[ theater ]
Villanova graduate David Rabe is best known for his Vietnam plays (The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, Sticks and Bones, Streamers) and the Hollywood satire Hurlyburly, but among his many other revival-worthy scripts is The Black Monk, a 2003 adaptation of Anton Chekhov's novella that presages his masterworks The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard. David Blatt plays the title role, a mysterious apparition who appears to a young scholar (Matt Lorenz) with promises of a happy future. Chekhov and Rabe explore the thin line between genius and madness with Chekhov's characteristic mix of satire and pathos. The New York Times said of The Black Monk "a heady event. ... Don't miss it."
Through April 29, $10-$20, Off-Broad Street Theater at the First Baptist Church, 1636 Sansom St., 215-423-0254, simpaticotheatre.org.
