Arts and Culture Philadelphia Weekly

Zen and the Art of Personal Maintenance

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:54:45 PST

When I was a teenager growing up in Philadelphia, South Street was still counterculture. Mohawked punks smashed store windows after midnight screenings of Quadrophenia; kids had knife fights while still dressed in Rocky Horror wear. There were no chain stores – just a lot of artists and weirdoes. It looked more like Sammy and Rosie Get Laid than the United States. Now Starbucks, Auntie Anne’s and their ilk have siphoned off the singularity in the service of lattes and sugary pretzels.

One of the best things about South Street back in those days was Garland of Letters, a store that’s rolled with the changes and remains today. After getting hopelessly stoned inside the movie theater on South Street, my friends and I would move in a dopey clutch from store to store, and Garland of Letters never disappointed: Between the foreign (to us) South Asian music and the heavy funk of sandalwood, it was like getting stoned all over again – and the books were suitably wacked out, all about alternate universes and spiritualities that had no truck with bar mitzvah dance parties or First Communions.

This was before yoga and Madonna’s Kabbalah and doggy massage. This was when it was really radical that my Jewish cousin went Buddhist. Garland of Letters? We could only assume it was owned by cultists.

Nowadays, the bookstore-cum-gemstore is a well-worn institution, and the books have a less radical sensibility – or perhaps it’s my own sensibility that’s changed. Recently, I picked up Clean Cures: The Humble Art of Zen-Curing Yourself by Michael Dejong. It’s part of the My Kind of Clean series that includes advice on natural housecleaning and natural hygiene. This latest in the series advises readers on interventions for everything from wasp stings to anxiety to flatulence, which the book calls “humm-errhoids.” The solution? Varying combinations of six ingredients, all of them easy to obtain: apple cider vinegar, baking soda, honey, lemon, olive oil and salt. Sure, they’re good on pasta or in a tart. But they’re even better for a cold sore.

It’s like this: Let’s say you’re me, at 13, and you’ve just been sitting in the movie theater on South Street, smoking a doobie, and now you’ve got dry mouth. As Dejong writes, “a dry mouth can affect both your enjoyment of food and the health of your teeth … Don’t live with ‘cotton’ mouth another cotton-picking minute.” (There is nothing this man likes better than a pun.) Four out of his six ingredients can actually help with this: baking soda with water cleans and refreshes; honey relieves dry mouth, says Dejong, “and it’s yummy!” Sucking on a lemon rind will do the trick or try a saltwater gargle.

See how simple? Unfortunately, the other “cures” in this book are not only simple, they’re simplistic. Everything is a variation on the above. Have a hangover? Drink some apple cider vinegar, or do the same baking soda-in-water thing or have a spoonful of honey or maybe some honey mixed with lemon juice. Wait! This one is a little different: “A shot glass of olive oil before a night of drinking prevents a nasty hangover.” I like it when he brings the olive oil in.

The problem with this very nicely designed little book -- which features what I can only call hipster black-and-white line drawings – is that you get the feeling it’s a bit of a gimmick. Dejong’s intro is bright and endearing, proving he’s a funny guy and a breezy writer. And since he’s not especially fond of doctors and pharmacies, he finds it comforting to have some natural remedies in the house, so he doesn’t have to go outside. I hear that. But the advice in this book is too vague: Having trouble with digestion? Well, “the acid in lemon juice may aid digestion.” But it may not? Um, thanks. I’ll suck a lemon and get back to you.

Some of the suggestions are novel: If I can’t sleep, perhaps I will massage olive oil into my toes and see what happens. But overall, the book seems like a good way for Dejong to keep the party going with this series. It’s supremely unessential reading, and the kind of thing – I’m sad to say –you might even find in Barnes and Noble.

PW's Guide to First Friday

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:58:41 PST

Big news this First Friday: A new gallery, Marginal Utility , is opening in the Vox building. The six-story former factory building already houses Vox Populi , Copy , AHN/VHS , Progressive Sharing , Jeffrey Stockbridge Fine Art and Tiger Strikes Asteroid . With the addition of Marginal Utility on the second floor, the alternative art scene truly has a new center of gravity.  

• Ronnie Bass: “ The Astronomer, Part 1: Departure From Shed ,” Through Jan. 10. Reception: Fri., Nov. 6, 6-9pm. Marginal Utility, 319 N. 11th St., second fl. 917.355.4487. marginalutility.org  P.

• Timothy Gierschick II: “ Patch and Plot ,” Through Nov. 27. Reception: Fri., Nov. 6, 6–10pm. Tiger Strikes Asteroid, 319A N. 11th St., fourth fl. tigerstrikesasteroid.com 

• Marianne Berstein: “ Shelter ,” Through Dec. 18. Reception: Fri., Nov. 6, 5-7pm. Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St. 215.925.9914. paintedbride.org 

• Philadelphia Cartoonist Society: “ Creature Double Feature ,” Through Nov. 25. Reception: Fri., Nov. 6, 6-9pm. Brave New Worlds, 45 N. Second St. 215.925.6525.  bravenewworldscomics.com

Founded by Basekamp ’s David Dempewolf and Yuka Yokoyama —who also launched the recent art theory zine Machete—Marginal Utility has 700 square feet of space including a 500-square-foot gallery and a separate work space for artists in residence.  

First up in the new space is “The Astronomer, Part 1: Departure From Shed , ” a nine-minute video projection and sculpture project by New York artist Ronnie Bass . The video—still in production—is a yarn about oppression and a better future acted out by a small cast which includes the artist. The piece is rooted in 19th-century French philosopher Charles Fourier’s writings on utopian societies.  

Still images show the actors highlighted against a black background giving a sense of disembodiment and foreboding. Bass’ sculpture project, which will grow and change during the show’s two-month run, is a water fountain made with garage sale and dollar store  purchases—highly un-utopian. 

P. Timothy Gierschick ’s abstract paintings at Tiger Strikes Asteroid whisper like Morse Code tapping a quiet but insistent message. The works in ”Patch and Plot” subvert universal signs and symbols like rainbows and geometrical shapes twisting them into new designs that suggest something familiar without being clear. Is the rainbow edge around a cloverleaf pattern happy? Geirschick uses spray paint, house paint, enamel and collage on found furniture, scrap wood and cardboard.  

From the impresario of ”Welcome House , ” the recent temporary public art project in Love Park, comes ”Shelter , ” at the Painted Bride Art Center . Marianne Bernstein , an artist and activist, organized the group show to foster a dialog between artists and the public about social issues. Before the show, 14 artists were paired with 10 Philadelphia families to make art dealing with issues of family crisis and homelessness. Printmaker Daniel Heyman created word-and-image portraits of veterans in transitional housing. Ricardo Rivera of the Klip Collective made a documentary video of a dying and bedridden woman, Gloria, and her devoted husband.  

Need more Halloween imagery? Check out ”Creature Double Feature” at Brave New Worlds . The show features original works by 20 artists who are affiliated with the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society. Concetta Barbera and Christian Patchell curated the show which will have small scale prints, drawings and books at reasonable  prices. ■

For more on the Philadelphia art scene go to theartblog.org. 

The Calendar: November 4 - November 11

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:58:01 PST

Wednesday November 4

Girls + Real Estate
As wish lists go, Girls’ “Lust For Life” is a corker. The single and opener of the Bay Area band’s gangly Album rattles off a slew of dreamy requirements, including wine, pizza, a suntan, a father, a boyfriend and a beach house. Christopher Owens’ lazily pleading vocals seal the deal there and on the rest of the record, which pays repeated homage to summer and, yes, girls. By turns barebones and shoegaze-y, it’s a splintered version of the beach-blanket odes of yesterday. Catching a similar wave are New Jersey’s Real Estate, who sing about Atlantic City and beach combing. Time to embrace your inner summer, autumn be damned. Doug Wallen
8pm. $10. Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 N. Front St. 215.291.4919. r5productions.com

Endgame
Samuel Beckett. The name sends a shiver down the spine of even the most veteran theatergoer. Obscure, inscrutable and depressing, such are the perceptions of audience members unlucky enough to have suffered through a dull production of the playwright’s work. Dull, however, isn’t a word often associated with the work of EgoPo Productions, which continues their season of Beckett’s plays with artistic director Lane Savadove’s staging of Endgame. An unqualified masterpiece from one of the 20th century’s most pioneering playwrights, Endgame is set in a post-apocalyptic world. EgoPo (which regularly re-imagines classic plays) moves Endgame into a 1970s suburban American home that has seen better days. Highlighting the play’s offbeat sense of humor, the four absurdly depressed characters are marooned in a world of tattered shag carpets, scarred vinyl couches and a hideous wood-paneled den where family dysfunction is taken to new heights. Think of it as Beckett meets The Brady Bunch. J. Cooper Robb
Wed., Nov. 4, 8pm. $30. St. Stephens Theater, 10th and Ludlow sts. 800.595.4849. egopo.org

Thursday November 5

Dar Williams
The folkie scene sometimes seems like a gated community where artists find stultifying acceptance dulling their creative edge until they’re unsuitable for anyone else. Clever stories and turns of phrase won’t rescue bland accompaniment—this isn’t a poetry slam. Dar Williams has avoided this pitfall during her 17-year career, plying a sweet cooing croon and smart writing in arrangements mixing rock and pop with strong folk undercurrents. The last three albums have been particularly engaging, showcasing the breadth of Williams talent from chamber warmth to jangly rave-ups. Brad Wood keenly produced the excellent stripped-down rock/pop of last year’s Promised Land, highlighted by the shrewd take on Milgram’s obedience experiment, “Buzzer.” Chris Parker
8pm. $33-$35. With Patrick Fitzsimmons. Sellersville Theater, Main and Temple sts., Sellersville. 215.257.5808. st94.com

Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down
“Sad people dance, too,” says Thao Nguyen, on the closing track of her latest Know Better Learn Faster. That’s “Easy,” the bass-driven break-out from Know Better, which may just be the year’s most raucous break-up albums. It’s brutally honest, laceratingly self-revealing, earthily sexual and, surprisingly, kind of a good time. Nguyen, on a roll since her 2006 We Brave Bee Stings and All, has honed a vibrant, eccentric sound through constant touring—equal parts pop, country blues and confessional songwriting. Portland Cello Project, whose own repertoire ranges from classical to Justin Timberlake, usually joins her on stage for a couple of songs, too. Jennifer Kelly
8pm. $12. With the Portland Cello Project + David Schultz. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

Kevin Smith
Attention geeks who fall squarely across the populist cinema and comic book axis: director Kevin “Silent Bob” Smith is stopping in Philadelphia on a rare six-city tour to discuss,presumably, the type of stuff he writes about his (unfortunately hyphenated) blog “My Boring Ass Life.” Comic books! Movies! Guaranteed curse words! Perhaps a gratuitous anecdote about how he used to be able
to touch the tip of his cock with his tongue? We can only hope. There must be other people out there who still harbor a soft spot for Smith. After all, he provided my first brushes with greatness by hiring my old babysitter to cameo in Mallrats (Yo Dawn!) and imbued my hometown, a little place I like to call Stripmall, with can-do artsy flair by hanging out in Red Bank parking lots late at night blasting the Star Wars theme as we all stumbled out of the Dublin House. Also, he taught us all what snowballing was even before Catholic school health texts did. For that, I forgive the rain scene in Chasing Amy. Tara Murtha
8pm. $39-$66.50. Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St. 215.732.5446. merriam-theater.com.

Friday November 6

Boom
Unofficially the most popular play in America, boom opens the season at Flashpoint Theatre Company. Ranked first in American Theatre’s annual list of the nation’s most produced plays this season, playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s script focuses on an awkward marine biologist named Jules (Derick Loafmann). Certain that all life is on the verge of extinction—based on a study he conducted on fish—Jules places an online ad in search of a mate to help him repopulate the world. Anxious to do her part to resuscitate humanity, a young journalism student named Jo (Melissa Lynch) replies and the pair meet in a subterranean lab. A mind-bending look at our need for myths, Flashpoint’s production features the reliable Susan Giddings as a mysterious woman who wields a strange power over the mismatched pair. JCR
8pm. $18. Second Stage at The Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St. 215.563.4330. flashpointtheatre.org

Submissive or Slave
First things first: Let’s get it straight. Just because a person is into bondage and discipline or S&M, doesn’t mean they’re raunchy pervs. There are classy ways to express your sexual appetite. Amour Partage is an upscale style of domination and submission which originated in Europe in the 1950s. Generally spread only by word of mouth, Amour Partage is a very private sexual journey shared only among small groups. Get the deets from Trinity, a master trainer for 16 years and involved in the D/s lifestyle for more than two decades. Nicole Finkbiner
7pm. $20-$30. Aphrodite Gallery at Passional Toys, 704 S. Fifth St. 215.923.1398. passionaltoys.com

Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra
The term is archaic, but “territory bands” used to tour circumscribed areas of the U.S., covering popular hits and riling up dance crowds. Trumpeter Steven Bernstein (of Sex Mob fame) nods to that storied past with his Millennial Territory Orchestra while adding a heavy whiff of the modern, jumbling together vintage jazz, Prince and the Dead in a spirit of avant-garde delinquency. Stacked with such unorthodox pros as Curtis Fowlkes, Charlie Burnham and Matt Munisteri, the MTO is just the ensemble to revisit “Relativity Suite,” a 1973 opus by the late Don Cherry, who’s being remembered by Ars Nova Workshop with a Composer Portrait series that runs well into 2010. David R. Adler
8pm. $12. With DJ hi-res. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. arsnovaworkshop.org

Swimmers
Philadelphia quartet the Swimmers celebrate the release of their tremendous new album People Are Soft—the band’s second on Drexel’s MAD Dragon Records—which you’ll get for free if you picked up advance tickets for this gig. Pretty sweet deal, because People Are Soft is an irresistible indie-pop/nü-wave platter, with synthesizers both buzzy and billowy joining up with sturdy beats, the occasional bite of guitar, and charismatic guy-girl vocals in a manner that occasionally feels like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark for a new generation of romantic misfits that like to dance once in a while. Michael Alan Goldberg
7pm, $10. With the Capitol Years. Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 N. Front St. 215.291.4919. kungfunecktie.com

Armen Donelian
Born in Queens in 1950, pianist Armen Donelian is one of today’s unassuming jazz masters, boasting early sideman credits with the likes of Mongo Santamaria, Sonny Rollins and Billy Harper. His latest output includes Grand Ideas, a three-volume solo-piano series; All or Nothing at All, a tightly focused duo album with Dutch saxophonist Marc Mommaas; Quartet Language, unearthed from 1992, with the late altoist Thomas Chapin; and Oasis, featuring bassist David Clark and drummer George Schuller, the longtime trio cohorts who join him this week at the Museum. Donelian’s got a pensive, lyrical streak a mile wide, but don’t underestimate his ability to swing hard and throw punches. D.R.A.
5pm. $12-$16. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and the Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. 215.763.8100 philamuseum.org

Dead of the Living Night
Artists Jonathan Cammisa and Jonah Birns journeyed under the racecar-shaped beds of their youth, took aim at the things that went bump in the night, then hauled back the pelts. The result is Dead of the Living Night, a furry, flickering celebration of childhood wonder and paranoia. The exhibit begins with the claustrophobic recreation of an ’80s video shop replete with forgotten zombie flicks and vintage posters. Turn a corner and take a ride on a cousin of Falkor from Neverending Story, a big burly beast who’ll take you to the stars and back with the help of a video installation. The gallery includes sculpture, collage and multiple volumes of an ongoing collaborative scrapbook, in which Cammisa and Birns wax horrific on the late night frights that left them sneaking down to the TV and pissing in their Underoos. Paul F. Montgomery
Fri., Nov. 6, 7pm. Free. Space 1026, 1026 Arch St., second fl. 215.574.7630. space1026.com

Saturday November 7

Philadelphia Sketch Club 150th Anniversary
Set the Way-Back Machine to a time before Tweeting, before Facebook—even pre-Friendster!—when there were things called “clubs”: places where people of similar interests would hang out and talk. The Philadelphia Sketch Club is the nation’s oldest artist society, still going strong after 150 years. This is the common denominator connecting Thomas Eakins to A.B. Frost (of Br’er Rabbit fame) to the granddaddy of all things Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth. Next year 15 prominent museums and galleries in Philadelphia and New York will put up exhibits to celebrate the club’s sesquicentennial (from the James Michener Museum up in Doylestown, the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the Parkway, down to the Brandywine Museum in Chadd’s Ford) but it all kicks off this Saturday with a gala affair on Camac Street, where the clubhouse will exhibit 120 works from its collection. And it ain’t over yet—after the party the room will be cleared to be ready for live models to come in at least four times a week, every week, so the new wave of artists can hone their skills. Peter Crimmins
7pm. $50-$125. Philadelphia Sketch Club, 235 S. Camac St. 215.545.9298

Sunday November 8

Snuggie Pub Crawl
Whether you love it or hate it, the Snuggie has warmed its way into the cultural vernacular of 2009. After successful events in cities such as New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Scranton, the pub crawl inspired by the “blanket with sleeves” is coming to Philadelphia. Organizers Megan Bruce and Jennifer Shipman created a five-pub fest with stops at Paddy Whack’s Pub, Fadó, Field House, Tir na nÓg and Public House. Participating bars will donate a portion of their earnings to Project H.O.M.E, a local nonprofit dedicated to fighting homelessness and poverty in the city. Sherri Hospedales
2pm. Starts at Paddy Whack’s Pub, 150 South St. 215.464.7544. phillysnuggiecrawl.com

Bottom Feeders
Who doesn’t love a contra-alto clarinet? Saxophonist Dan Peterson breaks out the giant horn to play with his Bottom Feeders, and the floor-rattling low notes are all the more disquieting when combined with baritone sax (Elliott Levin) and trombone (Larry Toft). They shouldn’t need a bassist, but Peterson often adds one anyway. This week, however, it’ll be guitarist Travis Woodson, with drummer Tony Catastrophe locking down rhythm. Peterson, who recently gave us the evocative suite Five Simple Worlds ... And Ways of Getting There, looks to the BF’s to channel something wilder in his psyche. After this gig they play Tritone on the 18th, then hope to hit the studio. D.R.A.
6pm. $12. J.C. Dobbs, 304 South St. 215.925.4053

Sweet Tea
Light years away from the clubs, cafes and queens of Philly’s Gayborhood, a love that dares not speak its name flourishes alongside chitlins, cornfields and conservative religious values. Many vilify the South’s red state repression, while others celebrate its old-fashioned charm. Virtually no one, however, writes about its queer black culture. Except Northwestern University scholar E. Patrick Johnson. “I interviewed gay black men in every state of the Confederacy,” Johnson says of the research he did for his book Sweet Tea, which records the accounts of men who juggle their blackness, Southernness and homosexuality. In his performance at the First Person Arts Festival, he restages select interviews. When pressed to pick a favorite, Johnson is at a loss, but he fondly remembers his oldest interviewee, the fabulous Countess Vivian, who came of age in 1930s New Orleans. “We lost touch after Katrina,” Johnson says. “But I had a reunion with him last month. Not only did he survive, but he never left. He‘ll be 98 years old.” Gerald Johnson
6pm. $12-$20. Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St. 267.402.2055. firstpersonarts.org.

Monday November 9

Fashion Faux Paws
Let’s face it, Project Runway has gone downhill since moving to L.A. What ever happened to the good-old days when a group of emotionally unstable designers had to make outfits out of garbage, plants and edible food? The young MacGyvers of fashion at Moore College are giving the current contestants a run for their money. For this year’s Jumpstart Fashion Show, 55 junior and senior students created faux fur garments using such miscellaneous household items as cotton balls, toothpicks, nails, mops and Brillo pads. The most innovative creations will be on display including garments made entirely of bobby pins, spray painted rubber bands and pieces of bath mat and fake silk flowers. N.F.
Through Dec. 12. Free. Wilson Gallery at Moore College, 20th St. and the Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. 215.965.4027. thegalleriesatmoore.org

Tuesday November 10

The Bacon Show
Local boy Mike Geno’s been playing with his food for a long time. The Tyler grad and professor at Moore College of Art & Design has gained cult-like Philly fame for his still life paintings of disposable comestibles ranging from rump roasts and lamb legs to French baguettes and jelly donuts. Peep his latest this month at Mew Gallery when he joins Highwire Gallery’s Ken B. Miller, fellow Meat Artists’ member John Wolfer and others in celebrating the trendiest of breakfast meats. Featuring photography, fine art painting and quirky crafts, “The Bacon Show” officially opened on Halloween and true cured protein lovers can meet the meat makers at this Saturday’s reception. However, we recommend making a morning of it and hitting up Sabrina’s for weekday (read: no wait!) brunch, ordering up a side of bacon with your French toast and then wandering in for some one-on-one drooling. Erica Palan
Through Dec. 17. Free. Mew Gallery, 906 Christian St. 215.625.2424. mewgallery.org

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:46:42 PST

Hip-hop theater takes a big step forward with Kristoffer Diaz’s dynamic new play The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity , which is getting its regional premiere in a fine production from InterAct Theatre Company.

Director Seth Rozin’s staging of Entrance marks the first time since 1997 that InterAct has presented a production away from the company’s artistic home at the Adrienne. It doesn’t take long to figure out why. The moment you enter the space you encounter a regulation size wrestling ring inhabited by two wrestler/actors pounding on each other. Not that namby- pamby Greco-style wrestling, but rather the made-for-TV brand popularized by Vince McMahon and his promotional company World Wrestling Entertainment. 

Set in and around the ring, Diaz’s satire focuses on Macedonia Guerra (Juan Pacheco in an impressive professional stage debut). Known as “Mace,” Guerra is perhaps the most likeable narrator since Thornton Wilder’s stage manager in Our Town . He also happens to be Puerto Rican, which makes him a likely candidate to play a villain in Everett K. Olson’s (Jeb Kreager) jingoistic wrestling empire.  

Mace is an excellent wrestler, which ironically is a liability to his economic success. In pro wrestling, the winner (i.e., the good guy) can only succeed with the help of the loser (i.e., the villain). “You can’t kick a guy’s ass without the help of the guy’s ass you’re kicking,” says the reigning champ Chad Deity (Donté Bonner). Deity doesn’t have Mace’s athletic skills, but he is charismatic, good looking and extremely muscular. In an image carefully cultivated by Everett, Deity is an all-American hero who likes nothing better than to kick the ass of villainous “foreigners” who are paid to fall at the champ’s feet. 

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Diety

Through Nov. 22. $25-$29. The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, 2111 Sansom St. 215.568.8079. interacttheatre.org

The newest challenge to Deity’s crown comes from a swaggering Indian named Vigneshwar Paduar (an impressive Shalin  Agarwal). A legend on the basketball courts in the Bronx, VP trumpets India as the new world power. Like Mace, VP has been ostracized in the U.S. due to his race and nationality. Culturally ignorant but financially savvy, Olsen casts Mace and VP as wrestling’s newest scoundrels with Mace playing a Mexican revolutionary named Che and VP a Taliban-loving terrorist with a vague Islamic/Muslim/Socialist/Middle Eastern background called “the Fundamentalist.” To wrestling’s flag-waving fans, Mace and VP’s wrestling personas are the embodiment of evil, and a match is set between the Fundamentalist (who flattens opponents with a devilish kick known as the “sleeper cell”) and the heroic Deity.  

Rozin’s blisteringly paced, razor sharp production captures the play’s hip-hop rhythms and sense of moral outrage, forcefully depicting America as a parasitical consumer that routinely exploits less powerful nations and peoples.  

Both funny and smart, Entrance is the rare play that makes us laugh and think at the same time. America has real enemies in the world, but in Entrance it’s our need to stereotype alleged outsiders as a threat that emerges as the true danger. ■

Rabbit Hole

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:29:49 PST

A horrifying incident is the focus of David Lindsay-Abaire’s beautiful play Rabbit Hole, currently receiving a deeply affecting production at the Arden Theatre Company.

The play begins eight months after Howie (Brian Russell) and Becca (Grace Gonglewski) lost their 4-year-old son Danny in a tragic accident. Their grief is almost unbearable and everywhere they turn they see reminders of Danny, his little clothes, robot bed sheets, even other children they encounter in the supermarket. Becca’s sister (Julianna Zinkel) and mother (Janis Dardaris) try to help but the couple is inconsolable.

Director James J. Christy remarkably well acted production (Temple University undergrad Aaron Stall is magnificent as the traumatized teen who accidently kills Danny with his car) doesn’t shy away from the couple’s misery, but though the show is occasionally painful to watch it is not unrelentingly sad. A 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner for drama, Lindsay-Abaire’s extraordinarily well play is never sentimental or manipulative. Instead it’s an honest, tender and at times humorous story of people struggling with unimaginable pain. Howie and Becca argue, cry and lash out, but they go on living. In the end their relationship is damaged and altered, but amazingly still intact.

Absence

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:17:14 PDT

Poor productions of inferior plays are a rarity at People’s Light and Theatre, a fact that makes the company’s world premiere production of Absence all the more disappointing.

Penned by Wendy Hammond, the two character play follows the relationship of Peter (Greg Wood) and Mary (Judith Lightfoot Clarke) from 1945 to 2003. Mormons from Utah, the story begins in Boston where Peter is attending graduate school at Harvard. Mary has traveled across the country hoping Peter will propose. He does, but like everything else in Absence, it takes forever before he pops the question. (We’re told Peter is “long-winded,” an unappealing trait in any character.)

Set against the backdrop of such landmark events as World War II, the McCarthy hearings, Vietnam and the fall of the Soviet Union, the pair go about their lives, sometimes together, often apart.

There is nothing original about Hammond’s script and the only interest is generated by Peter’s job, which appears to be with the CIA or some other secretive government organization.

Director Ken Marini’s production does little to spark our interest. Known for his creativity, Marini’s production is almost shockingly bland. Clarke and especially Wood (normally two of the area’s top actors) struggle to find their characters in the multiple time periods. It’s not entirely their fault. Underdeveloped and uneventful, the play never finds its footing. Producing new work is essential, but Absence doesn’t yet warrant an audience’s attention.

Through Nov. 8. $29-$48. People’s Light & Theatre, 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern. 610.644.3500. peopleslight.org

The Calendar: October 28 - November 3

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:56:57 PDT

Wednesday October 28

Love’s Labour Lost
Shakespeare’s original home, the Globe Theatre, gives Philadelphians a dose of frolicsome Elizabethan fun with its staging of the Bard’s comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost. One of Shakespeare’s early efforts, Lost concerns a king and his band of merry men who pledge
to shun women and instead channel their energies in more academic pursuits. However, their vow to avoid romantic entanglements is tested when the princess of France and a trio of lady attendants arrive to interrupt the men’s studies. More laudable for its linguistic dexterity (which is truly impressive) than its simplistic story, Shakespeare employs every comic device in his arsenal including puns, outrageous parody, plays-within-a-play, eccentric syntax and a host of ridiculous impersonations. For the U.S. tour Dominic Dromgoole (who helms the production) hopes to recreate the full Globe experience (outdoor productions that adhere to Shakespeare’s original staging) by leaving the house lights on and having the characters speak directly to the audience. J. Cooper Robb
7:30pm. $20-$45. Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St. 215.898.3900. annenbergcenter.org

Thursday October 29

East Hundred
Yes, emerging Philly indie-rock quintet East Hundred has a compelling, Fleetwood Mac-esque backstory: Guitarist Brooke Blair and singer Beril Guceri started the band five years ago as boyfriend-girlfriend, broke off their relationship in 2007, but kept the group together for the music. It’s that music that deserves most of the attention, but it’s fair to note the heartache and difficulty of the former lovers being around one another in a creative situation has certainly fed the band’s excellent tunes, adding layers of emotional tension and complexity, and darkening the otherwise sweet vocals, engaging melodies, and lush, guitar-propelled dream-pop. Michael Alan Goldberg
7:30pm. $12. With the Dear Hunter, Annuals + Stephen Brodsky. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

Dish it Up
When PW ran a cover story last April that highlighted how severely under-serviced Philadelphia is to deal with domestic violence and how the one—yes, one—shelter was facing budget cuts threatening its ability to thrive, readers came out of the woodwork to ask how to help. Now there’s a sweet way to make a difference and get a smashing evening out of it. Enter the first-ever Dish It Up, a benefit evening where 10 prominent local female chefs—everyone from Top Chef contestant Jennifer Carroll at 10 Arts to the ever-soulful chef Delilah Winder of Delilah’s Southern Cuisine—cook and compete for best dish, an honor chosen by NBC anchor Kristen Welker and awarded by Mayor Michael Nutter. Guests will taste dishes, sip complimentary cocktails and beer, nibble desserts and hit the dance floor to shake moneymakers for Women Against Abuse, the largest anti-domestic violence program in the country that sadly, still just isn’t large enough to handle needs of local families shattered by violence. Sixty bucks is the new go-out minimum anyway; drop it where it can count. Tara Murtha
6pm. $60. Moore College of Art & Design, 20th St. and the Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. womenagainstabuse.org

Project H.O.M.E.: A 20th Anniversary Celebration
Whether you can tell the difference between Monet or Manet, we can all appreciate the work that Project H.O.M.E. has done for the city. The organization helps the homeless by encouraging artistic expression as a means for psychological and emotional development. They’re celebrating 20 years of philanthropy by catching up with former artists and redisplaying some of the work created through the program. All the artists featured have previously or currently live in one of Project H.O.M.E.’s residences and have moved into permanent housing. “The formerly homeless artists involved in this exhibit have overcome many challenges, and art has played a significant role in their recovery,” says Amanda S. Aronoff, Vice President of Development for Project H.O.M.E. “The art that will be on display is worthy of appreciation and recognition in its own right, but it is also inspiring as an expression of hope and potential.” Anastasia Barbalios
5pm. Free. Through April 14. Philadelphia Foundation, 1234 Market St. 215.563.6417. philafound.org

Michael and Michael Have Issues Live
Longtime frenemies Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter do a lot of sharing. Sometimes this makes them feel a little insecure. They share a first name and have similar IMDB pages, both turning up in The State and Wet Hot American Summer. They also share a popular Comedy Central sketch show called Michael & Michael Have Issues. In it, they play two sketch comics also named Michael, constantly vying for the lion’s share of the laughs. People do laugh, though there’s no way of knowing how to divvy it all up. Now Michael and Michael share a van and a toilet as they tour the country with a live production based on their series. Tonight, they take the stage at the Troc and share their wide-eyed, deadpan comedy with you. Isn’t that friendly? Paul F. Montgomery
Thurs., Oct. 29, 8pm. $24. Trocadero Theater, 1003 Arch St. 215.922.5483. thetroc.com

Friday October 30

Saul Williams
Don’t be surprised if Saul Williams’ performance Friday ends with dude asking for a hug. That’s been the word coming out of shows the spoken-word artist-cum-Afro-punk/industrial hip-hop hellraiser has been performing during his current North American tour. But it turns out these shows have been running the full emotional gamut, from Williams and his band igniting the crowd in a good ol’ fashioned, mosh-pit frenzy (especially when they perform tracks from Williams’ Trent Reznor-produced, 2007 album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust!) to Williams intellectually stirring up said audience’s emotions by spitting some poetic verses and Williams jumping off stage and engaging in a post-show, mass embrace. Since a Saul Williams show has been getting a rep for draining a lot out of you, wouldn’t you want somebody to hold afterward? And wouldn’t you want it to be the performer in question? Just go to the show and hug it out, bitch! Craig D. Lindsey
9pm. $18-$21. With Black Landlord, West Vienna + American Fangs. Theater of the Living Arts, 334 South St. 215.922.1011. livenation.com

A Fine Frenzy
A Fine Frenzy is the elegant pop ensemble led by 24-year-old, flame-haired singer-pianist (and sometimes model and actress) Allison Sudol. AFF’s 2007 debut, One Cell in the Sea, had a dreamy, whimsical, romantic quality about it—it pulled off the neat trick of being charming without being dainty or cloying—and Sudol’s clarion voice and clever lyrics spoke to love and loss in simple but wise ways. On the group’s new Bomb in a Birdcage, Sudol and company expand their palette, adding a tad more complexity and texture and, gasp, even a bit more aggression to the mix. But they rarely stray from their essential strengths, making the album—and very likely, this show—an absolute winner. M.A.G.
7:30pm. $20.50-$30.50. With Landon Pigg. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. worldcafelive.com

George Burton Quartet
If you stopped into Tritone last year for one of Matt Davis’ enchanting gigs with Aerial Photograph, you may have seen George Burton playing viola and playing it well. But Burton is in fact a hot contender on piano, and he’s managed to score something very crucial to a young musician: high-profile gigs with seasoned, much older musicians like saxophonist Odean Pope, trumpeter Charles Tolliver and unsung Philly drummer Donald Bailey, Jr. As he imbibes jazz history from the source, Burton is able to bring a sense of wisdom to his own bandleading. These days his group includes fellow burners Jaleel Shaw on alto and Wayne Smith on drums. David R. Adler
8pm. $10. Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus, 847 N. Third St. 215.922.1035. ortliebsjazzhaus.com

Martha Graham Cracker Day Before Halloween Freak Out
Don’t bother asking Dito van Reigersberg who he’s going to be for Halloween this year. The Barrymore award-winning actor debuted his alter ego Miss Martha Graham Cracker in 2005 and more than four years later, his drag act is still going strong. Every second Thursday of the month, you can find the queen on stage at L’Etage serenading the crowd for the Miss Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret. But just in time to kick off your Halloween weekend festivities, the man dubbed the “drag queen king” by the Inquirer makes a special appearance at the Tritone that’s sure to “freak you out.” Join her and her equally-freaky band for a night complete with tricks and treats. If her hairy-cleavage hugging outfit doesn’t get you all hot and bothered in a good way, maybe the fact that she stands at nearly 7 feet tall in heels will. Sherri Hospedales
Fri., Oct. 30, 9:30pm. $10. Tritone,1508 South St. 215.545.0475. tritonebar.com

Saturday October 31

Queer Zombie Apocalypse Party
SPOILER ALERT: The new Zombieland ends with Jesse Eisenberg (aka Annoying Michael Cera) and Woody Harrelson getting it on in living-dead queer ecstasy. Okay, that’s not quite true (or even a little true), but wouldn’t it be great? And it just might happen at the Queer Zombie Apocalypse on Halloween. Put on by the worldbeat dance party Baile Crunk, the Apocalypse will feature music by Precolumbian DJ, who’ll spin baile funk, reggaeton, dancehall, soca, crunk cumbias and kuduro, a kind of propulsive, percussive beat from Angola. DJ Shoogacane, who reps for the queer ladies, will add Miami Bass and n.o. bounce (both booty-centric). This is the last Baile Funk ever, and it’ll be memorable. Costumes not required but encouraged, so come on, guys–play off pop culture and gay Woody up. Not like he needs it. Liz Spikol
10pm-2am. $5. Elena’s Soul, 4912 Baltimore Ave. 215.714.2043. elenassoul.com

Crew Love II: Boo Love
For those of you who can’t simply decide on one particular type of techno-beat to rock out to this Halloween, let the Crew Love II party at Pi Lam solve your problems. The multi-level club will be dividing the space between two DJ crews: Metropolis, a blend of house-disco sounds, and Subdivision, who produce heavy bass and dubstep beats. The crews have never performed together, so celebrate their merger with “two floors of ecstasy to tantalize the flesh” as the flier so eloquently states. The night may involve continually running up and down flights of stairs, but don’t let it exhaust you—leave that to the dance floor. Emily Freisher
10pm. $8. Pi Lam, 3914 Spruce St. myspace.com/thepilam

Sunday November 1

King Khan & BBQ
Two of the most explosive performers in retro rock, Arish Khan and Mark Sultan, came up as teenagers through Montreal’s raging garage punk scene. Space Shits, their first band, split up in 1995, but the pair reconnected in 2002 and rekindled the chemistry. Together, they mix a volatile cocktail of theater and stomp. Khan is one of garage’s most flamboyant performers, while turbaned, semi-dragged-out BBQ flails and pounds and sings with unmitigated abandon. The music hits on pretty much all the pre-digital genres—doo-wop, psychedelia, R&B, blues, punk and garage—in a campy overload that is, nonetheless, weirdly sincere and heartfelt. Jennifer Kelly
7:30pm. $12. With Dum Dum Girls + Teenage Whore Moans. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
On the surface, pro wrestling—part sport, part soap opera—is the teenage boys’ cheesy equivalent to the indulgences of bored Bucks County housewives. (Think Erica Kane on steroids and in Spandex, if you’re freaky like that.) But Minneapolis-based Latino playwright Kristoffer Diaz knows the business behind the suplexes and shit-talking is fertile ground for excavation. “Wrestling is racist, sexist and homophobic,” he says. “I like it, but, like a lot of things in pop culture, it’s complicated and messed up. Which is exactly why I wanted to explore it.” Shortly before arriving in Philly, Diaz’s politically-charged play world-premiered in Chicago, drop-kicking even anti-wrestling viewers’ expectations with a compelling argument that all the pro wrestling world is a stage, on which the forces of capitalism, race and politics discreetly play out. If there is a God—and if he likes his social commentary wrapped in clever writing, crowd-pleasing athleticism and classic hip-hop—the post-Philly stage for this production will be under the bright lights of Broadway. Gerald Johnson
2pm. $29. InterAct Theatre, 2111 Sansom St. 215.568.8079. interacttheater.org

Mastodon + High on Fire
Generally speaking, having one’s face melted off seems most unpleasant. That Nazi dude at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark didn’t appear all that into it, nor did Bob Geldof in The Wall. But somehow I don’t think you’ll mind when the gargantuan guitars and crushing rhythms of the bands featured on the Metalocalypse tour make the flesh drip off your skull. Those responsible for the inevitable carnage? Conceptual metal gods Mastodon, whose recent Crack the Skye imagines a quadriplegic discovering astral travel; High on Fire (pictured), who scale mountains of brilliance with their doomy ancient-warrior metal; metalcore/mathcore pioneers Converge; and Adult Swim’s animated-turned-very-real-and-loud death metal maestros Dethklok. M.A.G.
Sun., Nov. 1, 6:30pm. $34.50-$37. With Dethklok + Converge. Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St. livenation.com

Monday November 2

Taylor Ho Bynum + John Hebert + Gerald Cleaver
These three are pacesetters in modern improvisation, so the very idea of their convergence as a trio is rich with promise. Cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum has worked alongside Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton and other giants; his own bands include SpiderMonkey Strings and Positive Catastrophe. Bassist John Hebert played with the great Andrew Hill until the pianist’s death in 2007; he’s currently with Fred Hersch and leading his own Byzantine Monkey. Drummer Gerald Cleaver can wail with free-jazz icons like Roscoe Mitchell and Matthew Shipp, then turn around and offer swinging, melodic treasures with his own group Violet Hour. Together, they’ve got six wide-open ears and infinite musical options. D.R.A.
8pm. Free. The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. 215.573.3234. arsnovaworkshop.org

Illinois
“Look at that girl/ Now look at me/ She’s so blonde/ And I’m so ugly,” Chris Archibald comically bemoans on the pounding “She’s So Blonde,” a song from Illinois’ latest, The Adventures of Kid Catastrophe. The inventively rockin’ Bucks County quartet runs the gamut of moods from dejected to jovial and instrumentation from banjo melodies to electronic dance beats. On the 20-track album, it is near impossible to notice much continuity from song to song. Warmly received at this year’s EXPoNential Music Festival, Illinois’ live show is fun for that reason and the band keeps crowds on their toes. In between the toe-tapping, at least. Kevin Brosky
7:30pm. $13-$20. With the Heavy. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. worldcafelive.com

Tuesday November 3

Meme Homebrew Competition
Everyone has a buddy who’s big into home brew. Whenever you reach into the fridge at his place, it’s a crapshoot: You never know what you’re going to get from that unlabeled bottle of beer. The concept is nice, but wouldn’t it be ideal if someone did a little quality assurance, so that you’re not stuck with something from a bad batch? At Meme’s fall home brew contest, owner/chef David Katz and his staff are providing a little help. They’re selecting 10 top beers (samples can be entered at the restaurant Wednesday-Saturday afternoon between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.) and bringing in a panel of experts to judge. Joey Chimko, chef of the new Resurrection Ale House, will be whipping up a bunch of beer-friendly snacks, too, included with price of admission. And even with the “experts” there, you’ve got a vote too. At last, give your friend an honest opinion. Dan Packel
6:30pm. $25. Meme Restaurant, 2201 Spruce St. 215.735.4900. memerestaurant.com

Coming Home

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:12:27 PDT

The Wilma Theater opens its season with a supremely enriching production of Athol Fugard’s new play Coming Home . 

Home continues the story Fugard began in his 1995 play Valley Song . In Song, a 17-year-old farm girl named Veronica is preparing to leave her grandfather’s home to find fame and fortune as a singer in Cape Town. Veronica’s youthful optimism is symbolic of the hopes of South Africa in the heady days following apartheid. 

Coming Home

Through Nov. 15. $36-$55. Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. 215.546.7824. wilmatheater.org 

In Home, it’s more than a decade later and Veronica (Patrice Johnson) has returned to the small village where she was raised. Her dreams have not only gone unrealized, they’ve become a nightmare. 

Accompanied by her young son (ably portrayed at different ages by Elijah Felder and Antonio J. Dandridge), Veronica finds employment as a maid with the help of her friend Alfred (Nyambi Nyambi). Life is hard, but it’s a vast improvement over her years in Cape Town, which she describes as a place made by the “devil.” There, broke and disillusioned, she contracted HIV and her life quickly unraveled. 

Fugard takes his time in developing the story, yet the play is never slow or dull. Featuring extraordinarily well-crafted characters, we become fully immersed in their lives, thanks in part to strong performances from the excellent cast. Veronica could be little more than the typical courageous woman in a man’s world, but in a searing performance, Johnson unearths not only Veronica’s heart, but also her nearly unbearable sense of guilt. Nyambi is equally good, effectively communicating Alfred’s own disappointments and his devotion to Veronica. 

Director Blanka Zizka isn’t heavy handed in her leadership of this play. She coaxes and caresses the story forward with a marvelously fluid, almost magical production that fully embraces the play’s lyricism. A huge assist is provided by lighting designer Thom Weaver whose expressive lighting is so soft it often appears that the stage is bathed in candlelight. Composer/musician Mogauwane Mahloele adds to the effect with music that is heartbreakingly soulful. 

Unlike the optimistic Valley Song , in Home something has gone horribly wrong in South Africa. President Thabo Mbeki and his government responded to the AIDS epidemic not with medicine (which exists but is absurdly expensive) but rather with the recommendation that those afflicted eat bananas. The result: Nearly a quarter of all South Africans have become stricken with the virus.  

Yet while Fugard recognizes the nation’s profound hardships, the play is far from depressing. Rich in metaphors, hope is embodied in Veronica’s young son Mannetjie. Excited about learning, Mannetjie keeps his “special words” in a tin can that previously contained the seeds for the family crops. In a nation seriously wounded by the ignorance of its leaders, it is education that holds South Africa’s hope for the future. ■

'Dance With Camera' at ICA

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:57:29 PDT

“Dance With Camera” at the Institute of Contemporary Art is a visual and audio delight. The sprawling show in the ICA’s first floor gallery features video and photography about dance—but you won’t catch any Nutcrackers or black swans. Rather, there are head bangers, suited up lawyers and ball players. The show, composed of work by 31 artists and artist groups, demonstrates artists’ long-time fascination with bodies in motion.

For the show—one of three on view—ICA turned the first floor gallery into a black box with the only light sources coming from video monitors and projections. What’s lost in not being able to read wall labels is more than made up for in the heightened drama of being in a darkened space that evokes a theatre.

Several early performance artists are included in the show and their groundbreaking works give historical context to later works. Eleanor Antin’s Caught in the Act from 1973 sets a whimsical tone. A series of black and white photographs features Antin in tutu and toe shoes posing en pointe. Next to the photos is a video that unmasks the artist as a faker. She can stand en pointe but needs to hold on to a stick to do so. She falls repeatedly. The seemingly perfect photos are a sham. The whole project is an exercise in truth-telling. 

“ Dance With Camera ”: Through March 21. Institute for Contemporary Art, 118 S. 36th St. 215.898.7108. icaphila.org 

Three short works by New York artist Oliver Herring are also about truth. Herring, who films ordinary people in his short videos, places his first subject, Nathan, in a cramped hotel room and asks him to pirouette and dance in Nathan (Hotel Room CT) , 2007. The young man in his suit tries gamely—he stands on the swivel chair, strikes a pose and falls. He does the same on the bed. He is sweating hard and his suit is a mess by the end. Herring’s hand-held camera dances around the room, adding to the sense of instability.  

Even more striking are two works with other subjects— Dance 1, 2002 and Joyce and Davis , 2005. Joyce (middle-aged, short and heavy) and Davis (young, tall and athletic) perform a pas de deux mimicking each other’s moves and falling into each others’ arms ala dance legends Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. The deadpan performances are funny and poignant, conveying the beauty of the human body in motion and the impossibility of achieving perfection. 

Ann Carlson and Mary Ellen Strom’s Sloss, Kerr, Rosenberg & Moore, 2007, brings humor to the show with four lawyers in suits and ties performing choreographed fidgeting in an office corridor. The taut, aggressive movements call to mind scenes from The Matrix , only, here, the men look harmless—albeit annoying—and your first impulse is to laugh. 

Many other works stand out including an early Zen minimalist performance, Dance or Exercise on the Perimeter of a Square , 1967-68 by Bruce Nauman and Bruce Connor’s BREAKAWAY (1966), showing performer Antonia Christina Basilotta (better known as Toni Basil of “Oh Mickey, you’re so fine” fame) gyrating in various stages of undress to the strains of her own song, “Breakaway.” Connor’s videos are “widely acknowledged as the forerunners of music video,” according to ICA.  

Most of the videos are short, and you don’t need to be a dance aficionado to appreciate them. Happily, the museum has sprinkled stools around the gallery to make viewing more comfortable.

For more on the Philadelphia art scene go to theartblog.org. 

Dickens on My iPhone

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:24:06 PDT

For a couple years now – ever since I discovered David Copperfield and fully renounced A Tale of Two Cities – I have been trying to convince people that Charles Dickens’ novels aren’t ponderous 19th-century doorstops but hilariously funny contemporary critiques. It usually doesn’t work given that many of his books are the size of 25 Kindles stacked atop each other – not what the modern reader (i.e., commuter) is looking for these days. Even if people believe that Dickens is a fun read, they’re reluctant to get caught up in it: It’s too much of a commitment, and too low-fi.

So I have a recommendation: BBC Audio’s dramatised (Brit spelling, that) version of Dickens’ Little Dorrit. Available on iTunes or at Audible.com, and worth the relatively steep price ($23.95), the adaptation isn’t merely a dry audiobooks experience. Instead, it’s a lively abridged idea of the book, with much of the language and plot intact, but without all that pesky folderol about the miseries of the French prison in Marseilles or the fluffy side plots with which Dickens tantalized serial readers. This Dorrit is all meat, no potatoes. It’s presented as a mystery and a love story. Ian McKellan, at his rumbling best, reads a few paragraphs and then the audio cuts to the scene itself: We hear footsteps on cobblestones, huffing breaths as people climb stairs, crackling fires and Dickens’ even more crackling dialogue, voiced by marvelous British actors, all inhabiting their parts completely. There isn’t a moment that isn’t completely gripping; whether on the trolley, in bed, walking down the street, sitting at restaurants – all my surroundings fell away as I found myself in England, standing on the bridge over the gurgling river, listening in as Little Amy Dorrit and Arthur Clenham stumbled to understand each other. People passed me in mid-century finery; horses clomped by, kicking up dust and dirt. I was utterly there, and when I turned my iPhone off and looked around, the 21st-century world seemed absurd. Where was I again? I was dislocated every time.

The story concerns the generous, sweet, admirable and largely faultless Arthur Clenham, who, upon his father’s death, returns to London from China, where he’s lived for 20 years. In the audio version, his father’s dying words are about a watch inscribed with the initials DNF for “Do Not Forget,” which leads the guilt-prone Arthur to assume his family has done something horrible. He asks his mother about the inscription, but she and her awful servant Flintwinch (shades of Uriah Heep) reject his entreaties and cast him out.

But not before he gets a look at his mother’s seamstress, a girl called simply Little Dorrit. As is typically frustrating with the audio version, it’s assumed that you understand certain facts without being told them, like how old Little Dorrit is. I was thinking 10 when it turned out she was in her 20s. No matter. It all becomes clear soon enough, when Arthur follows her home from work one day to find she lives in the Marshalsea Prison, a debtors’ prison, with her father.

Dickens’ father was imprisoned at Marshalsea, material he mined again and again, though never so directly as in Dorrit. In the book he takes a shot at articulating the horrors of incarceration (partly informed by his visit to Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary). But there is much laughter and merriment in Marshalsea too, and that’s what the audio makes the most of. The scenes in the prison are richly evocative and amusing.

The story proceeds when Arthur becomes obsessed with Little Dorrit’s position in the world and decides he’ll do anything to help her, which leads him on a bizarre journey. Along the way we meet a host of classic Dickensian characters, including the Father of Marshalsea; Uncle Frederick, who says, “yes yes yes” all the time though he has no idea what’s going on; Mr. Tite Barnacle and the other Barnacle family members, who run the government’s Circumlocution Office; kind, oft-heated Mr. Meagles and his beautiful daughter Pet, who’s inconveniently engaged to an artist (gasp!); and the buffoonish, meddling Flora, Arthur’s lover prior to his exile in China. There’s even a Bernard Madoff double, who makes you realize that nothing really new ever happens.

Most of all, we fall in love with dear sweet Little Dorrit, who keeps her family together by sheer force of her good heart. I won’t say more because that would spoil the mystery and the fun, but it’s all very captivating. After I listened to audio -- as compulsively as I once watched episodes of Mad Men and Dexter – I found myself surprised by an unavoidable conclusion: I had to read the book. And though I’m only a little ways into it, I can already see how much richer it is than the BBC’s audio version. Of course.

So who says new technology will be the death of publishing? The audio version led me straight back to print. Although, to be honest, I am reading the book on my iPhone. It just seems less … long.

Malcolm McLaren At PAFA

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:41:54 PDT

Before he became the godfather of punk Malcolm McLaren—former manager of the Sex Pistols—was an art student and a mischief-maker. McLaren’s new video at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts proves he’s still out to make trouble as well as art.

“Shallow 1-21,” a mash-up of ’70s porn imagery and pop love songs, is deeper than it may appear on the surface. With dated visuals that are campy, funny and sad, and dance-beat updates of classics like “Foxy Lady,” “She’s Not There,” “I Want to be Loved By You” and “My Funny Valentine,” the piece could easily be dismissed as simply eye (and ear) candy. But McLaren’s embrace of pop culture is more than that. The 63-year-old artist is also commenting on the lies we love to hear perpetuated by pop culture.

“Shallow 1-21”: Oct. 24 through Jan. 3. Reception: Fri., Oct. 23, 6pm. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Morris Gallery, Broad and Cherry sts. 215.972.7600. pafa.org

PW spoke with McLaren in August when he visited Philadelphia to meet with PAFA curator Julien Robson and see Morris Gallery where “Shallow 1-21” would screen. This was his first trip to Philadelphia. Or so he thought. McLaren admits he could’ve been here with the Sex Pistols, but just doesn’t remember. He’d certainly never been to PAFA, though. He found it to be “adorable.”

“It reminded me of going to museums in the ’60s. It’s anti-corporate, not packaged,” says McLaren—and he knows about aesthetics and packaging. McLaren and then-girlfriend Vivienne Westwood are credited with inventing the ripped-pants-and-safety-pin style of punk.
McLaren is a first-class raconteur. And when he turned on the juice and stared at a place on the wall behind and began telling his tale, it was clear he was channeling another time and place. The words flowed out of him without stopping, a stream of spicy colors, characters and scenes a bit too rich—but totally captivating.

As a young impressionable teenager in London, McLaren had a classical art education, drawing from life and from plaster casts like those in the Academy. He listened to lectures on poetry while surrounded by the art of romantic visionary William Blake. One teacher in particular shaped his future by telling him art was not a career but “the noble pursuit of failure.”

“[The teacher told me] it’s better to be a magnificent failure than a benign success,” McLaren recalls. “That was my ground rule and that changed my life. At 17, you’re vulnerable to this indoctrination. It took me eight years of art school to digest it. It gave you a new perspective,” he said, adding it sparked his “art into action” style of thinking, which resulted in punk rock.

After art school, McLaren had a crisis of confidence, unsure of what to do next. He was depressed and desperate.

Inspired by Elvis, one day he made “a sparkling blue lame jumpsuit and walked the walk on King’s Road” in hopes of getting noticed.
“A man dressed in black crossed my path. He was tall, big, handsome. He spoke like an American. He said, ‘What are you doing around here?’ I was dumbstruck,” recalls McLaren. “He pointed to a tin shack. Inside, the room was painted black and had a mirror ball. A guitar-shaped mirror and ripped blue jeans were on the wall. A free jukebox played ’50s music. It was a rock memorabilia den. I thought, ‘This is marvelous. I want to stay here.’”

The American—who McLaren refers to as “Brad”—asked the young artist if he had “stuff” and offered him a spot to sell his wares. “I ran home and phoned my friends. We brought flea market stuff to the man’s shop and hung around the jukebox.”

Brad disappeared and put McLaren in charge, warning him not to sell any of his things. But McLaren did just the opposite and sold a bunch of Brad’s torn jeans and T-shirts. He later became worried and made replicas by distressing, tearing and dying new items until they looked old and dirty. It was the birth of the punk look.

One of McLaren’s customers was advertising mogul Charles Saatchi. He purchased a Chuck Berry single “Let It Rock” and then came back to buy out “85 percent of the store.”

When McLaren opened his next shop on King’s Road he called it Let It Rock in memory of those early days. He began calling himself “a tradesman in rock and roll.”

A few years later, McLaren expanded and opened a new boutique with a decidedly punk rock twist. “I decided to have a shop that was all about what 13-year-old boys wanted: sex.” McLaren and his associates created sex clothes with one guideline: “everything should fit Vivienne, who had the body of a 13-year-old.” The shop became a hangout for local teenagers and young adults. The Sex Pistols was an outgrowth of that time and McLaren became the band’s manager.

Through all this, McLaren says, he’d accomplished the romantic, artistic goal of achieving success outside traditional capitalism.

Speaking of his new video, McLaren said he was inspired by Mexican artist Stefan Bruggemann who was curating a show at Gallery 1-20 and wanted him in the show. “He [Bruggemann] said, ‘The title of my show is shallow.’ The way he said it almost frightened me. It’s a word used to describe pop culture and pop rock. I’ve been called shallow,” says McLaren.

“I rarely look at video art. I’m not interested. It bores me,” he explains. He sees his own video vignettes in “Shallow 1-21” as “magical portraits” or “musical paintings,” something more like an updated William Blake, who “is all about sex and death in the most symbolic manner.”

Cabinet of Wonders

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:41:54 PDT

Gas & Electric Arts opens their fourth season with an absorbing production of Kira Obolensky’s bold family drama Cabinet of Wonders, An Impossible History .

The first play commissioned by the enterprising G&E, Wonders is a bizarre but fascinating exploration of what defines a family. Under Lisa Jo Epstein’s imaginative direction the show uses inanimate objects, bodies, movement and sound to immerse audiences in a world both strange and oddly familiar. 

Although the scenario bears a passing resemblance to Arthur Miller’s The Price , Obolensky takes a unique approach to the subject of family. Described as a “physical object theatre piece” the play combines storytelling and installation art to show a familial history composed of equal parts reality and fiction.

Wonders focuses on Leopold (Ross Beschler) and Christina (Catherine K. Slusar). They appear to be brother and sister, but like everything else about the family, their precise relationship is uncertain. Evicted from the family home, they can only take what they can carry. Deciding what to save among the family heirlooms stuffed into a variety of cabinets is no small task, and they argue. Christina (who says one cabinet contains “maps to show me where I was”) wants to take “things that will help us remember.” Leopold argues they should only bring “things that we can use.” 

It would be unfair to reveal how the pair resolves the difference, but as the play develops, the family’s mysterious history captures our attention. We learn the clan had an entertainment act. The father was a knife thrower and the kids performed a song and dance. Beyond that, nothing is certain. 

It doesn’t help that Christina is reluctant to reveal information. She won’t even tell us her name. Instead she calls herself “the opener.” “I open what deserves to be open,” she explains. 

Leopold calls Christina by another name: “castration queen.” Regardless of the unflattering title the two seem dedicated to each other if for no other reason than that they have nowhere else to turn. 

Instead of a defined playing area,  Epstein uses the play’s hybrid form to expand the action into every corner of the cavernous underground space. Lighting designer James Clotfelter makes great use of the objects that clutter the area giving the production a visual signature that is both distinct and effectively dreamlike.  

Obolensky’s script is in sore need of some judicious edits and even at a mere 90 minutes the play has moments of tedium. Slusar brings some clarity to the proceedings with her thoughtful portrayal of the enigmatic Christina, but Beschler (who gave a terrific performance last season in Lantern Theater Company’s The Lonesome West ) is a disappointment and his overly eccentric depiction of Leopold lacks dimension.  

Nevertheless Obolensky’s play and Epstein’s production are so artistically audacious we can forgive the faults. Daring and unpredictable, Wonders doesn’t always achieve its goals, but its originality more than compensates for its occasional lapses. ■

Cabinet of Wonders, An Impossible History 

Through Oct. 24. $22-$25. Underground  Arts at the Wolf, 340 N. 12th St. 215.407.0556. gasandelectricarts.org

The Calendar: October 21 - October 27

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:43:09 PDT

Wednesday October 21

Dracula: The Undead
All y’all vampires out there with your dripping eyeliner and black ruffles, didja ever actually try to read Bram Stoker’s novel? Who could blame you for not? It’s a pretty tiresome slog, actually. Victorian melodrama isn’t know for pithy brevity. F.W. Murnau did Stoker a favor when he plagiarized the story in 1922, boiling it down to 90 minutes to make Nosferatu. But the great-grandnephew of Stoker is at the Rosenbach Library to read from his new sequel to Uncle Bram’s one-hit wonder. Dracula: The Undead picks up and punches up where the original 1897 novel left off. It opens with Dr. Seward, still reeling from watching his object d’amour Lucy turn into a vampire years before, coming out of a morphine nod. Thusly Goths go. The Rosenbach houses many of Stoker’s original manuscripts in their archive, so Dacre Stoker should feel right at home. Peter Crimmins
6pm. $tk. Rosenbach Museum and Library, 2008 Delancey St. 215.732.1600. rosenbach.org

AC/DC
Awrite ye Philly fecks! Brian Johnson haur frae th’ unstoppable AC/DC. Yeah, we’re auld an’ wrinkly, an’ Malcolm looks loch feckin’ Gollum, an’ Angus still wears ’at riddy feckin’ schoolboy ootfit. But in case ye didne notice, uir lest album, Black Ice, sauld abit 10 trillion copies. At feckin’ Wal-Mart, nae less! We’re still lood, we still sin’ abit a poger, an’ we still rip th’ feckin’ roof aff onie place we play! Hells feckin’ bells, ya fanny! Dornt loch it? ’En gie th’ feck ootta haur, ye bawbag! Michael Alan Goldberg
8pm. $92.50. Wachovia Center, 3601 S. Broad St. 800.298.4200. livenation.com

Thursday October 22

Pumpkin Fest
The Devil’s Den is doing more for the popularity of the humble pumpkin than Linus van Pelt. They’re tapping a variety of pumpkin beers, including the Autumn Maple from SoCal’s Bruery Brewery, a “bold and spicy” 10% abv leg buckler fermented using a traditional Belgian yeast strain and brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, molasses, and maple syrup along with 17 pounds of yams. They’ll also be pouring Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale from Southern Tier straight outta Lakewood, New York. Brewed in the “pagan spirit,” this zesty, amber brew is an ode to a creature from Celtic folklore that, much like the Great Pumpkin, would appear to lonely travelers who were up well past their bedtime (knock back too many of both of these high gravity brews and you’ll be blabbering on about pumpkin spirits, too). There will also be a pumpkin decorating contest so bring along your best jack o’ lantern and an appetite for the kitchen’s food specials featuring fall’s ubiquitous squash. Tim Mcginnis
7pm. Devil’s Den, 1148 S. 11th St. 215.339.0855. devilsden.com

Mum
Icelandic septet Mum broke through in 2002 with Finally We Are No One, an album that earned comparisons to Bjork and Sigur Ros (although, doesn’t every Icelandic indie band get that?) for its stately, sometimes playful mix of glitchtronica, girlish vocals, and indie-pop. Though traditional instrumentation like piano and strings, and the occasional presence of toy instruments, has always been present to provide warmth to Mum’s quirky creations, new album Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know has a far more organic sound than anything they’ve done previously. It jettisons virtually all the electronics for a more indie-folk feel that remains charming and bright as always, even if it was written with Iceland’s recent economic/political meltdown in mind. M.A.G.
8pm. $15-$18. With Sin Fang Bous. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele
The crooner-gone-to-seed thing has been done before, but few comers have shown as much loving attention to the necessary details as Mississippi singer/strummer Dent May. The man’s gently whimsical lyrics and easy way with a ukulele were enough to get him and band signed to Animal Collective’s Paw Tracks label for last February’s The Good Feeling Music Of. Over horns, pedal steel, and barbershop harmonies, May sings about Paris, the delicate nature of dance parties, and college grads languishing in townie bars. As the album winds down, he turns inward for “I’m An Alcoholic,” a deadpan lament culminating in the declaration “I’m over being sober.” Doug Wallen
Thurs., Oct. 22, 8pm. $8. With Tickley Feather + Steve Goldberg. Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 N. Front St. 215.291.4945. kungfunecktie.com

Friday October 23

Splatter House
Break out the corn syrup. It’s blood-makin’ time! A mixture of bass-heavy white label music and gory costumes, Splatter House—inspired by the parties thrown by Club Kids co-founder and, um, convicted murderer Michael Alig—is a post-apocalyptic danceathon with one big requirement: All attendees must be covered in fake blood. (Organizers suggest wearing white for the best blood-to-clothing contrast.) This BYO blood fest is designed to get beat phreaks hyped up and on the gory grind. Expect more than 10 DJs and MCs to steer the movement and the mix—including performances by large scale Drum & Bass trio Evol Intent, Philly’s own DJ Jeff Heart and DJ/promoter Mighty Mike Saga. Free beer and two rooms of bumping tunes, ranging from smooth, feel-good house tracks to thrashing industrial goth-tech will keep the party going well past last call. Naima H. Abdi
8pm-3am, $18. 941 Theater, 941 N. Front St. 215.235.1385. 941theater.com

Hall & Oates
The last time Hall & Oates headlined the Spectrum it was 1988: Oates still had the mustache, Hall still had the poofy hair, and the duo was coming off their last real smash album, Ooh Yeah! Soon after, the hits stopped coming and only the diehards were buying H&O albums and going to shows. But eventually came “Yacht Rock,” well-deserved admiration from a whole new generation of fans (both ironic and sincere), and career revitalization. Now the pair returns to the Spectrum to say farewell to the soon-to-be-demolished venue. No Oates mustache, no big hair, but singing voices well intact and a ton of memorable hits to play. M.A.G.
8pm. Sold out. With the Hooters + Todd Rundgren. Wachovia Spectrum, 3601 S. Broad St. 215.336.3600. livenation.com

Rain Machine
Rain Machine is the solo side project of guitarist/ vocalist Kyp Malone, a.k.a. the hugely bearded black dude from esteemed Brooklyn art-rock band TV on the Radio. It’s also a lot more experimental a pursuit than his day job. While there’s still TVotR-style noise-rock, dance-punk, indie-rock, and art-pop on Rain Machine’s just-released self-titled debut, those ideas get stretched out, twisted, and otherwise screwed with until they become kind of unhinged, with bluegrass, folk, ambient, and Arabian textures seeping in as well. But it remains quite appealing and occasionally even locates a groove. In other words, don’t expect Dear Science, but don’t expect Metal Machine Music, either. M.A.G.
9pm. $12. With Sharon Van Etten. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. johnnybrendas.com

Saturday October 24

Exhumed 24-hour Horror-Thon
Dementia set in sometime around 4 a.m., during Ulli Lommell’s crap hackjob The Boogeyman, some 15 hours into last year’s edition of Exhumed Films’ 24-Hour Horror-Thon. But it wasn’t until 7 a.m.—right after the classic early-special effects-fest Equinox but before the giant rodent howler that was 1976’s The Food of the Gods—that I finally passed out. Or thought I did. In fact, I thought I had dreamt Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, which does, in fact, feature little else but Dennis Hopper and actors even hammier than he encouraged to go well past 11. A few tickets remain for the third go of the Hallow’s Eve endurance test, which offers a wide spectrum of the genre and beyond, with ’80s staples mixed with ’70s obscurities, Godzilla vehicles and old-timey classics. Best of all: the schedule is secret, leaving you surprised when you realize you get to spend the next 90 minutes with, say, Phantasm 2. Matt Prigge
Noon. $24. International House, 3701 Chestnut St. 215.387.5125. exhumedfilms.com

Thrill the World
If zombies have taught us anything over the last few years it’s that you don’t need a pulse to excel at event planning. These days nobody really bats an eye at gross assemblages of the undead dragging their limbs though parks and playgrounds. Zombie flash mobs are only a Tweet and a few gobs of pancake makeup away. But each year zombies do something special, gathering for a moldering teddy bears’ picnic in locations around the globe for the world’s largest simultaneous “Thriller” dance. Sponsored by Thrill the World and the arts education organization BuildaBridge, a harrowing host of decaying dancers hope to shatter the world record for a fourth time. Dancers of all ages and levels of decomposition are invited to celebrate the eternal legacy of Michael Jackson, werecats and greasy red (p)leather. “For no mere mortal can resist the evil of the Thriller!” Paul F. Montgomery
8:30pm. Free. Piazza at Schmidts, Second St. and Germantown Ave. 215.895.6220. thrilltheworld.com

Spinal Tapas
If you ask anyone in the know, it was only a matter of time before PW foodie scribe Tim McGinnis and music editor Brian McManus started mingling sauces outside the office. Sure enough, after focusing on food for awhile McGinnis, food instructor at Milton Hershey School, began writing up rock shows and McManus has a not-so-secret foodie past as a chef in Houston. Ever slowly, page inch by page inch, the two dudes got the idea to collaborate with Adam Erace on a mission to find Philly’s top 50 most urgent must-eat nibbles. The list, lauded for presenting some overlooked gems alongside the more obvious must-eats, ranges from highfalutin’ duck confit montadito with black cherries and ceviche to waffle fries and apple cider. After months of prep, McManus and McGinnis are ready to present the first-ever event inspired by a PW cover story and offer a menu—9 courses plus drinks from Yard’s brew for $90—with coolness and value only people toiling in dying industries can know. Tara Murtha
7pm. $90. Philly Kitchen Share, 1514 South St. 267.808.0729. phillykitchenshare.com

Light the Night
This world would be a better place if everyone were more like Tina Fey. When she isn’t busy breaking down gender barriers or just being awesome, she’s leading the fight to cure blood cancers. As the 2009 spokesperson for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s annual fundraising event, Ms. Fey would like to you to spend one night this year not being such a lazy inconsiderate bastard. Walk a few blocks, fill up on free refreshments, and maybe even score yourself a snazzy illuminating balloon. If not for the millions of Americans battling cancer, then do it for Tina. And who knows, perhaps the Upper Darby native will be making an appearance. Note: this is in no way a guarantee. You might just have to settle for the balloon. Nicole Finkbiner
6:30pm. Free. FDR Park, 2000 Pattison Ave. 610.238.0360. lightthenight.org

Voluptuous CyberSkin Love Toy
If I were the King of Norway, my first official acts would be 1. Replace Norwegian ambassador to the UN with the dude from Burzum. 2. Take Obama’s Nobel Prize back and give it to April Flores. The BBW erotic film star’s accomplishment? This year she released “Voluptuous CyberSkin Love Toy,” the world’s first realistic plus-size sex toy (3. Send one to Bill Clinton). Artists used plaster molds of a vagina as their canvas and decked out 20 coochies with everything from cartoon bears to religious iconography (in the new Norway, these are one and the same). If that doesn’t satiate the curve pervs, there will also be screenings of Flores’ films Voluptuous Biker Babes and Kiss Attack, a sex toy raffle benefiting the William Way Community Center, live music by Clamfight and Bitchslicer and an open bar. Matt Soniak
Sat., Oct. 24, 7:30pm. Free. Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St. 215.925.9914. paintedbride.org.

Sunday October 25

Sissy Wish
Long tipped as a breakout Scandinavian star in the mould of Lykke Li, Norway’s Siri Wålberg—a.k.a. Sissy Wish—saw her Pitchfork-loved third album Beauties Never Die released Stateside last month. It’s warm and fuzzy throughout, all rudimentary synth stylings, goading guitar lines, and plucky beats. That makes for one ticklish fusion of mainstream pop, indie rock, and dance music, and Wålberg has a strangely appealing vocal delivery that hovers between geeky and sexy. Fans of the Concretes and Peter Bjorn & John will fall for her like dominos, of course, but there just might be something there for the rest of us as well. D.W.
9pm. $5. With Abstract Truth. Blockley Pourhouse, 38th and Ludlow sts. 215.222.1234. theblockley.com

Schooly D
Old-school rappers who end up in the movie business are common these days. But local legend Schoolly D is not just another washed-up O.G. who turned to the film business once his album sales declined. The rapper-turned-other-industry star broke into the film scene using nothing but his musical skills. Working with director Abel Ferrara, he has penned soundtracks and composed the scores for movies such as The Addiction and King of New York. With decades’ worth of experience in both businesses under his belt, Schoolly D returns to his hometown to relay the tricks of the trade to industry hopefuls at Filmtech. The school for independent film and video production hosts him at the next Filmmakers Salon, a monthly networking event for filmmakers, screenwriters, actors and members of the local film community . But fear not, non-filmmakers—all are invited and encouraged to attend. Sherri Hospedales
Sun., Oct. 25, 7pm. Free. Filmtech, 2019 S. Juniper St. 215.313.0123.filmtechschool.com

Monday October 26

Ruth Reichl
By now food porn lovers have started to digest the news that beloved culinary mag Gourmet is the latest victim of the 2009 mediapocalypse. Pay your respects to ex-Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl while she gets wined and dined by local chef Mitch Prensky, who is preparing his version of classic recipes found in the Gourmet Now cookbook. Reichl will dish about her 10 years at the magazine as well as her work as a restaurant critic for the New York and Los Angeles Times. Scheduled way before Conde Nast dropped the axe, the event is a “first taste” of this year’s First Person Arts Festival and associated artists will be seated at each dining table to spill the beans on this year’s programming. Reserveration are required, but don’t let that stop you from extending your condolences. Erica Palan
6pm. $100-$125. Supper, 926 South St. firstpersonarts.org

Tuesday October 27

Birdie Busch CD Release Show
Philadelphia’s Birdie Busch has been perched on a wire for the last few years. While the clean, stunningly gorgeous lines of 2006’s The Ways We Try and the more layered, glistening rock of 2007’s Penny Arcade earned the Bird critical accolades from places like Village Voice and No Depression, somehow, in a twist only possible in the current crumbling music industry, the girl still has to bust a tail-feather to get a record made. And hustle she does: new album Pattern of Saturn was recorded over the last year in converted basements and bedrooms and even a hijacked high school auditorium. Inspired by how fingers can roam and kick notes while staying on course inside blues’ progressions, Birdie weaves bluesy aural threads through songs to give the record a feel that’s both tidy and galactic. Makes sense coming from a band that was able to dust off an old Steve Miller tune and glaze it into listenable paisley pop. Tara Murtha
7:30pm. $10. First Unitarian Church Chapel, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

Pearl Jam
They may be the last band to play before the Spectrum is torn down, but Eddie Vedder has already paid his respects. Back in 2003, in fan-favorite “Do the Evolution,” amid a lengthy exaltation of performing in the same building where Julius Erving made so many memories, he heralded the building’s angels: “I’m a thief/ And I’m a liar/ Dr. J played here/ Let’s sing in the choir/ Alleluia!” Three of the four nights are way sold out (the last chords—10 bucks says they close with “Yellow Ledbetter”—ring on Halloween eve), but as of press time, a few tickets remain for this Tuesday show. Come with your last respects. Jeffrey Barg
7:30pm. $77. With Social Distortion. Wachovia Spectrum, 3601 S. Broad St. 215.336.3600. livenation.com

Love on the El

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:18:05 PDT

By now most West Philadelphians and many residents of different neighborhoods—and cities—have seen Steve Powers’ walls of love on the El line.

Powers grew up Philadelphia, applying his ESPO (Exterior Surface Painting Outreach) tag to walls around the coity

His Love Letter series of murals calls for a revival of the lost art of sign painting. It’s pretty easy to mix up the murals with other signs on buildings along the EL—many of which remain from generations ago. Written like a series of love notes between sweet-hearts, they’re also love notes to the city, in a neighborhood that especially needs it. These days the west end of the Market-Frankford line is looking pretty good, but for a few years the construction of various El stations blocked off traffic on Market Street, creating devastating effects for businesses between 46th and 63rd Streets.

Along with the murals — more than 40, with more in the works-- the project has included a significant community element. As a Mural Arts Program project, Steve Powers and his team of artists have held community meetings to gather neighbors’ ideas and reactions. They set up shop on the corner of 46th and Market Streets, in a building that used to be a Cash Checking store. Inside the shop, Powers and other artists lead sign-painting workshops for local youth. They also well as painting signs, free of charge, for businesses along the El corridor.

Of all the people who see and have seen the murals, there is a group of people who see them every day. In fact, it’s a part of their job. For a group of SEPTA operators on the El, Mr. Powers’ project has given them something new to enjoy.

The First Day of School

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:26:56 PDT

If you want to see a one-joke play padded to 90 minutes, Billy Aronson’s The First Day of School is a perfect example. The opening show of 1812 Productions’ 2009-10 season, School concerns David (Pete Pryor, who also directs the world premiere production) and Susan (Karen Peakes). Having just dropped their kids off to the first day of school, the couple recruits other parents to have sex with.

Their direct approach surprises their fellow PTA members, but in short order Peter (Chris Faith), Alice (Jennifer Childs), and Kim (Susan Riley Stevens) sign on for a day of fun and games while their children learn the ABCs. The play starts pleasantly enough, but with an absence of both ideas (except one borrowed from the play Same Time, Next Year) and plot, School quickly runs out of steam.

Pryor mounts Aronson’s play with 1812’s usual precision and polish, and the performances are all stellar. Rarely, however, has so much talent been wasted on such an unworthy enterprise. School might work as a very short story, but as theater it’s a major disappointment.

Through Oct. 25. $20-$35. Plays and Players Theater, 1714 Delancey St. 215.592.9560. 1812Productions.org

Doug Stanhope is Still Dangerous

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:43:09 PDT

For 20 long years comedian Doug Stanhope has poked a (middle) finger in the eye of all things sacred. He’s the rightful heir to Bill Hick’s throne, and he brings his surly, controversial act to the Trocadero this Saturday. PW caught up with Stanhope while he was in the Tucson, Arizona, airport waiting to get his tour started, where we talked Dane Cook, the creative drain associated with creating a TV show, and how YouTube is killing stand-up comedy.

Twenty years is a long time to do anything, let alone stand-up. Do you ever feel like you’re running out of things to joke about?

It does feel like I’ve covered everything in some fashion before—there are so many things in the news that might have gone by another name or happened in a different place from before, but it seems like you’ve already gone over it. I had new jokes for something recently in the news, forget what, but the other day I was going through an old notebook and saw that I’d written it years ago about something else. I wrote this same bit six years ago. I’m stealing from myself. It just makes it more difficult to write. You have to really think a lot more. It’s the only business that gets harder the longer you’ve done it.

What pushed you to get on stage 20 years ago?

It was something that I had a root talent for. And I wanted attention. If you’re an ape you push people around in a bar. If you’re funny, you make jokes. That was your plumage to get laid. I think that’s the root motivation for every human action – “How am I gonna get pussy?” Well, I’m kinda funny, let’s exploit that.

For the last few years you’ve been doing comedy in non-traditional venues for stand-up. Not comedy clubs, but rock clubs, barrooms and the like. Any reason why?

It’s more of where I belong. It’s where I started doing comedy—one-nighters in barrooms in shithole towns where that was considered their comedy club, where every Tuesday some guy from Spokane will come in and tell dick jokes. Comedy clubs always felt like movie theaters. People come in and they sit there and they know they’re gonna be there for 90 minutes. They listen and they leave. Barrooms have a sense of chaos where you’re talking to people who were sitting at the bar before you showed and they’ll be sitting at the bar after you leave. It just has more adrenalin to it, more of a feeling of anything can happen.

Is it riskier not having that built-in comedy crowd that’s marketed to and just out for a night of yuks?

I have my fanbase now, but when I first started doing this there was risk financially, not knowing if people were gonna show up. But after experimenting through it we know we’re gonna do better at a rock n’ roll club. The risk I don’t have any more is a group of bachelorettes coming in thinking all comedy’s the same, like they’re at a comedy club where they treat it like it’s an adult Chuck E Cheese for all occasions, and they come in for an anniversary or a company Christmas party and they’re being barraged with fist-fuck rape jokes

There are times I really miss that though. It does get dull preaching to the choir. I think I’m gonna start working a few more comedy clubs just for fun and so my audience doesn’t get too incestuous. Bring in some fresh meat from the comedy clubs and bring a few dark ones out of the improv mailing list.

What advice would you give to new comedians that are starting out?

The best advice I ever got was “Never give anyone advice because all you’re doing is telling them how to be like you.” And it’s absolutely true. I would’ve told Dane Cook to quit and go sell shoes because he’s not funny. Had we met at an open mic ten years ago I would’ve told him to hang it up.

Does it make a guy like you—in the trenches for years and years, always inventing new stuff—bitter to see a guy like Dane Cook achieve the massive success he has?

The bitterness goes far beyond Dane Cook. It’s the same bitterness you have when you see Celebrity Dancers or whatever the fucking show is. It’s bitterness against humanity, and their shitty tastes in general. How does that show—“Am I so alone on this planet? People like this! They laugh at this and they fucking watch this and they believe in this?” So yeah, Dane Cook is just the tip of the iceberg. But he’s the just the easy reference of latest flavor.

Around Emmy time Newsweek did a roundtable discussion with comedy writers and performers. One of them was Sarah Silverman, and she talked about her standup career, and how now, in clubs, when she does bits, even if they’re not fully fleshed out, they always end up on YouTube and how very annoying that is. I wonder if you’ve experienced the same sort of thing where you’ve just sort of scribbled some notes down on paper, decided to try to figure out what’s funny about it, and see it end up on the Web not fully formed.

Oh, absolutely, YouTube could really fucking ruin standup comedy. It really could. Just in the fact that, it’s not like music, comedy’s only funny once. A good comic will take a year to put out a new CD or DVD to get a full hour. And that’s if you’re working hard. And if at every show there’s some douchebag with a cell-phone camera putting shit on YouTube—I’ll have people in Baltimore yelling out jokes I did in DC the night before. It could be brand new jokes. Videos on YouTube, for comedy, it’s like they’re giving away the ending of the movie. If you go see a band, Green Day, and you record them on your phone, it’ll be shitty quality and the sound will be shitty. But you can do that with Green Day because people just want to hear the songs. You hear the joke when it sounds like shit and it looks like shit, and now you’ve already heard the joke. It doesn’t come across the same way as it would live, but you already know how the joke goes so it doesn’t entice you to see the person.

I probably have 15 minutes of material to use for fucking people with cell phones filming me trying to find a way to get them to fucking stop. You’re here! Put the fucking phone down and experience it. “I like a live performance, but I think I’d prefer it later on on a laptop all grainy.” It’s hurt my comedy—the privacy of it. You’re in a dark room with drunk people. I can tell you anything, I used to fucking be able to say anything on stage. If I went out and fucked a whore last night because my wife’s* not on the road with me and I was coked up, I’d tell you about it. All of that shit. And now, every show there’s a prison snitch with a cell phone camera filming you. Say I was doing Ecstasy with my buddy Billy last night. Well, if I’m in whatever Pine Top Nowhere and people know Billy is my friend and he’s a fireman and they know we were hanging out that night—you’re ratting someone else out. I can’t tell you about my sister’s girlfriend who’s a bitch. You’ll put it on YouTube and my sister’s girlfriend will find it.

And another way that cell phone cameras just destroy the atmosphere is it’s live and it’s in the moment and it’s temporary. When people are fucking recording it … immediately you just see these fucking tourists of life, you know, you’re here fucking live man and you’re staring at me through a lens on a cell phone.

Let’s talk about the Man Show. I saw you years ago when it was just canceled or you knew it was going to be canceled, and you seemed to regret the decision to host it.

It’s not that I regretted it. It just definitely put all the clichés you hear about television into crystal clear perspective for me about how much networks fuck up comedy. You have a funny idea, and you say “OK, this is funny enough and we can do it and here’s our idea.” And then the writers’ room passes it around, adds some things, takes some things away, and they send it to the executive producer. He scratches a little bit off and sends it to the network. Comedy Central people scratch a little bit off and then the censors get a hold of it. It’s like if you had a painting, and you say “This is a really nice painting. I painted it. Here it is.” And then every single person associated with the painting had to sign it—the person who made the canvas, the delivery service who shipped the canvas, everyone who was involved with making the paint. Get far enough along and you can’t even see the painting anymore. Everyone’s fucked with it. And the lawyers fucked up more than censors. “Oh we can’t do that, we could get sued.”

Standup comedy really spoils you as far as being lazy, and being… I hate to say being an artist, because that sounds so pretentious. But, really, I work an hour, I have some cocktails, I tell people to go fuck themselves, and I do anything I want the way I want to do it. I can do it in a different city every night and I can change it and there’s no one there to say anything or change anything. The only thing I have to worry about is whether or not people laugh.

Who are some of your favorite comedians, past and present?

[Mitch] Hedberg, of course. [Dave] Attell’s always been one of the best joke-writers of my generation, all around. Louis CK’s probably the best working right now.

You mention Mitch Hedberg—you’ve been very up front in your act about drug use. When he passed [of an overdose] did it give you pause?

It definitely made everyone think. But it didn’t make anybody change. It made me even more aware of my moratlity, even at this age, y’know? It’s starting to become that time when friends are gonna start dying. But my drug use has never bordered on abuse at any point. I’ve always been very… all the talk I do about drugs, I try to qualify it with the fact that … if I have any problems at all it’s with nicotine and alcohol. I’ve always been a good social, recreational drug user. A couple times a month I’ll just do a bump before I go on stage, but have no desire to do it afterwards.

You just got back from a huge European tour. What’s the difference between American audiences and Euro audiences?

They’re smarter in Europe. They’re more polite, and you have to try harder. It’s harder to just let loose and talk because you, consciously, you get four minutes into a rant and realize the payoff has nothing to do with them and they’re not going to get the reference and this is completely America-centric and you think “Ah fuck, this is gonna go nowhere.” I have to prepare a lot more [for European audiences], and I really hate being stuck to a set list.

You just got heckled quite a bit at the Leeds Festival, yeah? What’s it like to be shouted at by that many people?

Oh, yeah, I’ve had enough bad shows in my career now where a small switch just snaps and I go into Fuck you, I don’t care, mode. It was just a really stupid booking. A lot of [the Leeds’ audience] is 17-year-old kids. As soon as they hear your accent they fucking hate you. And I don’t’ have an act that’s direct and to the point all the time. I may meander. And when you’ve got 25,000 kids who’ve been sleeping in mud puddles for three days, they don’t have the attention span. Once a handful of them don’t like you it’s over because you get three people shouting “Get off! You suck!” and it just spreads like a virus. Once you start fuckin’ trading blows with those people verbally that’s all people want.

That’s the thing about engaging hecklers—you slam them, the crowd goes berserk, and it becomes all they want to see. They don’t want to hear the Cheesecake Factory joke you just wrote. They want you to fuckin’ tear people apart.

There are thousands of YouTube vids of comics just eviscerating hecklers, destroying them.

Yeah. Or comics getting destroyed. Or fucking skateboarders getting destroyed. Anything getting destroyed or humiliated, it’s all there. YouTube is just an endless source of schadenfreude, and I don’t know what it’s going to do to this generation that’s never known a world without it. I hope it tenders them up.

Sat., Oct 17, 8pm. $23. 21 +. Trocadero, 1003 Arch St. 215.922.LIVE. thetroc.com

*Stanhope isn’t married. “I used ‘my wife’ by way of example.”

Haunted Poe

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:28:04 PDT

In its strikingly original production Haunted Poe, Brat Productions gives audiences the opportunity to get up close and personal with one of Philly’s most famous men of letters.

A textbook example of theater as a collaborative art, the show emerges from an original concept by Brat artistic director Michael Alltop, and a storyline provided by Madi Distefano (who also directs) with a huge assist from dramaturg Greg Giovanni and literary consultant  Edward Pettit. 

Haunted Poe 

Through Nov. 1. $15-$25. 38 Jackson St. 800.838.3006. hauntedpoe.com

Alternately whimsical, surreal, frightening and even musical, Poe takes place in a 10,000-square foot warehouse that has been magically transformed into a spooky labyrinth of hallways and chambers. 

Traveling in a small group, visitors first encounter a gruesomely amusing puppet show focusing on Poe’s life, including his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin Virginia. The pleasant tone abruptly changes as we move into the “Cellar,” where we encounter the notorious Black Cat Husband (the terrific Bruce Graham). Once a peaceful man, the husband’s drinking (Poe was also prone to alcoholic binges) has caused him to turn cruelly violent. After hanging the family cat from a tree, he murders his wife and buries her corpse behind a cellar wall. Graham portrays the husband’s demented state with eerie effectiveness and the scene’s final image is startling.

The frightening scene in the “Cellar” is a harbinger of the macabre tales and visions that follow. We meet a partying Prince Prospero (Matt Lorenz) from Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death , a cruel ruler who’s ensconced himself in a world of artifice and illusion in a vain attempt to escape a deadly plague. Other highlights include the ghost of Poe (Nate Holt) ranting in a cluttered library, a graveyard operetta performed by a group of rotting female corpses, and a doomed train ride that hurtles towards death’s door. 

However, as scary as the chambers and its occupants are, the hallways are the show’s creepiest feature. Even traveling in a small group one feels isolated and vulnerable, and as you tentatively make your way down the narrow, darkened corridors you nervously gulp in anticipation of the horrors that lurk ahead.  

Directed with considerable flair by Distefano, Poe has a punk rock sensibility: raw, visceral and roughly poetic. The actors (who at times are only inches away) perform well in the close quarters (Kim Carson is especially entertaining as the bewitching Morella). 

However Poe ’s real stars are scenic designer Brad Helm, lighting designer John Hoey, sound designer Michael Kiley and Alisa Sickora Kleckner, who is responsible for designing the show’s costumes, masks, puppets, wigs and extraordinary make-up. Together they’ve created a marvelously detailed world that brings Poe’s stories to life in terrifying splendor. ■

"Dia de los Muertos" at Proximity Gallery

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:28:04 PDT

“Dia de los Muertos” at Proximity Gallery is one of those rare art world animals—a show without conceptual bullying or delusions of grandeur. Instead, the exhibit of 43 works by members of illustrators’ collective the Autumn Society is a parade of optical pleasures and a celebration of skeletons and Day of the Dead mythology.

The works are surprisingly diverse and, in some cases, very loving.

“ Dia De Los Muertos ” Proximity Gallery, 2434 E. Dauphin St. 267.825.2949. proximityart.com

Many of the more idiosyncratic pieces are homages to dead relatives, tributes to long lost cultures or heartfelt meditations on death. The fashionista in Drew Falchetta’s watercolor, La Catrina , for example, evokes a skeleton diva—stylish hair, makeup, feather boa and hat. But the image is so individualized it suggests not a generic “type” of person but perhaps a specific individual known by the artist.  

Jay Bevenour also created a touching memorial with his La Colaboracion , a red-tinted ink and digital drawing commemorating his mentor and uncle. The piece is a self-portrait showing the artist at work, his hand guided by the hand of a large decorated skeleton who leans over his shoulder, a lit cigarette dangling from his free hand. The artist concentrates on his work but Uncle Mike looks directly at the viewer. The piece reverberates since we all imagine a once-loved and now-gone relative or friend hovering nearby. 

Another stand-out piece is Jeff  Kilpatrick’s ink, marker and pencil creation Proximidad De Usted which shows two lovers embracing near a Mexican church. Their robust bodies and fashionable clothes and the woman’s cascading black hair are great foils for the lovers’ dead white skulls and the woman’s bony arms, which embrace her man. It’s a highly romantic image, inspired by the 1938 Hoagy Carmichael song “Nearness of You.” 

The most surprising image in the show is Jude Buffum’s giclee print on canvas, Juego Terminado , a pixillated and psychedelic skull as a video “game over” screen. The comment on video games that focus on killing but never envision an afterlife is wry and unexpected. 

Finally, El Toro’s piece—a fine-line drawing burned into a wood panel showing a sugar-skull monster whose torso is a cracked Liberty Bell—stands out for its materials and funny Philadelphia reference and at $150, it’s the steal of the show. ■

For more on the Philadelphia art scene go to theartblog.org

The Calendar: October 14 - October 20

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:00:13 PDT

Wednesday Oct 14

Where The Wild Things Are:Hands-on Tour
And now, let the wild rumpus start! To celebrate the release of the Where the Wild Things Are movie next month, the Rosenbach Museum & Library—which author Maurice Sendak personally chose as the permanent home of his original artwork—is hosting a wealth of Sendak-themed events and exhibitions now through October. Among them is the Wild Things Hands-On Tour, where visitors will get to read early drafts of the story from Sendak’s notebooks (including a hand-written copy of the story in its earliest form) and handle original drawings of the Wild Things. You’ll also get to look through some Sendak family photos, and if that doesn’t sound like much fun, you have remember that it was Sendak’s aunts and uncles who inspired the Wild Things, and its their namesakes that roared their terrible roars, gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws and made us fall in love with them. Matt Soniak
3pm. $10. Rosenbach Museum and Library, 2008-2010 Delancey Place. 215.732.1600. rosenbach.org

Om + Six Organs of Admittance
Heavy comes in many forms, two of which will command your senses this evening. There’s the psych/doom-metal duo Om—featuring
ex-Sleep frontman Al Cisneros on bass and vocals, and Emil Amos (of Grails) on drums—which doesn’t exactly bash you over the head but lumbers ominously, creating dirgey, trance-like soundscapes with their thick rumble and monastic vocals. And there’s Six Organs of Admittance—the solo moniker of accomplished guitarist and vocalist Ben Chasny—whose Fahey-influenced acoustic drone-folk is lovely but can lead you to some fairly shadowy places, where dreams turn to nightmares and the weight of the moment is palpable.
Michael Alan Goldberg
9pm. $12. With Lichens. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. johnnybrendas.com

MacHomer
It’s the Bard meets the Bart. While fans have seen many incarnations of The Simpsons over the years, (3-D Homer, anyone?) everyone’s favorite yellow brood is getting yet another makeover—this time, a Shakespearean one. Performer Rick Miller uncannily imitates over 50 of the series’ most memorable characters in the one-man show, MacHomer, which retells the story of MacBeth. Miller channels Springfield’s finest to take over the roles of all the characters including Marge as Lady MacBeth, Mr. Burns as Duncan King of Scotland, and Homer as the title character. Well, sort of. That is, if MacBeth liked jelly donuts, worked in a nuclear power plant and once had a crayon embedded in his brain. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself quoting “Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble,” in the voices of Patty and Selma afterwards. D’oh-eth! Aly Semigran
Wed., Oct. 14, 6pm. Through Oct. 17. $20. Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St. 215.898.3900. annenbergcenter.org

Thursday October 15

Feel Your Boobies
Do your boobs hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Well, maybe it’s time you got in touch with them. Ladies, it’s not just Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to the aptly named Feel Your Boobies Foundation, this week is solely dedicated to feeling your own breasts. MINT Lounge, encouraging this titillating cause, hosts a benefit reminding women that even a simple grab or two can be as effective as breast exams when detecting potentially cancerous lumps. So get to feelin’ those girls, because deflated fun bags do not a happy woman make. Nina Sachdev
6pm. $10. Mint Lounge, 50 S. Second St. 215.829.1128. mintoldecity.com

Trick Baby
Photographs are fine and dandy, but nothing captures a place and time quite like a movie. If it’s the look and feel of early ’70s Philadelphia you seek, consider Trick Baby, a conman misadventure that offers up such Philadelphia locations as Strawberry Mansion, 52nd Street and Center City as they looked in mean, dirty 1972. Adapted from a novel by a former pimp, the so-called Iceberg Slim, Baby also bottles up the period’s racial politics: our black grifting antiheroes—a wise old-hat and his young apprentice—play their white marks by preying on their racial fears, then pulling them in. Complement your soaking in of the era with the Print Center’s current exhibit, which presents photos of Philadelphia streets from 1970 till 1985, roughly from pre-Rocky till the MOVE bombing. The Secret Cinema event also features words by the great Irv Slifkin while the beer, courtesy Victory Brewing Company, is stone cold free. matt prigge
7pm. $8. Print Center, 1614 Latimer St. 215.735.6090. thesecretcinema.com

Friday October 16

Industrial Jazz Group
Soon after Keith Jarrett famously cursed out photographers in Italy, Andrew Durkin orchestrated the whole tirade for the singers and players of his acoustic 17-piece Industrial Jazz Group. That’s Durkin’s specialty: arch, knowing humor delivered with uncommon skill. The self-described “hack composer and pseudo-intellectual” from Portland, Ore., has assembled just the sort of traveling circus to carry this out. Their live gigs, represented on the 2008 disc LEEF, include sung narration between numbers, visual aids, audience prompts and so forth. Amid all the zaniness lurks a subtlety and precision-tooled ensemble. Not industrial, certainly not pure jazz, but as Durkin puts it: “Were the Beatles really insects?” David R. Adler
7pm. $5. With Agent Moosehead + Gina Ferrera. Green Line Cafe, 4426 Locust St. 215.222.0799. industrialjazzgroup.com

Blues Control
At first glance, you might think that Russ Waterhouse and Lea Cho of Blues Control play guitar and keyboards. Fundamentally, though, their music comes from the stacks of amplifiers and effect boards that mutate conventional rock band sounds into eerie washes and bludgeoning beats, ghostly whispers and cathedral-sized surges of organ. Their new album Local Flavor sports a clean, machine-tooled gloss that is far different from the sludgy guitar blues of the debut. Yet either way, Blues Control can be overwhelmingly loud in person. The band piles beautiful noises into strata that shift like tectonic plates, creating seismic waves of sound that pummel your innards and stir your hair. J.K.
8pm. $8. With Puerto Rico Flowers, Watery Love + Her Dead Twin. Pilam. 3914 Spruce St. myspace.com/thepilam

J-Luv’s House Party
It’s cool to call him by his first name when he’s not performing but once Jaamil Kosoko hits the stage, you can call him “J-Luv.” With co-host Megan Mazarick as “Dixie Crystal,” the comedic duo presents the first of a seasonal performance series by Jaamil’s Kosoko Performance Group. The dance company brings its signature innovation and culturally diverse interpretations into the spotlight with special guests, including Da.Da. Dance Project, Melanie Stewart Dance Theatre and React/dance, Gemini Wolf and Lillie Ruth Bussey. In the three years since its formation, Kosoko Performance Group has already won both local and national recognition—including appearances at the American Dance Festival and the nEW Festival. If you miss this show, you’ll have to wait for “J-Luv’s Winter House Party,” which is slated to return in early 2010. sherri hospedales
Fri. Oct. 16, 9pm. $10-$15. 1714 N. Mascher St. 267.679.9168. kosokoperformance.org

Saturday October 17

Home Movie Day
Chuck Klosterman once posited a fantasy wherein people can watch their dreams—but only in the company of a room full of strangers. Given that so few people have their own film projectors these days, that’s roughly the experience offered by Home Movie Day. Ocurring in dozens of American cities, as well as 10 other countries, the event offers the chance to dust off any 8mm or 16mm film reels wasting away in a closet or a basement, have them thread up and then watch them projected. At long last your neighbors can see footage of you as a muttering toddler, or of a long-missed grandparent recounting a meandering anecdote. Of course, HMD isn’t just a celebration of captured memories, but also of celluloid—splotchy, dirty, corroding, beautiful celluloid. The farther we get into the video era, and its accompanying manic oversharing, the more your filmed antics and embarassments start to look like museum-worthy art. M.P.
Noon-4pm. Free. International House, 3701 Chestnut St. 215.387.5125. homemovieday.com

Squidfire Art Mart
Sick of seeing Ed Hardy T-shirts? Us too. Enter Squidfire, the Baltimore-based design duo whose quirky hand-drawn and printed apparel involve more than just flaming skulls and hearts (think: octopuses and tigers). What’s more, the two are bringing their love of unique artistry to our fair city with their first Philadelphia-based Art Mart. After noticing a lack of showcased crafts in the area, designers Jean-Baptiste Regnard and Kevin Sherry decided to create an “indie shopping mall.” Join more than 40 vendors offering everything from Sugar Paperie stationary to Vervain Savon bath soaps, from homemade honey to dog treats and more at the Old Pine Community Center. Emily Freisher
11am-6pm. Free. Old Pine CommunityCenter, 401 Lombard St. squidfire.com

Peoplehood Parade and Pageant
Long gone are the days of equating puppetry solely with childhood classics like Sesame Street and anything from the mind of Jim Henson. Today’s enchanting figureheads are advocates of progress, eliciting social change and prompting civic responsibilities within the community. (Think: Avenue Q with slightly less Bush bashing.) This message is delivered through Spiral Q, Philly’s own puppet theater/do-gooder organization. The culmination of Spiral Q’s mission is Peoplehood, an annual pageant and parade featuring papier-mache creations from community members and local organizations like City Year and Build On. Now in its tenth year, the parade winds its way from the Paul Robeson House to Clark Park, where the pageant—featuring over 200 performers—is held. Join them throughout the West Philadelphia maze, or hop in once they get to the park to see this year’s performance, an exploration of community responses to a falling economy. It’s like seeing Sesame Street Live—with a little more substance. E.F.
1pm. Free. Begins at Paul Robeson House, 4949 Walnut St. 215.474.1378. spiralq.org

Sunday October 18

Broadcast
It’s been more than four years since we’ve heard from the Birmingham, England, electro-pop outfit Broadcast, which some 14 years after forming is now down to vocalist Trish Keenan and multi-instrumentalist James Cargill. Endlessly compared to Stereolab due to their retro-futuristic steez—a collision of ’60s psych-pop, post-rock and ambient textures, unearthly synths and samples, and Apollo-era science motifs—Broadcast boasts an edgier and more cinematic feel than that Anglo-Franco outfit. As if she was starring in a David Lynch movie, Keenan twists her sweet vocals into something deliciously darker. A new Broadcast LP is on the way so chances are good you’ll hear some new grooves. M.A.G.
7:30pm. $13-$15. With Atlas Sound + the Selmanaires. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

Biketoberfest
The Naked Bike Ride is so six weeks ago. It’s time for Philly bikers to celebrate cycling with their clothes on. Rock a pair leiderhosen or a dirndl at this year’s Biketoberfest at Dock Street Brewery. Ten dollars (or eight if you’re a good little event planner) gets you in and all proceeds go to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, an org doing cool things like advocating for filled potholes. Enjoy the sweet sounds of local faves Grandchildren and Pony Pants while munching on German cuisine and specially brewed Biketoberfest beer. Neighborhood Bike Works provides complimentary bike valet. Just don’t drink and ride. Erica Palan
2pm. $8-$10. Dock Street Brewery, 701 S. 50th St. 215.BICYCLE. bicyclecoalition.org

Monday October 19

Netherfriends
Luminous reverb, sudden yelps and harmonies, jaunty keys, and an excited platoon of other instruments are part of Netherfriends, the solo project and sometimes band of Chicago songwriter Shawn Rosenblatt. Having staked his claim with two self-released EPs and a 7-inch on Apollo Sunshine’s Black and Greene imprint, Rosenblatt is touring behind the new Calling You Out EP. He also just cut a Daytrotter Session, which seems required of aspiring indie bands these days. Like so many one-man outfits, Netherfriends displays a playful primitivism as well as an open-armed acceptance of random sounds. Doug Wallen
8pm. $TK. M Room, 15 W. Girard Ave. 215.739.5577. themanhattanroom.com

Tuesday October 20

Copyright Criminals
At what point does a beat get so phat that it’s forensic? Who owns your jam? DJs and mashers have been lifting riffs for decades but the law is still pretty fuzzy on who has the rights to the hip, the hop, the bang bang and the boogity. A new documentary will be playing on public TV soon, but a sneak peak of Copyright Criminals will screened—for free, of course. On screen will be DJs of all stripes—from the obtuse Spooky to the goofy Qbert, and local boy gone “Mad Men” RJD2, plus the original cats who put down beats on real drums like James Brown’s hard-driving man on the skins Clyde Stubblefield. Afterward a panel of music industry folks and copyright attorneys drop knowledge on when it’s time to party and when it’s time to get paid. Peter Crimmins
Tues., Oct. 20, 7pm. Free. Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. 215.351.0511. communitycinema.org

2009 Barrymore Awards

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:28:04 PDT

It was a big night for the Arden Theatre Company when the winners were announced at the 15th annual Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre. The awards celebrate the best in local theater from the 2008-9 season. The Arden led all companies with a total of eight awards, including seven for their world premiere production of local playwright Bruce Graham’s Something Intangible. The story of two moviemaking brothers, Intangible was recognized for outstanding overall production of a play, set design (James Kronzer), costume design (Rosemarie E. McKelvey), lighting design (F. Mitchell Dana), director (Terrence J. Nolen), leading actor (Ian Merrill Peakes in a dazzling performance) and best new play.

People’s Light & Theatre Company and the Wilma Theater garnered four Barrymore’s each. PLTC’s new musical panto Cinderella dominated the musical theater categories, winning for outstanding production of a musical, director (Pete Pryor), original music (Michael Ogborn) and ensemble. Three of the Wilma’s awards went to their spellbinding production of Scorched, capturing Barrymore’s for sound design (Jorge Cousineau), supporting actress in a play (Janis Dardaris), and ensemble.

Leading the way among the city’s small companies was 11th Hour Theatre Company, which won three Barrymore’s for their acclaimed staging of Avenue X.

The four companies combined to win 19 of the 24 awards given to plays or productions. The concentration of awards among four companies raised a few eyebrows, but Karen DiLossi (director of programs and services for the Greater Philadelphia Theatre Alliance which administrates Barrymores) says the results were far from an anomaly (in 2004 Delaware Theatre Company’s Constant Star won seven awards). “The Barrymore award is not about equitable representation,” says DiLossi. “It’s about an unbiased assessment.”

Click to see nominees.