August 7, 2017
Photos West Philly Local.
Theatre in the X last night staged the premiere of Running Numbers, the tale of a graduating high school senior trying to navigate his way through obstacles in his neighborhood and his family to get his way into college and, just as importantly, pay for it.
In our decidedly unsophisticated opinion, it is really, really good.
The play follows CJ, a brilliant student, as he tries to figure out how he is going to pay for a Penn education. He could get student loans, but his mom doesn’t want to sign the forms (she wants to hide her under-the-table earnings) nor does she want him saddled in debt for the rest of his life. Or, he could go work for the local pimp and drug dealer and make fast cash. Both options weigh heavily on CJ, but he takes the second option and we find him in the opening scene undergoing police interrogation after his arrest. Continue Reading
August 3, 2017
Some of the best – and probably the most intimate – theatre in the city gets underway in Malcolm X. Park (51st and Pine) next week when Theatre in the X opens the world premiere of Running Numbers.
Running Numbers is a drama about a high school senior “whose dreams and desperation of going to college and overcoming his environment lead him to fast cash and dangerous situations.” The work is inspired by “Financial Aid”, an incredible spoken work piece by Carvens Lissaint.
Cheyenne Barboza wrote Running Numbers and Christina May directs. The cast includes Abdul Sesay, Jarrett McCreary, Khadijah Davis, Iman Aaliyah, Aurica Hurst, Angelica Jackson-Thomas, Carlo Campbell, Walter DeShields, Niya Colbert, Brandon A. Drummond and Dwayne Alistair Thomas. Continue Reading
August 2, 2017
Two more historic homes are being demolished this week and at least one is to make way for student housing.
• Demolition continued this week on two Victorian semi-detached homes – at 620 and 622 S. 42nd. Located a stone’s throw from the University of the Sciences campus, the adjoined structures were built in the 1870s. The parcel’s zoning is RM-1, meaning a multi-unit structure will likely be built there with no zoning oversight.
• An Italianate mansion was demolished at 41st and Sansom to make way for student housing. The demolition recently drew citywide attention from Inga Saffron in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The building that will replace it will be built “by right,” meaning no zoning oversight is required. Continue Reading
July 31, 2017
Demolition of the Alexander Wilson School at 46th and Woodland is well underway, and the University of the Sciences expects to have a new residence hall and courtyard complex there by the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year.
The Wilson school was one of more than two dozen public schools closed in recent years. The USciences bought the building and land in the fall of 2014 for a reported $2 million. The university unveiled plans in the spring of 2016 for a 4- to 5-story dormitory over ground-floor retail and an open courtyard along Woodland Avenue (see rendering).
Photos West Philly Local
July 25, 2017
Councilwoman Helen Gym will host a community gathering “to protect healthcare and education” tonight at Malcolm X. Park (52nd and Pine) from 6-8 p.m.
The gathering is one of three she will host over the next few weeks as part of “Resistance Summer.” The gathering comes as the U.S. Senate decides whether to go ahead with a debate on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.
Feel free to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on for the event.
Gym will also be in Vernon Park in Northwest Philly on Aug. 7 and Columbus Square in South Philly on Aug. 9.
July 12, 2017
Here’s a good news/bad news situation for West Philly music lovers, particularly those who dig vinyl or need an instrument or turntable repaired.
The bad news is that The Marvelous – Records and Music on Baltimore Avenue (formerly of 40th Street) is closing after 14 years on July 14. The good news is that the storefront at 4916 Baltimore Ave won’t really skip a beat as a purveyor of music-related stuff.
The Marvelous opened in a basement storefront on 40th Street in 2003 and in 2012 moved into a former yoga studio at 4916 Baltimore Ave., where they offered a large selection of vinyl, CDs, instrument supplies, and more.
“Nothing could have pleased us more than to spend this time rubbing our cheeks up in your jowls and we deeply appreciate every last crusty 45, guitar pick and even crispy comic which you saw fit to purchase from us over the last decade and a half,” owner Milan Marvelous wrote us. Continue Reading
The play follows CJ, a brilliant student, as he tries to figure out how he is going to pay for a Penn education. He could get student loans, but his mom doesn’t want to sign the forms (she wants to hide her under-the-table earnings) nor does she want him saddled in debt for the rest of his life. Or, he could go work for the local pimp and drug dealer and make fast cash. Both options weigh heavily on CJ, but he takes the second option and we find him in the opening scene undergoing police interrogation after his arrest. Continue Reading
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