Reviews

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In a worn, dark suit, Peakes sits and gestures broadly in a wooden folding chair on a darkened stage of wooden planks.

Lantern Theater Company presents Brian Friel’s Faith Healer

Acts of faith
The line between truth and memory blurs in Brian Friel’s Faith Healer, given a riveting revival by Lantern Theater Company. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 4 minute read
Kuerzi, in a blue plaid jacket, confronts Cooke, in a red & orange patterned dress, in a luxurious public bathroom.

Montgomery Theater presents R. Eric Thomas’s Mrs. Harrison

Echoes of the Bad Art Friend
Montgomery Theater presents R. Eric Thomas’s Mrs. Harrison, a play that contends with timely themes of storytelling and appropriation but falters for the messiness of its construction. Kiran Pandey reviews.
Kiran Pandey

Kiran Pandey

Reviews 4 minute read
In a worn but tidy 1950s apartment, Floyd & Anderson visit on couches. Fleurisma listens in the background, arms crossed

Bristol Riverside Theatre presents Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun

Doing justice to Black Shakespeare
A new production of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun at Bristol Riverside Theatre honors this monumental American text while highlighting relevant struggles today. An Nichols reviews.
An Nichols

An Nichols

Reviews 5 minute read
In a small apartment kitchen in hot purple light, Johnson plants one high-heeled foot on Sesay’s chest from across the table

InterAct Theatre Company presents Jahna Ferron-Smith's Step Mom, Step Mom, Step Mom

A standout blend of kink, farce, and drama
The world premiere of Jahna Ferron-Smith’s Step Mom, Step Mom, Step Mom, now onstage at InterAct, follows a Black woman and a white man navigating the sexual and racial dynamics of their marriage. C.M. Crockford reviews.
C.M. Crockford

C.M. Crockford

Reviews 3 minute read
Childs & Greer, bundled up against the cold, argue in front of a woodstove in the large living room of a winter vacation home

1812 Productions and Delaware Theatre Company present Bruce Graham’s Flatlanders

A mountain of corny comedy
The Flatlanders, a new play by Bruce Graham from 1812 Productions, is an unfunny throwback to the heyday of boulevard comedy. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 3 minute read
In a sleeveless leather jacket with bushy brown fur trim, Twyford angrily brandishes a knife and a wooden cutting board.

The Wilma Theater and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company present Sasha Denisova’s My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion

Glory to the hero
Playwright Sasha Denisova channels the strength and resilience of her Ukrainian mother in My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion on stage at the Wilma Theater in a co-production with DC’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 3 minute read
Smiling and wearing a black jacket, Nezet-Seguin conducts, with the heads of a few musicians visible in the foreground.

The Philadelphia Orchestra presents Brahms’s German Requiem

Humanity’s spiritual journey
A sumptuous and complex program from the Philadelphia Orchestra paired a world premiere by Mason Bates with Luis Ernesto Peña Laguna’s Oraison for chorus and orchestra, and Brahms’s massive A German Requiem. Linda Holt reviews.
Linda Holt

Linda Holt

Reviews 4 minute read
Black & white outdoor photo of the black-hatted musicians playing, bending over keyboard, drums, and upright bass.

Philly jazz album double review: THE UNIVERSE IS WITHIN WHO by Spectral Forces, and The Lighthouse by Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Odean Pope

Heroic jazz legacies looking to the future
January boasted two adventurous new albums from Philly jazz groups: THE UNIVERSE IS WITHIN WHO by Spectral Forces and The Lighthouse by Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Odean Pope, offering contrasting views into jazz past and future. Thomas Hagen reviews.
Thomas Hagen

Thomas Hagen

Reviews 5 minute read
Beverly, an aged Black woman, lies in a hospital bed, talking to Finister beside her, who smiles & wears a blue cardigan.

Arden Theatre Company presents Lorene Cary’s Ladysitting

Hospice, history, and honesty
This triumphant premiere based on Lorene Cary’s 2019 memoir about caring for her 99-year-old Nana explores the burden and privilege of caretaking, interwoven with family stories that illustrate America’s history. Emily B. Schilling reviews.
Emily Schilling

Emily Schilling

Reviews 3 minute read
Profitt, in a modest pink dress with a high cowl neckline, smiles wistfully while resting her cheek on one hand.

Act II Playhouse presents Eric H. Weinberger and Elaine Bromka’s Tea for Three: Lady Bird, Pat, and Betty

Inside the First Lady’s office
Sabrina Proffit stars in this popular one-woman show exploring the real lives of Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, and Betty Ford at Act II Playhouse. Does it connect to presidential politics today? Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer reviews.
Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

Reviews 3 minute read