan. This musical had a year’s run on Broadway due to the popularity of Matthew Morrison in the role…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 06:51PMThe Band’s Visit. Music & lyrics by David Yazbeck, book by Itamar Moses. Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York The Band’s Visit feels more like an immersive experience than y…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 10:53AMA New World, a new musical at Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope PA It was a perfect way to spend a beautiful day in late November, attending the world premiere of a musical about Ameri…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 09:06PMTouchTones, a new musical comedy by Michael Hollinger and Robert Maggio. Arden Theater, Philadelphia PA. TouchTones, the latest play by Michael Hollinger, deals with phone sex, and ho…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 06:58PMThe Phantom of the Opera. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Book by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Phantom …
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 03:27PMRed Herring. A romantic comedy by Michael Hollinger. Act II Playhouse, Ambler PA. Extra performances have been added through November 19, 2017 Red Herring is Michael Hollinger’s mos…
SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 11:14AM
