1812 PRODUCTIONS, Mandell Theater, 3201 Chestnut Street. 1812 and Drexel University partnered to produce TO FOOL THE EYE. This adaptation of the romantic comedy “Leocadia”, by Jean Anouilh, reunites two of Philadelphia’s best actors, Maureen Torsney-Weir and David Howey. Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation was originally written for the Guthrie, and now under director Jennifer Childs features a uniquely fluid set design to frame the play’s elaborate locations. When the divine Leocadia dies, her forlorn lover, nephew of an eccentric Duchess, despairs of life. The Duchess recreates the scene of the lovers first meeting to enable her nephew to relive the moment, again and again. February 14 to March 3: 215.592.9560.
BROADWAY AT THE MERRIAM THEATER, 250 S. Broad Street. AMERICAN IDIOT is a 2010 Grammy and Tony-winning musical featuring the music of Green Day. The story of three boyhood friends searching for meaning in our post-911 world is told largely through Green Day songs. Featured hits include “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, “21 Guns”, “Wake Me Up When September Ends”, and “Holiday”. This emotionally charged show has been called the most adventurous musical on Broadway by New York critics. February 12 to 17: 215.893.1999.
IDIOPATHIC RIDICULOPATHY CONSORTIUM, Walnut Street Studio 5, 825 Walnut Street. An existential dark comedy, Charles Nee’s PARADISE PARK is a seldom-produced absurdist work deserving a much wider audience than it’s gotten in the past. The IRC cast of wonderful regulars is supplemented by three new faces to enable P.P. to transport us to a Disneyesque twilight zone. Its inhabitants include an Edgar Bergen-like ventriloquist and his sidekick dummies Charlie and Mortimer, a fractured family with a mysterious secret, and an assorted group of hitchhikers looking for meaning. Thirty-one scenes feature fruitcake tosses, square dancing and magic tricks. Directed by Tina Brock (Producing Artistic Director). February 12 to March 3: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/303725 for tickets.
LUNA THEATER COMPANY, Skybox at the Adrienne Theater, 2030 Sansom Street. Two people face each other on a bare stage. It’s a time of global anxiety and political unrest – that is, today! A young couple contemplate having a child. If they think too much they’ll never do it. If they rush, it could be disastrous. LUNGS, by award-winning Duncan MacMillan, is the voice of intimate conflict between two people who are flawed, loving and fumbling to find their way. This production is not recommended for children under 16. Charlotte Ford and David Raphaely have both been Barrymore nominees. Gregory Scott Campbell, founding and artistic director, will direct. To February 16: 215.704.0033.
NEW CITY STAGE COMPANY, Adrienne Theater, 2030 Sansom Street. Hurlyburly is an award-winning dark comedy making its Philadelphia debut as the combined work of three Villanova graduates: Playwright David Rabe, Director James Christie, and Artistic Director Ginger Dayle. The play follows the struggles of several low to mid-level Hollywood players in the 80s. They open their homes to friends and a runaway girl. Drugs dominate every aspect of their lives as they confront a world teeming with chaos. The unusual cast is filled with Barrymore winners and nominees including Playwright Bruce Graham. If, like us, you’re not familiar with the title, it comes directly from the witch’s scene in Macbeth and means tumult or confusion. February 28 to March 24: 215.563.7500.
OPERA COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA, Academy of Music, Broad & Locust Streets. An extraordinary event took place on Christmas Eve during World War 1. Without any prior planning, soldiers on both sides negotiated an informal truce lasting for one day during one of the bloodiest wars in history. The opera SILENT NIGHT, co-produced by the Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Minnesota Opera Company, tells this story in soaring melodies with a cast of stars, i.e. William Burden, Kelly Kaduce, Liam Bonner and Troy Cook. The composer, Kevin Puts, won last year’s Pulitzer Prize in Music. February 8, 10, 13, 15 and 17: 215.893.1999.
PENNSYLVANIA BALLET, Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad Street. If lovers of dance were asked to name three master choreographers, everyone’s list would probably include Balanchine, Wheeldon and Tharp. Three ballets by this trio comprise this extraordinary program. Square Dance by Balanchine is a favorite of many dancers in part because of the score by Vivaldi and Corelli. Wheeldon’s After the Rain, a company premiere, builds on inventive partnering and deep emotion. Three couples are at times close and tender while at other times searching for one another, while the music of Arvo Part provides an emotionally moving background. The program is capped with Push Comes To Shove, originally created for Baryshnikov featuring Thyla Tharp’s trademark theatrical style. February 7 to 10: 215.893.1999.
PEOPLE’S LIGHT & THEATRE COMPANY, 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA. Young and old are invited to escape the chill of the season, grab a cup of hot cider and experience the wonder of Shakespeare’s WINTERS TALE! Director Guy Hollands imagines a traveling troupe coming to Malvern to perform this tale of betrayal, forgiveness and renewal. The play contains a bit of everything in Shakespeare’s other plays, including a jealous, raging King, a wife suspected of infidelity, untimely death, passion, friendship, jealousy, shipwrecks, bear attack, disguises, young lovers, clowns and miracles. Somehow, Shakespeare turns this complex, dark, cold tale into joy, music and forgiveness in celebration of winter’s turn to spring. The unique Campus of People’s Light has been transformed into a festival ground peopled by the acting troupe. They greet the audience with hot cider and invitations to participate in revelry before and after the performance. The cast is too large to mention all, but we will try: Pete Pryor, Christopher Patrick Mullen, Melayne Finister, Mary Elizabeth Scallen, Peter DeLaurier and Greg Wood. To March 3: 610.644.3500.
THEATRE EXILE, Latvian Society, 7th & Spring Garden Streets (531 N. 7th Street). In the Philadelphia premiere of THE NORTH PLAN by Jason Wells, the American Revolution starts now! Martial law is declared, followed by a military takeover of state and local government. The nation’s last hope lies in a trio of unlikely characters in the heart of the Ozarks. Suspense and hilarity are provided by a bureaucrat with a list of American citizens designated as security threats, a foul-mouthed drunk driving female redneck, and a police chief who is as ambivalent as his assistant. Directed by Joe Canuso and starring Madi Distefano, Dan Hodge, Robert DaPonte. Aime Donna Kelly, Carl Granieri and Mark Cairns. February 13 to March 3: 215.218.4022.
VILLANOVA THEATRE, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA. We’ve all seen it, perhaps done it ourselves. A handsome couple sit at a restaurant table and talk only to their smart-phones. MUSWELL HILL exposes the superficiality of lives bounded by emails, texting and tweets. In this U.S. premiere directed by Harriet Power, six network-connected people wrestle with love and being loved, work, weight and what’s for dinner. Meanwhile a Haiti earthquake kills 100,000 people and for a moment swamps Facebook, Twitter and everything else on the Internet. February 12 to 24: 610.519.7474.
WALNUT STREET THEATRE, INDEPENDENCE STUDIO 3, 825 Walnut Street. A young Van Gogh arrives in Brixton, England, not as a painter but as an art dealer. He falls in love with a young beauty whose mother has a room for rent, and begins a journey of self-discovery inspired by his landlady, her daughter and a fellow boarder. In VINCENT IN BRIXTON, Nicholas Wright’s Olivier Award-winning play, Van Gogh begins to see the world in new ways. The simultaneous emergence of his destructive nature does not prevent the flowering of his talent, as a brilliant artist comes to life. Kate Galvin directs Brian Cowden, Liz Filios, John Jarboe, Clare Mahoney and Mary Martello. February 19 to March 10: 215.574.3550 or 800.982.2787.
