180 stories by "Alaina Johns"
"I would love to pick your brain!" Yes, I've heard it before, many times, and you probably have, too. But what happens when we talk about the price, and why is this especially tough ground f…
The weather is dreary, the parties are done, and your social-media feeds are full of people fixated on dieting for the new year. How will you get through? Alaina Johns shares her tips.
Is the BSR team going to take their chance in 2020 to stop being so easily offended? Finally, an answer.
A venerable alt-weekly announces a new direction in painfully offensive terms. Philadelphia deserves better. Alaina Johns considers.
Ah yes! Darkness, freezing weather; the long, dreary tunnel of winter looming after the holidays"and the cold I just caught. Alaina Johns whines.
Theatre Exile's production of MartÃn Zimmerman's 'On the Exhale' tackles tragically familiar ground in America with an unexpected narrative. Alaina Johns reviews.
Do you remember a time in your life when the decisions really started? Do they come quickly? How do you handle it when it's time to make a choice? Alaina Johns considers.
Especially after years of being partnered, the holiday season can pose extra challenges for single folks. Alaina Johns has some advice.
It's no surprise that a museum from the American Bible Society will recast US history as an exclusively Bible-based story. But we should look twice at the welcome for Independence Mall's new…
When we think about accessibility on the arts scene, are we forgetting something? Maybe we worry about bringing up bathrooms, but Alaina Johns thinks it'd be rude not to talk about it.
A PHIT sketch comedy crew takes on the city itself in this worthwhile Fringe offering. Alaina Johns reviews.
A theater troupe from Widener University highlights the sinister absurdism of a medical waiting-room purgatory with 'The Clinic.' Alaina Johns reviews.
The Philadelphia Women's Theatre Festival lands in Old City for its fifth year, and opens with an evening of one-acts by women playwrights. Alaina Johns reviews.
"What's so funny? It's perhaps the central question of comedy." So opens 'A Hard Time' at FringeArts, and a superlative trio of women take it from there. Alaina Johns reviews.
A pair of grown-up preachers' kids confront their faith on the night shift in this world premiere from 1812. Alaina Johns reviews.
First, there was a letter. Then, the Philly theater community caught fire on social media, with unintended effects for everyone. Now, the original authors have met with Philadelphia Theatre …
Here's your shocker of the century"the editor-in-chief of BSR was never one of the cool kids. What does that mean for our mission? Alaina Johns considers.
Alice Yorke and the artists of Lightning Rod Special tackle abortion with 'The Appointment,' their latest premiere at FringeArts. Alaina Johns reviews.
'Rent' is still a show completely of its era, and there are no surprises onstage more than 20 years later"still, it's oddly prescient. Alaina Johns considers.
The Philly premiere of 'An Oak Tree' also christens Theatre Exile's new space in South Philly. Alaina Johns reviews.
With its new adaptation of 'Romeo and Juliet,' the Wilma Theater promises to reimagine Shakespeare as something leaner, hipper, and more modern than ever before. Alaina Johns reviews.
True to the best of children's stories, the undeniable dark side of 'Charlotte's Web' shows up onstage, but this production can't quite capture the novel's poetic and lifelike verve. Alaina …
When you and your friends get going, there are plenty of things that won't fit in a Facebook thread " especially when you're wondering who these people really are. 'Powerpoints for my friend…
Savannah Reich's 'Pestilence: Wow!', an ambitious show in a challenging space, explored how we cope with tragedy, then and now (spoiler alert: not that well). Alaina Johns reviews.
What do I do about justice? What do you do? Lee Minora brings her hit one-woman satire to the Fringe. Alaina Johns reviews.
