181 stories by "Howard Shapiro"
1812 Productions' annual spoof concentrates this year on skewering the presidential campaign season -- and does so hilarious style. Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro reviews.
I say, Watson, is that basically good evening at Hedgerow Theatre a bit ragged 'round the edges? Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro reviews.
A goofy break-out hit from the 2008 Philly Fringe festival returns to a bigger stage with more polish, less playfulness but the basic fun intact. Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro revie…
At Bristol Riverside Theatre, two actors bring alive a David Mamet play that's less about the story it tells than about issues behind the story. Inquirer theatr critic Howard Shapiro reviews.
The Philadelphia Theatre Company and Wilma Theater are the big winners of this year's Barrymore Awards, in what may be the final curtain for the theater honors that recognize work on the reg…
The Philadelphia Theatre Company and Wilma Theater are the big winners of this year's Barrymore Awards, in what may be the final curtain for the theater honors that recognize work on the reg…
The newly reopened Bucks County Playhouse is already planning a world premiere, and a high-level one, too: A production based on Stephen King's novel "Misery," which the Playhouse will produ…
This musical at Montgomery Theater, and then at Act II Playhouse, is about making a musical focused on the life of the inventor of the printing press -- and it's irresistibly ridiculous. Inq…
Public education, in a musical skewering. Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro reviews.
A house fights back to stay with its foreclosed family -- a classy blend of storytelling, set design, art and ideas, in a Fringe show in germantown. Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro re…
At the Live Arts/Philly Fringe festival, Headlong Dance Theater's THIS TOWN IS A MYSTERY builds instant communitites, for a night at a time. Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro reviews.
A new musical from the novel "Love Story"? Yes, it's mush, but really good mush. Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro reviews from the Walnut Street Theatre's main stage.
At the Fringe's "Some Other Mettle" by Applied Mechanics: ... uh... Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro reviews.
At the Fringe's "Some Other Mettle" by Applied Mechanics: ... uh... Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro reviews.
Fantasic physical performances are the major attraction of New Paradise Laboratories' "27" at the Live Arts/Philly Fringe. Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro reviews.
There are all sorts of reasons for being late at a Fringe show, but they rarely get you locked out. Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro reports.
In the Fringe, a haunting enactment of the last days of Edgar Allan Poe. Inquire3r theater critic Howard Shapiro reviews.
Some hardliners schedule theirLive Arts/Philly Fringe shows one after the other; others pick and choose to see one of the almost 200 productions every few days or so. Critics tend to be the …
This could be the end for the awards, which honor the region's theater artists. Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro reports.
Neil Simon's dated comedy, at the Bucks County Playhouse where it began, comes off without charm or much pizazz. Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro reviews from New Hope, Pa.
Mauckingbird Theatre Company's gay version of Shakespeare's play underscores love as a dynamic that has no gender. Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro reviews.
'Lord, what fools these mortals be!" Shakespeare writes in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and given how he operated in the theater of his day, he could have been referring to the way plays are d…
Seeing this blistering production of the American classic by Tennessee Williams at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, near Quakertown, is like seeing it for the first time. Inquirer thea…
Playwright Bruce Graham's newest, in a world premiere at People's Light & Theatre, is a terrific piece taken from a footnote in history, with a cast to match. Inquirer theater critic Howard …
