Four women on stage look up in awe, a backdrop of the ocean and cloudy skies on four separate panels in a row

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.
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Previews 3 minute read
Montana on a yellow ladder, with no shirt and paint-splattered shorts, paints tree branches on the wall of the set.

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.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Editorials 6 minute read
Sulayman sings soulfully at center stage. Dolphin dances at left; at right, Ward & Mirzadegan sit facing each other.

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.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 4 minute read
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Bailey, a white woman with luxuriant wavy brown hair, poses in a white shirt and black vest.

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.
Melissa Strong

Melissa Strong

Reviews 4 minute read
7 Girl BSR 9 26 23a

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.
Melissa Strong

Melissa Strong

Reviews 4 minute read
A man in a suit silhouetted by a bright white light coming from an ominous looking house

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.
Stephen Silver

Stephen Silver

Previews 5 minute read
Scene from the play: sitting in adjacent forward-facing chairs, the two women turn their heads to look fondly at each other.

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.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 4 minute read
The orchestra atop a circular gray structure about 10 feet tall, with the cast members performing in front of it.

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.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Reviews 5 minute read
The cast of nine, looking zany with a variety of expressions, props, and costumes, stands in a gesticulating group onstage

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.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 4 minute read
Against a dramatic cloudy sky projection, Kelsey sings atop a small stone stairway, and Van Horn faces outward at right.

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.
Linda Holt

Linda Holt

Reviews 3 minute read
Tyson, in colorful button-down & wide blue capri pants, wades in a reedy waterway created onstage.

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.
Jeannine A. Cook

Jeannine A. Cook

Reviews 4 minute read
With a severe, animated expression, Ladd speaks and stretches out her arms, wearing a navy jacket and yellow scarf.

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.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 3 minute read
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Close-up on a light-skinned hand holding a cannoli with blue sprinkles covering one end and pink sprinkles covering the other

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.
Crystal Sparrow

Crystal Sparrow

Reviews 3 minute read
A collage of art, text, screenshots on ripped, torn papery material is arranged on an oval frame

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.
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Previews 3 minute read
The Pecking Order BSR 9 20 23

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.
Darnelle Radford

Darnelle Radford

Podcast 1 minute read
A multi-racial group of about two dozen people posing together in a simple church venue with high wooden rafters.

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.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 5 minute read
A female actor in black seriously addresses audience members seated in a bar, pointing one finger at them.

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.
Kiran Pandey

Kiran Pandey

Reviews 4 minute read
A performer in casualwear in movement, their head tilted back and face expressive, a full band in the background

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.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Reviews 3 minute read
McLenigan, in historic priestly black suit, prostrates himself across a table to a smiling O’Hare, in a lacy costume dress.

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.
Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey

Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey

Reviews 3 minute read
In the foreground, Chang, in gray, moves gracefully with arms extended; ensemble and audience members sit and move behind her

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.
Eileen B. Fisher

Eileen B. Fisher

Reviews 3 minute read
Photo of 3 cast members performing on a sunny day, with a low wooden stage showing The Dumps and overhanging trees.

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.
Helen Walsh

Helen Walsh

Reviews 3 minute read
Grinberg, on his knees, faces the shirtless Header in a moment of sexual tension, next to a single lamp.

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.
Eileen B. Fisher

Eileen B. Fisher

Reviews 3 minute read