Wednesday, March 2, 2016

After 56 years, Society Hill Playhouse approaches final curtain call by Peter Crimmins

A landmark of the Philadelphia theater scene will soon be closing forever. The Society Hill Playhouse, which has operated as a theater at Eighth and South streets for 56 years, is slated for…

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 10:37AM
Tuesday, June 2, 2015

At Arden Theatre's gala to award Stephen Sondheim, surprises planned and unplanned [photos] by Howard Shapiro

Just before 7, an electrical outage hit a portion of Old City. People filed into an Arden lobby suddenly illuminated by only the dwindling daylight and a few candles. Their numbers grew, the…

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 03:32PM
Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Review: Bamboozling 'em with the 'National Pastime' by Howard Shapiro

The show, with a pleasant score by Albert M. Tapper that employs too many phrases no one used in 1933, and a book by Tony Sportiello that leans toward cute rather than clever, is fun enough …

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 01:55PM
Thursday, February 13, 2014

Walnut Theatre setting the stage for communal prop room by Peter Crimmins

Performance companies in Philadelphia soon may be able to tap into a centralized library of props and scenery following the Walnut Street Theatre's purchase of an 85,000-square-foot warehous…

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 03:17PM
Friday, October 4, 2013

Review: Barbara Cook and the rebirth of a cabaret by Howard Shapiro

When the celebrated performer Barbara Cook sang her first notes Wednesday night at the revitalized Prince Music Theater, she wasn't just giving a concert. She was rekindling big-time cabaret…

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 10:31AM
Tuesday, June 25, 2013

New Philly theater group revives Barrymore awards by Peter Crimmins

The Barrymores are back. The annual regional theater awards for best plays and players were canceled when the presenting organization, the Theater Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, folded la…

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 06:11AM
Friday, June 21, 2013

Review: You're doin' fine, 'Oklahoma!' by Howard Shapiro

There's no skimping in the big-theater production of "Oklahoma!" that opens this season's Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, and the payoff is clear -- a grand version of Rodgers and Hammers…

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 02:40PM

Podcast: Brush up your Shakespeare by Howard Shapiro

Philadelphia's most produced playwright this season is eloquent and groundbreaking and his themes are universal.

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 02:37PM

Review: The 'Mothers and Sons' reunion, in a Terrence McNally premiere by Howard Shapiro

In Terrence McNally's "Mothers and Sons," a taut, terrific new play getting the world-premiere it deserves at Bucks County Playhouse, values and perspectives clash for the entire 80 minutes …

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 02:33PM

Review: Lending a tenor, down the shore by Howard Shapiro

Attention all Philadelphians down the Shore and all Shore people down there, too: If you've never enjoyed the silly pleasures of "Lend Me a Tenor," the popular American farce, you'll get you…

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 02:32PM
Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Review: 'Glass: Shattered' is jagged, indeed by Howard Shapiro

The script is badly executed, but the notion is cool – taking all four characters in “The Glass Menagerie” and re-imagining them so that the narrator, who remains the play’s son, can…

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 03:02PM
Thursday, June 6, 2013

Review: Under the skin of 'Some Other Kind of Person' by Howard Shapiro

InterAct Theatre Company commissioned the play four years ago, all the while shepherding playwright Eric Pfeffinger through his drafts. The payoff: A solid script with a clean narrative arc …

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 09:53AM
Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Review: A tough all-nighter in 'Barcelona' by Howard Shapiro

I have my qualms about "Barcelona," but not about the intensity with which Jackson Gay stages it.

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 12:52PM
Friday, May 31, 2013

'Uncle Tom's Cabin' production offers dramatic role reversal by Peter Crimmins

EgoPo Classical Theater is trying to shake off 50 years of accumulated popular acrimony toward what was once a classic of American literature.

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 10:54AM

Review: 'Venus in Fur' nearly gets kinky by Howard Shapiro

Is it hot in here, or is it just me? Hoo-boy! It's not just me. It's the entire Suzanne Roberts Theatre, where the Philadelphia Theatre Company has opened David Ives' "Venus in Fur."

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 10:50AM

Review: 'Spring Awakening' awake yet groggy by Howard Shapiro

The Tony-award winning musical, essentially about raging teenage hormones, is a rough-hewn, intense and racy exploration of newfound sexuality in 19th-century Germany, but that's just one si…

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 10:49AM
Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Review: 'A Raisin in the Sun,' and still fresh by Howard Shapiro

If mama ain't happy in Walter Dallas' tight, convincing production of "A Raisin in the Sun," then nobody is.

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 08:12PM
Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Review: 'Timon of Athens' has his rare day by Howard Shapiro

While it's far from the dressy production that "Timon" may need to help mask its pedestrian script, this "Timon" is at least a clearly told tale.

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 09:39AM
Thursday, April 4, 2013

Review: Lantern Theater's 'Henry V' by Howard Shapiro

At Lantern, it's all done with spitfire delivery that comes at you head-on – even comic scenes with the rascally brawler Pistol (Jake Blouch) are delivered with ferocity. And in the end, t…

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 01:03PM

Review: Betting on the evolution of Bristol's 'Pirates of Penzance' by Howard Shapiro

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that over the last nights, Bristol Riverside Theatre's large-scale production (two dozen cast members and a 12-piece orchestra) of "The Pirates of Penza…

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 01:00PM
Monday, April 1, 2013

Review: One 'Seminar' you'll remember by Howard Shapiro

"Seminar" is a bulls-eye comedy about the power of words and the fragility of the writers who use them -- and as an added bonus, it's also an odd take on what it means to be a mentor.

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 05:48AM
Friday, March 22, 2013

Review: A heartfelt 'Trip to Bountiful' by Howard Shapiro

I would tell you that the best reason to go see the late Horton Foote’s The Trip to Bountiful is the extraordinary performance of Carla Belver, but then, there is the play itself.

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 11:31AM

Review: 'Under the Whaleback' — Steering a wobbly script by Howard Shapiro

Is life really a journey and not a destination? "Under the Whaleback" – a caustic play being given a terrific production by the Wilma Theater – is about a bunch of guys for whom life is …

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 11:28AM
Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Playwright brings story of surprising family revelations to Germantown by Alaina Mabaso

Chicago-based playwright and performer Michael Fosberg has presented his one-man show, Incognito, across the country for roughly a decade, but he said he is especially looking forward to his…

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 06:09PM
Thursday, July 12, 2012

Seeking to unionize, stagehands protest at Philly theater by Tom Macdonald

Stagehands at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia say they want to unionize. During a protest Monday at the Avenue of the Arts institution, the brought a friend along.

SOURCE: NewsWorks at 05:24AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic