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Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra, Photo by Mark Gavin

It’s a form of music first popularized before Philadelphia and Baltimore became anything resembling the major cities they are today.

This weekend, major groups that focus on 17th-century style Baroque music from the two mid-Atlantic hubs are partnering for a weekend program, featuring Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos No. 2 and 3, alongside works by Vivaldi, Heinichen and Pisendel.

The Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra, Tempesta di Mare, is meeting up with Baltimore’s Baroque ensemble, Pro Musica Rara, over Concerto alla Venetiana, a program with two shows in Philadelphia and a third in Charm City.

On Friday, Jan. 22 at 8 PM, the two groups are joining together at The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, a big, beautiful facade that rises from a particularly tree-lined stretch of Germantown Ave. Then they’ll play in the first Catholic Church erected in Philadelphia, on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 8 PM, at Old St. Joseph’s Chuch. For the rubber match, it’s back to Baltimore on Sunday Jan. 24 at 3:30 PM at Towson University Center for the Arts.

It’s a chance to see the collaboration of two celebrated music organizations playing Baroque styles, composers and works not often played today. Tickets range from $10 to $35, and can be ordered on Tempesta di Mare’s official website.

The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
8855 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
www.chestnuthillpres.org

Old St Joseph’s Church
321 Willings Alley, Philadelphia, PA 19106-3897
(215) 923-1733
www.oldstjoseph.org

The cast of a Christmas Carol, Photo by Mark Garvin

Just a handful of performances of A Christmas Carol remain at the Walnut Street Theater, and it is a great way to kick-off your holiday celebration in Center City with the family.

This version, directed by Bernard Havard, is fitted nicely with the makings of a great production for kids: a fast pace, fun score, bright colors, and recognizable story. Check out matinees this Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The stage production of the 1843 Charles Dickens classic includes a lively score and the classic story of how grouchy and miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge, played endearingly by Benjamin Lovell, is reminded of the Christmas spirit.

Children sit on the age of their seats when a spooky Jacob Marley (Nathan Holt) bursts through the curtain, one of a dozen stage tricks and gags that keep kids interested. The performance is built on a small cast playing multiple roles and stripped of needless transitions in a story that most have seen countless times.

A Christmas Carol @ the Walnut Street Theatre
Dec. 5 – 19th, 2009

Walnut Street Theatre
825 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA
(215) 574-3550
www.walnutstreettheatre.org

Photo courtesy the Walnut Street Theatre

For about 150 years, it hasn’t really been Christmastime until Ebenezer Scrooge learned about that season’s spirit.

The Walnut Street Theatre for Kids is putting on a musical production of A Christmas Carol that will run weekends from Dec. 5-19. The Charles Dickens classic, first published in 1843, shows how some ghostly guests visit Scrooge on Christmas Eve and with images of holidays past, present and (the possible) future.

This stage version set in Dickens’ 1840s London includes an original score based on mid-19th century musical stylings. The show will feature authentic instruments, sets and theatrical special effects of the time period. It’s a chance for children (and parents!) to watch a period-specific production in the country’s oldest theatre.

The hour-long production is perfect for young children, and for anyone who wants to see the classic again.

A Christmas Carol @ the Walnut Street Theatre
Dec. 5 – 19th, 2009

Walnut Street Theatre
825 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA
(215) 574-3550
www.walnutstreettheatre.org

One of the most significant productions of the 20th century is due to arrive on Sansom Street for $10 a seat.

Debuting Nov. 11, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot will open the 2009-2010 season of the Amaryllis Theatre Company at its home in The Playground at the Adrienne, located at 2030 Sansom Street.

Often considered Beckett’s finest masterpiece, Godot centers around two men who are waiting for someone or something that may or may not ever arrive. The landmark drama is both lyrical and earthly, profound and comic, and speaks to the meaning of existence. Heavy stuff on Sansom.

The production is directed by Mimi Kenney Smith and features an ensemble cast of Philadelphia theatre regulars.

Tickets have recently been reduced by Amaryllis to attract a wider audience. Now listed at $10, they are available on their official website, by calling, or simply at the door. For a full list of dates and times, visit their website.

Waiting for Godot
November 1th through the 22nd, 2009

The Playground at the Adrienne
2030 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

The phone calls that serial killer Bollin gets from a young admirer serve as a fine tool of scene transition.

And that’s just the kind of production that Günter Grass’s dark comedy Mister, Mister is, riddled with homicidal dialogue that sounds more like fans fawning over a movie star. In the version now set in the intimate confines of Studio 5 at the historic Walnut Street Theatre, director Rich Rubin puts together a fast-moving, 90-minute show, with more than a few nods to the script’s German writer.

Rubin’s star is Robert Cutler, who puts a fittingly menacing face on Bollin, the killer who murders by series — slaying teenagers, forest rangers, opera singers, etc. The production, which is staged cleverly on the limited set, is book ended by Bollin himself being tormented by two 14-year-old children, played by Katie Gould and Robert DaPonte. Their humanizing harassment of the methodical murderer comes with much sing-song teasing that leaves its own eerie echo.

Kudos too, to Ian Boston McCafferty, who plays a delightful and prideful Greensward, the forester who runs across Bollin. Definitely a show worth checking out.

Mister, Mister
Oct. 2-11 Walnut Street Theatre, Studio 5
Oct. 15-25 Shubin Theatre
www.quinceproductions.com

Sometimes the funniest theater, happens to involve death.

Such is the case of Mister, Mister, the dark comedy from Nobel Prize laureate Günter Grass about murder, fame, and less-than-innocent childhood. The show is set to make its Philadelpha premiere with Quince Productions this month, running from October 2nd to the 11th, and again Oct. 15th through the 25th.

The production, with 10 days at the Walnut Street Theatre and 10 more at the Shubin Theatre near Headhouse Square, follows the misadventures of Bollin, an obsessively methodical serial killer, who murders by series, jumping from one random group to another — teenagers, forest rangers, opera singers, etc. in his murderous and often-foiled pursuit of the “law of series.”

With Halloween around the corner, this just might be the sinister type of laughter you’re looking for.

Quince Productions’ Presents Mister, Mister
Oct. 2nd – 11th @ Walnut Street Theatre
Oct. 15th – 25th @ Shubin Theatre
www.quinceproductions.com

Explore another growth in a still growing Philadelphia neighborhood by way of an art show and reception.

CITYSPACE, a Center City-based real estate company, is hosting their first artist exhibition space while showcasing new construction projects this Thursday, October 2nd, at the Parkview Condos in Northern Liberties.

Those Ghosts, a compilation painting series from local artist Mat Tomezsko, will run Oct. 2 from 5-8pm, Oct. 3 from 12-7 pm — with a wine and cheese reception to follow — and Oct. 4 from 12-4pm. The compilation’s highlight is a yet-to-be-named 13-painting adaptation of Leonardo di Vinci’s The Last Supper. The installation will also include poems, songs, and journal writings.

So stop by and take in Tomezsko’s work. You can preview some of his paintings on his blogspot, here.

CITYSPACE Presents: Those Ghosts by Mat Tomezsko
October 2nd – 4th, 2009

Parkview Condos
926 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123

Philadelphia is certainly a city of eating. Just look at all our wonderful restaurants. It’s also a city of giving, and that’s what ShareUrMeal is all about.

Next week, on October 5th at the Drexel University’s Academic Bistro in University City, more than 15 volunteers are debuting the ShareUrMeal program, a new way to give back. For every story about a recent dining experience that is shared online, dollars and dinners will be donated to local nonprofits, with the mission of reducing hunger in the Philadelphia region.

It’s all about getting a conversation going, and in the end, eating is tied into giving. The initiative is spearheaded by Devon Segel, the South Jersey-based CEO of the nationally-focused restaurant guide Web site Dining Info.

You can register at ShareUrMeal’s official Ticket Leap site. Sign up, chow down, and give back to the community.

ShareUrMeal Release Party
October 5th, 2009 , 6 – 8pm

The Academic Bistro @ Drexel University
101 N. 33rd St., Academic Bldg., 6th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Lyric Fest. Ever hear of it? No? Well, listen up, because come October, the festival debuts in two different places.

The “Four Hands – Warm Hearts” concert opens on Friday, Oct. 2nd at 8PM, over at Haverford College and on Sunday, Oct. 4th at 3PM at the First Presbyterian Church in Rittenhouse. The show features soloists Steven Bradshaw, Suzanne DuPlantis, Randi Marrazzo, Randall Scarlata and Elizabeth Weigle, in addition to Harold Evans and Laura Ward on the piano.

And this is just the start of a long and varied season. Designed for those both new and familiar with classical scores, Lyric Fest is a unique musical offering. The 2009-2010 programs will collect various artists of national and international stature around the intimate setting of song, using a pianist and spoken word. The season, which runs through May, also includes performances in Chestnut Hill, at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church and at the University of Delaware.

Tickets can be pre-ordered by phone or purchased at the door, for $20 or $5 with valid student ID. Season subscriptions now available at 15 percent off regular admission. For more information visit their official website.

Four Hands – Warm Hearts
Friday, Oct. 2nd @ 8PM
Haverford College
370 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA, 19041

Sunday, Oct. 4 @ 3PM
201 South 21st St, Philadelphia, PA 19103

They’re coming up just short of unburying the body.

Brat Productions is celebrating Edgar Allan Poe, the poet, author and legendary figure of the macabre, by uniting literature, history, theatre and horror in a 10,000 square foot South Philadelphia warehouse.

The theatrical amusement, Haunted Poe, comes now, 200 years after Poe’s birth. The celebrated author, who wrote most of his best-known works while a part of Philadelphia’s legendary 19th-century publishing landscape, died 160 years ago under mysterious circumstances in Baltimore, where he is buried today. Brat hopes to bring some of that haunted element back.

With tickets priced between $10-$25, you’ll be able to follow an eerie maze of chambers with short vignettes aimed at shock and surprise. The scariest warehouse L&I will let you enter is at 38 Jackson Street, just below the Snyder Plaza in the Pennsport neighborhood of South Philly.

The program begins with the premise that the author’s remains have been exhumed from Westminster Cemetery in Baltimore and brought to Philadelphia for the anniversary of his death — Oct. 7, 1849. Back in the home of his greatest literary achievements, Poe is brought back to life to guide us through his imagination. The 11 featured tales include “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Black Cat,” and, yeah, “The Raven,” all of which were written by Poe while living in Philly.

This isn’t any chainsaw-wielding horror show, but, in true Poe fashion, reliant on psychology and timing. The show is funded by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative with additional support from the Marketing Innovation Program. Haunted Poe will run October 1st through November 1st. Performance dates will coincide with the Third International Edgar Allan Poe Conference: The Bicentennial, scheduled for October 8-10 at the Hyatt Regency at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia.

Check out the official website for more information.

Brat Productions’ Haunted Poe
October 1st – November 1st, 2009
www.hauntedpoe.com

The 7-foot tall, 45-square foot plant puppet all but steals the second act of the Devon Theater’s bright and fun performance of Little Shop of Horrors. Which is fine, considering more than half of the number of on-stage performers are behind the scenes controlling it.

The acting arms of Audrey II, the Little Shop floral antagonist, require a couple of stage-hands, its hulking 200-pound frame  life from South Jersey-native Andrew Cox, and its booming R&B themed voice is lent by William Scott, a top-50 American Idol contestant who recently moved from Detroit to North Philadelphia to promote a music career.

But the plant’s captivating operation shouldn’t take anything away from the cast, who put on a tight version of an easy-to-love quirky classic that Inquirer theater critic Howie Shapiro called well-sung and reflective of “the show’s comic-book sensibility.” The main character, hapless floral assistant Seymour, played aptly and nimbly by King of Prussia-native Michael Indeglio, wins overnight celebrity by finding and growing Audrey II, whom he names after his co-worker and desperate love interest Audrey, handled with impressive power and humor by Jordi Wallen, who’ll appear at the Walnut Street Theatre next summer.

During opening weekend, the fun romp of a show couldn’t chase people away even after two inadvertent fire alarms . It’s a version worth seeing, a theater worth supporting and a part of the city worth exploring.

The Devon is accessible from the Frankford Terminal on the Market-Frankford line by either a 15-20 minute walk north on Frankford Avenue or a ride on the 66 bus. Ample street parking is also available within close walking distance of the theater, as are a variety of shops and eateries.

Little Shop of Horrors
September 10th – 27th, 2009

The Devon Theater
6333 Frankford Ave, Philadelphia 19135
(215) 338-6300
www.devontheater.org

Karen Freedman, “Reclamation: Cooling the Flames” , Mark Field, “Proteus Pretending to be a Spider”

One curator out, another one in, and a third anniversary on the way. It’s not a bad time for the James Oliver Gallery. Founding director James Oliver is moving to California to open a second location and is being replaced by Veronica Scarpellino, as the Society Hill gallery celebrates three years at 7th and Chestnut.

To mark the big changes, the gallery is hosting an evening reception Sat. Sept. 12th for a new installation called “Prime,” featuring three artists. The exhibit, featuring installation sculptor Yi Sheng, encaustic painter Karen Freedman and photographer Mark Fields, runs from the opening reception to Oct. 11.

Catalogs of “Prime” will be available, and change, I’d imagine, will be in the air.

Prime
Reception: Saturday, September 12, 2009, 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Exhibit runs Sept. 12 – Oct. 11, 2009

James Oliver Gallery
723 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 923-1242
www.jamesolivergallery.com