Dinner in Three Acts is a fun and delicious way to support educational programs at Curio Theatre.

Curio Theatre Company, the community theater at 48th and Baltimore, is starting an exciting new fundraising tradition. On Sunday, May 20, the company will be “producing” a Dinner in Three Acts – a three-course dinner at selected West Philadelphia homes. This is how it works:

Act One – 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. – Guests will start with registration and appetizers at one home.
Act Two – 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. – For their entree, guests will choose one style of cuisine from a varied selection served for groups of 10 to 15 people.
Act Three – 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. – Guests will return to the theater for dessert with coffee and tea.  Continue Reading

Photo by Rebecca Gudelunas

West Philly’s Curio Theatre Company is closing out the season with another production that looks back in time to shed light on our current sociopolitical moment. Curio staged Marie Antoinette, a work that highlights political and personal excess, earlier this year. This week Catch-22, an adaptation of Joseph Heller’s classic novel, opens on the Curio’s stage in the Calvary Center for Culture and Community at 4740 Baltimore Ave.

Set during World War II but aimed as a critique of the Cold War and McCarthyism, Catch-22 follows the travails of American bombardier John Yossarian and other soldiers who are walking the fine line between carrying out their duty while trying to remain sane amid the absurdity and hypocrisy of a stultifying bureaucracy.  Continue Reading

Shakespeare in Clark Park has announced its 2018 production, and it will be filled with music! For five nights in July, the popular local outdoor theatre production company will present a Glam Rock inspired Twelfth Night featuring Philly’s finest actors alongside student musicians. The production is directed by Jack Tamburri and is set to run July 25-29.

The glam rock exploration of Shakespeare’s classic romance will feature music and performances by local cabaret favorite, Jess Conda. In addition, the company, which has been incorporating the community into its productions for the past four years, is inviting young musicians from all over the city to form an epic rock band in their very musical Illyria.  Continue Reading

West Philly’s Curio Theatre kicks off the new year this week with David Adjmi’s Marie Antoinette, a modern take on one of European history’s most infamous characters.

Adjmi’s take on the French queen introduces us to a woman who embodies artifice, excess and privilege while the mood in the streets grows hostile.  Continue Reading

From left to right: Rachel Gluck as Lenny, Tessa Kuhn as Babe and Colleen Hughes as Meg (Photo by Rebecca Gudelunas)

Curio Theatre opened its 13th season in September with free outdoor performances of “I, Peaseblossom” at The Woodlands. Beginning Friday, Nov. 17, the award-winning theater invites the public to its principal location at 48th and Baltimore to witness Crimes of the Heart, a Pulitzer prize winning play by Beth Henley.

The Magrath sisters, Lenny, Meg, and Babe, are reunited at their family home in Hazlehurst Mississippi after Babe shoots her husband. Each one is facing down her own demons, past and present. Lenny cares for the grandfather who raised her, as he approaches the end of his life. Meg grapples with dreams that didn’t come true, and Babe squares off against her husband. It’s a portrait of a dysfunctional family, but Beth Henley play finds laughter within tragedy.  Continue Reading

September is here but outdoor theatre is still alive in West Philly. Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 13, Curio Theatre Company will present a series of FREE performances of I, Peaseblossom in the Woodlands Cemetery (40th and Woodland). The play is based on Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and is presented as part of the 2017 Fringe Festival.

Imagine if the story of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” had been told by one of Lady Titania’s fairies who has only four lines with a total of five words in the play! I, Peaseblossom is a funny and interactive play which establishes a relationship between the audience and the performer.  Continue Reading