August 01, 2025
Provided Image/Matthew Murphy for Ensemble Arts
The Broadway tour of 'Beetlejuice,' a musical inspired by the 1988 film of the same name, stops at the Academy of Music this August. The show tells the story of a teenager girl who is haunted by the former residents of her home and a stripes-wearing demon.
August typically has less shows than the other summer months, as actors take end-of-summer vacations and local theater companies gear up for September's Fringe Festival.
In the coming weeks, the Broadway tour of "Beetlejuice," the musical version of the 1988 film of the same name, stops by the Academy of Music. Outside options include Liberty City Arts' night honoring the relationship between opera and show tunes and Theatre in the X's performance of "Fraternity," the story of three men forced to confront their own beliefs as they consider supporting a political candidate. And in New Hope, don't miss a musical version of the play (“Parfumerie") that inspired the movie ("The Shop Around the Corner") that the Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks classic "You've Got Mail" was based on (did you get all that?).
Below, find 10 shows around Philly to catch during the last full month of summer.
Now-Aug. 3 | Ensemble Arts | 240 S. Broad St.
When teenager Lydia Deetz moves into a new home, she's haunted by its former inhabitants — a recently deceased couple who seeks help from a demon named Beetlejuice. Bensalem native Marc Ginsberg understudies the titular role on this Broadway tour. Tickets start at $28.
Now-Aug. 3 | Steel River Playhouse | Pottstown, Montgomery County
This classic musical follows two New York City gamblers and the two women who love them. After Sky Masterson falls in love with a mission worker, Sarah Brown, she fights her feelings for him after mistakenly believing he set up a craps game at her mission. Meanwhile, Nathan Detroit looks for a safe space to host his regular game while his 14-year fiancée, Adelaide, tries to convince him to marry her. Tickets are $29.
July 31-Aug. 2 | Blair Victoria Theatre Company | 4821 Germantown Ave.
In this original comedy, María Blackwell has three days to pay her rent or she'll be evicted. Her friends Manny, Tyrone and Crystal decide to jump in and help raise the funds in less than 72 hours. Tickets are $23.
July 31-Aug. 3 | Players Club of Swarthmore | Swarthmore, Delaware County
This show tells the story of four people in a group therapy meeting who reveal their struggles, thoughts and dreams with unique songs. It was the first musical written by Jason Robert Brown, who went on to win Tony Awards for "Parade" and "The Bridges of Madison County." Tickets are $15.
Aug. 1-10 | Playhouse West Philadelphia | 1218 Wallace St.
Donald Margulies' two-character drama follows an established writer and professor as well as her student and protégé. Spanning six years in a Greenwich Village apartment, things change when the student becomes an emerging author and both women have to confront what mentorship, artistic integrity and trust mean to them. Tickets start at $15.
Aug. 1-17 | Plays and Players Theatre | 1714 Delancey St.
This two-week event includes immersive productions designed to help audiences feel what the actors do onstage. There's a skit series, an awards ceremony and a networking night. The whole festival brings together audience connection and traditional theater. Tickets are $17.85 per event.
Weekends, Aug. 1-24 | SideQuest Theater | 2030 Sansom St.
This improv show is an ode to classic science-fiction tales such as "Star Trek" and "Lost in Space." Each performance follows three members of the Astro Alliance on a new mission through the cosmos, encountering strange beings, robots and mysterious planets. No two shows are the same. Tickets are $29.
Aug. 15-Sept. 14 | Bucks County Playhouse | New Hope, Bucks County
In this romantic musical, store clerks Amalia and Georg don't get along while working together at a 1930s perfumery and both find escape in their correspondence with anonymous pen pals. The show was based on Miklós László's “Parfumerie," which also inspired the films "You've Got Mail" and "The Shop Around the Corner." Tickets start at $32.
Aug. 21-24 | Theatre in the X | 5100 Pine St.
At an elite Black social club, three men debate whether to back a political candidate who has a similar identity but very different values. Throughout the show, characters confront their own beliefs, political ambitions and generational divides. Free.
Aug. 29 | Liberty City Arts | 913 N. 3rd St.
In this 90-minute show, vocalists and pianists will show the parallels of classic operas and Broadway musicals. Expect arias from "La Bohème" combined with hits from "Rent." Free, suggested donation of $15.
