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January 27, 2010

Tonight: Philadelphia Film Society Presents Henry V @ the Prince Music Theater

Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC

Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC

Looking for something to do tonight, and just happen to be in the mood for a little Shakespeare? Well dear reader, you’re in luck.

Tonight, the Philadelphia Film Society is screening Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V at the Prince Music Theater. In conjunction with the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, this screening is a part of its filmadelphiaCLASSICS series. Expect to see more films in the coming months.

Tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for students and seniors. Screening starts at 7:30pm.

Philly Film Society Presents Henry V
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010, 7:30pm – 10pm

Prince Music Theater
1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 569-9700
www.princemusictheater.org

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January 26, 2010

Opening This Week: Respect @ the Society Hill Playhouse

respect-musicalTomorrow night, Act II Playhouse’s popular musical Respect: A Musical Journey of Women, reopens at the Society Hill Playhouse.

Respect explores the role of women in the 20th century using Top 40 songs, and features several popular, local cast members. Lois Sach Binder, who appeared in Menopause: The Musical and Danielle G. Herbert, who received a Barrymore Award nomination for her performance in Respect during its run at Act II last year.

The show runs from January 27th to April 18th. Tickets for shows during the twelve week run are $40 for Wednesday and Thursday, $45 for Friday through Sunday shows.

Respect: A Musical Journey of Women
January 27th – April 18th, 2010

Society Hill Playhouse
507 South 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 923-0210
www.societyhillplayhouse.org

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January 26, 2010

Phillyist Framed @ Studio 34

phillyist-logoOne of my favorite features on Phillyist, an excellent local blog that covers everything Philadelphia, is their daily ‘Photoist’ column. Every day during the week, you can stop by the blog and scope out quality photos from local photographers. And every year, the folks behind Phillyist throw Phillyist Framed, a week-long photography exhibit celebrating their favorite shutterbugs.

Like last year’s Framed, the exhibit will be displayed at Studio 34, and is opening this Friday, January 29th. Opening night festivities include a judging of the best-of-the-best by local photo experts John Berry (photo editor for the Times Herald), Kyle Cassidy (author of Armed America), Michael Alan Goldberg (photographer / journalist for the Philly Weekly and Spin), and Charlie Ripper.

The opening kicks off at 7pm this Friday, with an after party at Local 44 directly following the opening.

Studio 34
4522 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143
(215) 387-3434
www.studio34yoga.com

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January 25, 2010

Wednesday: Meet Pablo Helguera @ the Penn Museum

What in the World, a new exhibit at the Penn Museum

A still from the television show What in the World, highlighted in a new exhibit at the Penn Museum

The Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthology’s latest exhibit, What in the World, opens this Friday, January 29th.

However, guests are welcome to come by the public opening and reception this Thursday, from 5pm to 7pm, to meet the artist, Pablo Helguera, and get a sneak peak at the Penn Museum’s newest installation. The event is pay-what-you-want, and will feature a cash bar.

Stop by, and check out the new exhibit before anyone else.

Philagrafika
www.philagrafika2010.org

Penn Museum
3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 898-4001
www.museum.upenn.edu

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January 25, 2010

Golden Age @ the Suzanne Roberts Theatre

Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC

Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC

You can’t blame the Philadelphia Theatre Company if it has high hopes for Golden Age, a new play penned by Terrence McNally focused on the world of opera.

After all, PTC presented the world premier of Master Class, another work by McNally that revolved around the opera scene. That show went on to win three Tony Awards, including one for best play.

With Golden Age the playwright takes a trip back in time, to imagine the backstage goings on at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris for the 1835 premiere of Vincenzo Bellini’s I Puritani. A discerning audience sits on one side of the curtain, while on the other side there’s the composer, his best friend Francesco, plus four renowned opera singers. Bellini is excited about his latest creation, written especially for this powerhouse quartet. He wants I Puritani to help him, once and for all win, the hearts of the French opera crowd over composer Gaetano Donizetti. The two are fierce rivals and this production is to be Bellini’s greatest triumph.

Add that tension to having four opera stars in close quarters — hey, they’re known to be histrionic — and you’re bound to get high drama.

Golden Age
January 22 through February 21, 2010

Suzanne Roberts Theatre
480 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146
(215) 985-0420
www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org

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January 25, 2010

Thursday: PBQ Story Slam @ the Pen & Pencil Club

The Painted Bride Quarterly is back with yet another story slam this Thursday, January 28th.

After a successful slam back in December at Philadelphia’s Pen & Pencil Club, the PBQ returns with their fun mix of Whose Line is it Anyway and First Person Arts-esque story slams.

This month’s slam features a special reading from guest poet Paul Siegell, and will be hosted by Steven Volk of Philadelphia Magazine. Don’t miss it!

Painted Bride Quarterly Story Slam
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
7:30pm

Pen & Pencil Club
1522 Latimer Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102-4402
(215) 731-9909
www.penandpencil.org

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January 21, 2010

Review: Mauckingbird Theater Company’s TRU

Mauckingbird Theater Company's poster for TRU & the Threshing Floor

Not once during Mauckingbird Theater Company’s production of TRU does Truman Capote actually sit down to write — the talent that made him such a notable personality for decades.

It’s a revealing choice by the show’s own author, Jay Presson Allen, that demonstrates Capote’s lack of direction and building depression after achieving literary notoriety. During the show, he even laments, “I used to be famous because I wrote books. Now I’m famous because I’m famous.”

It’s that Paris-Hilton-meets-Marcel-Proust version of Capote that TRU seeks to portray. While parading around his lavish New York apartment, Capote makes reference to many of the more infamous events from his storied life — from the 1966 Black and White Ball, dubbed “the party of the decade,” to the struggles he faced writing In Cold Blood.

The play focuses primarily on the alienation he experienced after he allowed a chapter from his unfinished “masterpiece,” Answered Prayers, to be published in Esquire Magazine. In the passage he lashed out at the New York elite who welcomed him into their inner circle only to ostracize him after he wrote about them. During the production, Capote often notes the differences between artists and the rich — two identities he now straddles, not really fitting into either.

Chris Faith’s performance captures this angst in Capote well in the one-man production while hamming it up with the author’s trademark high-pitched lisp and mannerisms. In a mix of primarily one-sided phone calls, reenactments and monologues, Faith as Capote justifies everything from his salacious writing to his alcoholism with sharp wit and an entertaining delivery.

Faith tap dances in slippers when he’s sad, flops himself onto the couch after good and bad calls and addresses audience members directly on literary references and quips they may have missed. His resulting energy propels the production and makes it incredibly fun to watch.

To learn more about the production, and to pick up some tickets, visit the Mauckingbird Theatre Company’s official website.

TRU
January 8th – 31st, 2009
Adults $20, Seniors $18, Students $15
www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org

Adrienne Theater
2030 Samson St, Philadelphia, PA
(215) 923-8909

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January 21, 2010

Review: Becky Shaw @ the Wilma Theatre

Brooke Bloom as Becky Shaw & Jeremy Bobb as Max Garrett

If you’re looking to start off 2010 with some great theater, head over to The Wilma and catch Becky Shaw. The hysterical dramedy comes with a high pedigree (an Obie Award-winning writer and director, and rave reviews of its recent New York run), but you won’t need to know any of that to be thoroughly entertained by the show.

The play centers around a young woman and her intriguingly dysfunctional family which includes her mother, her best friend/adopted brother, and her new husband. Becky Shaw, a strange and desperate woman whom the characters barely know, enters the mix as a blind date for the friend. Things just get crazy from there on, with realistic catastrophes piling up.

The play is as hysterical as it is touching, and I delighted in the repartee and dark humor that’s tossed about. The actors all put on solid, on-point performances, and I found the play most interesting when it was delving into the characters’ backgrounds and complex relationships with one another.

Mimi Lein’s versatile set is a constantly changing treat for the eyes, as it spins around morphing from one scene to another. With its humor, darkness, warmth, fun, and steady grasp on a slightly wobbly reality, Becky Shaw provides a delightful evening of theatre on Broad Street.

Becky Shaw
Now through January 31st, 2010

The Wilma Theater
265 South Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 546-7824
www.wilmatheater.org

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January 20, 2010

Gagarin Way @ the Adrienne Theater

Jered McLenigan, Kevin Meehan, Jared Delaney and Brian McCann across the counter in the back in Amaryllis Theatre Company's production of Gagarin Way

Jered McLenigan, Kevin Meehan, Jared Delaney and Brian McCann across the counter in the back in Amaryllis Theatre Company's production of Gagarin Way

Eddie and Gary are disgruntled working class guys who aim to strike back at an unjust world. They’re lookin’ for revenge against the exploitative capitalist powers in charge. So the pair kidnap a visiting company executive and reckon to give ‘em the what for. Alas, the plan goes awry.

So goes Gagarin Way, a play that first received notice at Europe’s famed Edinburgh Festival. It’s got lots of Scottish references, however even here in the U.S.A. people can relate to rants against corporate greed and other socio-economic inequities. The kicker here is; people aren’t always who you presume them to be. And politics are messy all the way round.

I won’t spoil all the surprises, but let’s just say things get out of hand.

Gagarin Way
Now through February 7th, 2010
$15-$20

The Playground at the Adrienne Theater

2030 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA

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January 20, 2010

What In The World: New Exhibit & Installation @ the Penn Museum

From the 1950s What In The World television show, Photo courtesy the Penn Museum

From the 1950s What In The World television show, Photo courtesy the Penn Museum

Back in the 1950’s, the former director of the Penn Museum, Froelich Rainey, created What in the World, a national television show that spanned for several seasons. Not familiar with the television show? You can watch a few of the old What in the World programs here, on YouTube.

Now, as a part of the Philagrafika 2010 international contemporary art festival, the museum is launching a new installation that features a recreated set from the famous television program. Along with the true to life set, the exhibit will highlight seldom seen artifacts that relate to the museum and a special video series about the 123 year old institution.

Once the exhibit opens next Friday, you’ll be able to catch the series of videos detailing the history of the Penn museum on YouTube. I’ll be Tweeting those out as they appear.

The installation launches on January 29th and runs through April 11th, with plenty of special events in between. To learn more about the exhibit and the Penn Museum, visit the museum’s official website.

Philagrafika
www.philagrafika2010.org

Penn Museum
3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 898-4001
www.museum.upenn.edu

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January 19, 2010

The 24-Hour Bald Soprano @ the Annenberg Center

The cast of the 24-Hour Bald Soprano, Photo by Chris K

The cast of the 24-Hour Bald Soprano, Photo by Chris K

Fans of Theater of the Absurd hold Eugène Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano as one of the top plays in the genre. Now, fans in Philadelphia will have a chance to see the social satire — 24 times in a row, if they so desire.

Brat Productions will present The 24-Hour Bald Soprano, a full day’s worth of performances of the 60-minute work, beginning on Jan. 22 at 8:00 p.m. and continuing nonstop with the final performance on Jan. 23 at 7:00 p.m.

The Bald Soprano is a great play for this kind of back-to-back show. Taking social niceties and excruciating manners to an outrageous extreme, the play finds two couples — the Smiths and the Martins — gathering for a pleasant visit. The show continues on, growing more absurd and random all the time. Eventually, it reaches its cyclical ending, with one couple “ending” the show by speaking the same lines the other couple spoke to begin the show. But in Brat’s production, the show doesn’t end at all. The characters portraying each couple simply switch roles, and they dive right back into the show.

It’s a unique challenge for the actors — and for audience members as well. The questions becomes: Which of the 24 shows will offer the best experience? If you see an early show, you may miss the marathon element of the overall event. But if you go too late, the actors may be exhausted and the performance may suffer. That means the best time to go see The Bald Soprano is probably around 4:00 a.m. on the 23rd. We’ll see you there.

The 24-Hour Bald Soprano
January 22-23

The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 898-3900
www.bratproductions.org

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January 19, 2010

Architecture in Film: The Center for Architecture Screens the Saboteur

saboteur-movie-posterThis Thursday, Philadelphia’s Center for Architecture is presenting an evening of classic film and… well, architecture.

John DeFazio, a professional architect and associate professor at Drexel University is hosting the event, engaging guests in discussion about films that explore ideas and themes on architecture. This month’s film of choice? Alfred Hitchcock’s Saboteur.

For more info on upcoming events at the Center for Architecture, visit their official website.

The Saboteur @ the Center for Architecture
Thursday, January 21st, 2010, 7pm to 10pm
Free!

Center for Architecture
1218 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 569-3188
www.philadelphiacfa.org

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