• Front Page Essays Reviews Features Profiles Previews Podcast Editorials Articles
  • About BSR
Broad Street Review

Philly's home for arts, culture, and conversation

  • How to request BSR coverage Contact BSR writers Writers' Guidelines Advertise with BSR Donate to BSR Staff and Board
  • Subscribe
Donate
  • Essays
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Profiles
  • Previews
  • Podcast
  • Editorials
  • Articles

People

  • An Nicholson

    An Nichols

    Contributors

Articles

10 results
Page 1
Sachs, an older white man, attends a lavishly dressed Rosheuvala, a Guyanese English woman wearing a towering royal gray wig.

Yes, Bridgerton does mirror real life with its diverse cast. Here’s the history.

Exploring the real-life inspiration for a multiracial society in the hit Regency romance

Some commentators criticize Bridgerton for its racially diverse representation of the upper classes in 19th-century London. But An Nichols, who knows the real history, loves this aspect of the show.
An Nichols

An Nichols

Feb 03, 2026 · Essays · 6 minute read
Two people sit on a bed together, in mid-conversation, furniture to their sides, a brick wall behind them

Playhouse West presents Michael Quinn’s Get It Together

The art of reconnecting

Michael Quinn’s Get It Together puts on a witty, whimsical performance about love and self-exploration. An Nichols previews.
An Nichols

An Nichols

Feb 04, 2026 · Previews · 3 minute read
McGill, a Black woman in gray 19th-century costume, speaks onstage with a projection of enslaved people behind her.

Curio Theatre presents Richard Lamont Pierce’s Sojourner

Looking back helps us move forward

Richard Lamont Pierce’s one-woman show about famous abolitionist Sojourner Truth has toured for more than 20 years, starring Zuhairah McGill. Catch it at Curio for Black History Month 2026. An Nichols reviews.
An Nichols

An Nichols

Feb 10, 2026 · Reviews · 4 minute read
Headshot of Boscov, a woman with salt and pepper hair, wears a dark blue sweater with large white buttons

Prescribing the Best Medicine with Philly’s own Ellen Boscov

From improv to Hollywood

Ellen Boscov talks her recurring role on the American medical comedy drama Best Medicine, what Philly improv taught her throughout her career, and how aspiring performers can get the role of their dreams. An Nichols profiles.
An Nichols

An Nichols

Mar 18, 2026 · Profiles · 5 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

Apr 07, 2026 · Reviews · 5 minute read
A person in a silky white garment with a long train sweeps it around them, lit by dramatic blue and pink light.

Butch Mermaid Productions presents Ania Upstill and Danielle Levsky’s Sappho's Salon

Recreating a historic queer literary parlor

A West Philly Victorian house becomes a historic salon inspired by Selby Wynn Schwartz’s novel After Sappho, in this immersive performance from Ania Upstill and Danielle Levsky. An Nichols reviews.
An Nichols

An Nichols

May 05, 2026 · Reviews · 4 minute read
In colorful 1920s evening wear, the cast dances on the edge of semicircular stage decorated like a jazz club.

Theatre Horizon presents Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’

Celebrating the music of a Harlem Renaissance icon

Theatre Horizon closes the season with Ain’t Misbehavin’, the 1978 jukebox musical set in the 1920s jazz world of prolific Harlem Renaissance composer Fats Waller. An Nichols reviews.
An Nichols

An Nichols

May 05, 2026 · Reviews · 4 minute read
About a dozen Black performers in formalwear of various styles, colors smile towards two people centered, facing each other

Opera Philadelphia and Davóne Tines present Langston Hughes’s The Black Clown

Evergreen poetry on stage

An incredibly resonant, and nearly 100-year-old, text is brought to life in this weekend-long production. An Nichols previews.
An Nichols

An Nichols

May 13, 2026 · Previews · 3 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

Jun 02, 2026 · Reviews · 5 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

Jun 03, 2026 · Reviews · 4 minute read
1

Footer

Sections

  • Essays
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Profiles
  • Previews
  • Podcast
  • Editorials
  • Articles

About

  • About
  • Staff and Board

Contact Us

  • How to Get Covered in BSR
  • Writers' Guidelines
  • Advertise with BSR
  • Donate to BSR

Subscribe to 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.

Subscribe
Philadelphia Cultural Fund Support provided by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.
Facebook Instagram Twitter

© 2026 Broad Street Review. All rights reserved.