This week's quote comes from Tom Stoppard, who said in an interview: "I think theater ought to be theatrical ... you know, shuffling the pack in different ways so that it's – there's always some kind of ambush involved in the experience. You're being ambushed by an unexpected word, or by an elephant falling out of the cupboard, whatever it is." Now, on with the listings! Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story - And you're Mary......

Leonard Bernstein has long held a place in our hearts as one of America's great composers and conductors. In honor of the 90th anniversary of his birth, the Philadelphia Orchestra, along with world- renowned soloists such as Joshua Bell and Jennifer Koh, has put together some truly timeless and innovative programs together for its Bernstein Festival, taking place from now until early February. In addition to celebrating Bernstein's music, the Philadelphia Orchestra also recognizes his......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: No Really, West: The only remaining original print of West Side Story will be shown at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute (824 W. Lancaster Avenue), 7PM. $9.25 Grubstake: Grubstake and A.K.A.C.O.D. at Tritone http://www.tritonebar.com/ (1508 South), 9PM. $5 Girl With Harp: Gillian Grassie and The Coal Men at World Café Live (3025 Walnut), 8PM. $9 ($7 if using cash) Quizzo Mania: Get your Quizzo on at 12 Steps......

I love La Viola. It was the site of my first foodgasm, and a couple of foodgasms since. It's one of the first places I recommend to people who want a romantic meal before a night at the Kimmel or the Merriam. It's one of the first places I tell people to go for a first date. And when Ross and I decided to celebrate being Libras together, it was one of the first......

For a band with only a three-song EP to its name, Vampire Weekend sure has polarized the indie rock blogs. It’s like a cage match between hype and backlash: on one side you’ve got a long line of critics and fans hailing the New York band’s refreshingly polyrhythmic, Afro-pop sensibilities, while on the other, there are just as many people resenting the mounting hype or their sunny tunes or both. (You can sample some of......

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,......

Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried......

LAist is experimenting with blogging dates from J-Date, but finds the best men are found offline. Some date vicariously online and that is one reason why porn is big -- really freaking big -- so they ask if they should cover XXX since the heart of it lays in the city's San Fernando Valley. A writer grapples with her food porn photography obsession, another gets censored on Flickr, one gets scooped by the LA......

Walking along the west side of Rittenhouse Square, with a few extra minutes to kill while waiting to meet a friend, I looked in through the open doors of the Church of the Holy Trinity. A man by the entrance, possibly a priest, noticed my curiosity and invited me inside. Dwarfed by the square's high rise apartments and condos, the seemingly small church opened up to an awesome dome that made the structure seem less......

So, too, do most of the Puerto Ricans in West Side Story, the show whose original cast featured Chita Rivera singing the song “America.” Now, on with the listings! Beau Jest - We know people that we can imagine this happening to. January 12-28. Ticket information online. Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life - The role she was born to play? Um, duh. January 9-14. Tickets online. Dex and Julie Sittin’ in a Tree - Aww,......

It's no news that Penn's got plans to develop some real estate on the west side of the Schuylkill, but Phillyist didn't know there were plans for the river and river banks as well. Phillyist and a friend were offered free passes for a boat tour of the Schuylkill in exchange for being booted out of a local coffee shop before closing (nicest.bum's rush.ever), where we learned the following things: *The Water Works are much......

Because there’s an upcoming production of Hamlet in the area, Phillyist thought we would correct the oft-misquoted monologue from Hamlet. It is not: “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him well!” No no no. The verse doesn’t even work there. The monologue instead begins: “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio…” (You can find the rest of the monologue by performing a simple Google search for it. This was our “I feel lucky” hit.) Now, on......

Seattlest points us to the best license plate ever. Photo above. Austinist has free music! That you can download legally! It's free! Chicagoist: Didn't James Frey already teach the world not to mess with Oprah? Gothamist: Now more dangerous than the ghetto? The Upper West Side. Houstonist reports that the likes of Terrell Davis, Ludacris, and Snoop Dogg dig the Chili's at the Galeria. And don't we all? SFist: 3500 applicants to Berkley Law......

Critical Mass is "an unorganized coincidence that happens in cities around the world on the last Friday of every month. It is a ride through the city to celebrate and remind everyone about the use of the bicycle as an effective means of transportation." If you live or work in Center City - we don't doubt you've seen them surrounding City Hall once a month. (And heck, gas prices being what they are, we wouldn't......

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,......