The BSR team was deeply saddened by the sudden passing of our Philly theater colleague Carrie Gorn on January 29. If you've read BSR, her work as a publicist for many local theaters has touched you. I worked with Carrie for many years, often weekly, as she kept her clients on the radar of our journalists. We enjoyed many off-the-record conversations about our work, and I always appreciated Carrie for her genuine respect for the critic's work.
Even if a review of her client's show was not positive, Carrie understood that hard-working arts journalists love the art form. She was curious about our opinions and worked to help her clients understand the norms and ethics of inviting the media in. Her loved ones have launched a GoFundMe for her final medical expenses and her theater-loving daughter's future tuition. Philly-area theaters will take part in a light-dimming ceremony to honor Carrie on Thursday, February 6 at 7pm.
If you feel inspired to take more positive action on behalf of the Philly theater community, make sure you're following the Lantern Theater's attempt to acquire the Arts Bank, which is now at risk of becoming yet more corporate condos in the wake of the UArts collapse. Today (Wednesday) at 11am in Wilmington, there's a hearing that will determine the venue's fate (and the fate of the Avenue of the Arts more broadly). The Lantern is inviting the community to attend.
Of course, that's far from the only news this week. It feels bizarre to be meeting my usual deadlines while an unelected billionaire acting in flagrant disregard of the US Constitution takes over the US civil service and our federal agencies, including the US Treasury, at the bidding of the new president. This is not normal, even by the horrible yardstick of the last eight years of American politics. This week, I'm debunking six common excuses for not calling Congress. It's time to take every action possible, however small.
BSR writers are still working despite it all. This week, they're covering the latest at the Pearlstein Gallery, EgoPo, Opera Philadelphia, and more. Thanks for being in community with us.
Alaina Johns
BSR editor-in-chief