'Honeymoon in Vegas' on Broadway

Local boy makes good

Write down this prediction: South Philly’s Rob McClure will win this year’s Tony Award for best performance by a leading actor in a musical for his role in the otherwise disappointing Honeymoon in Vegas.

Steve Cohen

Apr 05, 2015 · Articles · 2 minute read

'Hamlet' at the Wilma (second review)

Troubled prince or angry teen?

An overstylized Hamlet intrigues and baffles.

Naomi Orwin

Apr 04, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'Hamlet' at the Wilma (first review)

Playing against type

The Wilma Theater’s production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, while elaborately and balletically staged, fails to offer an answer to the play’s most compelling question: Who is Hamlet himself?

Robert Zaller

Apr 04, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

Interview with Christopher Patrick Mullen on the Arden's 'Macbeth'

Drunk at the gates of hell

Rewriting Shakespeare is a risky business. Christopher Patrick Mullen, who rewrote the Porter’s speech in the Arden’s current production of Macbeth, addresses that issue, especially the struggle between irony and clarity for a contemporary audience.

Henrik Eger

Apr 03, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

'Unveiled' by Rohina Malik

Under the hajib

Playwright Rohina Malik argues that a woman’s hijab, or head covering, opens her to the world even as it seems to close her off. It also opens her to some hard truths about looking different.

Marshall A. Ledger

Apr 03, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'The Taming of the Shrew' at the Lantern (second review)

Taming through tango

Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew is not exactly a play for our times, but the Lantern production makes it fun while avoiding some of the tougher issues.

Naomi Orwin

Mar 31, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

'The Taming of the Shrew' at the Lantern (first review)

Shrewed Shakespeare

In the Lantern’s updated Taming of the Shrew, the overall mood is comic and Kate and Petruchio begin as caricatures, but their characters deepen as events unfold. They gradually form a bond that is both stronger and more honest than Shrew’s more traditional couples.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Mar 31, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'A New Brain' by 11th Hour

A lesser-known masterpiece

Philadelphia got to hear a neglected masterpiece about one of America’s best songwriters recovering from near-death.

Steve Cohen

Mar 31, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'Dirty Dancing' at the Academy of Music

A nice Jewish girl in the Catskills

Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage resembles the film on which it’s based, but doesn’t match the original’s charm and connection.

Naomi Orwin

Mar 27, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

'Mystery of Love & Sex,' 'It's Only a Play,' 'Fish in the Dark'

What’s so funny?

As the playwright says in It’s Only a Play: “God punishes people who do plays on Broadway. That’s why they invented regional theater.”

Carol Rocamora

Mar 22, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read