60-Second Critic: The Suzanne Roberts Theatre

The Philadelphia Theatre Company last month graduated from its cramped home at Plays and Players to the brand-new $25 million Suzanne Roberts Theatre, a 370-seat playhouse on Broad Street. The move means a larger stage, a remarkably intimate main hall with undulating walls of red gypsum, and a leather-clad proscenium arch sheltering the generous wings. Expansive lobby windows turn the swirl of patrons into a sidewalk spectacle, while plasma screens take the place of repertory posters. Unfortunately, it’s all plugged into Carl Dranoff’s awkward Symphony House complex. Still, the show must go on: The theater stakes its own claim with a gaudy scarf-like marquee of glittering red steel, and the towering neon signature of its benefactress. B