Thursday has often been called a day of thirst, probably because we need an excuse to drink on a week night, and the wordplay writes itself. We wish we could refrain from suggesting at least one bar, just to rebel against the 'thirsty' designation. Well, we can't refrain. We just plain can't. But at least we have some music to serve before the booze. THE FOO FIGHTERS AND SERJ TANKIAN AT THE WACHOVIA SPECTRUM......

Typically, theatre is escapist. We go to be entertained, to see the lives of others played out for a few hours, to leave satisfied. What we are viewing is fantasy, not reality. Once in a while, though, theatre challenges us, and we find ourselves in the audience not, it feels, watching a play, but rather watching the very real lives of very real people having very real conversations and doing very real things. It's......

Tap dancing! Martial arts! Fire swallowing! S&M! Is it the latest show by the Peek-A-Boo Revue? No. It's the Lantern Theater Company's revival production of The Screwtape Letters, adapted from the book by C.S. Lewis by, and starring, Anthony Lawton. As with all of C.S. Lewis's works, Screwtape has a decidedly Christian slant— in this case, speaking on the ideas of faith and morality, and how their abandonment could mean eternal damnation— but the story......

There's something about a French farce that has real staying power - not in that the play stays with you for days after you see it, but more in that these are plays that have been around for 350 years and are still, somehow, funny. Sure, there's always the risk that farce can delve into shtick, if the running gags run on too long or if too many people get hit in the face by......

When I was younger, I wanted to study abroad in Ireland because I wanted to pick up the accent. That dream was never to be, but my love for the Irish accent lives on. And so that, combined with my affinity for the work of Martin McDonagh, led me straight into the arms of Lantern Theater Company's new production of McDonagh's The Lonesome West, directed by David O'Connor. Unlike last season's production of The......

This week, we've got another theatre quote from Shakespeare because, as it turns out, the Bard was totally meta. This one is from Hamlet, and it comes at the end of a very long monologue (did you know that Hamlet is the talkiest of all Shakespeare's characters?) during which Hamlet schemes to have his uncle admit to killing his father. The entirety of the well-known quote, which isn't even a complete sentence, is: "...the play's......

We can't help it. Whenever anyone so much as mentions Wicked, we get "Defying Gravity" stuck in our heads. Or "Popular." Now, on with the listings! Wicked - Are you a good witch, or a bad witch? March 22-April 9. Tickets are selling out quickly; what remains is available online. Much Ado About Nothing - This is the second of this year's Shakespeare Festival shows to open, and it's one of Phillyist's favorites. Because we......

This week’s quote comes from the musical Damn Yankees. The players on a baseball team are singing that they aren’t the greatest players, but at least they play with heart. Unfortunately, we can relate. Now, on with the listings! Nine Parts of Desire - Heather Raffo’s one woman play is based on a series of interviews he’s conducted with Iraqui women who have been affected by the violence that has become a part of Iraqui......

The answer, of course, is applause. This week's quote comes from the musical Applause, a musical adaptation of All About Eve. In this scene, a group of gypsies relate how difficult their lives are, but say the payoff is in the applause. We're sure the actors in the productions below would agree. Now, on with the listings! The Boys - One more world premiere for Philadelphia theatre – this one a family drama. January 28-February......