The Irish Repertory Theatre Thrives on a String of Hits as it Approaches Another Gala Year by Brad Balfour When Ciaran O’Reilly and Charlotte Moore founded the Irish Repertory Theatre, they opened in September 1988 with Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars. From that point on, it became a nexus for great play craft … Continue reading
Thomas Ian Nicholas Life in the Convention Lane by Jay S. Jacobs Catching up with Thomas Ian Nicholas on the floor of the Philadelphia Wizard World, he hasn’t changed all that much from the kid who starred in the 90s classic films Rookie of the Year and American Pie. Whether playing the fantasy role of … Continue reading
Tami Stronach The Childlike Empress Has Grown Up But is Still Neverending by Bonnie Paul I was 11 years old when The Neverending Story premiered in theaters in 1984. I remember, vividly, that as soon as I returned from the theater, our family pulled out paper and started writing and illustrating our own neverending stories. … Continue reading
Blake Cooper Taking the Measure of a Man by Jay S. Jacobs There is a certain irony about the fact that the new movie Measure of a Man stars Blake Cooper as a boy coming of age, because we’ve been watching Cooper grow up before our eyes for a few years now. We first met … Continue reading
Hayley Orrantia The Goldbergs Actress Likes Her Music Like She Likes Her Tea by Jay S. Jacobs On television, Hayley Orrantia is known as Erica Goldberg, the brainy and tough only daughter of a Jewish family in the Philadelphia suburban town of Jenkintown back in the 1980s. In real life, Orrantia is brainy and tough, … Continue reading
Altan Irish Ensemble Makes for Thoroughly Modern Traditionalists by Brad Balfour When the Irish group Altan visited New York during St. Patrick’s week, it transformed the City Winery in lower Manhattan into a pastoral scene. It was rich with lilting melodies, harmonious voices and the engaging sonics of various traditional instruments such as violin, accordion, … Continue reading
Jesse McCartney Things Are Always Better with Jesse McCartney by Jackie Speiss It has been about a decade since PopEntertainment.com had the privilege of catching up with singer/songwriter/actor and, of course, self-proclaimed grill master Jesse McCartney. Last time we got the chance to hang out, McCartney had just released his third solo album Departure, which … Continue reading
Rita Coolidge Living in the Spirit World by Jay S. Jacobs If Rita Coolidge didn’t have a life as interesting as she has, it would seem like someone had to make it up. She showed up in Hollywood as a teen, a young woman proud of her Native American heritage and blessed with a sweet … Continue reading
Neil Meron and Marc Platt Resurrecting Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert by Jay S. Jacobs In 1970, a pair of fairly unknown composers named Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice released a concept album called Jesus Christ Superstar, a rock opera about the life of Christ looking through a (then-) modern prism. The record was … Continue reading
Julee Cerda Reaching New Heights in Children of a Lesser God By Jay S. Jacobs Broadway is the dream, and Julee Cerda has finally reached it. The role which has made this dream a reality is in the much-anticipated revival of Mark Medoff’s Tony Award-winning play Children of a Lesser God, which became a smash … Continue reading
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