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
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
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
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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
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
Philly Fringe 2023: Gunnar Montana Productions presents Black Wood
Sex, sorcery, and power
Gunnar Montana’s immersive Black Wood is a dark and bloody exploration of women’s power through sorcery and sexuality. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2023: Joseph Ahmed presents Half Magic
A masterpiece of mixed-medium storytelling
Solo performer Joseph Ahmed teams up with director Cat Ramirez for Half Magic, a Cannonball Festival show on grief and mixed-race identity through theater, circus, and storytelling. Krista Mar 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
Philly Fringe 2023: Philadelphia Artists’ Collective presents Citrus Andronicus
Vitamin C tragedy
The fruit juice flies in Citrus Andronicus, Philadelphia Artists’ Collective’s creative retelling of the Shakespearean revenge tragedy in this year’s Fringe Festival. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Reviews
2 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: James Haro presents GO AHEAD
Pop-punk, heartbreak, and belonging
James Haro joins this year’s Cannonball Festival with GO AHEAD, an interactive solo show incorporating poetry and live pop-punk on heartbreak, love, and belonging. Crystal Sparrow reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
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Also on BSR
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: Humble Materials presents The Yellow Wallpaper
A descent into sanity
Humble Materials takes on Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s classic feminist short story with theater, dance, and impressive makeup in this year’s Fringe. Jill Ivey reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2023: IKantKoan Play/s presents Tea Party at the End of the World
Good to the last drop
How would you like to spend the end of the world—or maybe just your own end? This immersive Fringe experience offers big questions with a warm cup of tea. Emily Esten reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, September 14-20, 2023
Wildest Dreams, Chasing LOVE, Never Broken, and Oktoberfest this week
A 12-foot puppet takes to the parkway, Ugandan classical music comes to West Philly, and the Wildest Dreams open at Magic Gardens. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up the week.
Previews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2023: Denise Stephenson presents Finding Melania
A haunting and hilarious dinner party of the mind
Denise Stephenson invokes the specter of our former First Lady in Finding Melania, a one-woman show at the Philly Fringe that offers a surreal portrait of complicity and alienation. Kiran Pandey reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2023: Evalina Carbonell presents Fruit of Her Lips
A woman’s journey
Blending poetry and dance, Evalina Carbonell’s Fringe show Fruit of Her Lips explored the feminine triune, bringing to life archetypes of womanhood. Zara Waters reviews.
Reviews
2 minute read
Philly Fringe 2023: Flamencodanza and KCBCxKCBCII’s Summer Series
Classical dance with contemporary flair
Two Fringe Festival performances feature classical forms of dance while looking to the present and future: Aylin Bayaz and Raúl Mannola’s Flamencodanza and KCBCxKCBCII’s Summer Series. Melissa Strong reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
Philly Fringe 2023: IRC presents Samuel Beckett’s All That Fall
Theater of the abs(heard)
All That Fall, a hilarious and unsettling jaunt to a train station in 1950s Ireland, is expertly staged by Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium in this year's Fringe, offering laughs right up to gut-punch finish. Emily B. Schilling reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read