Performances: Waitstaff Wit' (future performances) I have never seen a Fringe show before. Call me uncultured, but I just never had the chance to make it to one. So, I was excited to see last night's show at L'Etage. Waitstaff Wit' Waitstaff Wit' is an evening of enlightening monologues from a sketch comedy troupe. Their show reminded me of Saturday Night Live, but better. The show opened with Starzina Starfish-Browne, played by Eric Singel. Mrs.......

Performances: Disco Descending (Karen Getz) (future performances) After the performative train wreck that was Everyone, I was really looking forward to seeing another show. Any other show. But I figured that even though Karen Getz had been a reason for much pain and suffering during Everyone, her own Live Arts contribution would probably serve as great medicine. Disco Descending I loved Karen Getz's Suburban Love Songs so much that I saw it twice. Naturally, I......

Performances: Etiquette by Rotozaza (Rotozaza) (future performances sold out); Car (Kate Watson-Wallace / Anonymous Bodies) (future performances); Sweet By-and-By (Pig Iron Theatre Company + Teater Sláva) (future performances); Everyone (Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People) (no future performances); 7 Veils (Malleable Dance Theater) (future performances) We're only about five days into the 2008 Philadelphia Live Arts and Philly Fringe Festivals (PLAF, as we call it around here), but I think I may have already seen......

With the conclusion of Fringe now only ten days away, several local theatre companies are getting ready for their 2008-2009 seasons, and we'll have still more for you next week. Now, on with the listings! Candide - Noses were made to wear spectacles. September 11-October 19. Tickets online. The Hothouse - Not as much fun as a cathouse, but what can you do? September 12-October 12. Tickets online. Reefer Madness - Beware it. September 11-October......

Puppy Macbeth I am a big fan of Shakespearean plays that are deconstructed and reimagined. So imagine my surprise when I walked into the Arden Theater and saw the cutest Macbeth ever! A stage of laid down newspaper is easily transformed into the Scottish heath and Dunsinane. Pepper's interpretation of Macbeth is both harrowing and adorable, while Mitzie's Lady Macbeth is snuggly and a revelation ("Out damn spot!" takes on a whole new meaning here).......

Dear Readers: If you haven't yet partaken in the offerings of the Philadelphia Live Arts and Philly Fringe Festivals, this is definitely the year to do it. The two weeks of the festival, kicking off today (except for a few shows that opened last night—cheaters!), are absolutely my two favorite weeks to be in Philly. And even though I'm seeing fewer shows than usual this year (about 20, instead of my usual 30+), I thought......

Philly's theatre community is still more-or-less Fringe-tastic these days. But there are a few new non-Fringe developments to report. Now, on with the listings! Parenting 101: The Musical! - Lesson number one: don't shake the baby. Through September 14. Tickets online. State Fair - It might as well be spring. September 2-October 19. Tickets online. Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe - We're not listing individual shows, so just check out the website......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Onstage Philadelphia: Philly Fringe Preview Series featuring Brat Productions, Nice People Theatre Company, Philadelphia Dramatists Center, The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, and more at Plays and Players (1714 Delancey Place), 8PM. $10 Open Mic: Free at The Fire (412 W. Girard). Sign up at 8:30PM. (21+) Sing Your Life!: Karaoke With DJ Sara Sherr Mondays upstairs at the Khyber (56 S. Second), 9PM - 2 AM. Free (21+) Got......

Imagine a world where Catholic schoolboys just becoming aware of their sexuality and sexual identity choose to spend their off-hours reading and privately performing Shakespeare rather than playing sports or locking themselves in the bathroom with pornography. Improbable? Absolutely. But it's the world in which Shakespeare's R+J, playwright Joe Calarco's adaptation of what is possibly the world's most famous love story, is set. And produced by Mauckingbird Theatre Company under the direction of Peter......

This is that time of year when the local theatre community devotes itself more or less fully to the Philadelphia Live Arts and Philly Fringe Festivals, so our listings may be pretty short for the next couple of weeks. But no fear! The end of the Festival means the beginning of the Philadelphia theatre season, so we'll have plenty a listing for you in due time. Now, on with the listings! Philadelphia Live Arts......

Mister Don Montrey.......

Nothing new opening this week, so we went with an old fall-back: The Bard. In V.ii of King Richard II, Shakespeare wrote: As in a theatre, the eyes of men, After a well-graced actor leaves the stage, Are idly bent on him that enters next, Thinking his prattle to be tedious. Now, on with the listings! Spamalot - They do routines and chorus scenes with footwork impeccable. Through August 31. Tickets online. Broadway Baby......

It's pretty hard to explain this week's quote if you haven't seen Spamalot. So go check it out when it hits town, and laugh along with us. Now, on with the listings! Spamalot - They do routines and chorus scenes with footwork impeccable. August 14-31. Tickets online. Broadway Baby - Pounding Forty-Second Street... August 7-17. Tickets and information at 215.785.0100. Phantom - Not the one you're thinking of. August 8 - October 5. Tickets at......

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you. Paris Hilton rather famously made a cameo in a recent John McCain campaign ad. So Funny or Die paid for her hilarious video response. It's the best thing we've ever seen her in! Way better than the sex video. (Via Debbie) Check out the Holy Grail of Buffy fandom, a never-before-seen three-minute demo reel for a Buffy the Vampire Slayer animated......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Knitty: Weekly knitting circle at Vagabond (37 N 3rd), 6-8PM. Free Goes Down Better with Sugar: "Consuming Culture: A Story of Have and Have Nots," a night of theater, song, shadow puppetry and assorted antics presented by local artists Anna Whitehead and Michelle Posadas at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut), 7:30PM. Free Quizzo Mania: Get your Quizzo on at 12 Steps Down (831 Christian), 9PM; The Black Sheep (247......

This week's quote comes from the song "Broadway Baby," which originally appeared in Sondheim's Follies, and which inspired the name for the new revue opening at Bristol Riverside Theatre. Now, on with the listings! Broadway Baby - Pounding Forty-Second Street... August 7-17. Tickets and information at 215.785.0100. Phantom - Not the one you're thinking of. August 8 - October 5. Tickets at 302.475.2313. The Shape of Things - Totally square, man. August 6-10. Tickets......

This week's quote comes from Sarah Bernhardt, who said: "For the theatre one needs long arms... an artiste with short arms can never make a fine gesture." Now, on with the listings! As You Like It - Medium rare, with extra bacon. July 30-August 3. Free. Lingering - Do you have to? Do you have to? August 3 - 24. Tickets online. Shakespeare's R&J - It's not the way you know it. August 1-23. Tickets......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Q!: Spiral Q Puppet Theater at Philadelphia City Institute branch of the Free Library (1905 Locust), 6:45PM. Free Breaking Rule One: Movie Monday hosted by Spike presents Fight Club plus some raffle prizes at the Troc (1003 Arch), 6:30PM. $3 Open Mic: Free at The Fire (412 W. Girard). Sign up at 8:30PM. (21+) Sing Your Life!: Karaoke With DJ Sara Sherr Mondays upstairs at the Khyber (56......

This week's quote comes from Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky, who said: “Unless the theatre can ennoble you, make you a better person, you should flee from it.” Now, on with the listings! Mamma Mia - Dancing queen. Through July 27. Tickets online. Niagara Falls - Honeymoon capitol of the early Twentieth Century. Through August 2. Tickets online. Come Rain or Come Shine - Like nobody's loved you. Through July 20. Tickets online. Footloose - Kick......

Just in time for the the 200th birthday of the Walnut Street Theatre, the Walnut's Producing Artistic Director Bernard Havard and Managing Director Mark D. Sylvester have released a photo-history book in the popular Images of America series. The pair will be answering questions and signing copies of Walnut Street Theatre tonight at the Avenue of the Arts Borders location, beginning at 7PM. The event is free, and no reservations will be required.......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Night of the Sixpack: Philly's Joe Sixpack reads from his new book Joe Sixpack's Philly Beer Guide: A Reporter's Notes on the Best Beer-Drinking City in America at the Central Branch of the Free Library (1901 Vine) at 7PM, then heads to McGillin's (1310 Drury) for a giant after-party at 9PM featuring a “Joe Sixpack of Beer” samples. All free (except the beer itself) Theater in Your Backyard:......

This week's quote comes from an ABBA song. And because ABBA songs make up the score to Mamma Mia, which opens next week on the Avenue of the Arts, we figured it was appropriate here. Now, on with the listings! Mamma Mia - Dancing queen. July 15-27. Tickets online. Niagra Falls - Honeymoon capitol of the early Twentieth Century. July 16-August 2. Tickets online. Come Rain or Come Shine - Like nobody's loved you.......

This week's headline was taken from a quote by Jim Dale, perhaps best known as the voice of the Harry Potter books here in the States. The entire statement reads: "We talk about theatre museums filled with old costumes and things. What we also need is a theatre museum of the old routines on videotape. We are only the custodians of those techniques, and they should be preserved." Now, on with the listings! Come......

The Phlash Center City trolley will have special hours this Friday and Saturday to accommodate Independence Day celebrations. The Phlash will operate until 7PM on Friday and until 11PM on Saturday. (Via RJ) The Inquirer tells the story of how a plan to convert an empty convent in Germantown into apartments for formerly homeless men went south, in order to underscore the problems Mayor Nutter is likely to face with his initiative to fight......

Mum Puppettheatre founder Robert Smythe...

This week's quote comes from Jerome Savary, who said: "Theatre is not and should not be a literary form of expression. A theatrical celebration can take place anywhere: out of doors, in a garage, in a stable. The problem with avant-garde theatre today is that it is absolutely intellectual. You have to be cerebrally inclined to understand what is going on." Now, on with the listings! Working - In a coal mine? July 2-27.......

I have to be honest here for a minute: I was pretty pessimistic about The Walnut's production of Les Miserables, more or less from the second it was announced as the season closer. It wasn't lack of faith in The Walnut that led to my lack of optimism. Rather, it was a familiarity: nothing about Les Mis—not the music, not the costumes, not the set*—is easy, and bad productions are far too common. Not......

This week's quote comes from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, which is not playing anywhere near Philadelphia (that we know of). But it does describe the lives of several theatre professionals in the area as the season comes to a close. Enjoy your time down the shore, guys. Now, on with the listings! By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea - Great. Now the song's stuck in our heads. June 20-29. Tickets......

I remember wondering, when I read Thornton Wilder's Our Town in high school, how the play could possibly be interesting when staged. The script calls for no set, no props, and minimal scenery. It's something that only sometimes works in modern (as opposed to "Modern") theatre, so the idea of a play written in the thirties that takes place between 1901–1913 and uses the type of set typically reserved for performance art was, I'll......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: It’s That Time Again: 16th Annual Bloomsday celebration starting at noon in and around the Rosenbach Museum (2008 Delancy). Free We Thought There Were Five: 4 Sides to Every Story, a dramedy set in a Center City psychologists office, at the Shubin Theatre (407 Bainbridge), 7PM. $10 (runs through June 22) Open Mic: Free at The Fire (412 W. Girard). Sign up at 8:30PM. (21+) Sing Your Life!:......