February 28, 2025
Provided Image/Linda Johnson for Quintessence Theatre Group
Deanna S. Wright and Timothy Dugan star in 'Antony & Cleopatra' for Quintessence Theatre Group. The company is also putting on a performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' with the actors interchanging between the shows.
Philadelphia theater is treading in international waters — from the streets of Wales to a bush fire in Australia to fair Verona.
Italian playwright Giuliana Musso makes the U.S. premiere of her show "Dentro," Old Academy Players steps into the English countryside for a performance of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," and "Iphigenia in Splott" takes audiences to a dodgy neighborhood in Cardiff, Wales. Meanwhile, Quintessence has two simultaneous Shakespeare plays, and a Broadway jukebox musical at the Academy of Music that's set to the tunes of Max Martin changes the ending of "Romeo and Juliet".
Closer to home, shows from local playwrights explore reality TV and country music superstardom, and the Arden stages one of August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle plays.
Here are the shows you won't want to miss in March:
Feb. 26-March 15 | Theatre Exile | 1340 S. 13th St.
A series of shows from Philly-based performers returns. This year's lineup includes comedic solo performance "Heart Ripped Out Twice and So Can You!," which asks existential questions, and "KOAL," a mix of acting, audience interaction and documentary films about a koala, Indigenous girl and coal miner during an Australian wildfire. Tickets are $30.
Feb. 27-March 23 | Arden Theatre Co. | 40 N. 2nd St.
In the 1980s, King Hedley returns from prison and attempts to rebuild his life by selling stolen refrigerators to save up and buy a video store. But he's quickly struck by the challenges facing Black men in this show by August Wilson, the ninth in his 10-part Pittsburgh Cycle series on the African American experience. Tickets start at $38.
Feb. 27-April 27 | Quintessence Theatre Group | 7137 Germantown Ave.
Twelve actors take part in a "Reckless Romance Repertory," performing multiple roles on a rotating schedule in William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Antony & Cleopatra." "Midsummer" started previews Thursday, and "Antony & Cleopatra" begins March 5.
Fridays and Saturdays, Feb. 28-March 16 | South Camden Theatre Co. | 400 Jasper St.
In the Great Plains of Nebraska, a stage actress and a TV star return to their hometown — one to care for her sick mother and the other for her father's funeral. The pair of former frenemies unpack their feelings on their careers, love and loss, and dabble in romance with two local men. Tickets start at $25, with discounts for Camden residents.
March 1-23 | Bucks County Playhouse | New Hope, Bucks County
This new musical follows the ups and downs of country music queen Jenny Dixon, who balances a career as a superstar and her family of gospel singers that she left behind. Tickets start at $32.
Fridays and Saturdays, March 7-23 | Old Academy Players | 3544 Indian Queen Lane
Based on the 2003 novel by Mark Haddon, this performance follows Christopher, a sheltered 15-year-old who is suspected of killing his neighbor's dog. To clear his name, he decides to solve the mystery himself. Tickets are $25.
March 12-April 6 | Hedgerow Theatre Co. | Media, Delaware County
When a secret emerges from her past, Nora spends the next three days trying to prevent her life from unraveling. Stef Smith's new version of this 1879 show sets it in three time periods — the 1920s, 1970s and present day — to explore how much (or little) things have changed in the past 100 years. Tickets start at $20.
March 12-30 | Inis Nua Theatre Co. | 302 S. Hicks St.
Set in the Splott neighborhood of Cardiff, Wales, this show is a modern retelling of the Greek myth of Iphigenia. Intermixed with the classic story is the plight of the modern working class, told by a young woman named Effie. Tickets start at $22.
March 13-15 | Penn Live Arts | 3680 Walnut St.
Italian playwright Giuliana Musso's show, which explores the harm of silence during familial abuse, makes its U.S. premiere. It's performed in Italian with English supertitles. Tickets are $46.
March 21-30 | Fever Dream Repertory | 1714 Delancey St.
This original show by Philadelphia playwright Bruce Walsh follows James Sweetbrier, a bookkeeper who seeks his fortune on the "MaestroCard TapTacular," a reality TV show. After he wins, he has to find his place in a superficial world. Tickets start at $26.50.
March 25-April 6 | Ensemble Arts | 240 S. Broad St.
This jukebox musical at the Academy of Music reimagines the ending of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" to stop Juliet from killing herself. Set to the pop tunes of songwriter Max Marin, who's behind hits like "...Baby One More Time" and "Since U Been Gone," the play follows Juliet, Romeo and new characters on a second chance at love, with dialogue by "Schitt's Creek" writer David West Read. Tickets start at $21.
