Results tagged “walnutstreettheatre”

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Love musical theatre? Want an hour and a half's worth of laughs? Has the Walnut got a treat for you!

Despite a record-setting twelve Tony Awards, is really a star vehicle. And by that, we don't mean that it's not an exceptional show; but, it's a deceptively difficult show to pull off, at least in terms of the delivery of its humor. If the actors aren't top-notch, the slapstick can overwhelm the show if not well-executed. So we were a bit skeptical when we learned that the Walnut Street Theatre was doing the show. Without the right balance of indulgence and restraint, the show can go awry—it's a tough balance, even for seasoned performers. So it wasn't really surprising that, after stars Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick departed from the original New York production, audience numbers dwindled; and although the show managed to remain open on Broadway for six years, it ceased being New York's "must see" ticket without its original stars.

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

It's an interesting idea, casting some of Philadelphia's most recognizable musical and comedic actors in a play that's certainly neither of those things. But perhaps so dramatically recasting Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, as director Malcolm Black has done at the Walnut Street Theatre, is a smart idea: it distances us from the Marlon Brando/Vivien Leigh/Kim Hunter/Karl Malden casting we all know and allows us to take a fresh look at the show.

It's hard not to have fun with Hairspray. The show lacks much of the charm, and the story, and all of the class, of an old-timey musical, but when done right, it's so fun and engaging that you're bound to enjoy the show more than just another production of The King and I.

Just in time for the the 200th birthday of the Walnut Street Theatre, the Walnut's Producing Artistic Director Bernard Havard and Managing Director Mark D. Sylvester have released a photo-history book in the popular Images of America series. The pair will be answering questions and signing copies of Walnut Street Theatre tonight at the Avenue of the Arts Borders location, beginning at 7PM. The event is free, and no reservations will be required.

I have to be honest here for a minute: I was pretty pessimistic about The Walnut's production of Les Miserables, more or less from the second it was announced as the season closer. It wasn't lack of faith in The Walnut that led to my lack of optimism. Rather, it was a familiarity: nothing about Les Mis—not the music, not the costumes, not the set*—is easy, and bad productions are far too common. Not only that, the better known a musical is, the greater the chance that the audience, used to hearing the original Broadway soundtrack, or having seen the production in London or New York, will be tough to please. Perhaps I should re-phrase my initial statement. It's not that I was pessimistic about The Walnut's production—it's just that I entered the theatre with a healthy sense of reality.

Let's just get this out on the table: producing Neil Simon's The Odd Couple is playing it safe. It's not that I don't love the play—I do—but so does everybody else. (Except for, I don't know, maybe August Strindberg, but he's dead and he doesn't count. On the other hand, Neil Simon might quite enjoy Strindberg and Helium.) And so just putting the play up on your marquee or season brochure is more or less a guarantee of your success, meaning I'm not entirely sure why Walnut Street Theatre invited me to review their production of the popular play.

do). That being said, when you can embrace the fact that this is what you get from Arthur Miller, you have to admit that he's a helluva writer. There's a reason that his plays are so oft-performed. As an actor, there's something supremely satisfying about mastering his long monologues. As an audience member, it's refreshing to see a play where the characters talk like real people and remind you of real people. Not necessarily people you like, mind you – but people you know.

Back in Middle School, I was all about competing in speech tournaments. One of my favorite events? Readers' Theatre. One of the scripts that my middle school used for Readers' Theatre? Greater Tuna. Not in its entirety, of course. Readers' Theatre, according to the rules we went by at least, could only be ten minutes long. Also, it probably wouldn't do for a bunch of twelve-year-olds to talk about cross-dressing, animal poisoning, and philanderers. What...

What is there to say about Peter Pan that hasn't been said already? It's a fifty-three-year-old musical with a storied past (Veronica Lake even cut off her signature locks for the chance to play the title character) and familiar and memorable songs. The show is always staged the same way (in fairness, it kind of has to be), and so any differences from production-to-production occur in the set and the cast. The former, designed for...

"Well," my companion said to me as we left the Walnut on Friday night, "I don't think those women were domesticated."

. I’ll wait.

Philadelphia does love its centennial celebrations. Here we are, still in the throes of the Franklin tricentennial madness, and we've decided to commemorate a bicentennial birthday, too! The 200th birthday in question in this case belongs to Edwin Forrest, famous Philadelphia actor and namesake of the Forrest Theatre. To mark this milestone anniversary of his birth, Mayor Street has declared today "Edwin Forrest Day."

This week’s quote comes from Shakespeare’s , act five, scene four. In this scene, the king’s horse has been killed in battle, and he’s so desperate to stop fighting on foot that he offers his kingdom for a horse. Full quote: “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” Why did we choose it? Because Shakespeare starts us of this week. Now, on with the listings!

This week's quote comes from novelist Douglas Adams, in conjunction with the impending production of (see below). The quote continues: “At any rate, you live.” Now, on with the listings!

This week's quote comes from something Stella Adler once said about theatre: “The word theatre comes from the Greeks. It means the seeing place. It is the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation.” We don't think that needs much more explanation. Now, on with the listings!

The answer, of course, is applause. This week's quote comes from the musical . 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!

stuck in our heads all week. The featured quote is from the gluttonous Little Red Riding Hood. Now, on with the listings!

This week’s quote comes from the play , by John Guare. The character Ouisa is relating that it’s hard to intentionally avoid thinking of a topic – just like when someone tells you not to think of elephants, and all you can think of is "elephants, elephants, elephants!" Now, on with the listings!

Here it is, a week late, a lyric from the actual song “White Christmas.” (We never did get our shopping done, though. This year we’re celebrating Chanukah, for convenience.) Now, on with the listings!

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…

A new month means plenty of new theatre in the area. See below for the great shows going up this week!

Phillyist will be talking a lot about the Philadelphia Live Arts and Philadelphia Fringe Festivals over the next coming weeks, and if we tried to give each of those plays an individual listing, you’d be reading this until one week from next Tuesday. Instead, we just want to tell you about some of the other great theatrical goings-on around the city. Stay tuned for Fringe coverage starting tomorrow.

We’ll be back in Philadelphia tomorrow (after an extended stay with the folks in Texas), and we’ve certainly picked a good theatre weekend to return for!

We’re still Deep in the Heart of Texas, as it were, but our love for performing arts in Philadelphia knows no bounds. Keep reading for exciting upcoming events!