Theater

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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
On a surreal stage with red striped walls, rows of yellow lights, and fog, actors cavort in front of a large curtained bed

What did Philly audiences and theaters learn from the 2026 Citywide James Ijames Pass?

Tracking an experiment in multi-theater marketing
As three Philly theaters programmed works by James Ijames in the 2025-26 season, they decided to join forces to attract new audiences. Did it work? Wendy Univer finds out.
Wendy Univer

Wendy Univer

Features 7 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 June 7, 2026. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall

Reviews 4 minute read
BSR pod Chaz T Martin

The BSR Podcast: Talking with Philly playwright Chaz T. Martin

Following the successful run of Class C, go behind the scenes with the writer.
Philly playwright Chaz T. Martin sits down with Darnelle Radford to talk about their writing process, finally being the "bride" at the table, and what's next after the closing of Class C from Azuka and Simpatico.
Darnelle Radford

Darnelle Radford

Podcast 1 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
Closeup on X and Johnson facing each other as if they’re arguing, wearing opulent satin 18th-century costumes.

Lantern Theater Company presents Lloyd Suh’s Franklinland

A founding father’s flawed family
The Lantern celebrates 250 with the Philly premiere of Lloyd Suh’s Franklinland, about the fraught relationship between the famous founding father and his son William. Josh Herren reviews.
Josh Herren

Josh Herren

Reviews 3 minute read
In deeply emotional posture, Schoonover leans over Espinoza lying on the ground, touching his shoulder. He touches her face

Azuka Theatre and Simpatico Theatre present Chaz T. Martin’s Class C

A timely world premiere about the loss of civil rights
A culture of distrust, fear, and dehumanization reaches a boiling point in this timely world premiere production of Chaz T. Martin’s Class C. nat čermák reviews.

nat čermák

Reviews 3 minute read
Finister & Holum, in late 19th-century professional garb, smile and clasp hands at the top of a staircase on the set.

People’s Light presents Suli Holum’s The Woman Question

A “docu-fantasy” celebrating historic real-life med students in Philadelphia
A new show at People’s Light mixes the imagination of playwright Suli Holum with a documentary history of the world’s first medical school for women in 1890s Philadelphia. Emily Schilling reviews.
Emily Schilling

Emily Schilling

Reviews 4 minute read
Seven cast members, in funeral black, stand somberly in the line with their hands joined on a stage designed like a chancel.

South Camden Theatre Company presents Douglas Lyons’s Chicken and Biscuits

Last rites and first blows
South Camden Theatre Company continues its season-long “Laughing through the Storm” theme with Chicken and Biscuits by Douglas Lyons, about a family navigating old tensions at its patriarch’s funeral. A. Lewis reviews.

A. Lewis

Reviews 4 minute read