Tommy and Me, by Ray Didinger. World premiere by Theatre Exile, Philadelphia, 2016 I remember when I first met Ray Didinger. It was in the audience at a performance of a Bruce Graham …
Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash. Created by Richard Maltby Jr., conceived by William Meade. Sherry Lutken directed. Peoples Light & Theatre Company, Malvern, PA. * Just as its ti…
Fiddler on the Roof. Music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, book by Joseph Stein. Bartlett Sher directed. Broadway Theatre, New York. Fiddler on the Roof takes place over 100…
The Harassment of Iris Malloy, by Zak Berkman. Lisa Rothe directed its world premiere by Poeples Light & Theater Company, Malvern PA. * * While most regional theaters are on summer vaca…
Jamaica. Book by Yip Harburg & Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, music by Harold Arlen. Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj directed. New Freedom Theatre, Philadelphia * Small local companies sometimes…
36 Views, a play by Naomi Iizuka. Lantern Theater Company, Philadelphia. We are being seduced, all of us, in the audience and on the stage. You feel it from the first meeting of two o…
At Philadelphia's Freedom Theater in 2004, Walter Dallas directed a musical about Jesus reviving the dead, Lazarus Unstoned. It was an exciting, compelling production. But soon afterwards, t…
The 1957 musical Jamaica is being revived at Freedom Theater in Philadelphia in June of 2016. It's pleasant nostalgia to think of Jamaica as an example of golden-age Broadway. But that show'…
The Invisible Hand, by Ayad Akhtar. Matthew Pfeiffer directed. Theatre Exile, Philadelphia. If you were to judge by comments on the web and by advertising, you'd think that Ayad Akhta…
Fully Committed, by Becky Mode. Lyceum Theatre in New York City; Theatre Horizon in Norristown PA. Michael Doherty is no Jesse Tyler Ferguson; he's even better. It's no secret …
Tuck Everlasting. Music by Chris Miller, lyrics by Nathan Tysen, book by Claudia Shear and Tim Federle. Broadhurst Theatre, New York. If you could choose to live forever, would you? T…
Kiss Me Kate by Cole Porter with Bella and Sam Spewack. Act II Playhouse, 2016. Strictly speaking, a house this small would not be ideal for a blockbuster from Broadway's golden age. …
See What I Wanna See. Words and music by Michael John LaChiusa. 11th Hour Theatre Company, 2016 Michael John LaChiusa could have been thinking of the 2016 presidential campaign when h…
The Explorers Club, by Nell Benjamin. Delaware Theater Company, 2016. The Explorers Club provides zany fun. The idea was rooted in an examination of British colonialism and sexism in …
Sex With Strangers by Laura Eason. David Saint directed. George Street Playhouse and Philadelphia Theater Company, 2016. There are some provocative developments in Sex With Strange…
Machinal, by Sophie Treadwell. Brenna Geffers directed for EgoPo Classic Theater, 2016 Once again, the EgoPo theater company has brought life to a neglected play. Machinal opened on B…
On Your Feet! Music by Gloria Estefan, book by Alexander Dinelaris. Marquis Theatre, New York Gloria Estefan became the most successful cross-over act when she brought Latin music, pa…
Let's consider the work of the eclectic Broadway composer and lyricist who chooses unusual subjects, and sets them to music that's intricate and intellectual, yet catchy. Surprise: I'm not t…
Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry. James J. Christy directed. Act II Playhouse, 2016. Driving Miss Daisy is based on the actual family history of the playwright, Alfred Uhry. This pro…
A ticket-buyer might justifiably wonder why go to see someone imitate Carole King when you can sit at home and listen to King herself on CDs and see her on videos. Beautiful, however, offers…
The Sound of Music. Music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse. Jack O'Brien directs a new national tour. * The final collaboration o…
Disaster! A Musical. By Seth Rudetsky & Jack Plotnick. Nederlander Theater, New York. * Seth Rudetsky has become well-known as the Broadway channel host on Sirius XM and a Playbill colum…
The Women. By Clare Boothe Luce. Lane Savadove directed. EgoPo Classic Theater. Clare Boothe Luce's groundbreaking 1936 all-female play called attention to the obstacles women faced. …
Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan. Directed by Matthew Decker. Through March 13, 2016 at Theatre Horizon, Norristown, PA This play poses a provocative dilemma: To what extent may you lie…
Exit Strategy. By Ike Holter; Kip Fagan directed. Philadelphia Theatre Company production in association with Primary Stages of New York, 2016 * Exit Strategy tackles a difficult problem wit…