Fiddler on the Roof

male ensemble dancing in wedding  scene

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is presenting the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof  through   October 28, 2018 at the Academy of Music. In keeping with the underlying theme of “tradition” which runs throughout the production, Broadway Philadelphia’s opening night production of Fiddler was preceded by a Philadelphia tradition - the march of the Quaker City String Band parading down Broad Street from the Kimmel Center to the Academy of Music strumming highlights from the show. Fiddler on the Roof revamped is fresh and delightful. The simplicity of the sets is ingenious. Against a stark background, buildings are dropped from the ceiling to denote a new scene and free-standing doors fire up the imagination. In contrast, the dream sequence, is bedecked with outrageous costumes. It is simply brilliant with its special effects of billowing smoke and lightning. Yehezkel Lazarov gives an exceptionally strong performance as Tevya.  Maite Uzal,(Golde) shines in "Do you love me?". When the entire cast sings together, the result is rapturous. Additional highlights of the production are the extraordinary dance numbers of the male ensemble. Their routines are breathtaking. Fiddler on the Roof ends with a new beginning as the entire cast is onstage circling around in spectacular silhouette while the orchestra plays strands of the overture. For more information or tickets to perhaps the best musical of all time,call 215-893-1999, visit www.kimmelcenter.org or Kimmel Center Box Office.

Sweat

 Matteo Scammell, Rich  Hebert,
Walter DeShields & Kittson O'Neill

The Philadelphia Theatre Company, housed in the Suzanne Roberts Theatre at 480 S. Broad Street, is presenting the Pulitzer Prize winning drama, Sweat through November 4, 2018. Based on the hardships a blue-collar town faces when it loses a good percentage of its industry, Sweat gives an intimate look at several members of the community and what they have to do individually and collectively to try to stay afloat when jobs are lost and the choices put on the table are to quit or take a pay cut.  The brilliant nine-member ensemble cast, with their combined Barrymore awards and nominations, directing credits, major film spots and recurring TV roles, greatly contribute to the excellence of this production. The acting is superb. Another commanding cog in the wheel is the outstanding choreography of the intricate fight scene. Yet a third item that will have theatre-goers running out to get tickets for this performance is the multi-media approach employed by scenic and projection designer Christopher Ash. Although most of the action takes place in a bar, playwright Lynn Nottage weaves between the time periods of 2000 and 2008, setting up a mystery of sorts. The multi-media presentations of TV broadcasts and projection collages help to define the politics of the times in which the mystery occurs. For more information or tickets to this exciting production, call 215-985-0420, visit the box office or visit online at philatheatreco.org.

Broken Biscuit

Michael Macri,  Leigha Kato &
Amanda Jill Robinson

1812 Productions, Philadelphia’s all comedy theatre comedy, is presenting the American premiere of Broken Biscuits through October 28, 2018 at Plays & Players Theater, 17^th and Delancey Street. Written by Tom Wells, Broken Biscuits toured the UK in 2016. Set in a working class neighborhood of Yorkshire, England, three 16 year-old outcasts plan their last summer together before college. Megan (Amanda Jill Robinson) is fed up with being branded “the fat one”. Her friend Holly (Leigha Kato) is shy and Ben (Michael Macri) is gay. Megan decides the group will become “cool” by forming a band, even though none of them is a proficient musician. This piece is an excellent study of teenage leadership and how fragile it is. Ms. Robinson’s character portrays strong leadership skills. She is very persuasive to her reluctant friends and sets up a weekly band rehearsal in her shed. Ms. Kato’s Holly is like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. Shy in the beginning of the performance, her character blossoms near the end, singing a song she has written about a boy who comes to her cash register at work. Michael Macri’s character, Ben, comes to terms with his character’s sexuality. Megan does not react well to her friends’ independence. The set is very creative. The shed has a multitude of items hanging on its walls, some of which are useful to Megan and her friends; some of which are useful only to anyone storing tools in a shed. A poster with rip-off numbers indicates the passage of time. Characters leaving by the rear door of the shed and making quick costume changes indicate time passage as well. This is a first-rate production demonstrating the trials of coming of age. For more information or tickets, call 215-5923-9560 or visit www.1812productions.com

Once

Lucia Brady & Katherine Fried

Once is a misnomer attributed to one of the most outstanding productions ever to grace a theatre’s stage, for everything about it screams more! Appearing on the main stage of the Arden theatre, 40 N. 2^nd Street, its run has been extended through October 28 due to popular demand. Thanks to the flexibility of the seating in the F.Otto Haas main stage, the seats are set around the stage on three sides, with the action taking place on the floor, in the aisles and on walkways arranged above the seats. Early arrivals are treated to a concert   by 11 musicians playing both Gaelic and Irish tunes and dancing in a circle in the middle of a rug-strewn floor. A plethora of instruments is used, including violins, guitars, a piano, a melodica, a cajón, a mandolin, a banjo, a tambourine, and a bass. The instrumentalists, dancing and singing as they play, lend an air of exuberance to the evening, not once, but every time they appear. An Irish Guy (Ken Allen Neely) meets a Czech Girl (Katherine Fried) in Dublin and they discover  a common love of music, which leads to complications in their personal lives.  Their harmonies blend together beautifully but the ensemble sings after each scene and when everyone joins together it is nothing short of magnificent. This is not a presentation that you want to see only once. An added treat is the performance of Lucia Brady, an extraordinarily talented 8 year-old who portrays the Girl’s daughter and plays the violin in the show’s final number. For more information or tickets to see this wondrous show, call 215-922-1122 or visit online at www.ardentheatre.org.

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iLuminate

Nine extraordinarily talented young men and women dancers took to the Merriam stage for three performances Friday September 22 and Saturday, September 23. iLuminate brings a unique concept to the stage, combining well-choreographed dance moves with state-of-the-art lighting effects. The show was performed on a dark stage with dancers bedecked in neon lighting from head to toe. In the blink of an eye dancers' lights went off and they disappeared, only to reappear on another part of the stage a few seconds later. The results of the appearance and disappearance of the characters on stage as routines were set to music was nothing short of spectacular. Benches, chairs, a wall clock, a door and an easel were all outlined in lights at one time or another. Butterflies flew across the stage in lights, as did symbols of Ms. Pacman, Super Mario, and an arrow hitting a bulls- eye. The rendition of Michael Jackson’s Bill Jean was superb not only for its athleticism but for its astonishing light display. This number, alone, was enough to give the production a WOW factor of 10 but it was only one of many. ILuminate is the brainchild of Miral Kotb who sought to bring together her passions for dance and software engineering. She has been wildly successful with both. The next featured performance at the Kimmel Cultural Campus will be Love Never Dies (October 2-7, 2018) at the Academy of Music. For more information, see www.kimmelcenter.org. 

Erma Bombeck:At Wits End

Licia Watson as Erma Bombeck

Licia Watson is appearing at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, Pa. in the persona of Erma Bombeck. Erma Bombeck: At Wits End will be performed through October 7, 2018. The set is a cut-a-way of a split level home, typical of many houses built in the ‘70’s.  Ms. Watson utilizes the entire multi-level set throughout the performance. Performing a “one-man” show is a difficult task and Ms. Watson not only speaks to the audience but also has several phone conversations and mock conversations with invisible family members in her home. This is not a profession for the faint of heart. Several props are utilized without “Erma’s” skipping a beat. “You don’t mind if I iron while I speak to you, do you?” she asks and later does the dishes while she is speaking about Betty Friedan and the Equal Rights Amendment. The monologue gets laughs from the audience several times, including a deadpan from Watson …, “One of my household hints on how to get odors out of the kitchen - stop cooking.” Although much of the material is dated, Licia Watson gives a very credible performance as one of America’s favorite humorists, detailing Erma Bombeck's life as a housewife, columnist and activist for women's rights. For more information or tickets, call 215-785-0100 or visit brtstage.org.

Hapgood

William Zielinski & McKenna Kerrigan

The Lantern Theater Company, located in St. Stephen’s Church Theater, 10^th and Ludlow Streets, is presenting Tom Stoppard’s Hapgood through October 14, 2018. British intelligence officer Elizabeth Hapgood, fondly known as Mother, (McKenna Kerrigan) runs a counter intelligence operation against Russian spies. But a question poses itself. Are there twins involved? And then another question… Has the Russian spy Kerner (William Zielinski) which she has cultivated as a double agent, turned back again to his homeland?  If he decides to turn over his scientific discoveries, how damaging will it be? You might need a score card to follow all the shenanigans, and you might need a tally to keep track of all the math and science that is described as particle physics, but you’ll need only your eyes to marvel at the fantastic work of Scenic Designer Nick Embree and the 7 unique set designs presented back to back on the circular stage. The part of Hapgood‘s and Kerner’s son Joe is alternately played by Will Zielinski and Charles LaMonaca. Will is visiting the Philadelphia area for a year from Amsterdam and has just made his professional debut on the Lantern stage. Charles is an eight-grade veteran actor who is making his Lantern debut.  Keep an eye out for more of his performances! For more information or tickets, call 215-829-0395 or visit online at www.lanterntheater.org.