Reviews

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Charéce-Hall and Cynda Purnell, two Black women, sit together on a taupe couch on a black stage, talking seriously.

ArtPhilly What Now Festival: Theatre in the X presents Carlo Campbell’s Acknowledge Me

A community on the Semiquincentennial
A new play by Philly artist Carlo Campbell at Theatre in the X helps to kick off the inaugural ArtPhilly What Now Festival, but it needs more work to create a dramatic whole from community voices. Krista Mar reviews.
Krista Mar

Krista Mar

Reviews 3 minute read
D’Angelo, in a black ensemble, sings in front of the orchestra while Yannick, in a gray suit, conducts beside her.

Philadelphia Orchestra presents Gershwin and Bernstein

An all-American season closer marks the 250th
The Philadelphians closed their 2025-26 season with a stirring program of Gershwin and Bernstein, featuring superstar French pianist Hélène Grimaud and the Philadelphia Orchestra debut of Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo. Linda Holt reviews.
Linda Holt

Linda Holt

Reviews 3 minute read
Three Black men in 1930s garb carouse around a small round table with a white lace cloth.

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival presents August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson

A perfect staging of a play America needs
James Ijames helms a new production of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, and the show is worth the trip to Center Valley for anyone in the Philly area. An Nichols reviews.
An Nichols

An Nichols

Reviews 4 minute read
Projected image of a historic Black baseball player projected in a dynamic way on hanging screens & the gallery corner

The Barnes Foundation presents Freedom Dreams

“What kind of world do we want to struggle for?”
In honor of the 250th, the Barnes presents Freedom Dreams, showcasing intriguing and often-hopeful video installations that examine and celebrate Black American culture. An Nichols reviews.
An Nichols

An Nichols

Reviews 5 minute read
The three young male actors, in casual contemporary clothes, are caught jumping into the air in dramatic poses.

Arden Theatre Company presents Dear Evan Hansen

Watching through a window
The Arden’s regional premiere of Dear Evan Hansen flattens the musical’s complicated story. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 4 minute read
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 Sunday, June 7. 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.

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

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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 6 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

Fabric Workshop and Museum presents Jesse Krimes: Elegy Quilts

Creativity breaks out
A new installation of Jesse Krimes quilts at 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