A huge crowd on Philly’s lit-up nighttime Broad Street, under the massive clock tower of City Hall lit up in green.

Can the Eagles’ 2025 Super Bowl game make Philly feel like home for all of us?

The narratives Philly loves—and the ones we escape

Kyle V. Hiller's relationship with sports has always colored his relationship with Philly. We're a city of contradictions, always fighting that not-good-enough narrative. What can we learn about our city in the Eagles' latest shot at the Super Bowl?
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Editorials 6 minute read
A Black woman in a purple/white dress with banner that reads “first AA woman to run for POTUS” motions at camera

The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, February 6-12, 2025

New exhibitions throughout the city and more Black History Month events

Screenings at the Weitzman and Asian Arts Initiative, new exhibits at the Schuylkill Center, Penn Museum, and FRIEDA, and Black History Month at AAMP and Chestnut Hill. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up.
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Previews 4 minute read
Show logo: A hooded Black man holding a water-splashed basketball superimposed on colorful West African-style patterns.

Dive into Philly's winter theater scene with interviews featuring the Wilma's Suli Holum and BRT's Phyllis Johnson

Go behind-the-scenes on The Half-God of Rainfall and Fires in the Mirror

On these podcast episodes, Darnelle takes you inside two exciting regional productions: the Wilma's Half-God of Rainfall (by Inua Ellams) and BRT's Fires in the Mirror (by Anna Deavere Smith).
Darnelle Radford

Darnelle Radford

Podcast 2 minute read
A blond drag queen in spangled blue with a giant gauze boa dances joyfully amid the lavishly costumed ensemble.

EgoPo presents Mae West’s The Drag, adapted by Thomas Choinacky and AZ Espinoza

A deconstructed drag

EgoPo Classic Theater’s Queer Revolutions season opens with a reworking of Mae West’s The Drag that often feels condescending toward its source material. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 3 minute read
Cho, a Korean woman, looks down at her bandoneon, an accordion-like instrument. It’s extended out, falling over her lap

BSR Classical Interludes, February 2025

It takes an ensemble to tango

Classical music performances in the greater Philadelphia area this February, with hints of Argentine tango and classics both contemporary and centuries old. Gail Obenreder previews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Previews 3 minute read
Carrie, a white woman in her 40s with glasses, stands smiling with her teen daughter. Both wear turquoise dresses.

Remembering Carrie Gorn, Philly theater publicist extraordinaire

The woman who powered Philly theater from behind the scenes

For more than 10 years, theater critic Cameron Kelsall heard from publicist Carrie Gorn each week, tirelessly pitching clients’ work with her distinctive joy for the art form. Here at BSR, it’s painful to imagine our job without her.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Essays 4 minute read
Nighttime city photo of a light pole with a handwritten sign on it that says hope, act, agitate.

Six reasons my friends aren’t calling Congress, DEBUNKED

If you hate picking up the phone, these tips are for you

This is no time to wring your hands. If you care about US democracy and its role in our cultural sector, it’s time to act. For some people, that means calling Congress for the first time. Alaina Johns has tips.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Editorials 5 minute read
The three artworks: a wooden sculpture hanging in the center and the others on one wall each of the white-walled corner.

Drexel’s Pearlstein Gallery presents A Certain Slant of Light

Illuminating nature

A new Pearlstein Gallery show featuring three former Drexel professors spans sculpture, photography, and painting to explore our relationship with nature as part of a larger whole. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Reviews 4 minute read
Martinez-Briggs as Demi. Wears a sleeveless hooded sweater, holding a basketball, with Yoruba-style patterns for background

Wilma Theater presents Inua Ellams’s The Half-God of Rainfall

The mythos of a slam dunk

The Wilma Theater presents The Half-God of Rainfall, a contemporary epic poem that blends oral storytelling, Yoruba and Greek mythology, and basketball. Kiran Pandey previews.
Kiran Pandey

Kiran Pandey

Previews 2 minute read
The councilmembers sit at a long table in City Council chambers, listening to testimony.

Philadelphia City Council prepares for the “lived nightmares” of the new Trump administration

Will Philly stand as a Sanctuary City in the MAGA era?

Two days after Trump was inaugurated again, City Council held a hearing on how Philly can protect vulnerable residents from the new administration, drawing testimony from civil-rights advocates. Alaina Johns tuned in.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Editorials 6 minute read
The three actors sit around a small table in a music studio full of amps, framed photos, and guitar. They talk, smiling.

Arden Theatre Company presents Michael Hollinger’s Holy Grail of Memphis

The past is not through with us

Philly playwright Michael Hollinger’s Holy Grail of Memphis, premiering at the Arden, follows the white owner of a historic Memphis music studio where the lost recordings of a Black blues legend are hiding. C.M. Crockford reviews.

C.M. Crockford

C.M. Crockford

Reviews 3 minute read
A group of dancers in mid-movement on a stage, a few looking directly at the camera

Urban Movement Arts' WORKINONIT! opens new creative avenues for adult dance students

Opening up the dance floor

Urban Movement Arts is making space for dancers of all stages. Katherine Desimine profiles WORKINONIT!

Katherine Desimine

Profiles 3 minute read
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In opulent 17th-century Parisian clothes, the ensemble sits listening to Walker sing, each with different goofy expressions

Opera Philadelphia and Boston Lyric Opera present Joseph Bologne’s The Anonymous Lover

The genius of the Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Opera Philadelphia, selling out the season after offering $11 tickets to all, delighted a packed house with a faultless production of the only surviving opera by an 18th-century genius, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 5 minute read
In a mirrored pose, Baby & Črnčič sit holding Medieval harps with leiken between them. They have serious but friendly faces

Penn Live Arts presents Benjamin Bagby’s Gregorius – The Holy Sinner

Loving a long-ago language

Veteran musician, performer, and scholar Benjamin Bagby returns to Philly alongside French Medieval music ensemble Sequentia for a thrilling performance of Gregorius, The Holy Sinner. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 5 minute read
Promotional image with title over a boy looking at a collection of mirrors with people's faces reflected in them

Bristol Riverside Theatre presents Anna Deavere Smith’s Fires in the Mirror

Divide by fire

With a new production of Anna Deavere Smith’s one-woman show, Bristol Riverside Theatre reopens with a new facility and commitment to diverse perspectives onstage. nat čermák previews.

nat čermák

Previews 2 minute read
Two Korean people sit close in a bathroom looking at their phones inquisitively

The BSR February 2025 repertory movie roundup

Honoring David Lynch, Valentine's Day flicks, and more

Fire Walk With Me, When Harry Met Sally, Parasite, a “Girls and Guns Double Feature” and more screen this month. Stephen Silver previews.
Stephen Silver

Stephen Silver

Previews 5 minute read
Rodgers, a Black woman. Portrait style photo with her to the right, glasses, and a yellow sweater over a black top

Getting behind the scenes with the Hammer and Nails Conference

Encouraging young women of color

This new conference, hosted by Camden Rep, looks to cultivate and educate young girls of color interested in careers in film and theater. Dara McBride previews.

Dara McBride

Previews 2 minute read
Illustration, two Black people over yellow/white backdrop. One holds up her fist, the other holds a flag with a black panther

The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, January 30-February 5, 2025

Walk Around Philadelphia, The Drag, and kicking off Black History Month

Opening spaces for Black History in February, exploring the city with Walk Around Philadelphia, and EgoPo’s production of a roaring 20s censored classic. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up.
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Previews 4 minute read
Perkins, an elderly Black man wearing a patterned button-down, sits at a desk smiling and holding a vinyl jazz album.

Remembering beloved WRTI jazz announcer Bob Perkins

The coolest cat in the world

Composer Kile Smith worked with Bob Perkins in the studio at WRTI. He remembers the legendary Philly jazz announcer as an unwitting mentor who imparted the knowledge and the feeling of great music for 25 years at the mic.
Kile Smith

Kile Smith

Essays 5 minute read
Gallery photo of Cheng’s work, a rectangular yellow box with water pouring on a rock on one side & rocks waiting on the other

The Institute of Contemporary Art presents Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses

Designed to destruct

The Institute of Contemporary Art hosts the first major museum survey of innovative interdisciplinary artist Carl Cheng, who has challenged ideas of art, science, culture, and nature for 60 years. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Reviews 6 minute read
Three women spin joyfully in flowing long-sleeve dresses in shades of blue, seeming to float around them.

Penn Live Arts presents Agora de la danse’s Koros

Contemporary dance in virtual reality

Montreal’s Agora de la danse, a venue and incubator for contemporary dance, brought its virtual-reality experience, Koros, to Philly for the first time with a weekend of showings at the Annenberg Center. Melissa Strong reviews.
Melissa Strong

Melissa Strong

Reviews 4 minute read
3 actors with grave expressions stand among archivist desks with giant white newsprint words projected on the wall behind.

Tectonic Theater Project presents Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich’s Here There Are Blueberries

A picture’s worth

Here There Are Blueberries, a touring production of Moisés Kaufman’s Tectonic Theater Project now onstage at McCarter Theatre Center, grapples with how to present the history of the Holocaust. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 3 minute read