This Week: The Angry Grammarian: A New Musical
The hit musical returns to Philadelphia for only nine performances.
The New Yorker loved it.
The BBC was Britishly amused.
And the biggest complaint from the sold-out audiences who came to see The Angry Grammarian in March 2024? That their friends and family couldn’t get tickets.
So this week, Pier Players Theatre Company is remounting The Angry Grammarian: A New Musical for just nine more performances — this time at Philadelphia’s storied Arden Theatre.
The Angry Grammarian is a new musical for anyone who's ever been pissed off that someone used quotation marks “for emphasis.” Greg is “The Angry Grammarian” — a newspaper columnist who’s passionate about predicates, consumed by commas and seduced by subjunctives. Lisa is a more pragmatic grammarian who loves language just as much as he does. What starts as attraction quickly evolves into a darker rivalry. Will grammatical gusto be enough to keep them together?
Songs from this full-length musical — music and lyrics by Jeffrey Barg, book by David Lee White — include “Lie With Me and Lay Me,” “Bring in Da Funk, Bring in Da Wagnalls,” “I Bet He Never Dangles,” “Grammar-Pocalypse!” and “Apostrophe Anarchy.”
Dancing commas, punctuation vandals and grammar zombies, oh my.
“We were so excited by the response to the show’s world-premiere run, and we’re thrilled to be bringing it back,” said Chelsea Cylinder, Pier Players’ founder and director, producer of The Angry Grammarian, and an avid Oxford comma user. “Our original production received great critical reviews and loads of positive audience feedback, probably because it has something for everyone — grammar nerds and musical theater lovers alike. The entire process has been an absolute blast, and I can’t wait to continue sharing this show with the Philadelphia community.”
Show dates/times:
Friday, September 20, 8 pm (opening night)
Saturday, September 21, 2 pm (matinee)
Saturday, September 21, 8 pm
Sunday, September 22, 2 pm (matinee)
Thursday, September 26, 7:30 pm
Friday, September 27, 8 pm
Saturday, September 28, 2 pm (matinee)
Saturday, September 28, 8 pm
Sunday, September 29, 2 pm (matinee/closing)
Where: Arcadia Stage at the Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. Second St., Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tickets: $25, available here.
The cast includes Benjamin Behrend (he/him) as Greg, Chelsea Cylinder (she/her) as Lisa, Nina Vitek (they/them) as Web, Erin Coffman (she/her) as Miriam, and Madeline Snyder (she/her), Abrham Bogale (he/him), Jonathan V. Polanco (he/him), and Niamh Sherlock (she/her) as Ensemble.
The band — the Wingdings — includes Byron Kho (he/him) on keyboard and organ, Tamara Kimler (she/her) on bass, Sean McDermott (he/him) on guitars, and Ari Miller (he/him) on drums.
Come correct.