She Gets Around

                                                                          Jennifer Childs

Actor, playwright, comedian and 1812 Productions’ Producing Artistic Director, Jennifer Childs returns to the stage with a brand-new solo comedy, She Gets Around. It will be running April 24 through May 17, 2026 as part of the Phoebe & Otto Premiere Series at Plays & Players Theatre. In the show, Jennifer Childs is cleaning out her closet and reminisces with every piece of clothing in it. Through a whirlwind of characters, and comedic riffs, she explores the many versions of the “bad girls” and “good girls” she has been in her life. The show introduces many unforgettable personalities from a 7-year old who complains about being put in “time-out” to a variety of female comics who helped shape the landscape of comedy. Together these characters guide Childs as she considers whether she should be more like Doris Day or Tallulah Bankhead. The production will add an element of theatrical spontaneity: the audience will determine the order in which the characters will appear. Tickets are available at 1812productions.org. 

Shucked

Ensemble Arts Philly and The Shubert Organization will be presenting the Philadelphia Premiere of Shucked, the Tony Award-winning new musical comedy, at the Forrest Theatre from April 21- May 3, 2026.  It’s a hilarious show of love, sacrifice and hope, centered around one community’s obsession with corn. The score is written by Grammy Award winners, Tony Award nominees and Nashville superstars Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. The design teams are helmed by Drama Desk, Tony and Emmy Award nominees and winners. The cast boasts some members of the original Broadway cast (Miki Abraham as Lulu, Quinn VanAntwerp as Gordy) as well as Doylestown, Pa native Mike Nappi as Peanut. To purchase tickets, visit www.ensembleartsphilly.org or Telecharge.com or call Telecharge at 212-239-6200. Group orders may be placed at Broadway Inbound or by calling 866-302-0995. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Forrest Theatre Box Office, located at 1114 Walnut Street, Monday thru Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 30, 7:30 PM will have the addition of an American Sign Language performance.

Marsha Blovotnick and the Mavelous Magical Chicken Soup

                                                       Ensemble Cast at Shabbat Dinner

Theatre Ariel, Philadelphia’s only theatre dedicated to telling stories about the Jewish experience, is presenting the world premiere of Marsha Blovotnick and the Marvelous Magical Chicken Soup. This very humorous production can be seen through March 22 at The Bluver Theatre @ The Drake, Hicks Street, Philadelphia. Marsha, (Janis Dardaris) a self- proclaimed lesbian, lives in a ramshackle house that was her father’s that also serves as her acting studio. She is angry at the world, her three ex-wives, and particularly at her sister, Janice. Janice, (Susan Riley Stevens) is the antheses of Marsha.  She is well dressed and coiffed, has a home in the country, belongs to the country club, and has a very calm demeanor.  Adam Pelta-Pauls is charming as the Chorus. He both explains Marsha and the other characters to the audience and repeats what is said back to Marsha to the delight of the audience. As Marsha is preparing a Shabbat dinner, she realizes she has forgotten to make chicken soup. A mysterious ancestor arrives with magical chicken soup that will change anyone who eats it. Marsha has great plans for this soup.  Plans sometimes work in unexpected ways. The sound and lighting design are excellent in this production. Kudos to Christopher Colucci and Will Lowry. Tickets may be obtained online at theatreariel.org .

 

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.