Have you ever given someone unsolicited grammar advice? Do you have strong opinions about the Oxford comma? Do you cringe internally when someone uses “it’s” when they really mean “its”, or “further” when they really mean “farther”? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, The Angry Grammarian is the perfect way for you to spend an afternoon or an evening laughing, learning, and empathizing (not sympathizing) with like-minded grammar enthusiasts. The show is currently being performed at Theatre Exile, and has three performances left on Friday, March 15 and Saturday, March 16.
The show’s plot centers around Greg, a cynical newspaper editor and columnist, as well as Lisa, an optimistic lover of all things nerdy. The two meet over shared frustration about appropriate apostrophe placement, and “grow to love one another, despite some sharp linguistic disagreements,” explains Benjamin Behrend ‘12, a Friends Select alumnus, who plays Greg. Behrend recommends The Angry Grammarian for “grammar nerds, hopeless romantics, and those who enjoy catchy and pun-ny music!”
The Angry Grammarian is a new musical produced by Chelsea Cylinder ‘13, a Friends Select alumna and founder of Pier Players Theatre Company. Pier Players is “a Philadelphia-based theatre company that is dedicated to supporting and giving a platform to the Philadelphia community’s new works and new visions for pre-existing pieces,” describes Cylinder. “We’re a pretty new theatre company, and we were officially formed in 2022.” The company has had three official productions so far, but The Angry Grammarian is their first musical and their most ambitious endeavor.
If the name “The Angry Grammarian” sounds familiar to you, that’s because the musical was co-written by Jeffrey Barg, the popular Philadelphia Inquirer columnist who addresses a new relevant language phenomenon once a week in his similarly-titled column, “The Grammarian.” When asked why he decided to make a musical about grammar, Barg admits “Honestly, I just thought it would be fun. The old axiom goes, “Write what you know,” and I worked for many years as a copy editor, which gave me an up-close view of language—as well as a lot of opinions about how the way we write, all the way down to what punctuation we use, affects how we read.” Referencing another axiom, Barg explains “If I’m interested in it, chances are someone else will be too. I love language and I love musicals, so I thought they’d be two great tastes that taste great together.” Barg’s suspicions were correct, and the world premiere of The Angry Grammarian has sold out 9 shows and received positive reviews from Broad Street Review, BillyPenn at WHYY, and many others.
Cylinder describes the show as a whole as “a romcom with tons of clever grammar puns, and at its heart it’s a really nice story about people connecting with each other.” She adds that “people who like musicals and/or romantic comedies will have a great time.”
This run of the show will see three more performances: Friday, March 15 at 8pm and Saturday, March 16 at 2pm and 8pm. All performances are sold out, but limited walk-up availability is a possibility. More information about walk-up availability can be found by contacting [email protected] or [email protected], or by arriving at Theatre Exile 30-45 minutes before the show. Can’t make it this weekend? Pier Players hopes to remount the show in the near future! Be sure to follow @angrygrammarian and @pierplayers on Instagram and Pier Players Theatre Company on Facebook for updates about possible future performances.
