The Wilma Theater Launches Digital Presentation of Cabaret Show POOR JUDGE

Following the in-person run, Philadelphia-based theater company The Wilma Theater (265 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107) has launched the digital presentation of the Barrymore Award-winning production, Poor Judge – A Pig Iron Production.

The dance-theater cabaret is set to the music of Grammy Award-winning artist Aimee Mann. The streaming presentation is available to audiences worldwide for $35 from February 2 to 22 here.

After earning rave reviews, three Barrymore Awards, and praise from Mann herself, Poor Judge returns for a limited run due to popular demand. Named one of The Philadelphia Inquirer’s top five productions of 2024 and described as ‘a delightfully eccentric ode to Aimee Mann,’ the 2026 presentation marks a rare opportunity for new audiences to experience the show.

Dreamed up by legendary drag queen and Pig Iron Theatre Company (Pig Iron) Co-Founder Dito Van Reigersberg, the dance-theater cabaret explores love, ambition, and the dark side of the American success story told through Mann’s evocative catalog. The new production, directed by Eva Steinmetz, with musical direction and arrangements by Alex Bechtel, features a supergroup cast of Philadelphia actor-musicians: Emily Bate, Bechtel, Josh Machiz, Pax Ressler, izzy sazak, Jackie Soro, and Justin Yoder.

Poor Judge is a live music mixtape that’s part spy story, part woeful tale of heartbreak, and part Hollywood audition. Through vignette and song, the dance-cabaret offers glimpses of an inviting, seductive Los Angeles and its shadow: the frightening underbelly of the American Success Story. Be prepared for a night of lonely California highways, cinematic breakups, and sly acoustic re-imaginings of Aimee Mann’s award-winning songs.

The production’s musical repertoire comprises 10 songs from the renowned singer-songwriter’s four-decade career, including the Academy Award-nominated single “Save Me” from Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 film, Magnolia, “Goose Snow Cone” from the 2017 Grammy Award-winning album Mental Illness, and “I’ve Had It” from her debut solo album Whatever.

Pig Iron presented the world premiere of Poor Judge on the Wilma’s stage during the 2024 Fringe Festival, which immediately received rave reviews from critics, calling it “an unforgettable trip” (Philadelphia Inquirer). In 2025, Poor Judge went on to receive 9 Barrymore Award nominations and won three for Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical, Outstanding Media Design (Michael Long), and Outstanding Music Direction (Alex Bechtel). Mann herself has seen the show and come out in support of the production in an Instagram post she shared following the announcement of Poor Judge’s return in 2026.

The Wilma Theater, recipient of the 2024 Tony Award for Best Regional Theater, has long maintained a reputation as a hub for contemporary and bold art in Philadelphia. While it continues to present original and boundary-pushing art, the Wilma has partnered with companies like Pig Iron and Washington, D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company to extend that creative spirit beyond its own productions, further expanding its adventurous offerings for audiences.

“[Fellow Wilma Co-Artistic Directors] Lindsay Smiling, Yury Urnov, and I loved Poor Judge so much during its world premiere run last year, so the decision to bring it back was a no-brainer,” said Morgan Green, Co-Artistic Director of the Wilma. “Between the nostalgic Aimee Mann hits, the electric performances, and the rich visual design, this show leaves you feeling warm inside. We think that is what people need right now: a warm feeling of togetherness.”

While van Reigersberg initially conceived Poor Judge in 2022, he was forced to put the project on hold after he was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia that same year. He spent the majority of 2023 undergoing chemotherapy and receiving a bone marrow transplant while continuing to work on the project with director Eva Steinmetz.

“Poor Judge was a lifeline,” said van Reigersberg. “[Director Eva Steinmetz] and I even had phone meetings when I was in the hospital, and it was really helpful to think of future projects waiting for me while I was in recovery.”

In 2024, van Reigersberg emerged triumphant and cancer-free, going on to perform in Poor Judge’s world premiere presentation at the Wilma.

Steinmetz added that the show’s structure, a mashup of cinematic Hollywood heartbreak with live arrangements of Mann’s songs, seemed to really strike a chord with Philadelphia audiences, with many patrons returning to see it multiple times during its original run. 

“I think Dito Van Reigersberg, already known as the beloved drag performer as Martha Graham Cracker, is able to show us quieter and more vulnerable parts of his heart with this show,” said Steinmetz. “Something about Alex Bechtel's arrangements of Mann's songs brings out a delicacy that touches audiences. There’s a familiar grief and longing at the heart of the show, for a partner who maybe never loved you, for the elusive pot of gold at the end of the American rainbow. That grief, unfortunately, feels even more acute in 2026. I think audiences will be delighted and moved to be in the presence of these heartfelt performers and haunting melodies.”

The new production of Poor Judge features the original Philadelphia actor-musicians who thrilled audiences in the production’s 2024 world premiere, including singer, composer, and performer Emily Bate (Wig Wag, A Ride on the Irish Cream), musician, comedian, and composer Josh Machiz (Sunset 0639 Hours), izzy sazak (Vainglorious, We Are Bandits), Jackie Soro (Wig Wag, Meet Me at Dawn), and Justin Yoder (Man of La Mancha, Once). Following the news of van Reigersberg stepping away from the production due to ongoing medical treatment, Philadelphia singer-actor Pax Ressler (Contradict This!, GIRL DOLLS: The American Musical) was invited to perform the lead role by the Poor Judge creative leaders. The ensemble is anchored by Barrymore Award-winning multi-instrumentalist and music director Alex Bechtel (Penelope, The Appointment), who composed the imaginative arrangements of Mann’s music.

Returning to direct the dance-cabaret spectacle is Philadelphia-based theater director, filmmaker, educator, and Pig Iron Artistic Producer Eva Steinmetz, known for creating new works that straddle the ordinary and the extraordinary. In addition to leading the Poor Judge’s 2024 world premiere production, Steinmetz has most notably directed and co-wrote The Appointment with Lightning Rod Special, a musical satire that skewers the absurdity and hypocrisy of the American abortion debate, and Penelope with Alex Bechtel and Grace McLean, a concert musical for solo singer, chronicling a day in the life of Odysseus’s waiting wife. She has helped create more than a dozen new works, including The Caregivers (Pig Iron), Hart Island Requiem (Polyphone Festival), Sad Boys in Harpy Land (Alexandra Tatarsky), Wolfthicket (Lily Kind), and Krapp Hour (Anne Carson & LRS).

Steinmetz leads a powerhouse creative team featuring Costume Designer Nikki Delhomme, Set Designer Maria Feuereisen, Video Designer Michael Long, Choreographer Chelsea Murphy, Sound Designer Chris Sannino, and Co-Lighting Designers Maria Shaplin and Krista Smith.

The Wilma Theater’s on-demand streaming presentation of Poor Judge is available to audiences worldwide for $35 from February 2 to February 22. The Wilma’s digital productions are made possible with generous support from the John S and James L Knight Foundation.

Poor Judge has an estimated 90-minute runtime with a 15-minute intermission, and is recommended for audiences 10 years or older. Patrons can purchase single tickets at here or by calling the Wilma’s box office at 215-546-7824. The Wilma offers discounts for select groups, in addition to rush tickets and “Pay-What-You-Wilma” to attend preview performances. Learn more by visiting here. 

Watch the trailer below:

Photo Credit: Johanna Austin, AustinArt.org

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