A line of drummers in colorful outfits march along a large crowd at the Independence Hall area

The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, June 1-7, 2023

Hand to Hand Circus Festival, Ancient Food & Flavor, and Pride Month begins

June arrives with Pride events, a handful of exhibits and art shows, and a circus festival from FringeArts. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up.
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Previews 3 minute read
Nance, a Black man wearing a white shift, sits on a stool onstage and sings into a handheld mic, a spiral in light behind him

BlackStar Projects and Union Transfer present Terence Nance’s VORTEX in concert

Finding a groove in the vortex

Terence Nance’s first performance of V O R T E X, his debut album, was full of heavy percussion and celestial harping that managed to stay tethered to the earth through balance and love. Kiersten Adams reviews.
Kiersten Adams

Kiersten Adams

Reviews 3 minute read
9 cast members pose as if for a school picture in the gym, with bright differently styled clothes & varied exaggerated poses

Arden Theatre Company presents The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Not a winner

At the Arden, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee lingers on cheap jokes at the expense of adolescent self-discovery. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 3 minute read
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A stylized drone shot of a farm with rolling green fields and an pink-tinted orange sunset in the distance

BSR Classical Music Interludes, June 2023

Paper Tiger, Peter and the Wolf, Serafin Summer Music, and more

Yes, it’s summer, and Gail Obenreder previews some of its early classical music offerings.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Previews 3 minute read
Bonetti and Liao, in in richly textured jackets, sit next to each other in a friendly, intimate way.

Lantern Theater Company presents Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

Present mirth and present laughter

Lantern Theater Company offers a delightfully comic and effortlessly romantic new production of Twelfth Night to close its season. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 4 minute read
The 4 panelists sit in chairs up front, with large windows behind them, and dozens of audience members sit in rows watching.

The BSR Podcast, season 7, episode 8: The Power of Food Media panel recording

Hear our conversation with Kyle, Kae Lani Palmisano, Margaret Eby, and Alisha Miranda

If you missed our May 25 Power of Food Media panel conversation in person, now you can listen to it on the BSR pod! Our guests explain how they got into the biz, why the work matters, and offer advice for new journalists.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Podcast 1 minute read
On rectangular paper measuring several feet, the score appears in startling, graceful segments & shapes, not linear bars

Orchestra 2001 presents George Crumb: Scores at an Exhibition

Beautiful music—for the ear and the eye

Philadelphia composer George Crumb, who died last year, was famous for his music as well as his hand-notated scores, art forms in themselves. Orchestra 2001 had both on display in this combined concert and exhibition. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 4 minute read
A smiling Eisenhower sings in an ornate blue-and-black patterned coat. She has red hair, a feathered hat, and floral handbag.

Act II Playhouse presents Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly!

A smaller Dolly

Act II Playhouse produces the brassy Hello, Dolly! with top-notch local talent, but does the big show suit a small venue? Josh Herren reviews.
Josh Herren

Josh Herren

Reviews 2 minute read
Black & white photo of a gracious five-story city building with a stone front, arches and bay windows.

The University of Pennsylvania presents Minerva Parker Nichols: The Search for a Forgotten Architect

Reconstructing a Legacy

Minerva Parker Nichols was the first US woman to have her own architectural practice. Then she almost disappeared from history. A new exhibition helps to restore her legacy. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Reviews 5 minute read
PVLA Arts Affair

The BSR Podcast, season 7, episode 7: PVLA celebrates 45 years of pro bono legal services

Join the party in June at the PVLA Arts Affair!

BSR is the media partner for the PVLA Arts Affair! Podcast host Darnelle Radford sits down with PVLA leaders to find out how lawyers and artists empower each other, what services PVLA offers, and how to join in on the June 7 party.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Podcast 2 minute read
A riot of Spiral Q works, including slogans like queerness is infinite, housing is a human right, & stop killing us, on fists

Grounds for Sculpture presents Spiral Q: The Parade

Power to the people

Flooding from 2021’s Hurricane Ida destroyed most of the archive from Spiral Q’s 27-year history of community art and advocacy, but enough remains for an urgent and engaging exhibition at New Jersey’s Grounds for Sculpture. Jill Ivey reviews.
Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey

Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey

Reviews 3 minute read
Stahler, in overalls, concentrates on a paper bag. Shiner gestures at him & Passer sits. They wear battered mismatched suits

Hedgerow Theatre presents Juliette Dunn’s The Puzzle

Portraying the lives of non-speaking people

Hedgerow marks its 100th season with the world premiere of Juliette Dunn’s The Puzzle, which reveals complex inner worlds for all of us, whether or not we communicate by speaking. Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer reviews.
Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

Reviews 5 minute read
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The book cover. Title appears at left, and a black & white photo of the smiling, mustached Crescenz at right.

No Greater Love, by John A. Siegfried and Kevin Ferris

The story of Philly’s only Medal of Honor recipient of the Vietnam War

A new biography traces the family and neighborhood life and military service of West Oak Lane native Michael Crescenz, who saved many lives during his service in Vietnam at age 19. Andrea Smith reviews.
Andrea Smith

Andrea Smith

Reviews 3 minute read
Khan in nurse scrubs looks on standing or walking outside on a Philadelphia street during a cloudy day

The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, May 25-31, 2023

NoLibs Night Market, Black Birders Week, Angel Dose, and more

Be Holding and Angel Dose hit the stage and screen, Memorial Day at the MoAR, and the return of the Northern Liberties Night Market. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up.
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Previews 3 minute read
On a pillared chancel with a golden mural backdrop, 13 musicians and singers, all dressed in black, perform.

Piffaro presents Entre dos Álamos

Rare, beautiful music from 17th- and 18th-century South America

Piffaro closes its season with Entre dos Álamos, a musical trip to South America including Spanish and Indigenous texts and music, proving that great music has always been created everywhere. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 5 minute read
Exterior view of the huge ship on the river under a bright blue sky. An American flag flies in the foreground.

Meet Camden’s Battleship New Jersey, a great summer trip for Philly-area history fans

All aboard the Big J

On the way to the shore, writer and teacher Bart Stump noticed an intriguing destination while crossing the Ben Franklin: Camden’s Battleship New Jersey, which turns a massive US warship into a public museum.
Bart Stump

Bart Stump

Features 5 minute read
On a battered field of gray rectangles, weird white mechanical-looking structures of hard-to-identify parts stand and float.

The Print Center presents Rodrigo Valenzuela: Workforce

Machines dream in a post-worker world

The Print Center presents Rodrigo Valenzuela: Workforce, a surreal mixed-media exhibition about work, industry, power, and people. Emily B. Schilling reviews.
Emily Schilling

Emily Schilling

Reviews 3 minute read
In beautiful church clothes, the characters (all Black except for one white man) sit on pews with different avid expressions.

Bristol Riverside Theatre presents Douglas Lyons’s Chicken & Biscuits

Nothing new at the family funeral

Chicken & Biscuits at Bristol Riverside Theatre gathers common tropes of the family funeral genre, but its performances and design meld comedy and drama for a fun family night. An Nichols reviews.
An Nichols

An Nichols

Reviews 3 minute read
Diorio poses for a portrait in a black see-through gown and yellow dress against a soft pink backdrop

The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, May 18-24, 2023

HBCU Festival, Illuminating Birds, The Big Reveal, and Vinyl Tap 215

Kyle V. Hiller rounds up the week, with selections from the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the Mann, drag queen Sasha Velour, and a special edition of Vinyl Tap 215.
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Previews 3 minute read
An illustration with a human figure with a top hat next to a figure in a black suit, holding a sign that reads Relâche

BSR Classical Music Interludes, May 2023, part 2

A national competition, honoring George Crumb, Relâche recreates, and more

Gail Obenreder previews the rest of May’s classical music offerings, with events from Astral Artists, Artcinia, Orchestra 2001, Lyric Fest, and Relâche.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Previews 3 minute read
A portrait shot taken on indoor staircase, Kosha Dillz wearing a T-shirt with a performer’s face on it

The return of the Jewish New Media Festival

A triumphant comeback story

The festival is back after a four-year hiatus, with Kosha Dillz and Karen Cinnamon leading the way. Stephen Silver previews.
Stephen Silver

Stephen Silver

Previews 3 minute read
Smiling and wearing a black jacket, Nezet-Seguin conducts, with the heads of a few musicians visible in the foreground.

The Philadelphia Orchestra presents Gabriela Lena Frank and Hector Berlioz

Mastering symphonic forces

The Philadelphia Orchestra gives its first full rendition of composer-in-residence Gabriela Lena Frank’s Walkabout: Concerto for Orchestra, and a thrilling rendition of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, op. 14. Linda Holt reviews.
Linda Holt

Linda Holt

Reviews 3 minute read