Monday, November 28, 2022

Nostalgic hits in the joyous & Juliet by Cogency

You may not know the name Max Martin, but you undoubtedly know his music. Martin is a Swedish songwriter/producer who has written many of the biggest chart-toppers on the planet since the la…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 01:38PM

Almost Famous rocks the stage by Cogency

A new Broadway show based on a beloved movie takes you back to the world of rock and roll in the ‘70s. Almost Famous, based on the Academy Award-winning film, is playing at the Bernard B. …

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 01:12PM
Sunday, October 23, 2022

The Piano Lesson, a star-studded hit by Cogency

There is an acting masterclass on Broadway in the new revival of one of theater’s most prolific playwrights. August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David W…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 10:00AM
Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Rocky back in Philadelphia by Cogency

Philadelphia’s most notable movie is back in town as a stage musical at the Walnut Street Theatre. Rocky the Musical was a Broadway show in 2014 and is now playing in the hometown of its s…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 10:01PM
Friday, August 5, 2022

The Kite Runner from the page to the stage by Cogency

The Kite Runner has transformed from Khaled Hosseini’s bestselling 2003 novel into this new Broadway adaption. The Kite Runner tells the story of a boy named Amir, ranging from his childho…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 06:44PM
Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Billy Crystal back on stage in Mr. Saturday Night by Cogency

Billy Crystal is a Broadway musical star for the first time. The legendary comedian and actor is now the leading man in the new Broadway musical Mr. Saturday Night, playing at the Nederland…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 10:48PM
Monday, June 13, 2022

Hilarity back on Broadway in POTUS by Cogency

In these trying times (do I sound like a politician yet?), we could all use a good laugh. Broadway isn’t always hospitable to farces, not since The Play That Goes Wrong opened in 2017 ha…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 07:07PM
Monday, June 6, 2022

Hangmen, a menacing thriller by Cogency

The playwright Martin McDonagh loves to make audiences uncomfortable, and he has succeeded yet again with his new play Hangmen. Set north of Manchester in Oldham, England during the 1960’…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 02:00AM
Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Little Shop of Horrors back where it belongs by Cogency

It’s been nearly 40 years since the premiere of Little Shop of Horrors, the breakthrough musical about a sentient plant that feeds on human blood. Since the 1986 film adaption directed by …

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 10:47PM
Monday, November 15, 2021

Caroline, or Change back on Broadway by Cogency

At the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony in September 2021, West End actress turned Ted Lasso star in her acceptance speech praised West End musical theatre performances, with the quote “give…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 06:28PM
Thursday, December 10, 2020

The Wolves, zoomed into your home by Cogency

The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, directed by Nell Bang-Jensen; streaming through December 20, 2020 at philadelphiatheatercompany.org.   The Philadelphia Theater Company’s production of The Wo…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 12:35PM
Thursday, June 25, 2020

Walter Dallas, a gentle giant by Cogency

My friend Walter Dallas has lost his battle with cancer. In loving tribute, we reprint here a profile that I originally wrote in 2005 about this gentle giant.   Dallas told me, “I am an A…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 02:55PM
Monday, March 9, 2020

All the stage’s a world by Cogency

Shakespeare in Love, adapted for the stage by Lee Hall, based on the screenplay by Marc Norman & Tom Stoppard. Matt Pfeiffer directs at Peoples Light, Malvern, PA through March 29.   Sh…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 01:53PM
Monday, February 24, 2020

Dolly is back where she belongs by Cogency

Hello, Dolly! Music & lyrics by Jerry Herman. Directed by Jerry Zaks. National tour at the Academt of Music, Philadelphia through March 1, 2020.   She’s back where she belongs — to …

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 11:36AM
Saturday, February 22, 2020

It’s not wonderful by Cogency

Everything is Wonderful by Chelsea Marcantel. Philadelphia Theatre Company at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre through March 8, 2020.   Good intentions do not guarantee a positive outcome. That …

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 08:17PM
Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love by Cogency

Fool For Love by Sam Shepard. Directed by Brenna Geffers. EgoPo Classic Theater. Through February 23, 2020, at the Latvian Society Theater, 531 N. 7th Street, Philadelphia. (267) 273-1414 or…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 06:47PM
Saturday, February 1, 2020

The Children, a superb & troubling play by Cogency

The Children by Lucy Kirkwood. Directed by Abigail Adams, through February 9, 2020, at People’s Light, Malvern, PA   The Children is a beautifully written play that’s receiving stunning…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 08:07PM
Sunday, January 12, 2020

Looking back at Wozzeck by Cogency

Originally published in The Opera Critic, the international website for professional musicians.     The new production of Wozzeck at the Metropolitan Opera presents a stark contrast with t…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 04:10PM
Thursday, January 9, 2020

The Band’s Visit, musically memorable by Cogency

The Band’s Visit, music and lyrics by David Yazbek, book by Itamar Moses. Philadelphia Academy of Music through January 19, 2019.   The Band’s Visit is a delicate, intimate show about t…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 06:34PM
Sunday, December 22, 2019

Homer’s epic, re-imagined by Cogency

An Iliad by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, directed by Rebecca Wright at the Arden Theatre, Philadelphia, through December 15, 2019.   One of Philadelphia’s best actors, Mary Tuomanen,…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 08:38AM
Saturday, December 21, 2019

Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill opens on Broadway by Cogency

Jagged Little Pill, music by Alanis Morissette. Broadhurst Theatre, New York City.   Jukebox musicals are everywhere, but very few create original stories focused not on an entire catalog b…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 11:48AM
Friday, November 22, 2019

Hip Hop on Broadway by Cogency

Upon entering the Booth Theater for a performance of Freestyle Love Supreme I overheard a passerby ask an employee what the show was about. The answer, or lack thereof, is one of the main dr…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 12:21PM
Tuesday, November 19, 2019

The Wrong Man is all right by Cogency

Concept albums are having a moment. Hamilton was originally intended to be a concept album and Hadestown was recorded as a concept album nine years before the Broadway album. In a similar pa…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 11:01PM
Saturday, November 2, 2019

Mandy Patinkin starts national tour by Cogency

Mandy Patinkin in concert: Diaries, at Verizon Hall in the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, October 30, 2019.   Mandy Patinkin began a 30-city national tour in Philadelphia on October 30. The m…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 03:59PM
Friday, November 1, 2019

Shepard’s Buried Child by Cogency

Buried Child by Sam Shepard. EgoPo Classic Theater, through November 10, 2019 at the Latvian Society, 531 N 7th St, Philadelphia.   What’s happened to this family? That’s what these cha…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 02:26PM

National dog show is live in Philly by Cogency

The National Dog Show, the annual television tradition that airs on TV on Thanksgiving Day following the Macy’s parade, will be live in the Philadelphia suburbs this weekend. The two-hour …

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 11:46AM
Wednesday, October 30, 2019

A fire that only flickers by Cogency

A Small Fire by Adam Bock. Directed by Joanie Schultz. Philadelphia Theatre Company, through November 10, 2019, at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad Street in Philadelphia.   A smal…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 06:11PM
Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Falsettos in a boutique production by Cogency

Falsettos, music & lyrics by William Finn, presented by 11th Hour Theatre, October 2019 at Christ Church Neighborhood House in Philadelphia.   When I recall that William Finn started to…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 11:49AM
Thursday, October 24, 2019

Come From Away, the 9/11 musical by Cogency

Come from Away national touring production, at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music through November 3, 2019.   This unpretentious musical delighted me when it opened on Broadway early in 2017…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 09:04AM
Thursday, October 10, 2019

Height of the Storm by Cogency

The Height of the Storm by Florian Zeller. Manhattan Theatre Club production at the Samuel Friedman Theatre, 261 W. 47th Street, New York.   The essence of this play is ambiguity and uncert…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 05:20PM
Tuesday, October 8, 2019

The making of Ragtime by Cogency

In honor of the new production of Ragtime by Arden Theatre (with excellent cast, innovative staging and superb musical direction) we are reprinting this story about the making of Ragtime, fr…

SOURCE: theculturalcritic.com at 03:18PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards