Oh Friday, our Friday, how we love you, our Friday! We waited and waited, and lo, you have come! You teach us to smile, you show us the way. You are once and forever, our favorite day! ART AFTER 5: OUR FATHER WHO ART BLAKEY We spend a lot of time telling you to check out the local art scene and get involved in some of the incredible music that comes through our fine......

Ah, love. Though we may not have an overflow of the brotherly variety, Philly is offering plenty of options for those happy couples looking to sanctify said happiness with boxes of chocolates and a night on the town. We’ll tackle the latter here; we've given you some chocolate-related goodness already. If you forget to get a card and all the Rite Aid has left are American Idol Valentines, take heart: you can make your own......

This holiday sure can suck if you haven't found that perfect partner, mistress, or craigslist missed connection to share it with. It's cool, don't resign yourself to an evening of watching Lifetime alone just yet, because BCKSEET Productions is gearing up for the third annual anti-Valentines Day concert/singer/songwriter competition. The admission includes a free drink, a raffle ticket and a CD of artists from the event. You'll need to provide your own wingman though, sorry.......

That ramp at the Linc was swaying again, and this time the movement was even caught on tape. But engineers still insist the ramp is safe and sound. Regardless, it sounds like during the off-season they're going to try to find a way to make it not sway, so fans don't get so freaked out all the time. Fighting crime is clearly going to be the big issue in the 2008 mayoral race, so......

Has anyone else but Phillyist noticed that vaudeville-style theatrics seem to be coming back into vogue these days? We feel like we see it everywhere any more: family acts, burlesque shows...and now the "comic vaudeville" of Big! Gay! Show! Although with acts titled : "Ballad of Brokeback Mountain," "Don't Cry for Me, Angelina (Jolie)," and songs including "You Don't Know From Gay," and the epic "Judy Garland Medley," Big! Gay! Show! isn't exactly your traditional......

We probably don’t need to explain that quote, but if we do, just know it’s from our first play in the listings. And hey, Philly theatre is back in full swing, now that PLAF is winding down. Now, on with the listings! Schoolhouse Rock Live! - Just knowing this play exists is making us remember how to make a bill. September 14-30. Tickets online. A Prayer for Owen Meany - Baseball…and death! September 14-October 15.......

Things will be quiet in these listings over the next few weeks, since Philadelphia’s theatre community will be all about the Fringe till mid-September. We’ll have extensive Fringe coverage here on Phillyist, but we didn’t want you to forget about the other shows going on, too. Now, on with the listings! By Grimm - It’s like Into the Woods, only without Stephen Sondheim. Through September 4. For more information, call 610.286.5567. Voices Underwater - Words......

This week's quote comes from the late great Charles Dickens: "It is a hopeless endeavour to attract people to a theatre unless they can be first brought to believe that they will never get in." Now, on with the listings! (And don’t be dismayed—just because it’s quiet, doesn’t mean there’s not some great theatre to catch. Besides, the summer’s almost over, which means Fringe is coming!) By Grimm - It’s like Into the Woods, only......

This week’s quote comes from the Bard himself – it’s found in Two Gentlemen of Verona, the play we start our listings with – and it’s also used as the subtitle in an Edward Albee play. The quote is, of course, all about love, and goes something like this: Who is Silvia? what is she, That all our swains commend her? Holy, fair and wise is she; The heaven such grace did lend her, That......

The idea of a stage is always tempting for Phillyist, so imagine how tempting it must have been for a master of the absurd like Eugene Ionesco, who once said: “I personally would like to bring a tortoise onto the stage, turn it into a racehorse, then into a hat, a song, a dragoon and a fountain of water. One can dare anything in the theatre and it is the place where one dares the......

This week’s quote comes from the great Ben Kingsley. It’s actually advice to film actors, but Kingsley has acted on the stage before (and how!), and we’re sure he’d give the same advice to stage actors. The advice goes: “You can throw away the privilege of acting, but that would be such a shame. The tribe has elected you to tell its story. You are the shaman/healer, that's what the storyteller is, and I think......

I think we all know what that lyric comes from. Now, on with the listings! (And don’t be dismayed – just because it’s a quiet week doesn’t mean there’s not some great theatre to catch!) Spark Showcase Festival - This is the last weekend of the festival, with a different line-up than last’s. Closes this weekend. Tickets are available for purchase online. And hey! Support local theatre! The Children of Fatima - We’re guessing......

This week’s quote comes from Tallulah Bankhead, the famous actress from days of yore. The entire quote actually reads: “It's one of the tragic ironies of the theatre that only one man in it can count on steady work - the night watchman.” Now, on with the listings! Spark Showcase Festival - We’re a day late with this listing, but this festival is a two week celebration of local theatre companies. Each of the two......

Week two of our White Christmas quote-fest – if you can call it that. This week’s quote comes from the song “Count Your Blessings.” That’s right. We still haven’t started our holiday shopping – so we’re choosing another non-holiday song. Now, on with the listings! STOMP - Who knew brooms and cigarette lighters could be so musical? At the Merriam Theater, December 20-31. For tickets and information, see Ticketmaster. The Philly Fan - They’re a......

For the rest of the month, we’ll be quoting Irving Berlin, the Jewish-American composer who, oddly enough, composed the music to White Christmas. This week’s quote comes from the song “Choreography” in that well-loved Christmas classic. We chose it because, even though it’s December, we’re not exactly ready to celebrate the holiday season. Now, on with the listings! The Philly Fan - They’re a breed of their own. December 14-January 21. For tickets and information,......

This week, we’re starting something new. You see, we’ve just about run out of generic quotes about theatre to use for headlines, and the few times we’ve used less common quotes, we’ve had a few people contact us in rather a lot of confusion. So, we’re going to begin explaining the more, er, “in-quotes,” right here. If you’ve got any theatre-related quotes you’d like us to use, e-mail the quote, play/song, and context to us......

We’ll be back in Philadelphia tomorrow (after an extended stay with the folks in Texas), and we’ve certainly picked a good theatre weekend to return for! Macbeth - We all read it in high school, and we probably remember it at least a little, so we’ll spare you the trouble of reading our summary and just let you check out the Curio Theatre Company’s production of “The Scottish Play.” The play opens this weekend and......

We’re still Deep in the Heart of Texas, as it were, but our love for performing arts in Philadelphia knows no bounds. Keep reading for exciting upcoming events! Hairspray - Those of us who are fans of the Fox summer hit So You Think You Can Dance have heard the producers say on more than one occasion that they’d like to be able to say that big girls can dance. Hairspray proves that at least......

Even while on vacation in Texas, we’re still keeping track of what’s going on in Philadelphia’s Theatre Scene. Read on! The Marriage Play - The Triangle Theater brings you a very limited run of this Edward Albee play before it continues on to the Deertrees Theatre in Maine. Performances will be August 17-20 at 8 PM. Tickets are $20, or $15 for seniors and students with valid IDs, and can be purchased over the phone......

It’s a quiet week in Philly Theater, as local companies wind down their seasons in preparation for the 2005/2006 seasons set to begin, for the most part, in September. Here’s what Phillyist could find: West Side Story - The Bernstein/Sondheim/Laurents vehicle that’s been bringing audiences to tears since 1958 is coming to the close of its run at the Walnut Street Theatre. It’s Romeo and Juliet with singing and dancing; a perennial favorite. July 6,......