View of a huge protest crowd on a sunny day, centered on a giant sign that says MAKE AMERICA A DEMOCRACY AGAIN

BSR writers speak up about Philadelphia’s October 18 No Kings protests

A creative spirit shines at Philly’s pro-democracy rallies
Philly turned out for the second nationwide No Kings Day, with rallies throughout the region that showcased our creative flair and our refusal to show fear in the face of fascism. BSR was there.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Editorials 7 minute read
Collage of 12 headshots of Asian people of different ages, genders, and ethnicities.

Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists presents Philly Asian Futures

Imagining the future Philly's Pan-Asian community
A multidisciplinary theater project features nine performance installations by local artists that pull from listening circles held with local Asian elders. Krista Mar previews.
Krista Mar

Krista Mar

Previews 3 minute read
Craig, in a snazzy brown suit, stands in a small, ornate Catholic nave with wooden pews, stone arches, and stained glass.

The 2025 Philadelphia Film Festival opens with Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Director Rian Johnson joins his new mystery at the revamped Film Society Center
The 34th Philadelphia Film Festival kicked off on October 16 at the newly renovated Film Society Center and runs through October 26. Stephen Silver reviews opening-night film Wake Up Dead Man.
Stephen Silver

Stephen Silver

Reviews 4 minute read
Five cast members in 1920s formal wear pose together, on an Art Deco stage with giant human silhouettes behind.

Quintessence Theatre Group presents Marilyn Campbell-Lowe and Paul Oakley Stovall’s Fire!!

Celebrating America’s first all-Black literary magazine
Quintessence opens its new season with Fire!!, a world-premiere interdisciplinary show inspired by giants of the Harlem Renaissance and America’s first all-Black literary magazine. A. Lewis reviews.

A. Lewis

Reviews 4 minute read
Carter, in a sexy black lace shirt, speaks to Silano, who wears a satiny purple dress and looks perturbed.

Curio Theatre Company presents Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen’s Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors

Bite marks and belly laughs
Curio Theatre Company’s Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is a gleefully unhinged retelling of the Bram Stoker classic, in the spirit of Monty Python and Charles Ludlam. Josh Herren reviews.
Josh Herren

Josh Herren

Reviews 2 minute read
A graphic shows Nell and Darnelle smiling side by side with a city view behind them, with the FringeArts and BSR logos.

The BSR Podcast: FringeArts CEO Nell Bang-Jensen on the state of Philly arts festivals

Looking back on a record-breaking Fringe, and ahead to Philly's festival future.
BSR Podcast host Darnelle Radford sits down with FringeArts leader Nell Bang-Jensen to look back at this year's fest, dream the future, and invite you to FEASTIVAL on October 22, 2025.
Darnelle Radford

Darnelle Radford

Podcast 1 minute read
In a set like a 19th century home, Dolan, in green, holds an axe, facing forward. At right, her parents, in black, cower

Philadelphia Ballet presents An Evening of Horror

Ballet meets spooky season, for grownups
Philadelphia Ballet dances to the dark side in An Evening of Horror, featuring a resonant ballet about Lizzy Borden and the world premiere of Juliano Nunes’s Valley of Death. Melissa Strong reviews.
Melissa Strong

Melissa Strong

Reviews 3 minute read
Closeup on the two actors, in lush period costumes, embracing in a wistful, romantic way.

OperaDelaware presents Puccini’s Tosca

An opera masterwork remains timeless
Puccini’s Tosca is a classic for a reason, and a new production by OperaDelaware proved that this masterwork remains timeless and stirring. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 5 minute read
Illustration shows Kaisheem and Darnelle side by side with a cityscape behind them, with the Fire!! and BSR logos.

The BSR Podcast: Dive into October theater with Fire!!, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, and Spring Awakening

Go behind the scenes at Quintessence, Curio, and Relic Theatre Company
Darnelle sits down with artists of Quintessence, Curio Theatre Company, and Relic Theatre Company to get an inside look at this fall's theater offerings.
Darnelle Radford

Darnelle Radford

Podcast 2 minute read
Close-up on wooden shelves full of clay cups with different designs, mostly in reds, blues, and grays.

The Clay Studio presents Clay as Care: Ceramic Art and Wellbeing

Clay as power, healing, and catharsis
With Clay As Care, The Clay Studio welcomes four very different ceramic artists to explore the ways attention to art and the work of our hands can heal, empower, and connect us. Anndee Hochman reviews.
Anndee Hochman

Anndee Hochman

Reviews 5 minute read
Grande, in spangled corset, shiny bikini bottom, garters, and platform boots, grins maniacally, spreading iridescent wings

Bucks County Playhouse presents Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show

Fifty years later, Rocky Horror is still relevant
For the third and final year, Bucks County Playhouse revives its popular new production of The Rocky Horror Show starring Frankie Grande. An Nichols reviews.
An Nichols

An Nichols

Reviews 4 minute read
A cropped, gracefully shaped plaid vest in a surprising mix of green, orange, blue, and magenta shades.

The Wharton Esherick Museum presents Working at a Joyous Creative Thing: Weaving, Making and Material Culture in Letty Esherick’s Legacy

The wife of a famous woodworker finally gets her due
Letty Esherick, the wife of world-famous woodworker Wharton, opens up in an exhibition of textile works and letters discovered almost 50 years after her death, paired with contemporary artwork they inspired. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Reviews 5 minute read
Foreboding photo of a small crowded boat moving toward a big one on the horizon, overlaid with ink and fiber elements.

The Print Center presents False Dawn and Memory, Loss

Why memories matter
Iranian-born and New York-based artist Nazanin Noroozi explores history and memory with a multi-media Print Center exhibition plunging viewers into the journey of African migrants heading for Europe. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Reviews 5 minute read

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Also on BSR

Three performers on stage as vampires in solid colored dresses. Two contort their bodies, another looks out into the audience

The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, October 16-22, 2025

Of the Grid, Dracula, Philly Asian Futures, and more
Previewing new exhibitions at MoAR and Pearlstein Gallery, the annual Hip Hop Cultural Summit, and a performance garden at Asian Arts. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up.
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Previews 3 minute read
At left, Fei-Fei, in a pink dress, passionately plays the grand piano as Di Russo, in a black blazer, conducts the orchestra

The Delaware Symphony Orchestra presents Virtuosity Unleashed

Welcoming new music director Michelle Di Russo
With fire, flash, and precision, Michelle Di Russo opened her first season as music director of the Delaware Symphony with a virtuosic program including Gabriella Ortiz, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 4 minute read
On a lavish music studio set with white & red spotlights, the whole cast rocks out with instruments, including guitar & piano

Walnut Street Theatre Presents Cole Escott and Floyd Mutrux’s Million Dollar Quartet

One famous night at Sun Records
The Walnut opens the 2025-25 season with a fun production of Million Dollar Quartet, a glossy look back at one famous night with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. C.M. Crockford reviews.
C.M. Crockford

C.M. Crockford

Reviews 4 minute read
A dancer leaps into the air doing a full split, wearing all red, other artists on stage behind her

The Philadelphia Ballet presents Carmen and Boléro

Mayara Pineiro brings the passion
The Philadelphia Ballet opens its season with artistic director and choreographer Angel Corella’s Carmen and Boléro. Camille Bacon-Smith previews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Previews 3 minute read
Jie Jin has a cello, Mazzocchi holds a violin, Yamazki sits with them on a bench. All are dressed in formalwear

BSR Classical Interludes, more in October 2025

More classical music happening in the Philly area this month
Timeless Resonance Music Chamber, Piffaro, Pyxis Piano Trio, and more decorate the next two weeks in October. Gail Obenreder previews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Previews 3 minute read
A person holds up an England scarf with excitement outside of a pub, wearing an England soccer jersey.

The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, October 9-15

Soulful Sounds, Grief, coming OUT, and more
Getting soulful in Philly, picturing the Anatomy of Grief, Cookbooks & Convos returns, and Inis Nua opens Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England. Kyle V. Hiller rounds up.
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Previews 3 minute read
The two actors, in outlandish colorful Elizabethan-inspired clothes, perform surrounded by audience. Corey holds a saxophone

Delaware Shakespeare’s 2025 Community Tour presents Two Gentlemen of Verona

A spirited, accessible Shakespeare production goes on tour
For its eighth annual Community Tour production, visiting schools, prisons, libraries, and other unconventional spaces, Delaware Shakespeare tackles Two Gents with an ensemble of six. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 4 minute read
Within a stylized white stage outline of a house, a man in a plaid shirt hugs a kid while five other adults look on.

Arden Theater Company presents William Finn and James Lapine’s Falsettos

Dark complexities meet heartfelt music
The Arden kicks off its new season with a thoughtful production of the complex musical Falsettos, featuring a powerhouse cast directed by Kevin Glaccum. Mina Reinckens reviews.
Mina Reinckens

Mina Reinckens

Reviews 4 minute read
Lim passionately plays a grand piano with his hair flying; Alsop is seen from behind at right, conducting the orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra presents John Adams’s The Rock You Stand On, Bartók, and Prokofiev

A Philly thing at the orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra and visiting conductor Marin Alsop premiered John Adams’s The Rock You Stand On, in a program including Bartók’s last concerto and selections of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. Peter Burwasser reviews.

Peter Burwasser

Reviews 4 minute read
Dr. Frank-N-Furter, as played by Tim Curry, in make up and wearing pearls and gloves, eyes straight at the camera

The BSR October 2025 repertory movie roundup

Spooky screenings and a full-blown celebration of David Lynch
David Lynch, the PFF Vault, Rocky Horror, and other highlights in time for Halloween. Stephen Silver previews.
Stephen Silver

Stephen Silver

Previews 5 minute read