Selma Karaka

Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

— Just a friendly reminder: We told you about the nifty new Live Arts artist-in-residence program and concurrent second-Thursday series last week. Its inaugural event will be tonight at 6:30 p.m. for free at the Festival Studio (919 N. Fifth St., 215-413-9006). Featured performers include the homegrown Thaddeus Phillips, Kathryn Tebordo and Subcircle’s Jorge and Niki Cousineau. Like Carolyn Huckabay said in last week’s post, free admission and free beer? I’m there.

— The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave., 267-671-9298) is holding a Neil Young Tribute Night at 9 p.m. for $7, and though I usually don’t go for that sort of thing, I must say I’m excited to see what The Spinning Leaves does with it. (A dozen other bands will be there, too.) And please, everyone, let’s forget that Trans ever existed for tonight.

— The Philadelphia Museum of Art is holding the first day of its annual craft show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center (1101 Arch St., 215-684-7930) until 9 p.m. for an entry free of $5-$15. Yeah, yeah, you’re spending money to spend more money … but it’s for a good cause and there’s lots of cool, cool stuff, like Selma Karaca’s clothing (pictured above). Buy us this plz.

Not satisfied? Check out today’s listings for more and more and more events.

ah, summer.

There’s a certain wave of sadness that washes over us when the two-week Live Arts/Philly Fringe bonanza wraps up in mid-September. (K. Ross Hoffman wrote about the malaise in our Oct. 1 issue.) We’re exhausted from attending dozens and dozens of shows, but the high of witnessing such innovative dance/theater/weirdo-experimental-whatever is tough to come down from, especially since there’s always one big nasty dreary winter standing in the path to the next year’s fest. Waaaah.

But good news, Philadelphians! The Live Arts Festival folks have just announced that, as of right-now, they’re launching an artist-in-residency program, coupled with free every-second-Thursday performances, in their new studio space in NoLibs, from now till June. Hooray!

Some details from the press release:

The inaugural 2009/2010 Artists in Residency program includes five Philadelphia-based artists: Nichole Canuso (Wandering Alice, 2008 / The A.W.A.R.D. Show!, 2009), Tania Isaac (stuporwoman, 2008), The Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental/ Thaddeus Phillips (THE MeLTING BRiDgE, 2008), Subcircle (Still Unknown, 2007), and Kathryn Tebordo/Workshop for Potential Movement (The A.W.A.R.D. Show!, 2009).

The program provides free work space in the Live Arts Festival’s studio, expanded development time, opportunities for early audience feedback, and additional resources.  The support will allow participating artists to take more risks by investigating new processes, methodologies, and ideas, which will yield greater personal growth for the artists and even higher quality final productions.

We’re all for artists taking risks and investigating new processes — but to be honest, what we’re even more stoked about is this second-Thursday business. (Free beer + free admission = best winter ever, as far as we’re concerned.)

Next week’s Second Thursday Series features Thaddeus Phillips, Kathryn Tebordo and Subcircle’s Jorge and Niki Cousineau. Did we mention this is free?

Second Thursday Series, Thu., Nov. 12, 7 p.m., free, The Festival Studio, 919 N. Fifth St., 215-413-9006, livearts-fringe.org.

Photo | Jim Roese

Frequent Philly theater-goer/Broad Street Review writer Jonathan Stein made a comment in the PW’s theater review section this week, thanking “Cobb” (shorthand for J. Cooper Robb?) for his excellent criticism of Home Sweet Home, on stage at the Wilma. He also dissed the Inky for its “inadequate” review, and shook his finger at us for not reviewing the show at all.

But, J-Stein, we totally did!

Taking the spotlight in our A&E opening spread’s left-hand column on Oct. 29, Mark Cofta’s review — IMHO — is neither inadequate nor not there. Here’s a snippet in case you missed it:

Strength and sorrow radiate from Patrice Johnson’s petite frame, and her performance soars despite Veronica’s suffering, but the story belongs to Nyambi’s endearingly naive Alfred and, bravely, to Antonio Dandridge’s seething Mannetjie. Playwrights trust their work to child actors with understandable reluctance, but the unformed next generation is essential to Fugard’s message of hope through, and despite, adversity. The young actor, under director Blanka Zizka’s assured tutelage, does not disappoint, matching the adults in intensity as well as convincing South African dialect, coached by Lynne Innerst. His scene with Oupa’s ghostly presence, linking the farmer’s precious seeds with the words the boy treasures, gives the play a moving finale.

Coming Home runs through Nov. 15, so you’ve still got time to check it out. And in the meantime, grab a CP tomorrow to read reviews of InterAct’s The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity and the Arden’s Rabbit Hole, and let us know how you think we’re doing in the comments. (J-Stein, I’m talkin’ to you.)

Coming Home, through Nov. 15, $36-$65, Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St., 215-546-7824, wilmatheater.org.

Jeff McComsey

Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

The last time you saw Night Moves, it was a different time. And a different place. But I promise that here, at Critical Mass, is where I’ll stay — forever. Now onto tonight’s options …

— If you haven’t been to the free Science on Tap series at National Mechanics (22 S. Third St., 215-701-4883), you should go — it’s like a good, toasty conversation with a very intelligent friend. Tonight at 6 p.m., Flashpoint Theatre Co. director Noah Herman, along with several of his actors, will discuss their current show boom. And what does it have to do with science? Sez the press release: “Playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb is a former bio major who examines science through the lens of theatre. The darkly funny play imagines the creation story of the next form of life on Earth.”

— Today marks the beginning of J. Karma’s (62 N. Third St., 215-627-9625) annual jewelry exchange, in which you give up your gently used shoes, handbags, scarves and jewelry to The Career Wardrobe, and the boutique gives you $10 off your next purchase of $50 or more or $20 off your next purchase of $100 or more. Like a pawn shop, but cuter. J. Karma’s open until 7 p.m. today, and the exchange lasts until Nov. 30.

— The Showdown’s Catherine Grubb says you should go to tonight’s 7:30 p.m. World CafĂ© Live (3025 Walnut St. 215-222-1400) show to see Heavy. I say go to see local indie act Illinois, despite their confusing name. It’ll cost you $10.

Courtesy of Haunted Poe

To get the back story on this haunted house-cum-play, which closes this Sun., Nov. 1, read this.

Let me preface this by saying: I do not like haunted houses.

The idea of scaring myself on purpose has never really appealed to me. I like a moderate level of shock. On par with … I know I may be surprised, but I don’t want to feel like my head is going to be chopped off with a chainsaw.

In this way, Haunted Poe is perfect. Based on Poe’s eerie and disconcerting — rather than terrifying — tales, this haunted house is more theatrics than thrill, although I did jump once or twice.

As soon as you reach the landing in the Haunted Poe warehouse and you’re greeted by two gory characters, the show begins and you’re a part of it. Unlike other haunted houses, the goal is not to get through as quickly and as unscathed as possible, but rather to revel in each performance — to create a relationship. The experience of the show mimics the relationship between reader and story — you become immersed without having to commit to the action.

And while that may sound rather intellectual, the result of this is actually a lot of fun.

Click For More »

brtstage.org

Just got word that Douglas Campbell, frequent Bristol Riverside Theatre collaborator/father of Stars lead singer Torq, died in Montreal, due to complications from diabetes and heart disease. He was 87.

Campbell was a longtime star at Bristol, starring in or directing productions including Hamlet, Tete-a-Tete, The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, Copenhagen and The Dresser (pictured, right), for which he won a Barrymore Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play. Most recently Campbell played the voice of God in Bristol’s Altar Boyz.

According to a Bristol press release, Campbell was scheduled to return to Philly last season to direct Defiance, but never made it due to visa complications.

Says Bristol Artistic Director Keith Baker, in the same release: “It is very difficult to talk about Douglas Campbell, both as an artist and as a personal friend, without hyperbole and, perhaps some overindulgence.  But he would hate that.  He knew his worth and had no need to exalt himself.  I simply had never met a man like him.  In his deepest self he was an uncompromising artist who saw the potential in others and spared nothing to help them realize it.  A simple talk with him was enough to transform your feelings about yourself and the world in which you must be responsible to the artist within you. We worked on five plays together, both as directors and fellow players, as he would call it, and the honor was mine.  His all-embracing eyes and great arms were always available.  He was unequivocally interested in everyone and everyone knew it.  He was my dearest friend.”

Lord Whimsy

Every Tuesday, Critical Mass sifts through the art blog world so you don’t have to.

-Roberta Fallon and Libby Rosof’s artblog offers up a taste of the current letterpress exhibit, “Poems/Posters,” which is up at the Kelly Writers House. It features broadsides that pair text with prints, including visiting artist Megan O’Connell’s Agile Reactions: 33 Bean Games, which is a humorous, cutesy ode to female anatomy.

-After a long summer hiatus, Funnel Pages is back. They’ve got a new feature, “Ask An Art Question,” where readers can submit a query and have the community add its two cents. But not just any question. Curator Shaun insists that something like, “Is shooting paint out of my butt awesome or what?” won’t make the cut.

-PW Style has picked up on the fact that a certain go-to-shop for trashy club wear has gone a bit biblical. Unfortunately, it was Black Box — not the Bible — that said, “you got the body, so why don’t you use it?”

-Lord Whimsy (pictured, right) wrote on his blog that he got a sneak peak of Brat Production’s Haunted Poe, a haunted house-cum-tour that we told you about in this week’s Agenda section. To commemorate the poet’s 200th birthday, the troupe is setting up a warehouse with Poe-inspired spooks and specters. Whimsy wasn’t afraid to dress up for the event, so neither should you.

Employment Spectator

Last Friday, Gov. Ed Rendell and the General Assembly proposed a budget deal that will apply a 6 percent sales tax to all arts and cultural organizations in the state. The tax will increase ticket prices for shows, and admission prices for museums and parks, among other things. Considering the budget cuts that were being tossed around before this deal, this doesn’t sound too bad. But the price increases may dissuade people from spending the extra buck here and there. It could also seriously hurt the state’s arts organizations themselves, 40 percent of which say they’re working with a deficit. And it’s worth noting that tickets to movies and sporting events (read: companies with more lobbyists than your average theater company) will remain tax-free. (Cigs, cigars and gas-drilling leases, however, are also being taxed additionally.)

If you think Sorority Row should be taxed as much as or more than the Philadelphia Museum of Art, you’ve got a friend in the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, which is encouraging people to get involved and speak out against the cuts.

photos by Patrick Rapa

You gotta pay the troll toll.

I was secretly skeptical about the whole thing. I love It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia — probably the funniest, most artistically brave show on TV — but the live show idea sounded a little padded. An extended version of the musical “Nightman Cometh” episode done live? Awesome. But short. And rounding it out with a clip from the straight-to-DVD Christmas special and a screening of a brand new episode? The show sold out in .2 seconds — were we just going to, you know, watch TV together?

Well, let me tell you: Embedded in a giddy, maybe drunk capacity crowd at the Tower is an amazing way to watch TV. It was a huge, communal lovefest for the show (and for Philly). And the clip from the Christmas special was, not kidding, was kinda brilliant. Subversive holiday gags are commonplace, but this one went really far — and it was sickly beautiful. And sick.

And then there’s the actual performance of The Nightman Cometh episode and musical… Click For More »

You know about our Fringe review site, right? Where we send out an army of critics to as many Fringe and Live Arts shows as is humanly possible? And they write hungover-after-the-bar reviews the next morning? Or sometimes drunk-at-the-bar reviews that very night?

Good.

livearts-fringe.org

But it’s all so hard to keep track of what’s what when there are 200 shows floating around. For It’s Hard Times at the Camera Blanca, we double-booked ourselves — sent Shaun Brady on Saturday, then Ptah Gabrie. Oops!

Here’s what our dueling critics had to say:

Ptah: The actors, dressed in 1920s circus attire, carry on with each other as if they were patrons of the bar. The action takes place in three areas, with everyone coming together for a couple of big moments. The actors never converse with the audience; instead you follow them around and eavesdrop. Since multiple scenes occur simultaneously, it’s tough to hear everything going on. But the ambient music, lights and eccentric characters make this a unique theatrical experience.

Shaun: If the circus-train wreck in DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth had stranded its cargo at Rick’s Café Americain, the result would have been something like Applied Mechanics’ immersive show. Taking over Murph’s Bar in Fishtown, the company rewrites Casablanca with circus folk suffering from an economic collapse. The audience is free to navigate the crowded saloon as multiple scenes play out simultaneously, although it lacks the scope and resultant ambiguity of the similarly-designed Fatebook. The seedy big-top atmosphere is well-designed, though it needs to edge further into surreality in order to pull off its sad-clown conceit.

It’s Hard Times at the Camera Blanca has one show left, so hop to it. And in the meantime, check citypaper.net/fringe to read reviews and comment on the stuff you’ve seen.

RELATED: Read a review with director Rebecca Wright about her other Fringe show, Being Julia Child.

Wed., Sept. 16, 8 p.m., $10, Murph’s Bar, 202 E. Girard Ave., 215-413-1318, livearts-fringe.org.