Reviews

1155 results
Page 1
A shadow of Peter Pan, hands on hips, at center, with the two others shown from the shoulders up in silhouette at front

Pier Players Theatre Company presents Peter Fenton’s I Think We’re Lost

A new take on Peter Pan isn’t quite ready to fly

Pier Players Theatre Company continues its mission for new work with the world premiere of I Think We’re Lost, but great actors and design can’t save a script not ready for the stage. Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer reviews.
Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

Reviews 4 minute read
Arcuri & Bellomo, in trench coats & exaggerated Commedia masks and hats, mime driving away from a masked policeman & ensemble

Curio Theatre Company presents John Bellomo’s Sacco & Vanzetti: A Tragedia Dell’Arte

The true story of two immigrants on trial in the 1920s echoes America today

Curio mounts the world premiere of local playwright John Bellomo’s Sacco & Vanzetti: A Tragedia Dell’Arte, restaging a famous 20th-century trial with a 16th-century flair that still feels fresh. Walt Maguire reviews.

Walt Maguire

Reviews 3 minute read
Martin, in tie and suspenders, stretches his hands forward as nine cast members pose ecstatically around him.

Bristol Riverside Theatre presents Jelly’s Last Jam

Exploring the life of an American music icon

Bristol Riverside Theatre’s new production of Jelly’s Last Jam, a lavish musical about the life of Jelly Roll Morton, holds back in some ways and delivers in others. An Nichols reviews.
An Nichols

An Nichols

Reviews 5 minute read
View of open 1799 book, brown with age, pages covered with a watercolor of a ship at left, and dense cursive writing at right

Independence Seaport Museum presents Seeking Profit and Power: Philadelphia, China Trade, and the Making of America

The economy of an upstart nation

A swashbuckling new exhibition at the Independence Seaport Museum marks America’s 250th with a fascinating look at how trade with China shaped the young United States in its first hundred years. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Reviews 6 minute read
Colorful still-life with intense floral background, black fish on a plate, nautilus-like swirls, lemons & green leaves.

The Brandywine Museum of Art presents Abundance/Excess: A Contemporary Eye on Still Life

Breathing fresh life into historic genres

The Brandywine Museum of Art assembles contemporary artists who are reimagining the genre of still life, offering an unexpected view of the traditional in Abundance/Excess: A Contemporary Eye on Still Life. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 4 minute read

Sign up for our newsletter

All of the week's new articles, all in one place. Sign up for the free weekly BSR newsletters, and don't miss a conversation.

Ferch, at left, holds a guitar while Earley embraces the other six kids, all in matching patterned clothes & white knee socks

Ensemble Arts Philly and the Shubert Organization present The Sound of Music

Familiar music, timeless message

Back on tour in a lavish new production, The Sound of Music combines evergreen entertainment with a potent anti-fascist stance. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 3 minute read
View from the top level of a 19th-century stairwell with a large arched window, walls covered with a psychedelic mural.

Meg Saligman presents The Ministry of Awe

Dozens of artists turn capitalism upside down inside a historic Philly bank

The Ministry of Awe, a wild, self-guided experience from Philly artist Meg Saligman and dozens of local creators, has taken over a Frank Furness bank in Old City. Anndee Hochman reviews.
Anndee Hochman

Anndee Hochman

Reviews 5 minute read
Lifesize door in a brick wall with a welcome message, between two displays of many small 18th-century artifacts.

The National Constitution Center presents America’s Founding

From aspiration to nation

The National Constitution Center joins the 250th celebrations with America’s Founding, featuring immersive new galleries that take us inside life in Philly before and during the Revolution. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Reviews 6 minute read
In 18th-century garb, the 2 actors lie side by side in a curtained bed, Boykin in a white nightdress. Briggs speaks to her

The Wilma presents James Ijames’s The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington

The first First Lady goes on trial

As the celebration of America’s Semiquincentennial draws near, the Wilma revives James Ijames’s polemical satire The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 4 minute read
Alsop, at the conductor’s podium with orchestra standing around her, faces the audience, smiling with hand on her heart.

The Philadelphia Orchestra presents Marin Leads Rachmaninoff and Schumann

Celebrating Women’s History Month with new work by Ukrainian composer Iryna Aleksiychuk

Women conductors still face an uphill fight for representation in the classical music world, but Marin Alsop is changing that. She appeared in Philly for a March program including Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Linda Holt reviews.
Linda Holt

Linda Holt

Reviews 4 minute read