Reviews

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Two young white men in worn 1960s-style denim, on a bed with a worn yellow & white cover, study a book with tender attention

Ensemble Arts Philly and the Shubert Organization present the national tour of The Outsiders

Greaser is the word

A musical adaptation of The Outsiders proves iconic as its source material, as the national tour lands in Philly through June 7, 2026. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 4 minute read
Smiling, a Black man wearing a 19th-century suit and top hat, sings and stretches out his arms in a bluish spotlight.

The Wilma Theater presents Suzan-Lori Parks’s The America Play

A rare work by an American master

Lindsay Smiling marks the announcement of his role as the Wilma’s sole artistic director with a wonderfully realized production of The America Play, a rarely seen yet prescient 1994 work by Suzan-Lori Parks. Josh Herren reviews.
Josh Herren

Josh Herren

Reviews 3 minute read
15 singers & musicians on Renaissance-era instruments perform together on a wooden chancel.

Piffaro presents Eagle & Empire: Music of Colonial Mexico

Exploring the music of Renaissance-era Mexico, where European and Indigenous cultures mixed

A deeply researched program from Piffaro proves that the mixing of European and Indigenous cultures in 16th and 17th-century Mexico created works that rival their more famous European peers. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Gail Obenreder

Gail Obenreder

Reviews 5 minute read
Quilt with dark, flower-patterned bathtub, a barn owl perched on the rim, next to a tree w/ red leaves on a green background

The Fabric Workshop and Museum presents Jesse Krimes: Elegy Quilts

Creativity breaks out

A new installation of Jesse Krimes quilts at the Fabric Workshop and Museum explores the humanity of incarcerated people and questions the American justice system. One of the quilts is now a new Philly mural. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Reviews 5 minute read
Book cover features a large, snowy, rocky structure, in a large bed of water, and a gray sky in the background

If the Owl Calls, by Sharon White

Building a mystery

Sharon White’s debut novel is a mystery set to the backdrop of 1979 Norway during a time of environmental resistance that asks big questions around culture and tradition. Chhaya Nayyar reviews.
Chhaya Nayyar

Chhaya Nayyar

Reviews 4 minute read
Cover; title in thin, yellow letters over all black. An espresso cup and two hands, one w/ a lit cigarette, the person hidden

The Grief Shop and Other Stories from a Broken World, by Alex DiFrancesco

Laughing through the aftermath

Alex DiFrancesco’s forthcoming speculative short story collection offers a timely and cathartic escape. Cass Lewis reviews.
Cass Lewis

Cass Lewis

Reviews 5 minute read
Cenutry of Music Mann cover

A Century of Music Under the Stars: A History of the Mann Center of the Performing Arts and Robin Hood Dell, by Jack McCarthy

A comprehensive history of one of Philly’s best music venues

The Robin Hood Dell, which opened in 1930, was the start of the institution we know today as the Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts. A new book by Jack McCarthy charts the notable Philly venue’s history. Stephen Silver reviews.
Stephen Silver

Stephen Silver

Reviews 4 minute read
Hidden River

Hidden River, by Sara Lippmann

The silent traumas that determine the flow of our lives

A new novel from Sara Lippmann follows a young woman who grows up in the Philly burbs and then faces the secrets of her teenage years 20 years later. Emma Riverso reviews.
Emma Riverso

Emma Riverso

Reviews 2 minute read
Funeral of lies

Funeral of Lies, by A.E.S. O’Neill

In Philly politics, everyone gets their hands dirty

Philly novelist A.E.S. O’Neill’s latest thriller dives into the world of Philly politics. A bitter New York PR executive with a loose relationship to the truth comes home to manage his naïve and charismatic uncle’s mayoral run. Rob Laymon reviews.
Rob Laymon

Rob Laymon

Reviews 4 minute read
And the Ancestors Sing

And the Ancestors Sing, by Radha Lin Chaddah

A Philly physician-turned-author explores the HIV/AIDS epidemic in China

In her debut novel, And the Ancestors Sing, Philly author Radha Lin Chaddah tackles a sweeping multigenerational tale set in China after the Cultural Revolution, including the plasma economy and its role in an HIV epidemic. Krista Mar reviews.
Krista Mar

Krista Mar

Reviews 4 minute read