Cast members Brian McCann and Paul Kuhn (Photo by Rebecca Gudelunas).

The Curio Theatre Company’s production of the Samuel Beckett classic Waiting for Godot premieres Friday night.

The play features two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, waiting along a country road for someone named Godot, who never arrives. The two engage in a number of comically absurd discussions and encounter others along the road. The British Royal National Theater named the play the most significant English play of the 20th century.

The Curio performance features Brian McCann, Paul Kuhn, Robert DaPonte and Harry Slack. The director is Dan Hodge, who guided the 2016 Curio staging of Death of a Salesman.

A second preview performance is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 9, and the play opens on Feb. 10 and runs through March. All performances begin at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets are available here.

UPDATE (Feb. 9, 1:30 p.m.): The Snow Emergency for Philadelphia was lifted at noon on Thursday. Parking is now allowed along snow emergency routes.

A winter storm is approaching the region (6 to 10 inches of snow is expected in the area on Thursday, Feb. 9), and the city announced that a Snow Emergency will be declared beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.

All parked cars must be moved off Snow Emergency routes to allow plowing vehicles to pass. When moving your car, park as far from the corner of the street as possible; vehicles parked too close to the corner get in the way of snow plows trying to turn corners.

Here is information on snow emergency routes, including in West Philadelphia.

Cars left on Snow Emergency routes will be moved to other parking spots to assist in snow plowing operations. If your car is moved, call 215-686-SNOW to find it (please don’t call 911).  Continue Reading

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Campaign for Working Families has again opened sites across the city, where volunteers are helping qualified individuals and families to prepare and file their taxes. Free tax preparation services are being offered to families with incomes less than $54,000 and individuals with incomes less than $20,000.

The following tax preparation sites are currently operating in West and Southwest Philadelphia:

Ebenezer Church

5649 Christian St.
Mon. & Tues. – 12-6:30 p.m.
Weds. & Thurs. – 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Sat – 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

ACHIEVEability

59 N. 60th street
Tues. & Thurs. – 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sat. – 9 a.m.-1 p.m.  Continue Reading

The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative, the program of the University City District that connects West Philly employers seeking talent with West Philadelphians looking for opportunity, is currently recruiting residents for a training program with Allied Universal, one of the largest providers of security services in North America.

The program is seeking applicants who possess a high school diploma or GED, are currently unemployed, and live in the zip codes of 19104, 19131, 19139, 19143, or 19151. Applicants should have experience working in security, customer service, or related fields.

Program graduates are guaranteed an interview with Allied Universal. The participants will receive a performance-based stipend during the training and will learn the skills needed to successfully connect to employment and a fulfilling career path.  Continue Reading

The School Reform Commission is scheduled to vote on three proposed charter schools, including one in West Philly, during a special meeting this Wednesday (Feb. 8) beginning at 4 p.m. at the auditorium at the school district offices at 440 N. Broad Street.

The meeting is the final step in the charter review process. The three proposed schools include KIPP Parkside that would be located in the West Parkside neighborhood. Under the proposal, which can be found here, the new school would open for the 2018-2019 school year and have a projected enrollment of 860 students by 2022. The district had several questions about the fee structure that KIPP, which runs four other charters in the city, set up for the school, according to an evaluation report released last month.  Continue Reading

The last time we spoke with Winnie Harris was last summer, when she was rallying support for the Holly Street Neighbors Community Garden. The garden, built on a vacant lot, was just down the street from her Holly Street home in West Powelton, where she had lived for 40 years. Gardens, trees and keeping this part of West Philadelphia green was her passion and, as one of the driving forces behind UC Green, her occupation.

Harris, 65, was found dead in her home on the 300 block of North Holly Street late Friday with a single gunshot wound in the abdomen. No arrests have been made, and the police say the motive is unclear. Neighbors on her block noticed Friday that Harris’s second floor window was open. Police found her in a second floor bedroom. Harris lived alone in the house.  Continue Reading