Best of Philly

Best Theater Company

2024 Best Live Readings

Theatre Contra

We’re pretty sure we’ve never given out a Best of Philly award for live readings before because, well, they generally inspire yawns. But then we discovered this scrappy young theater company that does dramatic live readings of scripts from movies like Die Hard, Snakes on a Plane and The Fast and the Furious. The events are held at a variety of bars and venues: Watch them do the Nicolas Cage-John Travolta sci-fi action movie Face/Off on September 4th at Tattooed Mom. Read More »

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2024 Best Theater Subscription

The Arden

A five-show subscription unbelievably starts at just $125, and you’ll more than get your money’s worth this upcoming season. On the ticket: a play from MacArthur Fellow Lynn Nottage, a world premiere from Philadelphia playwright Michael Hollinger, South Philly Pulitzer winner James Ijames directing August Wilson’s King Hedley II, Philly stage veteran Jennifer Childs at the helm of an uproarious comedy about the presidency, and the return of Rent. Read More »

40 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

2022 Best Theater Subscription

Theatre Exile

Wondering where you can see the latest world premiere from Pulitzer-winning Philly playwright James Ijames? Look no further than this South Philly theater company that’s been pushing boundaries and developing new talent for the past 25 years. As little as $45 gets you Ijames’s Abandon and two other shows this upcoming season. Read More »

1340 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

2021 Best Theater On The Cheap

Free Fringe Philly

Running for the entire month of September — concurrent with the unrelated and definitely not-free Philadelphia Fringe Festival — ­will be all sorts of weird and wonderful theater and comedy in city parks, dive bars, and a bunch of other random places. Performances are gratis or pay-what-you-can. Read More »

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2019 Best Arts in the Suburbs

People’s Light and Theatre Company

They’ve been putting on city-worthy productions in the western suburbs for 45 years, and this season is totally inspired, with disaster drama The Children (a 2018 Tony nominee), gut-wrenching Mary Jane, and an adaptation of the 1999 Oscar-winning movie Shakespeare in Love. Read More »

39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA | 610-644-3500 | Website

2018 Best Theater Subscription

The Wilma Theater

Somehow, artistic director Blanka Zizka’s labor of love just keeps getting better. This season, look for the latest from visionary Philly playwright James Ijames, Romeo and Juliet like you’ve never seen it before, and a dark comedy that explores a post-apocalyptic world ... via The Simpsons. Read More »

265 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA | 215-546-7824 | Website

2017 Best Theater Company

Arden Theatre Company

Yes, they’ve won Best of Philly before, but after such a breathtaking season—most notably A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Mary Martello in Gypsy—there’s no worthier troupe. We can’t wait to see what they do next season with A Doll’s House, Cabaret and, for families, Peter Pan. Read More »

40 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-922-8900 | Website

2017 Best Place to Discover the Next Theater Star

Scratch Night at FringeArts

FringeArts hosts these nights (once a month or more) at which you can see works-in-progress from a diverse range of Philly artists. They’re free, and you should definitely stick around to have a cold one with the talent at Fringe’s Haas Biergarten. Read More »

140 North Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA | 215-413-9006 | Website

2016 Best Theater Company

Theatre Exile

For those weary of their Walnut Street Theatre subscriptions, there's this boundary-pushing South Philly company. From stunningly good season- opener Rizzo to brilliant closer The Invisible Hand, Exile broke more ground than any other company last season and left us wanting more. Read More »

1340 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-218-4022 | Website

2015 Best Place to See New Theater

FringeArts

With the big move to its beautiful Old City venue, Fringe has, after 18 years, officially been cemented as a Philly arts institution. But that doesn't mean head honcho Nick Stuccio and crew have strayed from their original mission of bringing cutting-edge artists from around the world to Philly. In fact, they're doing it better than ever. Read More »

140 North Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA | 215-413-9006 | Website