InterAct's 'When Something Wonderful Ends'

Playwright Sherry Kramer wants to dramatize the dangers of Americans’ addiction to Middle Eastern oil. But this is not a drama; it’s a one-woman lecture, and not a very sophisticated one at that.

When Something Wonderful Ends. By Sherry Kramer; directed by Tom Moore. Presented by InterAct Theatre Co. through May 6, 2007 at Adrienne Theater, 2030 Sansom, St. (215) 568-8079 or

Dan Rottenberg

Apr 12, 2007 · Articles · 2 minute read

Beaux Arts Trio plays Schubert and Shostakovich

The opening of Schubert’s Notturno did everything it’s supposed to; the opening of Shostakovich’s Second Piano Trio didn’t. You can’t play Shostakovich’s music if you can’t work your way into the tensions that harry a creative artist trapped in a society dominated by the tragedies of war and the whims of a capricious tyrant.

Beaux Arts Trio: Schubert Notturno, Shostakovich Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Turnage A Slow Pav

Tom Purdom

Apr 10, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read

The AIA slights Philadelphia architecture

To celebrate its 150th anniversary, the American Institute of Architects polled hundreds of amateurs to choose their 150 favorite American buildings. The result of this grossly defective methodology? Well, how do you like the Las Vegas Bellagio Hotel and Casino?

Patrick D. Hazard

Apr 10, 2007 · Articles · 5 minute read

Philomel and Piffaro do the Hapsburgs and Louis XI

Most history texts will tell you the Hapsburgs married their way to the top. But how many historians could play the music composed for one of those marriages?

Philomel: “The Princess and the Flea: A New Look at Music and Manners in the Court of Louis XIV.” March 23, 2007 at Christ Church, Second and Market Sts. (215) 487-2344 or www.philomel.org.

Piffaro and Parthena: Music by Or

Tom Purdom

Apr 10, 2007 · Articles · 4 minute read

Lucinda Williams discovered (belatedly)

Discovering the singer Lucinda Williams has exerted an Elvis-like impact on this classical critic’s musical taste. Although her latest album, West, is disappointing, Williams remains an extraordinary creative force: the thinking person’s country/rock star.

Dan Coren

Apr 05, 2007 · Articles · 6 minute read

Sydney Dance Company at Annenberg

Sydney Dance Company choreographer Graeme Murphy thinks big, uses plenty of dancers onstage, and power-loads his canvas with flash narrative and comic invention.

Sydney Dance Company. March 29, 2007 at Annenberg Center, 3860 Walnut St. 215.898.6701 or www.pennpresents.org.

Lewis Whittington

Apr 03, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Caroline, or Change' at the Arden (second review)

Tony Kushner’s Caroline, or Change may well be an even finer achievement than his Angels in America. Angels dazzled with its panoramic sweep; Caroline impresses with its intimacy and understatement, its balanced presentation of differing sides in a social revolution, and its depiction of everyday life in a single small household.

Caroline, or Change. Book and Lyrics by Tony Kushner; music by Jeanine Tesori; directed by Terrence

Steve Cohen

Mar 31, 2007 · Articles · 4 minute read

Abramovic and Stillman at Bach Festival

Charles Abramovic soothed most of my biases in favor of historical instruments when he accompanied flutist Mimi Stillman during the Bach festival. I don’t make a fuss about the instrumentation when music of this quality is played by musicians of this caliber, with a full understanding of the issues raised by modern instruments.

Bach Works for Flute. Mimi Stillman, flute; Charles Abramovic, piano. March 17, 2007 at First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut Street.

Tom Purdom

Mar 31, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read

EgoPo's "Spring Awakening' (second review)

Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening, fresh and spirited in its production by Philadelphia’s newest company, makes yesterday’s avant-garde more exciting than most anything on today’s constipated stage.

Spring Awakening. By Frank Wedekind; directed by Lane Savadove. Presented by EgoPo Productions through March 25, 2007 at Mainstage at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St.

Robert Zaller

Mar 28, 2007 · Articles · 4 minute read

Naoto Nakagawa paintings in New York

Two New York shows, one of early paintings and one of recent ones, comprise a partial retrospective one of the most important and provocative Japanese-American painters of the past half century. Naoto Nakagawa offers the viewer much, but his violent, disturbing, and hallucinatory vision demands no less of us.

Naoto Nakagawa, Early and Recent. Through Match 31, 2007 at White Box, 525 W 26th St., Manhattan, (212) 714-2347 or ww

Robert Zaller

Mar 26, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read