A Small Fire

Bebe Neuwirth & John Dossett

A Small Fire by Adam Bock is being presented by the Philadelphia Theatre Company at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Broad and Lombard Streets through November 10, 2019. This exquisite one-act, starring the talented ensemble cast of Bebe Neuwirth, John Dossett, Oge Agulué, and Sarah Gliko suspends belief and returns it in the play’s innovative ending. John Bridges (John Dossett) becomes the rock in this drama as his wife Emily (Bebe Neuwirth) first loses her sense of smell which is almost disastrous when she cannot smell a gas leak at the construction firm she operates. Loss of smell equates with loss of taste, which is not helpful in choosing items for her daughter Jenny’s wedding. Understandably, perhaps, Emily is cantankerous about these losses. Neuwirth is superb as she undergoes various changes after losing even more senses. Before the wedding, she loses her sight. As she has to lean on her husband, she is appreciative and mellow in her dependence. Hysteria sets in when she realizes she can no longer hear. But John is always by her side as a calming influence as he maintains, “Love isn’t what you get from someone; it’s what you give.” Bebe Neuwirth’s performance as a woman who has lost her sense of smell and taste, sight and hearing, is phenomenal. Her portrayals are not only convincing but a character study as her entire personality changes. Jenny Bridges (Sarah Gliko) is disturbingly believable as she portrays a daughter who is a “daddy’s girl” and has little sympathy for a mother who never liked her husband. Chelsea M. Warren has done an outstanding job with the set design. Backdrops are lowered onto the stage to create new scenes while other sets are behind it. For more information or tickets to this intriguing play, call 215-985-0420 or visit PhilaTheatreco.org.

Beyond My Backyard

Ensemble Cast

Broadway Philadelphia is presenting the Philadelphia Premiere of the Tony Award ® Winning  Come From Away at the Academy of Music through November 3, 2019. This must-see musical has everyone glued to his seat during the performance and standing up giving kudos after. Based on the true story of several planes that were diverted out of US airspace on 9/11 and rerouted to a small town in Newfoundland, Canada and the people who so generously cared for them, the scenes ingeniously alternate between the Newfoundlanders and the passengers and crew on a plane. With the dimming of the lights and shifting of a few chairs, the Town Hall becomes an airplane. As the floor rotates, the plane flies, the lighting changes in this miraculous production, and the audience scarcely realizes that the plane is no longer visible.  The chair alignment has changed and the Newfoundlers are sitting around a bar, listening to news on a radio. The change from one scene to another is seamless with most actors playing dual roles. The story-line is fascinating but the production itself is even more so. The lighting changes are brilliant. The quick chair realignment to indicate a new scene is outstanding. The backdrop which has a hidden door that opens to indicate the inside an airplane is ingenious. And oh the glorious music! Almost all of the cast members are given an opportunity for a solo. Together their music is resplendent.  Don’t miss this show! Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, visiting www.kimmelcenter.org or at the Kimmel Center Box Office. Group sales are available for ten or more by calling 215-790-5883. More information is available at www.kimmelcenter.org.    

The Roomate

Jennifer Childs & Grace Gonglewski

1812 Productions, Philadelphia’s only all comedy theatre company, is presenting the Philadelphia premiere of Jen Silverman’s The Roommate through October 20, 2019 at Plays and Players Theater, 17^th and Delancey Streets. Starring Jennifer Childs and Grace Gonglewski, the play progressively explores how two very different middle age women can share a home and alter each other’s lives. Jennifer Childs portrays Sharon, a recently divorced woman who describes herself as” retired from my marriage.” Grace Gonglewski portrays Robyn, a woman from the Bronx who has done “this and that.” Jennifer’s facial expressions are phenomenal. When Sharon discovers some of Robyn’s secrets, such as growing pot and then selling it, she is astonished and then wants to be “part of the game”. It is hysterical when she enthusiastically develops a client base among her friends and Robyn has to stop her from recruiting 12 year olds to sell to their friends. Robyn is not altogether thrilled with these new developments as she had moved to Iowa from the Bronx to escape her old life. As Sharon has said repeatedly, “Nothing ever happens in Iowa.” When pressed, Robyn tells Sharon some of her other adventures: scamming people on the phone to get their credit card information, car theft, petty theft…Sharon is delighted and wants to learn how Robyn operates. There are many scene changes indicating a new day. Lighting and music are excellent indicators of the scene change and the costume changes are perfect indicators as well. This is a very humorous play. It is not non-stop gag-lines or fall out of your seat funny as some productions are, but is has many laugh lines and is extraordinarily well done. Both veteran actors Jennifer Childs and Grace Gonglewski deliver their lines with a straight face or, as in Jen’s case, with a startled one, and the audience breaks out in laughter. The story-line is somewhat bittersweet but well worth your while to come and explore it. For more information or tickets, call 215-592-9560 or visit online at 1812 productions.org