Each month, we share our own calendars with YOU!

Welcome back to BSR in the Wild, our monthly subscribers-only tips on where our team is headed on the Philly scene this month. It’s hard to believe that this is the last Wild message of 2025. What a year. Congrats on making it through.

Thanks to the Friends who joined us at the Wilma’s Good Karma cafe in November for our fall Office Hours meetup. (Photo by Alaina Johns.)

We are so grateful to the supporters who are stepping up at the end of the year to help keep us publishing in 2026. Remember that if you enjoy reading BSR, our future is in your hands! We’re an independent media outlet because our readers support us. We know times are hard. And there are so many good causes right now. But if you have anything to spare and you value local, independent media, your gift goes a long way to our small nonprofit, with an annual budget of less than $120,000.

Usually you hear from Neil for In the Wild, but today it’s me, Alaina, BSR’s editor-in-chief. You’re still getting a few FIND US listings, and Neil is chiming in with his Nod of the Month and Recommended Reading. But as a bit of a retrospective, I also want to briefly flag some of my favorite arts events of 2025, letting you know which companies and venues to look out for next year.

My goal is always to get to at least one cultural event—a play, a concert, an exhibition, a rally, etc—per week. Often it’s more. I can’t helm BSR from behind a keyboard. I need to know firsthand what’s going on, judge its quality, and note who is innovating, taking risks, and producing excellent work, and how the audience is responding.

Here are some of my favorite shows of 2025

I saw Opera Philadelphia and Boston Lyric Opera’s The Anonymous Lover in February with critic Gail Obenreder, who loved the show. I agreed. It was one of the most engaging operas I have ever seen, full of romantic chemistry, hilarious characters, and gorgeous voices and music. The packed audience, much more diverse by age and race than a typical opera crowd, audibly cheered the characters on. I was sorry I had booked another show for the next day; I would have gone right back and watched Anonymous Lover again. The energy was no doubt a combo of Opera Philadelphia’s pick your price program, making opera accessible to people who couldn’t otherwise afford it, and the excellent artistry. I had a similar experience at each Opera Philadelphia show I caught this year, including composer-in-residence Nathalie Joachim in concert at the Wanamaker in November. What an artist.

InterAct Theatre Company stood out this year for two productions in particular (granted, there was one I didn’t like). On My Deen (reviewed by Maya Arthur), which ran in June, was an engaging script with a high-quality production, but more than that, it highlighted Philly’s Muslim community, who are not usually represented on our stages, or in the audience. This show achieved both, and I would love to see more theaters engage meaningfully with under-represented communities. It’s not just an important principle. Artistic excellence demands diversity and open doors. InterAct’s November show, Walden, was also a standout. I agree with critic Cameron Kelsall’s quibble with the script, but this was a particularly fine production: wonderful direction, costumes, set, lighting, and sound.

Alice Yorke (left) and Campbell O’Hare in ‘Walden’ at InterAct. (Photo by Ashley Smith, Wide Eyed Studios.)

I want to call out the 2025 Fringe Festival in general. As I wrote at the end of September, it was a great year for the fest. And FringeArts confirmed that vibe when it announced a record-breaking number of tickets sold (more than 33,000). One of my favorite shows was Lions, the latest devised work by Lightning Rod Special. It was funny and painfully honest, building on the longtime rapport of costars Scott Sheppard and Alice Yorke. Here’s my review. I never miss LRS shows.

I also enjoy visiting museums and art exhibitions, and one standout this year is Mavis Pusey: Mobile Images, on view through Sunday at the Institute for Contemporary Art. I had not known this Jamaican-born artist before stepping into the gallery, and I’m so glad to have remedied that. If you have any time this weekend, I highly recommend catching this show before it’s gone. It’s free! My favorite works were Pusey’s abstract evocations of city architecture in various states of development and decay. The complex, tumbling shapes and striking colors transfixed me, and the samples of Pusey’s fashion design were also a treat, showing the extraordinary range of her gift. Next up at ICA is A World in the Making: The Shakers (opening January 31).

We would love to hear from you about your favorite experiences of 2025.

Alaina and Kyle met up to see ‘Mavis Pusey: Mobile Images’ in August. (Photo by Alaina Johns.)

FIND ALAINA

HELP US HELP YOU: The PR webinar for artist with the editors at BSR
WHEN: Wednesday, December 10 at 6:30pm ET
WHERE: On Zoom!

WHY: It’s the third annual session of our popular 90-minute class all about PR tips for indie artists and small grassroots cultural groups (though this info applies to all PR outreach, even from the pros). Readers can sit in on this one, too – it’s a great window on how we operate here at BSR, and it’ll help you make sense of the media landscape as a whole. Tix are a suggested $25 donation to BSR, but there’s a pay-what-you-can option starting at $1. We’d love to see you there. Tell your artist pals! We don’t want anyone to miss out on this resource, including a Q&A with two local communications experts, so bring your questions.

Home for the Holidays at the Wanamaker
WHEN & WHERE: Airing on WHYY radio and public TV at 8pm on December 23

WHY: I attended this December 2 holiday concert at the Wanamaker, presented by Opera Philadelphia’s PIPE UP! program, and wow. The full opera chorus and orchestra, plus soloists Anthony Roth Costanzo and Leah Hawkins, the Wanamaker organ, and a hilarious dance interlude that I won’t spoil for you here. With music including nostalgic Christmas songs, a blockbuster “O Holy Night”, and Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, I may just tune in to listen to the whole thing again when it airs on December 23.

The Wanamaker Grand Court was decked out for a special Home for the Holidays concert with Opera Philadelphia on December 2. (Photo by Alaina Johns.)

FIND NEIL

Dezron Douglas Quartet
WHEN: December 17 & 18
WHERE: Solar Myth, 1131 S. Broad St., Philadelphia
WHY: I've had my ear out for Dezron Douglas since 2021, when I learned of him on the Blackberry Jams podcast. He's a bassist in Trey Anastasio Band but also a soloist and bandleader of various projects. (His quarantine album with Brandee Younger, Force Majeure, is divine listening.) His gigs at Solar Myth popped up on my social media feed, and I jumped at getting tickets: everything else I've ever tried to get to at the new-classic South Philly space has been sold out by the time I learned of it!

Dezron Douglas Quartet has back-to-back nights of shows at Solar Myth this December. (Photo by Deneka Peniston)

FIND ALAINA

Cirque Dreams Holidaze
WHEN: December 23-28, 2025
WHERE: The Miller Theater
WHY: I’m a sucker for nostalgic holiday glamor, and I always enjoy watching the phenomenal Cirque artists (though it definitely sparks my anxiety when they’re spinning away 20 feet above the stage). This could be a fun family ticket for you during its short run at the Ensemble Arts Philly complex. Before a hectic series of family gatherings over Christmas, I’m going to take a breath and enjoy this performance.

Cirque Dreams Holidaze is coming to the Miller Theater December 23-28. (Image courtesy of Ensemble Arts Philly.)

Neil's nod of the month

Disability Pride PA leader Vicki Landers has an op-ed coming to our site soon. She'll write about the lack of planning for accessibility amidst the 250th anniversary celebrations in Philly. I've been part of various conversations in advance of 2026 and welcome this perspective!

I remember meeting Constance Garcia-Barrio a few weeks before her piece on the history of unusual Black women's bodies in Philadelphia ran. I can't recall another article like this that we've run in terms of format and certainly the subject matter is memorable. Connie's got a wonderful gift for encapsulating narratives. Go read this article if you haven't yet and consider all its implications.