201 stories from theculturalcritic.com
Skeleton 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 see…
Half 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. The…
Disney'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-fac…
Fun 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 pl…
Camelot 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. "Wart…
Peter 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…
Sing 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 hi…
Lydie 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 the th…
Aipotu 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…
When 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 …
Waitress. 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…
The 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"" seaso…
Cold 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've …
The 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 di…
The 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…
Fathom 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 mu…
Yannick 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 concerts a…
Spongebob 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…
The 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 …
This 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. …
Finding 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 of …
The 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 you…
A 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…
TouchTones, 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…
The 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 …
