A Delicate Balance

                                                          Ensemble Cast (without Julia)
 

Walnut Street Theatre is producing Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning A Delicate Balance through March 29. With the living room couch and pillows matching an abstract painting on the wall thanks to  Scenic Designer Roman Tatarowicz, everything on the set looks beautifully balanced.  The characters, however, are not. This drama is, among other things, a picture of familial dysfunction.  Agnes (Alicia Roper) believes that she is the fulcrum, keeping the household in balance, yet she never has a kind word to say to her sister Claire (Grace Gonglewski) or her daughter, Julia (Alanna J. Smith).  Claire does not filter what she says but her harsh words are only for her sister.  Claire is an alcoholic but is encouraged to drink by her brother-in-law Tobias. Julia returns home after a failed fourth marriage and faces her  mother's resentment.  Tobias (Paul J. Nolan) is strangely quiet in the first two acts, although, as his best friends come to the door in a strange panic, he offers them shelter.  He tends bar in the house and makes sure that everyone has something to drink at all times. When Julia is forced to give up her room to her parents’ friends, Edna and Harry, she becomes petulant and has a tantrum. After Edna slaps Julia in the face, and the entire audience gasps, she replies, “somebody had to do it.” It is in the final act that Tobias finally is able to communicate and another theme emerges - “What will one do for the sake of friendship?”  The acting is excellent throughout this drama,  but Paul J. Nolan’s performance at the end of Act Three is magnificent.  For tickets or information, visit WalnutSreetTheatre.org or 
Ticketmaster.com or call 215- 574- 3550.

Blues For An Alabama Sky

                                                         Tariq Kanu & Ebony Pullum

The Lantern Theater Company is presenting the Philadelphia premiere of Pearl Cleage’s Blues For An Alabama Sky through March 15, 2026 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 10^th and Ludlow Streets, Philadelphia, Pa.  The set is marvelous.  With a raised platform on the stage, a second apartment is established.  Angel (Ebony Pullman) and Guy (Cookie Diorio) are staying downstairs while Delia (Taylor J. Mitchell) lives upstairs. Guy’s walls are awash with fabric samples and sketches for designs he hopes to submit to Josephine Baker.  He has cupboards that are filled with bottles of champagne that the friends frequently drink to celebrate a moment or to wish for a better one.  When an uncompromising Southern gentleman, Leland, (Tariq Kanu) arrives on the scene and asks, “Isn’t this the time of prohibition?” Guy responds with, “Not in Harlem.” The acting is excellent. Delia is an outgoing activist, hoping to start her own clinic for women. She’s ‘bubbly’, passionate, and eager to fulfill her dreams. Kash Goins is the enthusiastic doctor who is ready to help her. Guy is an optimist, consistent in his beliefs that any day his designs will be discovered and he will be off to Paris, designing costumes for Josephine Baker. He is willing to enjoy himself with champagne while he is waiting.  Angel’s life falls apart when she loses the love of her life and her job minutes apart. Shortly after, Leland comes into her life and although there are some  obvious pitfalls to a potential relationship with him, she becomes pregnant and foreshadows the rest of the play by ending the first act with- “I can’t stand a man who won’t finish what he’s started."- shortly after she observes the gun he is carrying. The second act has many dramatic moments. While the first act is mainly a series of character studies, the second act yields many “Oh No!” utterances from the audience. This is a serious drama, to be sure, but one immersed in joy and laughter as well. For more information or tickets, call 215-829-0395 or visit online at www.lanterntheater.org

Plantation Black

InterAct Theatre Company is known for producing thought-provoking plays. Plantation Black, which is being performed through March 1, 2026, is another such work. It is outstanding in so many aspects. Set on a plantation in both the present day and the Civil War Era, its 6-member cast seamlessly threads back and forth across the stage while the date is projected on the wall to enlighten the audience. The ensemble cast of DeAnna Suppe, Tymothee Harrell, Hannah Parke, Trevor Wiliam Fyle and Eli Lynn play their dual roles to perfection. Lenny Daniels is a warm and caring Big Momma no matter the century. Descendents of slaves have lived on the land for generations. Intermittent music is played throughout evoking a slave’s life on a plantation.  White siblings arrive who think they have a claim to “The Big House.”  Curiously enough, everyone has the same last name.  One absolutely fascinating point about Plantation Black is that the play can have one of six different starting points.  You can see it more than once for a reduced price and the sequence of events might be more straight-forward, but then you would miss out on having those “aha” moments which give clarity to a scene you have just witnessed. This is definitely must-see production. For more information or tickets, contact the box office at boxofffice@interacttheatre.org  or call 215- 568-8079 between  2-6 PM Monday- Friday.

Sherlock Holmes:The Great Detective

 

The Walnut Street Theatre, located at 825 Walnut Street, is presenting the World Premiere of Sherlock Holmes: The Great Detective. Adapted from short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the show can be seen on Walnut Street’s main stage through February 15. Dr. Watson (Bill Van Horn) and Sherlock Holmes (Harry Smith) lead the audience on a rollicking, side-splitting laughter-filled adventure across continents in search of the captain of crime Professor Moriarty (Dan Hodge) and his sister Arabella (Anna Bailey). The writing is excellent; the play on words throughout is superb. A 10- minute bit of off-hand remarks about the sandwich family is hysterical. The props are exquisite. A metal train is assembled on stage and a large screen behind it, simulating a window, has the vaguest of objects suggesting movements so that it appears the
train is in motion on the stage. Christopher Colucci has prepared extraordinary sound effects to heighten the mysteries taking place on stage. Act 1 ends in a cloud of smoke as both Sherlock Holmes and Moriarity disappear.  The ending of Act 2 is also clever. This is a very entertaining play. It is funny, mysterious, and a bit of eye candy. For tickets or more information, call 215-574-3550, visit online at WalnutStreetTheatre.org or Ticketmaster.

Beauty and the Beast

 

Ensemble Arts Philly and the Shubert Organization is announcing Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, the first North American touring production of the musical presented by Disney in over 25 years. It will begin performances in Philadelphia, Pa. at the Academy of Music on February 11, 2026, for a limited engagement of 2 weeks through February 22, 2026. Beauty and the Beast, adapted from the 1991 Oscar-winning film, debuted on Broadway in 1994 and remains the 10th longest running show in its history. Nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning best Costume Design, Beauty remains one of the highest grossing Broadway shows of all time. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ensembleartsphilly.org, by calling 215-893-1999 or by visiting in person at the Academy of Music Box Office ( 240 S. Broad Street) from 10 AM- 6 PM. For more information, visit www.ensembmleartsphilly.org.

 

The Lady Hoofers - The Tapcrackers

                                                                Youth Ensemble

 The Lady Hoofers is a group of 40 women tap dancers comprised of first company dancers, apprentice dancers, and a youth ensemble. For one weekend only at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, they performed their unique interpretation of the Nutcracker Suite on tap shoes rather than ballet or point and it was known as The Tapcracker. After 15 years, the group now has its own portable wood floor which makes the taps resound more profoundly. Although most of the music was Tchaikovsky’s, there were some variations. The story-line of the Tapcracker deviated from the traditional Nutcracker, in that Clara didn’t fall asleep and dream of the March of the Toy Soldiers or the Sugar Plum Fairies but she is taken to Paris by her mother where she sees the march of real soldier guards and a jazz version of the Sugan Plum Fairy done by grey mice with pink ears and long tails. She has adventures in the Eiffel Tower and Versailles with friendly mice. The Waltz of The Flowers was beautifully orchestrated by a snowball fight with cotton “snowballs” thrown. The choreography was outstanding throughout.

Why am I writing about a group whose performance has come and gone? They are just too good to miss. I spoke to the mother of one of the mice. Her daughter is 10 years old and has been with the ensemble for 2 years. When I asked her how long she has been dancing, she said that her daughter has been dancing since she was 3 years old. Hopefully The Tapcracker will return next year, and you can see this marvelous holiday rendition for yourself, but in the meantime, open your 2026 calendar and save the date Saturday, May 9, 2026, for the Spring Concert Series. The Lady Hoofers will be appearing at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts at 2:00 & 7:00 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at ladyhoofers.org

Clue

Clue, the hilarious murder mystery comedy inspired by the Hasbro board game and adapted from the fan-favorite film, will make its Philadelphia premiere on January 20 through 25 at the Forrest Theatre. Philadelphia area cast member Madeline Raube, from West Chester, Pennsylvania, will star in the role of “Mrs. Peacock,” one of the suspects in the murder mystery.

Murder and blackmail are on the menu when six mysterious guests gather at Boddy Manor for a night they’ll never forget. Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with a knife? Or was it Colonel Mustard in the library with a wrench? Based on the fan-favorite 1985 Paramount Pictures movie and inspired by the classic Hasbro board game, Clue is the ultimate whodonit that will leave you crying with laughter and guessing until the final twist. Clue is based on the screenplay by Jonathon Lynn. Written by Sandy Rustin with material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price. It features original music by Michael Holland.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.ensembleartsphilly.org or via Telecharge at 800-543-4835.

In-person tickets can be purchased at the Forrest Theatre Box Office, located at 1114 Walnut Street, Monday through Friday from 10: a.m. to 6: p.m. Group orders may be placed by calling Broadway Inbound at 866-302-0995.

For more show information, visit www.clueliveonstage.com