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......

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......

Phillyist saw a lot of shows at this year's Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe. A. Lot. Of. Shows. Thirty, to be exact. And we just got word from Megan at Canary Promotions that we're not the only ones who were getting fringetastic this year. The Festival(s) saw a ten percent increase in ticket sales—about three-quarters of a million dollars in tickets, to be exact. (It's pretty impressive when you remember how much of......

Performances: P's & Q's (Lee Etzold and MyKindaPony) (Future performances); Eye-95 re-tarred (BRAT Productions) (Future performances). I took a two-day breather that wasn't really a breather at all, after my nine-in-three weekend, and jumped right back on the saddle with two shows yesterday, two today, two tomorrow, two Saturday, and (maybe) two Sunday. I love being "press." P's & Q's OMG, a show about manners! OMG OMG! Okay, now that that's out of the way.........