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.
Previews
3 minute read
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.
Reviews
3 minute read
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.
Reviews
3 minute read
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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.
Previews
3 minute read
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.
Reviews
4 minute read
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.
Podcast
1 minute read
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.
Reviews
4 minute read
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.
Reviews
2 minute read
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.
Reviews
5 minute read
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.
Podcast
2 minute read
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.
Reviews
3 minute read
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.
Reviews
5 minute read
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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.
Reviews
3 minute read
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.
Previews
3 minute read
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.
Reviews
5 minute read
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.
Features
5 minute read
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.
Reviews
3 minute read
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.
Reviews
3 minute read
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.
Previews
3 minute read
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.
Previews
3 minute read
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.
Previews
3 minute read
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.
Reviews
3 minute read