Jessica Rizzo writes that art is no match for men wielding baseball bats or militarized police, but the removal of this statue is well worth celebrating.
Read MoreJessica Rizzo visits the Wilma Theatre and writes a thoughtful feature about Rajiv Joseph’s timely, reality-bending, play “Describe the Night.” Catch it before it closes on February 22, 2020!
Read MoreIn this podcast episode, Jessica Rizzo sits down with playwright Kate Tarker to discuss her original play “Dionysus Was Such A Nice Man,” which opens at The Wilma Theatre on April 23rd, 2019.
Read More“The Appointment” is pulled from the headlines about women’s rights and abortion. With singing and dancing, and a definite point of view, Lightning Rod Special brings its liberal stance to life. Jessica Rizzo questions the one-sidedness of the piece but says when it hits, it is devastating. Final performances today, March 30 or tomorrow, March 31, 2019. Ticket links at the bottom of the post.
Read MoreJessica Rizzo takes celebrated choreographer, Trajal Harrell to task over his newest piece, “Caen Amour,” which showed at the Fringe Festival earlier this month. According to Rizzo, Harrell’s piece, which was inspired by the hoochie-coochie performers of the late 19th century, falters not only in its attentiveness to history (and its audience) but in its treatment of the female body.
Read MoreJessica Rizzo attends the opening for “SWARM.,” a two-person show on view through September 9 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Pairing works by Cuban-American artist Nestor Armando Gil and Haitian-born artist (and current PAFA MFA chair) Didier William, “SWARM.” frames the history of caribbean migration in terms of multiplicity, solidarity, and revolution.
Read MoreJessica Rizzo visits “Becoming a Specter,” Daniel W. Coburn’s solo current show at the Print Center, awarded him as part of the 92nd ANNUAL International Competition. On view May 18th-August 4th, this exhibition of untitled photographs playfully subverts the camera’s all-seeing powers.
Read MoreJessica Rizzo attended the Lightbox Film Center’s recent retrospective of French filmmaker Philippe Garrel’s evocative body of work. Here she traces the arc of his career and recounts highlights from the month-long survey, which included a number of films rarely screened on this side of the Atlantic.
Read MoreOur new contributor, Jessica Rizzo, sees the 10-hour, marathon performance of EgoPo Theater’s Lydie Breeze trilogy and says it’s worth spending the time with John Guare’s flawed Civil War-era characters, whose tragedies, loves, jealousies and losses are humanly relatable. The sets get a shout out as bringing the action to life, as does the atmospheric music. and Guare’s vision, rooted in the past, seems oddly relevant today. The three play marathon is a monumental accomplishment, says Rizzo. The last performance is Sunday, May 6, 2018.
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