Theater News

Philadelphia Spotlight: June 2009

Spring Into Summer

Kyle Riabko and Christy Atomare in Spring Awakening
(© Paul Kolnik)
Kyle Riabko and Christy Atomare in Spring Awakening
(© Paul Kolnik)

The massively entertaining Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening takes up residence at the Academy of Music, June 23-28, as part of the Kimmel Center’s Broadway Series. Based on Frank Wedekind’s singular 1891 play, Duncan Sheik’s electrifying rock score drives this haunting tale of sexual awakening in a repressive society.

Expect to be wowed when the Kimmel Center presents the east coast premiere of Robert Lepage’s The Andersen Project, June 11-13, on the Avenue of the Arts. One of Canada’s leading experimental theater artists, the boundary-pushing solo work is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s stories “The Dyad” and “The Shadow” as well as tales from Anderson’s habitual sojourns to Paris.

1812 Productions concludes its season with the world premiere cabaret Let’s Pretend We’re Married (Prince Music Theater, through June 14). In a mix of sketches and songs, Jennifer Childs and Tony Braithwaite portray famous show biz couples from history while singing tunes from the likes of Irving Berlin and Stephen Sondheim. As part of the show’s festive tone, married couples (regardless of gender) are given the opportunity to renew their vows. Philadelphia Theatre Workshop concludes its season with the world premiere of Kathy Anderson’s comedy The Meatpackers Book Club (through June 14). The play focuses on a number of literary-minded workers at a meatpacking plant who spend their free time dissecting the novels of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

The InterAct Theatre Company tackles the issue of gay adoption in local playwright Michael Whistler’s new drama Little Lamb (through June 28). The play tells the story of a gay mixed-race couple who adopt an African-American child. The family’s newfound happiness is threatened when the birthmother objects about her child’s placement with a gay couple. People’s Light & Theatre Company continues its season with John Patrick Shanley’s absorbing Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Doubt: A Parable (June 3-28). A taut 90 minutes, Doubt concerns a parish priest who may have had improper relations with a male student. Along the way Shanley raises provocative questions about morality and about our desire to find order in life’s uncertainties.

Finally, The Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival is back for the 7th time this June with a line-up that includes a musical, two plays, a cabaret, and a staged reading. Festival highlights include Jon Hartmere and Damon Intrabartolo’s Bare: A Pop Opera (June 11-26) about a pair of teen lovers navigating their way through high school; Paula Vogel’s brilliantly funny exploration of the modern family And Baby Makes Seven (June 17-26); and Tom W. Kelly’s Friends are Forever (June 19-27), which concerns a series of romantic entanglements among a group of friends.