by April Johnson Before the Bad Bunny concert, I mean, Super Bowl LX, I was fully entertained at Village Playbox production A Midsummer Night’s Dream  directed by Natasha Thompson .  This comedic story was written by William Shakespeare in 1595.  Set in Athens Greece, betrothed and star-crossed lovers become entangled, maybe past the point of untying; among other subplots including nymphs, humans and beasts.  In the opening of the story, Egeus brings his rebellious daughter

by Donald Toal We tell stories for so many reasons. We tell them to gain a deeper understanding of the world around us and the people who inhabit it. We tell them to explore ideas and events from a new perspective. And, perhaps more than any other reason, we tell them for entertainment, for adventure, for an escape from the mundane horrors that plague our short little lives.   All these reasons are at the core of Qui Nguyen’s She Kills Monsters , a clever, silly, but ultima

by Laura Duffy On Friday evening, I was privileged to witness the opening night performance of American Son  at Masquerade Theatre. Written by Christopher Demos-Brown, and directed in this case by Connor Twigg , the play tells the story of a separated biracial couple trapped in the lobby of a police station as they await news of their son, who has gone missing following a traffic stop incident.    To say that this production is timely would be a vast understatement. Since t

by Angela Robb There’s something about a good mystery that never seems to go out of style. Clue has proven just how flexible and beloved a good mystery can be, enduring as a game night staple, a cult-classic film, and a theatrical crowd-pleaser. Over the last couple of years the genre has been reinvented through the Knives Out films, the popularity of which proves that we keep coming back to stories that invite us to lean forward, connect the dots, and suspect everyone. Agat

by Deitra Oliver Gaslight , at Kelsey Theatre collaboration with Theater To Go, is an intense psychological thriller that will leave you feeling strangely satisfied in the end, but may also cause you to look a little deeper at the relationships in your own life. The term "gaslighting" has gained popularity in recent years to describe emotional abuse and manipulation in relationships, but what many people do not know is that it originated from this 1938 play by Patrick Hamil

by Laura Duffy Based on true events, Calendar Girls tells the story of six Women’s Institute members from the Yorkshire Dales who raise money for a local hospital after one of the women’s husbands, John, dies of leukemia. The way they go about it, however, catches the attention of the world – the women decide to pose nude for an “alternative” fundraising calendar, with help from an amateur photographer who met John while working as a hospital porter. Leading the production

by Donald Toal It’s funny to think about how stories get retold sometimes. It’s admittedly, for this millennial, less funny to think of Shrek as being a story that is now over 25(?!?) years old, longer if you count the original William Steig children’s book that inspired it (which first hit shelves in 1990).  But time makes fools of us all, I suppose.  Regardless of the forward passage of the years, the big green ogre has a heart to his story of satirized fairy tales and th

by Ash Kotter Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead  is not a comfortable evening of theater, but in the hands of Philadelphia’s Old Academy Players , it is most certainly a powerful one. For those who appreciate a heads up, please consider this a content warning: this story   engages directly with several layers of mature content. Not simply the use of explicit language, but add themes of violence, on top of sexual identity topics, lewd descriptions of sex acts,

by: Josh Buffington Before seeing this show, I was familiar with majority of the music and was hoping to hear beautiful harmonies and see hilarious acting. As I walked into the theatre, I was immediately greeted with smiling faces and numerous kind people at the box office, as well as the ushers.  A fun touch that was added was the opportunity to have audience members onstage. The ushers asked if audience members were interested and had them fill out a form with your name an

by Donald Toal People are exhausting. Of course, when we make this statement, we’re usually referring to the dreaded “general public,” but the people we choose to welcome into our lives are different, we tell ourselves.   When we find our “person,” our other half, then everything falls into place and we become complete.   Is it ever really that simple, though? A couple centuries of western civilization would tell us so.   But how do we find that connection so easily in a m

by Aimee Ferenz Every performer has experienced it, the hours-long technical rehearsal that stops and starts with no warning, feeling like it might go on forever. It is when the designers of lights, sound, set, props, costumes, and choreography come together with the stage managers, producers, directors, and cast to glue all of their personal efforts into a collective work of art. This rehearsal is mentally exhausting, emotionally demanding, often repetitive, and is one of m

by Meg Bryan Romantic comedies are a favorite genre for many of us, no matter what form they may be boxed up in (movies, books, musicals, etc.). Even with the highs and lows that come with these stories, at their core, they’re always a good go-to when you’re in need of an emotional pick-me-up. One of my personal favorites within that genre is the musical She Loves Me , one of the greatest displays of the enemies to lovers trope that I’ve seen. Set in Hungary in the 1930s, th