Here is Part 3 of the Philadelphia staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ favorite performances in Spring and Summer of 2016. To all our honorees – TAKE A BOW!
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Ensemble (Adrienne Hertler, Emily R. Johnson, Joe Palinsky, Joe Wozniak, Kevin O’Halloran, Phoebe Schaub, Steph Iozzia, Tom Lombardi, Will Jonez, and lead artist Sean Lally) in Nothing to See Here at Found Theater Company.
Challenging, inspired, uniquely entertaining, and affecting, the unmatched artistry of Found Theater Company’s ensemble-devised experimental performance bombarded our senses, eliciting immediate visceral responses and profound cerebral reflections. The haunting sound and music of the company’s indelible signature style transported us to an alternate reality in exquisite dreamlike fragments by the performers/creators/co-directors, who skillfully fashioned an intriguing, perplexing, illusory world. This is the epitome of true ensemble work, with each member contributing equally and immensely.
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Alex Clothier in Everything’s Fine! at #theaternow at SoLow Fest.
Delightfully eccentric, laugh-out-loud funny, then unexpectedly heartwarming, Alex Clothier delivered his reminiscences about his Midwestern family in a captivating solo show that defied categorization. Part stand-up comedy, part autobiographical storytelling, part improvisation and audience participation, his performance was fully engaging, personal, and relatable.
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Kirsten MacKinnon as Countess in Capriccio at Curtis Institute of Music’s Curtis Opera Theatre and Opera Philadelphia.
Soprano Kirsten MacKinnon, as the indecisive Countess, gave a splendid performance with her clear pure vocals and expressive acting, capturing the emotions of her character and the lush beauty of Richard Strauss’s Baroque-inspired score. Alone on stage for the introspective twenty-minute “Final Scene,” she masterfully conveyed the composer’s fundamental conceit that “words sing and music speaks” and the “two merge into one” in opera.
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Chickabiddy with Aaron Cromie and Emily Schuman at “Philadelphia Fringe Festival 2016 Registration Launch” at FringeArts.
Acoustic folk duo Chickabiddy, comprised of multi-talented theater artists Aaron Cromie and Emily Schuman, wrote and performed a half-hour set of sensitive original songs with a bluegrass flavor and a bittersweet mood in a launch event for this year’s Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Featuring their haunting ballad “Lady Mae,” their spot-on vocal harmonies were beautifully accompanied by Schuman on guitar and Cromie on guitar and mandolin.
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Liz Filios in Cabaret of the Exiled at Theatre Exile.
Performing excerpts from her cabaret series In Blue at L’Étage, classically-trained award-winning actor/singer/musician Liz Filios brought down the house, and didn’t leave a dry eye in the house, with her heartfelt soulful renditions of “Feelin Good” (by English songwriters Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse) and “Black Is The Color of My True Love’s Hair” (a traditional Scottish folk song) – both arranged and popularized by Nina Simone. The exquisite beauty and impressive range of her profoundly moving voice were matched by her masterful self-accompaniment on keyboards. Filios’s tender personality never failed to shine through in this short but impactful set.
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Ensemble in OVO at Cirque du Soleil.
In a touring production at the Liacouras Center, the road troupe of 50 Cirque du Soleil artists from twelve countries presented a series of astonishing circus acts within a narrative framework about a giant egg. The breathtaking extravaganza combined daring acrobatics with live music and songs, which the internationally acclaimed company delivered with light-hearted humor, stunning physicality, and consummate grace. The sensational daredevil routines were perfectly synchronized, accomplished with split-second timing and flawless precision, and enhanced by distinctive movements that evoked each particular insect in the story.
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LINKS:
‘Take A Bow’ Part 1 in Philadelphia: Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances by Deb Miller.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 2 in Philadelphia: Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances by Deb Miller.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 3 in Philadelphia: Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances by Deb Miller.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 1: The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances in DC/MD/VA.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 2: he Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances in DC/MD/VA.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 3: The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances in DC/MD/VA.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 4: The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances in DC/MD/VA.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 5: The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances in DC/MD/VA.
NOTE:
These choice are not inclusive of shows that were Barrymore eligible during Deb Miller’s tenure as a Barrymore judge.
