Results tagged “philadelphiatheatreworkshop”

The Mystery Plays by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, currently being staged by the Philadelphia Theatre Workshop, is an interesting work to wrap your head around: it is, at first at least, quite literally an evening of related-but-not-too-closely-linked mystery plays—two, to be exact. Only, they're not quite mystery plays: the first one is a tale of the supernatural that combines Hitchcock with George Romero—there is mystery there, but it seems almost secondary to the creepiness; the second, a family drama, is less a mystery than the story behind a cold case. The play is simultaneously exactly what its title indicates, and not what the title indicates at all.

Philadelphia Theatre Workshop, as its name might suggest, is a local production company dedicated to new works of theatre. As such, the plays presented by PTW might sometimes seem a bit underdeveloped and in need of further workshopping before they're ready for the neon lights of Broadway. That's certainly the case with 50 West 50, PTW's current production. The show's plot, in a nutshell, loosely resembles the lyrics to J. Geils Band's classic "Love Stinks":...

, the fourth wall is broken. A few scenes later, it's broken again. I'd been okay with the dream sequences up to that point, but breaking the fourth wall felt obtrusive and out of place, especially this late in the game. And that's where the play would have lost me, if the material outside of these scenes had been weaker. Fortunately, playwright Kathy Anderson created a cast of thoroughly likable characters and a plot inventive and entertaining enough that I was able to ignore, if not forgive, the two clumsy addresses to the audience. Besides, this is a world premiere: there's still the possibility of improvement.

. I’ll wait.

I need to begin this review by apologizing, profusely, to the cast and crew of . I've been burning the candle at both ends, and I may have dozed off for a few minutes at the beginning of the show. This was by no means a reflection on your abilities, but rather a reflection on the fact that I need to get more sleep.

Because we just can’t get enough culture in our lives, we’re happy to bring you this week’s events – now in Technicolor!

Shark lust! Victory-obsessed little league coaches! Meta theatre! The meaning of life! See what Philly’s got cookin’ on stage this week…