Performing Arts

Please call the phone number listed with the venue for specific dates, times and ticket information.

theater

• ANNA BELLA EEMA Playwright Lisa D'Amour's vision of mother/daughter love includes trailer park vampires, a girl made of mud, police chases and the occasional musical number. Directed by Lisa Jo Epstein. Runs through Oct. 11, $15-$20, Adrienne Theatre, 2030 Sansom St., 215-407-0556.

 

 

• THE BABY DANCE Let the buyer beware! Jane Anderson's unsettling piece deals with the process of "baby brokering," a private adoption from one poor family to a rich infertile couple. The show, directed by April Field, pulls no punches depicting one of the shadier postnatal practices in our country. Runs through Oct. 5, $15, Shubin Theatre, 407 Bainbridge St., 215-882-2600.

 

 

• BAD SEED Directed by Christopher Wunder, the Old Academy Players present this tale of a "perfect" daughter. Unfortunately, her loving parents slowly discover, to their horror, that she is an amoral killer who will do anything to get her way. What are little girls made of? Extreme creepiness. Runs through Sept. 28, $12, Old Academy Players, 3544 Indian Queen Lane, 215-843-1109.

 

 

• CANDIDE After a few decades, Leonard Bernstein's musical based on Voltaire's philosophical comedy gets dusted off and updated with a new version by John Caird. Directed by Terrence J. Nolan. Runs through Oct. 12, $29-$48, Arden Theatre Co., 40 N. 2nd St., 215-922-1122.

 

 

• CLOUD TECTONICS This piece by Oscar nominee José Rivera is a Los Angeles love story set during a cataclysmic storm. The plot gets progressively stranger and more mystical as the characters (played by Mason Gross MFAs) meditate on love, sex, etc. Directed by Michelle Seaton.Runs through Sept. 27, $15-$25, Mason Gross Performing Arts Center, 85 George St., New Brunswick, NJ, 732-932-7511.

 

 

• DRIVING MISS DAISY Before Miss Daisy graced the silver screen, her stage version won playwright Alfred Uhry the Pulitzer Prize. Director Peter Reynolds, a Barrymore Emerging Artist. Runs through Oct. 5, $12-$30, Hedgerow Theatre, 164 W. Rose Valley Rd., Media, 610-565-4211.

 

 

• EXPECTING ISABEL Pulitzer Prize nominee Lisa Loomer's "seriocomedy" examines the experience of popping out a kid in 21st-century America. The protagonists are a Manhattan couple who begin the journey to parenthood without knowing what they're getting into. Directed by Douglas C. Wager and performed by Temple students. Runs through Oct. 5, $5-$20, Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St., 215-204-1122.

 

 

• THE HOTHOUSE One of the early works by Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, this dark comedy explores a state institution from the point of view of its more-than-slightly-unhinged staff with sharp dialogue and an even sharper message. Directed by Kathryn MacMillan. Runs through Oct. 12, $20-$35, St. Stephen's Theater, 10th & Ludlow sts., 215-829-0395.

 

 

• LAKE STREET EXTENSION With only three characters sharing the spotlight, Lee Blessing's drama features a vociferous Christian father, his wayward hustler son, the El Salvadoran refugee he's taken in and enough baggage and dirty secrets to fill the stage. Runs through Oct. 18, $21, Red Room at Society Hill Playhouse, 507 S. 8th St., 215-923-0210.

 

 

• LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT Winner of the Pulitzer for Drama, this work by Eugene O'Neill recounts a single summer day in the lives of one family. O'Neill's autobiographical work shows just how dysfunctional families can be — in the 1950s, at least. Directed by Robert Hedley.Runs through Oct. 5, $5-$24, Vasey Hall, Villanova University, Villanova, 610-519-7474.

 

 

• MY FAIR LADY Girl meets guy, guy tries to "civilize" girl, guy falls in love, girl falls in love, and they're so very British. The Media Theatre's production will have all the songs and trappings you remember — lov-er-ly. Runs through Nov. 2, $22-$42.50, the Media Theatre, 104 E. State St., Media, 610-891-0100.

 

 

• NEW VOICES WORKSHOP Winners of the 2008 Annual Playwriting Festival — a group of the best and the brightest middle and high school students of drama — will have their submissions directed and performed by Temple University directors and actors. Runs through Sept. 27, FREE , Tomlinson Theater, Temple University, 1301 W. Norris St., 215-665-9226.

 

 

• THE PERSIANS Author Ellen McLaughlin has produced an English version of Aeschylus' play recounting the downfall of Persia and the birth of Greek democracy. Directed by Jade King Carroll. Runs through Oct. 19, $29-$48, People's Light & Theatre Co., 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern, 610-647-1900.

 

 

• PHANTOM Long overshadowed by a somewhat more famous production, "Phantom" (without that "of the Opera" at the end) is an alternative to the bombastic style of Weber that preserves the atmosphere of the original novel. More grit, less melodrama. Directed by Chris Alberts. Runs through Oct. 5, $32-$55, the New Candlelight Theatre, 2208 Millers Rd., Ardentown, DE, 302-475-2313.

 

 

• PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS West Chester University's theater department begins it season with this surreal comedy about love, fetishes and psychoanalysis in which the lead character faces a dilemma surrounding his inability to have sex without being near his father's argyle socks. Directed by Bob Bytnar. Runs through Sept. 28, $8-$12, West Chester University Performing Arts Center, 817 High St., West Chester, 610-436-2533.

 

 

• REEFER MADNESS Presented by 11th Hour Theatre Co. and the Montgomery Theater, this musical is based on the melodramatic cautionary film "Reefer Madness," which indicated that smoking the "Demon Weed" led to sexual deviance, violent crime, teen pregnancy, insanity, and eventually death. Runs through Oct. 4, $16-$33, Montgomery Theatre, 124 Main St., 215-723-9984.

 

 

• ROCK'N'ROLL The latest gem from Tony favorite Tom Stoppard explores what happens when love, politics, and poetry meet in the Eastern Bloc. Director Blanka Zizka worked with fellow Czech native Stoppard on the script, so expect some extra treats. Runs through Oct. 26, $44-$60, Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St., 215-546-7824.

 

 

• SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL A large ensemble cast directed by Darrin Peters brings the stories and characters of Dr. Seuss to life. Written by Tony winners Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, and "co-conceived" by ex-Python Eric Idle, this musical adaptation is good clean fun. Runs through Sept. 27, $10-$22, Players Club of Swarthmore, Rt. 320 & Fairview Rd., Swarthmore, 610-328-4271.

 

 

• SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN CHICAGO One of David Mamet's early successes, this one-act explores the dating life of two couples in early 1970s Chicago. And like most Mamet plays, the characters tend to be real jerks who you wouldn't want to know in real life, but are fascinating to watch. Directed by Beverly Redman and performed by Ursinus theatre students. Runs through Oct. 4, $2-$5, Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center, Ursinus College, 601 E. Main St., Collegeville, 610-409-3795.

 

 

• SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM A revue of early songs by one of musical theater's giants (with contributions from a few others, including Leonard Bernstein,) this production by the Stagecrafters features an assortment of familiar tunes, so feel free to sing along. Directed by Steve Pollack and assisted by Joe Krupa and Elizabeth Knecht. Runs through Sept. 28, $15-$20, Stagecrafters Theater, 8130 Germantown Ave., 215-247-8881.

 

 

• THE SPITFIRE GRILL A musical by James Valcq, "Spitfire Grill" follows a young traveler's efforts to fit in at a restaurant in a small Wisconsin town. Director Keith Baker's production will feature a folk and bluegrass score. Runs through Oct. 12, $34-$42, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Radcliffe & Market sts., Bristol, 215-785-0100.

 

 

• STATE FAIR Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical is unapologetically, well, a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical: Set at the Iowa state fair, this love story includes numbers such as "It Might As Well Be Spring," "You Never Had it So Good" and "It's a Grand Night for Singing." Indeed. Runs through Oct. 19, $10-$70, Walnut Street Theatre, 9th & Walnut sts., 215-574-3550.

 

 

• STONES IN HIS POCKETS An award-winning Irish piece, this satire features only two actors in a panoply of roles, laying out the story of a big-budget movie being filmed in a small Irish village. Directed by William Roudebush. Runs through Sept. 27, $25-$30, Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, 215-654-0200.

 

 

• THIS IS OUR YOUTH The Simpatico Theatre Project's first show of the season is a romp through early Reagan America. The protagonist has 48 hours to spend $15,000 stolen from his father, and is torn between any number of young rich kid vices. Remember when Dad used to leave around massive bundles of cash in the early '80s? Ah, those were the days. Directed by Jennifer Pratt. Runs through Oct. 19, $15, 2nd Stage @ the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., 215-423-0254.

 

 

• WOYZECK The final tragedy by playwright Georg Buchner, Woyzeck is a forerunner of German expressionism, as well as an exploration of the effects of war and "medicine" on a young soldier's life and psyche. Directed by Brenna Geffers. Runs through Sept. 26, $28, the German Society of Pennsylvania, 611 Spring Garden St., 215-552-8773.

  opera

• GIARGIARI BEL CANTO COMPETITION This "American Idol" style competition features the creme de la creme of Philly's opera scene from the Academy of the Vocal Arts accompanied by music director Danielle Orlando, will compete at this event. Thu, Oct. 2, 7:30pm, $15-$30, Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-735-1685.

  cabaret

• MARCOVICCI SINGS RODGERS & HART Cabaret chanteuse Andrea Marcovicci makes her Philadelphia debut with an assortment of Rodgers & Hart tunes as part of the Prince Music Theatre's Morgan's Cabaret series. Runs through Sept. 28, $41-$54, Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St., 215-569-9700.