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Prepare yourself for a bloodbath.
(Photo by Brian Sydney Benbridge for Theatre Exile)

Theatre Exile’s new play The Lieutenant of Inishmore is possibly the bloodiest performance in Philadelphia theater history.

Penned by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh and staged as part of this season’s city-wide Irish Theatre Festival, the dark comedy is as gruesome and gory as it is hilarious.

The story centers around Mad Padriac, a renegade soldier in the Irish National Liberation Party and a torture-happy loose cannon. The cast of motley characters is rounded out by Davey, a vacuous young Inishmore neighbor, and his 16-year-old sister Mairead, who is enamored with Padriac and has a penchant for shooting out cows’ eyes with her rifle.

The special effects bonanza is so well done that the realistic severed body parts and spraying blood manage to be more squirm-inducing than campy, which is no small feat.

The play is a good time all around, as long as you’re not too squeamish!

Tickets are available online.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore
When: Now through March 13
Where: Plays and Players Theater, 1714 Delancey Street
Cost: Tickets range from $10 to $32
More info: www.theatreexile.org

Traverse Arts' latest musical is on stage through Februrary 6. (Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC)

There’s a new show in town unlike any other you might have seen recently. Imagine as much as you can based on its tongue-in-cheek title, and you’ve only pictured the tip of the iceberg.

Coming: A Rock Musical of Biblical Proportions, is a world premiere musical. The plot follows Josh Crenshaw, a doe-eyed boy from Bethlehem who auditions for “American Icon” in order to spread his message of love and hope through song.

Josh, who is unwittingly the second coming of Christ, is soon sucked into a NYC world of vice — and fabulous costumes. We watch Josh struggle to prevail (through outrageous song and dance, of course), while the events of the Book of Revelation unfold in the present day. The result is raucous, risqué and rollicking.

The show is produced by Traverse Arts Project, a company that seeks to promote thought and the exchange of ideas, especially within and about the GLBT community.

Catch this show during its short run; it has the potential to be the next cult classic.

Tickets are available online.

Coming: A Rock Musical of Biblical Proportions
When: Now through February 6th
Where: Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut Street
Cost: Tickets range from $15-$27
More info: www.traversetheater.org

“That Pretty Pretty; or, the rape play,” by Theatre Exile, is a show perfectly suited to our times.

The play, which runs through December 5th at Christ Church Neighborhood House in Old City, is a wild ride of darting back and forth, crossed story lines, unpredictable scenes, shocking goriness and bizarre interjections. At times it feels like you’re watching a Youtube video, until you’re distracted by a pop-up ad. It’s no wonder that the playwright, Sheila Callaghan, describes the play as a “visceral rather than intellectual” experience.

There is plenty to wrap your brain around, though, as long as you can hang onto it during the wild ride. The first scene opens in a hotel room where two ex-strippers proceed to murder a drunken anti-abortionist. Then it re-plays, word for word, as two men swap roles with the would-be heroines and murder a woman.

The story unfolds from there as the audience slowly discovers what is real, what is fake, and what is being created in a character’s head (the scene with the scantily clad strippers Jell-o wrestling can only be the product of a man’s mind!). One man and one woman each seem to be blogging about their murderous exploits, and it isn’t until near the end that the pieces start to come together about how exactly this story is being created. But the fun is in the journey and not knowing what to expect next.

The fun is also in Jane Fonda (clad in purple spandex), who flits through the play offering guidance to the characters; it’s in the 80’s music and culture that the characters are steeped in; it’s in the scene-shifting set and brilliant use of video and projection to create environments; it’s in the ridiculous twists on current events.

“That Pretty Pretty” is a raucous and bawdy show that drags you along for a bumpy ride and offers no apologies. It’s a fun piece of theater that works your brain and embodies today’s never-ending media stream. And did we mention it’s fun?

“That Pretty Pretty; or, the rape play”
November 17th-December 5
www.theatreexile.org

Christ Church Neighborhood House
20 N. American Street
www.christchurchphila.org

Theatre Exile, Philly’s “dependably unpredictable” (but always excellent) theater company is set to open their season with a show that would be hard not to love: the intriguingly titled That Pretty Pretty; or, the rape play.

The show is about two ex-strippers on a murderous, revenge-fueled road trip. Jane Fonda, along with 80’s music and culture, is their muse, guiding them as layers “peel away in a striptease of revelations.” Sounds crazy. Sounds sexy. Sounds fun. It will be all that, for sure. But in Theatre Exile’s hands it’s bound to be a whole lot more.

Sheila Callaghan’s acclaimed play is darkly comedic, and is about a whole lot more than strippers on a mission. It examines ideas of identity, storytelling, fantasy and authorship. And, as we’d expect from Theatre Exile, it is rife with complex and scintillating language, dialogue, and linguistic fun. Directed by Artistic Director Joe Canuso and starring some well-known Philly actors, That Pretty Pretty is sure to be a rollicking evening of provocative theater.

“That Pretty Pretty; or, the rape play”
November 17th-December 5th
www.theatreexile.org

Christ Church Neighborhood House
20 N. American Street
www.christchurchphila.org

It’s mid-November, which means the innovative, athletic and extraordinarily artistic dancers of BalletX will soon hit the stage of the Wilma Theater for their Fall Series. The dance company, which contemporizes ballet to make it accessible and exciting for modern audiences, never fails to impress inveterate dance lovers and newbies alike.

The November 17th-21st Fall Series will feature three strikingly different works, including a world premiere. The premiere is by emerging choreographer Tobin Del Cuore. Entitled “Beside Myself,” the piece is an exploration of consciousness and duality.

The other two works are already critically acclaimed. One is by Colombian/Belgian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, a star on the Dutch dance scene. Her piece “Still@Life” is based on baroque still-life paintings. The playful dance is set to classical music and was called “a vibrant fantasyscape” by the City Paper when BalletX first premiered it in 2008.

The third piece on the bill is an old favorite by co-artistic director Matthew Neenan. Set to a compilation of modern music, the dance is inspired by the Biblical story of Jacob and overflows with artistic expression and freedom of movement.

The three works will certainly be powerful on their own but even more thrilling and fun when their stark differences of style are juxtaposed one after another. Catch this show; if you haven’t seen BalletX in action you have no idea what you’ve been missing.

Ballet X Fall Series
November 17th– 21st
www.balletx.org

The Wilma Theater
265 South Broad Street
(215) 546-7824
ww.wilmatheater.org

BRAT Productions’ new play “Carrie,” which is running through early November at the Wolf Building, will be somewhat familiar to fans of the Stephen King novel as well as those who have seen various stage and screen adaptations.

You’ll recognize the plot — a tormented high school outcast turns out to be telekinetic and is humiliated for the last time at the blood-soaked (in more ways than one) prom.

What won’t be so familiar to audiences is that Carrie White is actually a man in drag (nicely fitting King’s characterization as weird-looking and misshapen), as well as all the comedy.

BRAT, lauded for last year’s Halloween production of “ Haunted Poe,” couldn’t do just any show for this year’ s Halloween season.

They decided to put a spin on the well-known horror tale by producing a script that deviated so much from the flavor of the book that it had to obtain special permission from the masterful horror writer himself.

Changing the traditional gasps to laughs was the main task of the production, which manages to be campy and comedic rather than remotely scary. The freakish happenings (Carrie’s telekinetic hovering objects, shooting sparks, exploding lights and the like) are accomplished through amateur effects that are more humorous than realistic.

The dangling fishing lines, silly projections, delightful puppets, and blood-filled balloons combine with the script (which includes clever one-liners and cultural references) to create an air of campy fun that’s perfect for those not looking to take the show — or the story — or Halloween — too seriously.

The gags and effects get more and more ridiculous as the show goes along, culminating in the eventful prom night when just about everyone meets their end. The actors and designers all play up the campy vibe, and their enjoyment is palpable and contagious.

Catch a performance of “ Carrie” for an out of the ordinary spook-season activity.

“Carrie”
Now – November 7th
Underground Arts at the Wolf Building
340 N. 12th Street (at Callowhill), Philadelphia

A matador deftly avoids a charging table during "The Sun Also Rises." (Photo courtesy the Fringe Festival)

Storming onto the stage towards the end of the Live Arts Festival is New York company Elevator Repair Service with its rendition of Ernest Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises.” The epic retelling of the classic novel bursts with energy at its U.S. premiere.

The story takes place in Europe – mostly the cafés of Paris and the hotels, bars, and bullfighting rings of Pamplona, Spain – and centers around a group of 1920’s American expatriates with too much time and money on their hands.

They spend their hours carousing, drinking ungodly amounts of alcohol, chasing after one another, and looking for their next great diversion.

From its classic status you can trust that the novel itself is worthwhile. But what Elevator Repair Service does with it is extraordinary.

The play takes place entirely on the set of an elaborately portrayed café interior, but you forget that you’re looking at chairs, tables, and bottles when an actor simply lies down – now he’s in his hotel room – or picks up a fishing rod – now the banks of the Irati River – or when a big table dons horns and suddenly rears to life as a charging bull.

The transitions are so seamless that you take them for granted. Rather than getting bored with the unchanging set, you can’t wait to see the next magically creative transformation.

Read the full review…

The scene at the Festival Bar on opening night. (Photo by Kevin Monko, courtesy Fringe Festival)

The Live Arts & Philly Fringe Festivals are going strong heading into their final weekend.

There are still new shows opening over the next couple of days, as well as the closing performances of longer-running shows. So if you haven’t had your fill of Festival-going yet, there’s still time!

And then there’s the Festival Bar. Whether you’re a big fan of experimental performance who’s already seen 20 shows in the past 2 weeks, or someone who’s only overheard talk of this “Festival” thing, checking out the Festival Bar is a must.

It’s a cavernous space filled with awesome art installations — from fabric chandeliers hanging from the ceiling to trippy video projections. The unique bar only exists for the two weeks of the Festival (which ends this Saturday!), and then will be gone for good — hibernating and plotting its metamorphosis for next year’s incarnation.

The bar, which is at the SW corner of Spring Garden and Columbus Boulevard in Northern Liberties (club kids might know the venue as the old Club Egypt), is a cabaret, movie theater, and stage during the week, and picks up more of a club vibe on the weekends.

Each night has some kind of special programming, which you can find out about at the bar’s website.

The bar will open earlier than usual tonight, Thursday, with a DJ’d kick-off party for Philadelphia Open Studio Tours starting at 8. Friday night will be a dance party with DJ/VJ Yakov, and Saturday’s closing night party will be a raucous evening with a live set by Peter Dragontail (click here and scroll to the bottom of the page for his mind-boggling bio. Apparently he “has a tale so long it would make Tolstoy jealous”).

Don’t let this year’s Festival pass you by without a visit to the Festival Bar!

Festival Bar
21+/no cover/cash only
Doors open at 9pm weekdays, 10pm weekends
SW corner of Spring Garden and Columbus Boulevard (formerly Club Egypt) in Northern Liberties
One block east of the 2nd and Spring Garden Market/Frankford subway stop

2010 Philadelphia Live Arts and Philly Fringe Festival
Through Sept. 18th

I’ve been making the rounds of the Live Arts & Philly Fringe Festival since it opened last weekend, and it’s shaping up to be as exciting and unpredictable as always.

Some shows have blown me away, while others haven’t quite lived up to my lofty expectations. Mama always said the Festival is like a box of chocolates… But just to make sure you don’t accidentally chomp down on some crusty old marzipan filling, here are two shows well worth sinking your teeth into:

Live Arts show “FREEDOM CLUB” is the fruit of a collaboration between New York-based company The Riot Group and Philly’sNew Paradise Laboratories, and is as hysterical as it is disturbing.

The first act of the play takes place in 1865, and takes John Wilkes Booth, a dashing actor and Lincoln’s soon-to-be assassin, as its main character. The southern Booth is furious about the outcome of the Civil War and, one soon realizes, is starting to come unhinged. Inspired by Shakespeare (good old “Shakes,” as he calls him), he is determined to kill the “tyrant” Lincoln.

Check out the complete review below: (more…)

The beginning of September means two things in my book: back to school (though that hasn’t applied to me in quite some time… I should really update my book) and the Live Arts & Philly Fringe Festivals!

Oh, and no more wearing white. But who really cares about that, anyway? Clearly the exciting point here is that the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival is beginning this weekend.

That means that hoards of artists will take over the city for two weeks to perform upwards of 200 original productions that will run the gamut from theater to dance to music, comedy, puppetry, and even visual art installations. The majority of artists are Philly-based, but many hail from across the country and even around the globe.

The Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe are actually two separate festivals under one big umbrella.

Live Arts is a curated Festival, with high-profile companies specifically chosen to perform their shows. And Philly Fringe is something of a massive free-for-all, in which anyone with a spark of creativity and the passion to produce a show can hop on stage.

Both festivals host groundbreaking, exciting, and often completely unexpected works in venues all around the city.

The official website is a portal to everything you need. Check it out to find great shows — you can search by artist, genre, location, or even use the online matchmaker to find the perfect Live Arts show for you.

You can also get your surprisingly cheap tickets online, which are further discounted for anyone 25 and under (sweet!).

Also, there’s a handy iPhone App.

Oh, and I’d be remiss not to mention the Festival Bar in Northern Liberties, which springs to life on Friday night and will be open for the duration of the festival. This bar is like none other, featuring art installations, cabarets, dance parties, and rock bands along with the DJ’s. (Full Festival Bar schedule here.)

The Festivals comprise some of the most exciting arts events on Philly’s calendar. So get psyched, and stay tuned for some more info about selected shows.

2010 Philadelphia Live Arts and Philly Fringe Festival
September 3rd – 18th
At all times, and all over the city!
www.livearts-fringe.org