
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, September 28-October 4, 2023
Odyssey, Emilie du Châtelet Defends Her Life, reFlea, and Dungeons & Dragons for Philly jawns
Opening October with an environmentally-conscious flea market, a retelling of Odyssey, a play for science nerds, family-friendly activities at Please Touch, and a D&D festival. Kyle V. Hiller previews.

Previews
3 minute read

A closer look at depictions of domestic violence in Gunnar Montana’s BLACK WOOD
What does it mean to empower survivors?
BLACK WOOD, the latest from Gunnar Montana Productions, is an immersive, creepy, atmospheric experience perfect for spooky season. But we shouldn’t view it without talking about the violence it depicts. Alaina Johns considers.

Editorials
6 minute read

Festival O23: Opera Philadelphia presents Karim Sulayman’s Unholy Wars
Reframing the “Middle East”
Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O23 features the Philly premiere of Grammy-winning Lebanese American tenor Karim Sulayman’s Unholy Wars, with artistic triumph in every detail. Gail Obenreder reviews.

Reviews
4 minute read

Philly Fringe 2023: Ella-Gabriel Mason’s Sex Werque and Kaytlin Bailey’s Whore’s Eye View
Learning from the pros
Cannonball Festival presented two solo shows about sex workers: Ella-Gabriel Mason’s Sex Werque: Notes from the Field and Kaytlin Bailey’s Whore’s Eye View. Melissa Strong reviews.

Reviews
4 minute read

Philly Fringe 2023: Toni Cannon’s ReFlection and Mae West’s $7 Girl
Circus arts looking inward and outward
Cannonball Festival presents two solo shows at the intersection of trans identity and circus arts, Toni Cannon’s ReFlection and Mae West’s $7 Girl. Melissa Strong reviews.

Reviews
4 minute read

The BSR October 2023 repertory movie roundup
The Exorcist, Do the Right Thing, and DiCaprio and Scorsese collabs
October movies include Halloween classics, more entries from the Sight and Sound 100 collection, and Coen Brothers seminars. Stephen Silver previews.

Previews
5 minute read

The Resident Ensemble Players presents Eileen Atkins’s Vita & Virginia
For the love of letters
Delaware’s Resident Ensemble Players open its 15th season with Vita & Virginia, a chamber production exploring a historic intellectual and romantic affair in an era of letters. Gail Obenreder reviews.

Reviews
4 minute read

Opera Philadelphia presents Rene Orth and Hannah Moscovitch’s 10 Days in a Madhouse
“I’m mad they say”
Festival O23’s world-premiere production of composer Rene Orth and librettist Hannah Moscovitch’s 10 Days in a Madhouse is fresh, urgent, and relevant. Alaina Johns reviews.

Reviews
5 minute read

Delaware Theatre Company presents Michael Frayn’s Noises Off
A favorite piece of chaos
Delaware Theatre Company opens the season with a bang of eight doors in the ever-popular, ever-challenging backstage farce Noises Off. Gail Obenreder reviews.

Reviews
4 minute read

Festival O23: Opera Philadelphia presents Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra
Keeping Philly on the map of grand opera
For its Festival O23, Opera Philadelphia presents a standout production of Verdi’s tragic opera, Simon Boccanegra. Linda Holt reviews.

Reviews
3 minute read
McCarter Theatre Center and Berkeley Repertory Theatre present Eisa Davis’s Bulrusher
Something in the water
A new production of Eisa Davis’s Bulrusher at McCarter Theatre Center delivers on the playwright’s vision: welcoming, submerging, and transforming us. Jeannine Cook reviews.

Reviews
4 minute read
Quintessence Theatre Group presents George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara
Overstating the obvious
Directorial bells and whistles impede the socialist message of George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara at Quintessence Theatre Group. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
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Philly Fringe 2023: Alex Marcus presents Waiting for Ganol
Behind the scenes of a gender-reveal party
Waiting for Ganol, a Cannonball Festival show that took us into the backyard of a gender-reveal party with mounting problems, allowed us to make our own approach to the thoughtful story. Crystal Sparrow reviews.

Reviews
3 minute read

The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, September 21-27, 2023
Arts festivals, Ratha-Yatra, S(tree)twork, and Where the Young Bols Rumble
Rounding up the coming week with festivals and exhibitions to kick off the official start of fall. Kyle V. Hiller previews.

Previews
3 minute read

The BSR Podcast, season 7, episode 11: Paper Doll Ensemble presents The Pecking Order
Sit down with 2023 Philly Fringe artist Amanda Jensen
We continue our coverage of the 2023 Philly Fringe Festival with Paper Doll Ensemble cofounder Amanda Jensen in conversation with Darnelle Radford about The Pecking Order, a new look at Roe v. Wade.

Podcast
1 minute read

The Crossing presents Crickets in Our Backyard
Premieres by Wang Lu, Tania León, and Ayanna Woods
The Crossing choir opens its new season with Crickets in Our Backyard, featuring world premieres by Tania León and Ayanna Woods and an “indoor premiere” by Wang Lu. Gail Obenreder reviews.

Reviews
5 minute read

Philly Fringe 2023: Spanking Macbeth and Macbeth in a Bar
Where Shakespeare’s never done
The 2023 Philly Fringe takes on Macbeth in two different shows: Spanking Macbeth, an original play, and Macbeth in a Bar, a restaging at Lilly’s Ferry. Kiran Pandey reviews.

Reviews
4 minute read

Philly Fringe 2023: Urban Arts Movement presents Vincent Johnson’s Stank upon a Time: A Story about Funk
A lesson on the blues
Stank upon a Time is a transgressively absurdist exploration of the culture of Black music, from blues to funk, as the soundtrack of revolution and its survival and commodification in the present. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.

Reviews
3 minute read

Lantern Theater Company presents Molière’s Tartuffe
Scandals, scoundrels, and rhyme
The Lantern Theater takes Richard Wilbur’s definitive 1963 translation of Molière’s 1664 play, Tartuffe, sets it in the Belle Époque and sets a high bar for the 2023-2024 theater season. Jill Ivey reviews.

Reviews
3 minute read

Philly Fringe 2023: Susan Marshall and Mimi Lien present Rhythm Bath
A sensory delight
An inclusive dance installation presented in partnership with Temple’s Institute on Disabilities offers interdisciplinary delights at Christ Church Neighborhood House in this year’s Fringe. Eileen B. Fisher reviews.

Reviews
3 minute read

Philly Fringe 2023: Rough & Tumble Productions presents Magic Trash Day
A fresh twist on the dump
Through creative storytelling, contemporary dance, and clowning, Magic Trash Day tells the story of one kid’s fantastical emotional journey down into the dumps. Helen Walsh reviews.

Reviews
3 minute read

Philly Fringe 2023: Ben Grinberg and Hazem Header in Fix Me
What some say we shouldn't see
An arresting backstory grounds this able mix of contemporary dance, acrobatics, and theater from Ben Grinberg and Hazem Header in this year’s Fringe. Eileen Fisher reviews.

Reviews
3 minute read