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......

Once in a while, you'll hear the Philadelphia Theatre Company criticized for "playing it safe"—choosing plays or casting actors that will fill seats, and sacrificing quality in the process. I will neither agree nor disagree with that statement, but I will pose this question: if PTC always plays it safe, how can you explain The Happiness Lecture? The show, now in its final two weeks, can only be described as performance art. It's not laughable......

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......

This is my first review of an 1812 Productions play, but I've long been interested in the company. They are, after all, Philadelphia's only all-comedy theatre company. And as much as I love high-brow, intellectual, Great Works of Theatre™, sometimes, I just want to laugh. And so I was optimistic about The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. It was originally written for the inimitable Lily Tomlin and this production stars......

We haven't gotten around to telling you about the Philadelphia New Play Festival yet (that post is forthcoming), but on Friday, I had the opportunity to see one of the featured plays (most of them open before the festival officially begins), The Arden's Dex and Julie Sittin' in a Tree. Dex and Julie tells the tale of two high school sweethearts who reunite twenty years later at their alma mater. Julie (Jennifer Childs) is......