'Lights Rise on Grace' at Azuka Theatre in Philadelphia by Tim Dunleavy

Lights Rise on Grace is a play that has a lot to say about race, sexuality and secrecy, but says it sparingly. Chad Beckim's play depicts three characters who reveal a lot to the audience in…

Oh What a Night at The 2015 Barrymores! by Tim Dunleavy

“It's been a big year for me." That was quite an understatement coming from Scott Greer. The veteran Philadelphia actor had just won his fifth Barrymore Award, named Outstanding Leadin…

'Equivocation' at the Arden Theatre by Tim Dunleavy

Bill Cain’s Equivocation is a good concept gone astray. Its alternative history about William Shakespeare getting caught up in deadly royal court intrigue is exceedingly clever and alm…

'Bullets Over Broadway' at Broadway Philadelphia by Tim Dunleavy

Bullets Over Broadway is one of Woody Allen's funniest, most accessible movies. But the stage musical adaptation, using a script by Allen himself, is an awkward mishmash of comedy and music …

'A Comedy of Tenors' at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ by Tim Dunleavy

Is A Comedy of Tenors, Ken Ludwig's newest comedy, a worthy successor to Lend Me a Tenor, his knockabout farce that opened on Broadway in 1989 and has been produced in hundreds of theatres a…

'Rizzo' at Theatre Exile in Philadelphia by Tim Dunleavy

  Technically speaking, Rizzo isn't a great play. Bruce Graham's new play about the life of the late Philadelphia mayor Frank Rizzo doesn't dig deeply enough into what made its main cha…

'The Taming of the Shrew' at The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre by Tim Dunleavy

Nobody can seethe like Jenna Kuerzi. As Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew, Kuerzi reacts to every slight from her unwelcome suitor Petruchio with rage. Her nostrils flare. Her eyes bulge.…

'Disgraced' at Philadelphia Theatre Company by Tim Dunleavy

Disgraced is a play that pushes people's buttons. Almost every character says something that is guaranteed to outrage somebody. But when you push too many buttons, a show can feel mechanical…

'Hooked!' at Inis Nua Theatre Company in Philadelphia by Tim Dunleavy

If there's one thing the Irish are good at, it's keeping " and creating, and gossiping about " secrets. (My Irish grandmother practically turned it into an art form.) In Hooked!, playwright …

'Shipwrecked!' at Walnut Street Theatre Independence Studio on 3 in Philadelphia by Tim Dunleavy

At the beginning of Shipwrecked!, Greg Wood bounds onto the stage of the Walnut Street Theatre's Independence Studio and greets the audience: "Hello," he says, "and welcome to this temple of…

'Metamorphoses' at Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia by Tim Dunleavy

Watching Metamorphoses is a sensory experience. Mary Zimmerman's play retells ancient myths with intelligence and invention, and that alone makes it memorable. But what you'll remember most …

'Bus Stop' at Bristol Riverside Theatre by Tim Dunleavy

Oh, the weather outside is frightful. It's the middle of the night on an isolated Kansas highway, somewhere between Kansas City and Topeka, and a massive winter snowstorm has stranded a grou…

'Eurydice' at Villanova Theatre by Tim Dunleavy

Eurydice, Sarah Ruhl's fresh take on a classic Greek myth, is irreverent and deadly serious at the same time. It's profound… and at times it's also profoundly silly. And its willingness to…

'Baby Doll' at the McCarter Theatre by Tim Dunleavy

You can cut the air " and the tension " with a knife in Princeton these days. The McCarter Theatre's new production of Baby Doll, adapted from Tennessee Williams' 1956 screenplay (and his sh…

'High Society' at The Walnut Street Theatre by Tim Dunleavy

Philip Barry's 1939 play The Philadelphia Story has long been rightly celebrated as a model of wit and sophistication. It inspired a classic movie version the following year and then, in 195…

Philadelphia Fringe Festival: 'Andy: 'A Popera' at Opera Philadelphia and the Bearded Ladies by Tim Dunleavy

What's art? The characters in Andy: A Popera, a new piece based on the life of the pop art pioneer Andy Warhol, get asked that question many times, and they have many answers. "An opportunit…

2015 Philadelphia Fringe Festival: 'Alias Ellis Mackenzie' at Lucidity Suitcase International by Tim Dunleavy

Alias Ellis Mackenzie tells the story of Barry Seal, who smuggled drugs into the United States for the Medellin Cartel during the 1980s while simultaneously working as an informant for the U…

2015 Philadelphia Fringe Festival: 'The Captive' at Philadelphia Artists' Collective by Tim Dunleavy

Once upon a time, The Captive was hot stuff. Édouard Bourdet's play caused a sensation in Paris in 1926, and again later that year on Broadway. But the Broadway run was cut short when au…

2015 Philadelphia Fringe Festival: 'Underground Railroad Game' by Tim Dunleavy

Underground Railroad Game is a show that doesn't care who it shocks. It's filled with racial and sexual stereotypes, raunchy language, and offensive images, not to mention full frontal nudit…

2015 Philadelphia Fringe Festival: 'The Shoplifters' at 1812 Productions by Tim Dunleavy

Mary Martello is a master thief. Anyone who's seen her play supporting roles in shows as diverse as Memphis, 9 to 5, and Candide knows that this five-time Barrymore winner is an expert at st…

'Murder for Two' at Philadelphia Theatre Company by Tim Dunleavy

Whodunit? Who killed the famous author? Was it his wife, his mistress, or his psychiatrist? Maybe it was the author's friends Murray and Barb, the ones who introduce themselves as "the feist…

A Midsummer Night's Dream by Tim Dunleavy

This Midsummer Night's Dream fits in with Mauckingbird's mission to produce gay-themed theater. Some of the major characters have had their genders switched and, for this comedy of romantic …

"Ghost-Writer" and "Iron" - Philadelphia Reviews by Tim Dunleavy

Michael Hollinger's Ghost-Writer is a lovely and stirring drama about the written word and the emotions it can provoke.

Curtains and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - Philadelphia Reviews by Tim Dunleavy

An American Tragedy, Henry V and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Tim Dunleavy

Murder on the Nile - Philadelphia Review by Tim Dunleavy

Uncle Vanya and Run, Mourner, Run - Philadelphia Reviews by Tim Dunleavy

Chenoweth, Neuwirth, Griffin and Others "Do Pink" for Breast Cancer Awareness by Tim Dunleavy

Irving Berlin's White Christmas, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and That Pretty Pretty; or, the Rape Play by Tim Dunleavy

The Borrowers and The Tempest - Philadelphia Reviews by Tim Dunleavy

Dublin Carol and Caesar's Palace O' Fun - Philadelphia Reviews by Tim Dunleavy