From left to right: Chase Byrd, Nastassja Whitman, Trice Baldwin and Paul E Kuhn (Photo by Rebecca Gudelunas).

Curio Theatre Company is opening its 14th season this week with an American classic re-imagined. The West Philly-based theatre company will stage Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” beginning Wednesday, Oct. 10.

In this 1947 play, Miller portrays a couple, Joe and Kate Keller, living a comfortable suburban life with their son Chris. Their other son, Larry, went missing in action a few years earlier and Chris becomes involved with Larry’s former fiancée, Kate, who must finally accepts that Larry is gone forever, and face the horrible truth about what caused his death.  Continue Reading

The Fall edition of Go West! Craft Fest, featuring wares by 100 local makers, live entertainment and food, will be held this Saturday, Sept. 29, at The Woodlands (40th and Woodland). You can shop all day (11:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.) for unique and creative stuff, including artisan jewelry, ceramics, home wares, clothing, cards, candles, soaps, scents, sweets, toys, tinctures, treasures, and works of art. The full list of vendors and their offers can be found here.

And here’s the schedule of live performances:

12:00 p.m. – The Ludlow Five
1:00 and 2:00 p.m. – Philly Con Sabor
1:15 p.m. – West Philly Foot Tappers
2:15 p.m. – The Foxy Doxies
3:00 p.m. – Tangle Movement Arts
4:00 p.m. – Vessna Scheff  Continue Reading

The Mantua Greenway rendering.

Here’s an opportunity for local artists to help create public art in West Philadelphia’s Mantua neighborhood. Mt. Vernon Manor CDC and the Friends of the Mantua Greenway are seeking a qualified team of artists to work on public art installations along the future Mantua Greenway site, a new bike and walking trail. The project includes the design, creation, and installation of three community-supported, semi-permanent elements that “will inspire curiosity and foster engagement with the Mantua Greenway project during its construction phases,” according to the project description.  Continue Reading

The Philadelphia Artists’ Collective will present J.M. Barrie’s Mary Rose at The Woodlands as part of the 2018 Fringe Festival. (Photo by Ashley Smith)

September is here, which means it’s time to celebrate art and artists at the annual Fringe Festival. This year’s program kicks off Thursday, Sept. 6 and features more than 100 dance, theater, spoken word and visual art shows by local, national and international artists at venues around the city.

Many festival events and shows will be held in West Philly – at The Rotunda, The Woodlands, Gwendolyn Bye Dance Center, Art Church of West Philadelphia, Black Box Theater, and other venues.

Beginning this Wednesday, the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective will present Mary Rose, a play by J.M. Barrie (the author of Peter Pan) at the Woodlands Cemetery and Mansion (40th and Woodland). The historic cemetery is a perfect setting for the play, originally published shortly after World War I, that reckons with loss, love, and immortality. The performance takes place inside the mansion and outside on the grounds (in the event of rain the entire performance will be inside the mansion). Shows begin at 7 p.m. and will run through Sept. 22. More information and tickets are available here.  Continue Reading

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Neighborhood-to-Neighborhood (N2N) festival, which has brought stars like Macey Gray, Common, Morris Day and more to West Philadelphia, will return this Saturday (Sept. 8) with a free tribute concert to Aretha Franklin.

The annual outdoor community event will be held from noon until 8 p.m. at 50th and Baltimore and will feature recording artists Kathy Sledge, Monica, Kelly Price, Keke Wyatt, Jean Carne (one of Aretha’s “great girlfriends”) and Kindred the Family Soul. They will each perform hits of their own and cover some of Aretha’s to celebrate and honor the Queen of Soul.

Radio personality Patty Jackson and comedian Skeet will cohost the festival, and TV’s latest “Survivor” winner, Wendell Holland II, will make a guest appearance.  Continue Reading

The community theater group Theatre in the X will be back in Malcolm X. Park (52nd and Pine) over the next three Sundays to reimagine The Wiz. 

Theatre in the X’s staging of the African American classic will be an homage to Hip Hop and Black cinema of the 1980s and 90s.

“Our iconic characters will journey through Oz remixed with all the nuance and cultural swag of the Black experience in America,” according to their Facebook post for the event.  Continue Reading