Looking for the best of what’s on stage — dramatically, comically, musically — in October? We’ve got you covered.
‘La Egoísta’
The poignantly comedic ‘La Egoísta‘ is now on stage at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (through Oct. 20), and joins the Philadelphia Theatre Company with Power Street Theatre (PST) for the first time, as PST’s Co-Artistic Director, Erlina Ortiz, is the author of ‘La Egoísta’.
“As a writer, the arc of what I do comes down to teaching myself to do new things,” says the scribe behind Philly-staged plays such as ‘Young Money’ and musicals ‘Siluetas’ with Taibi Magar. “I don’t have a formal education in playwriting, yet somehow that’s the thing I wound up doing.”
And, so much of what Ortiz is writing now is rooted to emotional subjects such as life between siblings and mother-daughter relationships.
“One of the themes that run through my shows is people who are very different from each other loving each other.”
For ‘La Egoísta’, its main character, Josefina, is a Philly stand-up comic (“a dreamer”) coming to terms with the recent death of her mother and her sister’s sudden illness, just as her comedy career is taking off.
“Josefina is an amalgamation of people in my life – actually she reminds me of my older brother, a real jokester and a boundary-pusher,” says Ortiz. “When Jose comes to see ‘La Egoísta’, I think he’ll see himself in Josefina.”
Ultimately, according to the PTC, “’La Egoísta’ is a comedy about being selfish in pursuit of your dreams but selfless with the people you love.”
PTC’s co-artistic director Tyler Dobrowsky says that ‘La Egoísta’ — winner of the National Latine Playwrights Award — captured our imagination (the “our” representing PTC’s other co-artistic director, Taibi Magar) with its humor and its familial relationships.
“It was funny, light and has heart,” notes Dobrowsky. “It felt fully realized. And as I got to know Erlina and Power Street Theatre, I became really impressed with her as a writer and as an artistic director. We’re lucky to be working with Erlina and Power Street – they’re a fabulous organization.”
Power Street Theatre’s autumn is filled with classes — Ortiz will teaching free adult playwriting and directing sessions — as well as monthly open mic Souletri Sunday nights, where people can share poetry, plays and new music.
“We’re focusing on our core right now, as opposed to mounting huge productions,” says Ortiz. “Remember, we’re only a three-person staff.”
Having a fellow co-artistic director in PTC’s Dobrowsky and Magar was a thrill for Ortiz.
“When I saw that PTC had co-artistic directors, I knew that doing so was a smart choice,” she says. “I really believe in that model. It is a more sustainable way of doing things than having one top hierarchical person – that’s not always a good thing to work in. Co-leadership is the future of how we should be doing things.”
Barrymore Awards and Philly Fringies
The annual Barrymore Awards is Philadelphia’s way of recognizing its theatrical arts, creators and communities since 1994. This year’s event will take place at the Temple Performing Arts Center, 1837 N. Broad Street, on Monday, Oct. 28. But if you can’t attend the physical ceremony, or perhaps, you can’t find a tux, no worries.
Theatre Philadelphia is producing a digital livestream — with pre-show at 6:30 p.m. and its award giveaway starting at 7 p.m. with a Pay-What-You-Can option. A full list of this year’s nominees can be found online.
Another favored local theater and performance award – the fourth annual Philly Fringies – recently released its accolades list for the 2024 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. The annual awards honor independently produced shows, and this year’s list is a stellar one including Curylfish Productions, mignolo dance, Anna CRUSIS Femininist Choir, Janine Renee Cunningham and more in their respective genres. As we near Oct. 19’s farewell event to Fringe CEO and founding artistic director Nick Stuccio, these awards are a touching reminder of the Fringe Festival’s importance to Philly’s artistic community and its loving audiences.
Wilmarket
While the Wilma Theatre’s onstage October performances include ‘Dogman: The Musical’ and ‘Can I Be Frank?’, Wilma’s outside has other plans. On Oct. 19, the Wilma will host its first-ever “Wilmarket” – a flea market/open house starting at 10 a.m. where you can hop on stage and buy artifacts from the Wilma’s illustrious history.
“Costumes, props, and set pieces pulled from past Wilma shows will all be available for purchase so you can have your own little piece of the Wilma,” says its marketing department. This means you can purchase stuff going back to 1980’s ‘Animal Farm’, 1983’s ‘Marat/Sade’ and the hair from 1985’s ‘Hairy Ape’, as well as more recent tchotchkes such as some ham from James Ijames’ ‘Fat Ham’, a clock from ‘Those With 2 Clocks’ and much more.
