Call me Mary Quite Contrary if you want, but as we finally see live performances coming back, I’m reflecting with gratitude and even some nostalgia on the way COVID quarantine forged a path for entrepreneurial performance companies to recalibrate and deliver their work through streaming platforms.

Philadelphia theaters in particular have benefited from this innovation. While a few of our local companies—the Wilma in particular—have garnered notice in the all-important New York Times, many more are greatly admired here but not well known beyond the local area.

Irish Heritage Theatre for me is one of those little jewels that most deserves recognition. They’ve successfully tackled canonical works by O’Casey and others, but they are especially strong on the more recent generation of Irish works that simultaneously build on the core traditions, and detonate them from within. Two years ago, a production of Marina Carr’s odd but fascinating Woman and Scarecrow was simply dazzling. That show was directed by Peggy Mecham (IHT’s Artistic Director) and featured actress Kirsten Quinn, a company veteran who has memorably illuminated a number of their best projects…

Click here to read the full review at Parterre Box.