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Published: Nov 19, 2007

Wawapalooza

Fri., Nov. 23, 8 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 24, 7 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 25, 5:30 p.m., $12 (includes one drink), Red Room at Society Hill Playhouse, 507 S. Eighth St., 215-923-0210, societyhillplayhouse.org

Dan Plunkett

(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

At 7 a.m. for coffee, at lunchtime for a hoagie, at 1 a.m. for another hoagie, Wawa is there for us. Eric Balchunas and his theater/comedy group I'd Rather Be Here created a show in honor of our favorite convenience store/gathering place, and called it, of course, Wawapalooza. It sold out its three performances at this year's Fringe but will reincarnate at the Society Hill Playhouse.

The show, which consists of four sketches and two short films, is not just about Wawa. It's an homage to the entire South Jersey/Philly region, with its traffic circles, malls and insane Eagles fans. The members of I'd Rather Be Here, who are a mixture of Philly and Jersey residents, all made the trip to Wawa, Pa. — the site of Wawa's corporate headquarters — to film one of the shorts.

In the resulting mockumentary, they get coffee at a Wawa in Wawa (which, as they call it, is a "Wawa squared"), and a reporter (played by Balchunas) goes around the town making speculations like, "Is this where the guy who invented the 24-ounce coffee lives?" Wawa University; the first woman to be sentenced in "Eagles Court"; and those packets of peanut butter, carrots and celery are all subjects for I'd Rather Be Here's loving satire. "It's like a postcard to someone who doesn't live here," Balchunas likes to tell people. "A funny postcard."