Join Broad Street Review's virtual spring events for writers, readers, and arts-lovers!
Don't miss our May 29 webinar and our June 6 publishing panel
Join us on Zoom for two exciting BSR events: our latest webinar about review-writing on May 29, and a Philly publishing panel with some of our region's top writers and editors on June 6.
Previews
3 minute read
The BSR Podcast, Season 8, episode 5: Theatre Exile's PHILLY GRIT with Alaina Johns and Josh Herren
Three solo shows get two critics for the price of one
Editor-in-chief Alaina Johns joins forces with contributing critic Josh Herren for a conversation about Theatre Exile's PHILLY GRIT, an exciting trio of solo shows by Philly women artists.
Podcast
1 minute read
Philadelphia is spending summer 2024 with Mary Cassatt
Meet the iconic Impressionist with a new exhibition and public virtual class
Philadelphia will celebrate hometown artist Mary Cassatt this summer, kicking off with a major new exhibition that was years in the making at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Camille Bacon-Smith looks closer.
Features
6 minute read
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The Philadelphia Ballet presents The Dream and Prodigal Son
Choreography and character
The Philadelphia Ballet closed its season with Frederick Ashton’s crowd-pleasing Dream and George Balanchine’s strange and wonderful Prodigal Son, with revelatory dancing by Zecheng Liang. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
Woodmere Art Museum presents Through Her Eyes
Marking the 50th anniversary of a historic celebration of women artists
“Why have there been no great women artists?” An art critic posed the question in 1971 and Philly responded in 1974 with FOCUS, a citywide festival of women artists. Now, a new Woodmere show marks its 50th anniversary. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
Philly’s AAPI playwrights are ready for the stage with PWYC readings in May and June
Meet Philly’s first dedicated cohort of AAPI playwrights
None of Philly’s regional theaters have ever staged a full production of a non-solo show by a local AAPI playwright. Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists' new playwriting cohort wants to change that. Krista Mar visits.
Features
6 minute read
Piffaro presents The Glory of the Wind Band: Music of Portugal and Spain
A musical tour of Renaissance Iberia
For its season closer, Piffaro brought its trademark virtuosity to a tour of Renaissance Portugal and Spain, featuring dozens of period instruments and a rich program of sacred and secular music. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
The popular new Broadway Cabaret at Rittenhouse Grill will return for the 2024-25 season
Cabaret is alive and well in Philly
A longtime Philly artistic director and Rittenhouse restaurant owner launched a new cabaret that has drawn Broadway stars and sold-out crowds since it debuted last December. They promise a return next season. SaraKay Smullens visits.
Features
5 minute read
Philadelphia Artists’ Collective presents Maxim Gorky’s Children of the Sun
The Russian Revolution resonates in the US today
This rattling and thrilling new production of Maxim Gorky’s Children of the Sun, set in 1862 and written in a St. Petersburg prison in 1905, has devastating resonance for Americans in 2024. C.M. Crockford reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Azuka Theatre and Simpatico Theatre present R. Eric Thomas's An Army of Lovers
Queer revolutionaries in the digital age
With a multifaceted
script and powerhouse lead performance, Azuka Theatre and Simpatico Theatre's An
Army of Lovers invites audiences into a world of complex queer politics,
surveillance, and the thorny issue of legacy. Natalie Layne reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
1812 Productions presents Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song
Keeping the flame lit
The new version of Harvey Fierstein’s classic comedy, revised from the original into a shorter two-act production, gets its regional premiere at 1812 in a show that aptly emphasizes the writer’s historical era. Josh Herren reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
InLiquid Gallery presents The Naked Show
What does nakedness show us? What does it hide?
A new
ensemble exhibit featuring 15 InLiquid Gallery members poses plenty of worthwhile
questions along with its nudes, but something is missing from the show’s
promise to honor humanity’s infinite variations. Anndee Hochman reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
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Also on BSR
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, May 9-15, 2024
Philly Grit, Dear Philadelphia, and John Jarboe: The Rose Garden
New exhibits from Da Vinci Art Alliance, TILT, and Fabric Workshop; and laughs from Bristol and Theatre Exile. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up the week.
Previews
3 minute read
People’s Light presents Madeleine George’s Hurricane Diane
Dionysus has a new agenda in New Jersey
Dionysus is back, but this time, he’s not out for destruction. In Hurricane Diane, now getting its regional premiere at People’s Light, he tries to enlist four Jersey housewives for a new, eco-friendly regime. David Block reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, May 1-8, 2024
An Army of Lovers, Machine de Cirque, and Dual Heritage Month
A new exhibit opens at Fuller Rosen Gallery, a new play from R. Eric Thomas, revisiting (re)FOCUS, and celebrating Jewish American and Pacific American heritage at the Weitzman. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up.
Previews
2 minute read
BSR Classical Interludes, May 1-15, 2024
Singing in the spring
Three operas, an operetta, and new vocal work decorate the first half of a very vocal May. Gail Obenreder previews.
Previews
4 minute read
The BSR May 2024 repertory movie roundup
Fosse, Fosse, Fosse!
Celebrating Bob Fosse, Grey Gardens, and more looks back to the ‘70s. Stephen Silver rounds up area film screenings.
Previews
4 minute read
Koresh Dance Company presents Hollow Apple
Expansive themes in dance
The world premiere of Koresh’s Hollow Apple tackles a timely subject in its 2024 Spring Home Season performance. Melissa Strong reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Opera Philadelphia presents Puccini’s Madame Butterfly
A radiant metamorphosis
Opera is grappling with the iconic creations of
Giacomo Puccini: can we reverse harmful depictions of marginalized people while
honoring the work’s integrity? Opera Philadelphia finds a way with its new
Madame Butterfly. Linda Holt reviews.
Reviews
5 minute read
Big Telly and Tiny Dynamite present The Worst Café in the World
An undercooked dramatic menu
Big Telly and Tiny Dynamite present The Worst Cafe in the World, a conceit that offers theater as dinner but never amounts to a complete meal. Kiran Pandey reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
BalletX presents its 2024 Spring Festival
Great ballet meets live music at the Mann
BalletX’s spring 2024 performance combined otherworldliness with riveting historical narrative, all alongside captivating live music at the Mann. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
Curio Theatre Company presents Hannah Moscovitch’s Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story
Our ancestors were immigrants, too
This thrilling music/theater hybrid is inspired by the true story of two Jewish Romanian refugees, broken by the inhumanities of war, who find love after arriving on the shores of Canada in 1908. SaraKay Smullens reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read