I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Phillyist's own Don Montrey is a funny, funny guy. I'm saying it now because Don also happened to be the head writer on 1812 Productions' This Is the Week That Is: The Election Special which itself is largely a funny, funny show. The show—the third, and apparently final, in 1812's This Is... series, includes daily updates on the state of the world in these final......

Performances: Disco Descending (Karen Getz) (future performances) After the performative train wreck that was Everyone, I was really looking forward to seeing another show. Any other show. But I figured that even though Karen Getz had been a reason for much pain and suffering during Everyone, her own Live Arts contribution would probably serve as great medicine. Disco Descending I loved Karen Getz's Suburban Love Songs so much that I saw it twice. Naturally, I......

Puppy Macbeth I am a big fan of Shakespearean plays that are deconstructed and reimagined. So imagine my surprise when I walked into the Arden Theater and saw the cutest Macbeth ever! A stage of laid down newspaper is easily transformed into the Scottish heath and Dunsinane. Pepper's interpretation of Macbeth is both harrowing and adorable, while Mitzie's Lady Macbeth is snuggly and a revelation ("Out damn spot!" takes on a whole new meaning here).......

This review is cheating. You see, I saw—and reviewed—Suburban Love Songs nearly two years ago when it was performed at the Live Arts Festival. In fact, it ended up being one of my favorite performances of the festival. But I just had to see if it was still the delightful show I'd then found it to be, or if my enjoyment of it had merely been because of its accessibility in a festival that......

The Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia's December On Stage listings make note of four productions of A Christmas Carol (one of which, admittedly, I loved), plus productions of A Christmas Story, Christmas City Follies, Comet, the Fifth Reindeer, The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, The Holiday Goose - A Musical, Holiday Show at the Swing Club, The Nutcracker, O'Henry Christmas, The Santaland Diaries, Tiny Tim's Christmas, and Winter Musicale 2007. In short, the season is saturated......

I was sitting in the audience at Mum, and I realized I've never actually seen a production of The Fantasticks. I knew most of the music, so I just kind of took for granted that I'd actually seen the show. But I was wrong, so somehow, my first-ever viewing of the longest-running musical in history was performed by puppets. And there's the fear that, when you're seeing an experimental staging of a traditional show, you're......

Tuesday night, Phillyist had the great pleasure of attending the Arden Theatre Company's production of Stephen Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. It's a show that we know quite well and we felt that we were in a good position to be tough critics if that's what was required of us. But, it wasn't. The Arden's production was an immensely enjoyable one, from start to finish. The cast, led by......