Curio Theatre’s 2013-2014 season is coming to an end, with only three shows of Oedipussy remaining. Oedipussy is Curio’s North American premiere of British theater troupe Spymonkey’s hilarious adaptation of the well known Greek myth of Oedipus. Tickets are still available for this Thursday, Friday and Saturday’s shows, so grab them while they last.

The show received some great reviews.

“I can say in all honesty, it was one of the most enjoyable evenings I’’ve had in the theatre…,” writes Ellen Wilson Dilkes for Stage Magazine.

Aetna Gallagher in Oedipussy.

Oedipussy is a physical comedy. “Leaping, climbing, hurling themselves around the simple set while downing painkillers, they barrel through the tragedy in a hilarious and weirdly touching meditation on life, love, theater, and aging gracelessly,” writes The Inky‘s Wendy Rosenfield praising the actors’ physical stage fitness (three of the four cast members are nearing 50).

And here are six reasons why you should not miss this show, according to Curio’s Managing Director Gay Carducci:

1) Not one bad review
2) Standing ovations nearly every night
3) Neighbor reviews posted on telephone poles
4) Nobody is really naked
5) You will laugh…there is no doubt
6) And it’s the last show of the season!

Performances take place in Curio’s home base, the Calvary Center for Culture and Community at 4740 Baltimore Ave. at 8 p.m. Tickets ($20-$25) are available here. Parental discretion is advised.

Paul Kuhn (left) and Harry Slack in Oedipussy. Photos courtesy of Curio Theatre.

All the votes are in for yesterday’s primary election and here are some local results.

In the democratic primary for the 188th District representation in Pennsylvania House, incumbent James Roebuck defeated local businessman and community organizer Algernong Allen. Roebuck garnered 69 percent of the votes (4,097) versus 31 percent (1,814) for Allen.

Spruce Hill based Republican attorney Matthew Wolfe lost his bid for a seat in the City Council to Democratic candidate Ed Neilson in the special election to replace Councilman-at-Large Bill Green, who resigned his seat to head the School Reform Commission.

The ballot question that asked voters if the city’s minimum wage of $10.88 for city contractors should apply to sub-contractors, mainly Philadelphia International Airport workers, received 93,000 “yes” votes, versus 30,000 “no” votes as of about 11 p.m. on Tuesday (97 percent of precincts reporting), according to the Office of the City Commissioners website.

Through June 15, the West Philadelphia YMCA is accepting donations of everyday necessities for local infants and newborns. YMCA is teaming up with Youth Services Inc. in this effort to help our little neighbors. The basic necessities include:

• Diapers
• Socks
• Rattles
• Bottles
• Onesies
• Receiving blankets
• Pacifiers
• T-shirts

These items can be dropped off at the designated box in the Y’s lobby. For more information, please contact Shalann K. Graves at 215-476-2700 X 2017.

The West Philadelphia YMCA is located at 5120 Chestnut Street.

Fire crews are battling a fire at 921 S. 49th St on Friday. (Photo by Jennifer Fang)

A fire destroyed the third floor of a three-story twin at 921 S. 49th Street on Friday evening. The fire began at about 7 p.m. and was under control by about 7:20. The cause of the fire is under investigation. No injuries were reported.

The 40th Street Artist-in-Residence program, which awards one year of free studio space to West Philly artists, is accepting applications for the 2014-2015 season. This is a great opportunity for local budding artists who need help spearheading their career. In exchange, 40th Street artists-in-residence give back to their community by organizing workshops and exhibitions and teaching classes in the area.

Deadline for applications is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 19. The residency begins September 1, 2014 and goes on until August 15, 2015. Click here to download an application. If you have questions, email: 40th.air.app – at – gmail.com.

By the way, one of the current 40th Street resident artists, Brenna K. Murphy, is participating in a new exhibition, “Home”, opening tonight at the University City Arts League (4226 Spruce St). “Home” is a three-person exhibition, which focuses on the concepts of “home, memory and nostalgia” and uses a variety of media, including ink-transfer, embroidery and sculpture. The exhibit is also Murphy’s first curatorial project; her goal was to bridge the gap between the often divided art scenes of West Philly neighborhoods with those east of the Schuylkill river. The other two artists participating in the show are Kay Healy from Center City and Emily Manalo Ruiz from South Philly.

The “Home” exhibit’s opening reception is tonight from 6-8 p.m.. It will be on display until June 20. The gallery hours are: Mon-Fri, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. For more information, visit this Facebook page.

Genza

A pretty cool thing happened last night that we wanted to tell you about. A West Philly Local reader, Holly, contacted us to tell us that her family found a large brown male dog with cropped ears near 49th and Chester. The dog was found around 7 p.m. He had a collar but no tags. He was docile, clean, and well fed, “clearly someone’s pet.” 

Just when we were about to share this information, we got a message from another reader, Sara, who was looking for her dog, a 13-year-old Mastiff named Genza who went missing from S. 47th and Kingsessing yesterday. The key words in Genza’s description provided by Sara were “large” and “cropped ears” so we immediately contacted Holly with this information. And guess what, Holly’s family had Genza! The dog was reunited with his family just after a few hours he was lost.

“Amazing!…This is one very loved dog and he had a lot of us worried sick,” Sara wrote us later.

We’re very happy for Genza’s quick and safe return to his family and want to thank Holly and her family. We have some of the best readers in the world!