BALLET X, at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad Street. What we like best about Ballet X is the gutsy way Christine Cox and Matthew Neenan manage to introduce new, exciting material every season! This season is no exception, with a Japanese inspired world premiere by Joshua Peugh (this is also his “X” debut); a world premiere by James Craig featuring the music of Nat King Cole, Vivaldi & more; plus a 2012 company favorite, “Delicate Balance” by Jodie Gates. What’s more, Neenan and Cox are introducing “THE X PROCESS”- to take audiences behind the scenes, enhance your dance experience and learn more about making a ballet. Opening night will feature conversation with the artists and guest choreographers, moderated by dance critic Elizabeth Zimmer. If you stop in for the Saturday performances, check out the pizza, beer and an interactive lecture by Elizabeth Zimmer to enhance your ballet knowledge- It’s cleverly called “A Pie, A Pint and the Process”. February 12 to 16: 215.546.7824
WALNUT STREET THEATRE INDEPENDENCE STUDIO ON 3, 825 Walnut Street. Once again, The Walnut presents a world premiere play! Author Eric Conger’s “BEAUTIFUL BOY” was inspired by true events related to the author’s personal life. He explores a man’s journey to understand himself in terms of his adoptive parents and his birth parents. Bill, played by Jeff Coon, searches for his birth origin when his adoptive parents die and he loses his job. His travels take him throughout the United States and leave him shocked and disturbed, but not disappointed. In spite of raising serious questions about parents’ rights to hide their past and children’s need to know- this play manages to be quietly amusing. Carla Belver and Alicia Roper are old Walnut favorites while Elena Bossler and Philip Brown make their Walnut debut. February 18 to March 9: 215.574.3550
PHILADELPHIA THEATRE COMPANY at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Broad & Lombard streets. In award winning “TRIBES”, author Nina Raine has created a conflict play, which operates on multiple levels. The deafness of Billy, the central character, is used as a metaphor for a family trying to be heard and learning to listen. Billy lives silently among the loud, intellectual and frequently opinionated family members who talk well, but listen poorly. Not until he meets and loves a young woman who is becoming deaf does he appreciate what it means to be fully understood. Sara Garonzik has arranged for a plethora of special events; meet the artist talk back, interviews with the director, backstage tour of the set, discussions on the politics of sign language and even a PTC happy hour! To February 23: 215.735.7356
EGO PO CLASSIC THEATER, Christ Church Neighborhood House. The season continues with Ibsen’s rarely produced masterpiece, “THE LADY FROM THE SEA”. The play’s central character falls in love with a sailor who disappears on a long voyage. Many years later, he returns but she is happily married. This is one of Ibsen’s most lyrical and symbolic plays and so the ocean itself is a central character. The sea has taken a lover away and like a huge wave, cast him back on the shore. The powerful cast includes Genevieve Perrier, Ross Beschler and Ed Swidey. with direction by Brenna Geffers and unusual staging by Dan Soule. February 19 to March 2: 267. 273.1414
PHILLY POPS at the Kimmel Center, 300 S Broad Street. Even the chilly blast of winter won’t keep audiences from “feeling groovy” as music director Michael Krajewski introduces “THE SOUNDS OF SIMON AND GARFUNKEL”. AJ Swearingen and Jonathan Beedle, who have been touring the country, will perform such favorites as “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs. Robinson,” “Scarborough Fair”, “The Boxer” and of course ”Feeling Groovy”! The music of Simon and Garfunkel has become legendary for its demonstrable mastery of folk rock, with its touching lyrics and intricate harmony. AJ and Jonathan hail from Bethlehem, Pa., which almost makes them locals. February 7, 8, and 9: 215.893.1999.
VILLANOVA THEATRE, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, Pa. Award winning Playwright David Ives takes great liberties with Moliere’s original script for “THE MISANTHROPE”. The result is “SCHOOL FOR LIES”, a wild farce running at a furious tempo and marked by stunning verbal displays. To top it off, it’s all done in contemporary rhyming couplets! In this delightfully off-color tribute to Moliere we encounter a beautiful young widow surrounded by greedy suitors, whom she has managed to evade since her husband died. When a witty stranger arrives on the scene, barb matches barb as her world turns upside down. Kathryn MacMillan returns to her alma mater to direct this satirical, bawdy boisterous comedy. February 11 to 23rd: 610.519.7474 Free parking on V.U.’s main lot on Lancaster & Ithan Avenues.
