Pictured: Paul Kuhn (Photo by Rebecca Gudelunas)

West Philly’s Curio Theatre is returning for its 2023 Spring season to turn Shakespeare on his head!

Following their hit run of Spymonkey’s Oedipussy, Curio takes on the UK company’s hilarious Shakespearian bloodbath, The Complete Deaths. Prepare to see all 74 onstage Shakespearean deaths in 90 minutes (75 if you count the ill-favored fly killed in Titus Andronicus), including Roman suicides in Julius Caesar, the death fall of Prince Arthur in King John, the carnage at the end of Hamlet, snakes in a basket in Antony & Cleopatra, Pyramus and Thisbe, young Macduff, and more.

The Complete Deaths was first presented as a Spymonkey co-production with Brighton Festival and Royal & Derngate, Northampton in 2016.

“During the pandemic, we looked back on the shows we have done, and which ones brought us and our audiences the most joy,” Curio founder and co-artistic director Paul Kuhn said “And without a doubt, it was Spymonkey’s work. The way this piece literally requires laughter, joy, and teamwork – we just felt like the world needs so much more of that right now. We did a training this summer with Aitor Basauri from Spymonkey, and I laughed so hard that I had to be taken to the hospital. Thank god I made it back!” Continue Reading

West Philly’s Theatre in the X is partnering with Drexel University to present their new production Pac and Biggie Are Dead at Drexel’s Mandell Theater. The play, written by Biko Eisen-Martin, is a spin-off of Tom Stoppard’s classic, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, starring rap’s two iconic artists. Theatre in the X’s production, directed by Carlo Campbell, presents classic moments in hip hop, drama, and Black history.

Playwright Biko Eisen-Martin explains that the play “draws from the ethos of hip hop, African cosmology, and western staples of theatre.”

Pac is played by Joseph (Ankh Fyre) Xavier-Mack, and Nazeer Harper is cast as Biggie. Other cast members include: Richard Bradford, Abe Kaplan, Bryce Zenon, Matthew Lacy, Wendi Smith, Monet Debose, Rodd Dean, and Nieemah Powers. Continue Reading

Trice Baldwin-Browns (left) and Tessa Kuhn in “Gidion’s Knot” (Photo by Rebecca Gudelunas).

Curio Theatre Company begins the season with a play that deals with an incredibly timely issue that is currently in the headlines. Written by Johnna Adams, Gidion’s Knot is a play that brings to light the question of who, if anyone, is responsible when a juvenile makes a tragic decision.

During a 90-minute parent/teacher conference that takes place in real time, a grieving mother, played by Curio company member Trice Baldwin-Browns, and an emotionally overwhelmed elementary school teacher, played by Curio company member and Education Director Tessa Kuhn, grapple with the tragic suicide of fifth grader Gidion. Who failed Gidion and how? Who, if anyone, is responsible for the failure to recognize such profound distress in Gidion? As the two women use Gidion’s own writing to try to get closer to the truth, they come to conclusions both shocking and profound. Continue Reading

Ebony Pullum as Billie Holiday (Photo by Rebecca Gudelunas)

West Philly’s Curio Theatre Company is gearing up to present its first production since Spring 2020. Starting March 19, the company will present Lanie Robertson’s critically acclaimed play, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, which explores the life of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday during one of her final performances in Philadelphia.

Company member and Barrymore Award winner Ebony Pullum is starring in this production, directed by Katrina Snobe.

Seating is cabaret-style (with low barstools and tables for three) and very limited, available on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you choose one or two seats at a table, you may have someone sitting with you. Continue Reading

Curio Theatre Company, whose productions have been put on hold since Spring 2020, has announced plans for the rest of the 2021-2022 season. Curio will resume live in-person theatre in their black box space at 48th and Baltimore, in the Calvary Center for Culture and Community. Work is currently underway to bring Lanie Robertson’s critically acclaimed play, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, starring beloved company member and Barrymore award winner Ebony Pullum. The play explores the life of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday during one of her final performances in Philadelphia. Continue Reading

After a year in the COVID pandemic, which has paused some of its arts projects and events, Curio Theatre is ready to present to the community something quite extraordinary (and also safe for the audience and staff). Beginning this Friday, March 19 and through Sunday, April 18, the West Philly theatre company will present A Symphony for Saint-Georges, a massive installation celebrating the life and career of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the famed violinist, composer and fencer whose story has been buried by history.

The piece involves no live actors – A Symphony for Saint-Georges is a multi-disciplinary installation featuring five environments created by sculpture, music, projections, video and set design. Curio artists have been working for months independently on this ambitious experiment to highlight the life of an artist who rose from slavery. Born in Guadeloupe to an enslaved mother and a wealthy plantation-owner father, Joseph Bologne was once described as “the most accomplished man in France.” As a champion fencer, esteemed violinist, father, and composer, Bologne is said to have inspired musicians like Mozart. However, even he was not immune to the realities of racism. Continue Reading