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ISSUE . March 11th, 2010
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Cover Story


Reinventing Arlen
One year after he fled the GOP, Pa.'s senior senator is scratching and clawing to do what he does best: survive.
by Dan Hirschhorn
Today, Arlen Specter is courting Democratic voters and liberal constituencies more proactively, more earnestly and more publicly than he's ever had to before. Still, his seeming willingness to change his allegiances and positions on a dime leaves some in his new party wondering, bluntly: How the hell can we trust this guy?


Opinion


Editor's Letter:
Pie Fight!
by Brian Howard
Hell, it distracts from the fact that our own country has a successful and popular scaled-down version of government-run health care. It's called Medicare.

Loose Canon:
Meet the Tree Guy
Planting trees created money in New York.
by Bruce Schimmel
"Trees are the great organizer, and there are very few people who don't like them. In Chicago, we found that neighborhoods hold up a tree as a sign of prosperity, as a symbol of life. You know, a family tree."

Feedback:
Letters to the Editor
What You Say
"Larger ships, expanded operations equals the same volume as before?"


News


News :: A Million StoriesA Million Stories
All the news we care to print.
by Jeffrey C. Billman, Brian Howard and Holly Otterbein
To Philly's Earth Quaker Action Team, simply building green doesn't cut it. Throughout last week, the group's members protested outside of the Flower Show, which PNC sponsored, because the bank does business with coal companies responsible for mountaintop removal.

Man Overboard!:
Equa-burden
If we are going to start drafting up clever new taxes, we'd first better make sure they're fair.
by Isaiah Thompson
The proposal, which would tax retailers 2 cents for every ounce of "sugar-sweetened beverage" that they sell — soda, Gatorade, frappa-mocha-chinos, and (I checked) tonic water, among others — may be multipurpose, but it's not equa-purpose. Nor is it equa-burdensome.

Sports:
Your Fantasy Draft Primer
Who to pick — and who to avoid — on the 2010 Phillies squad.
by E. James Beale
For those of us who live and die with the varied success of our clever fantasy team names — bye-bye Spliff Lees, hello The Halladay Inn — that means the time is nigh to sucker our friends into overrating Mets and finding the new breakout stars.

Soapboxer:
The New Normal
Once it's policy, there's no going back.
by Jeffrey C. Billman
The excise tax is unfairly targeted. The promised fixes may not materialize. You have every right to worry. Screw it. It's game time. Pass the bill.

The Bell Curve
City Paper's Quality-o-Life-o-Meter
When news breaks in Philadelphia, we make jokes.


Arts


Arts :: Queen Bee
Art:
Queen Bee
Philly's matriarch of the stage talks motherhood, menopause and Florence Henderson.
by David Anthony Fox
From frothy musicals to heavy drama, a season doesn't go by without a memorable Mary Martello performance. Now she's written her own vehicle, Happily Ever After, an exploration of what happens to fairy princesses when they hit a certain age.

Re-View:
School Ties
Robin Rice on Visual Art: Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris
by Robin Rice
Pablo Picasso and his Paris pals at the Philadelphia Museum of Art feels like a high school reunion.

Dance:
Style and Substance
REVIEW: Pennsylvania Ballet's Carmina Burana
by Janet Anderson
For decades, Pennsylvania Ballet considered Carmina Burana its signature work, but by 2007 the somber John Butler ballet looked a bit tired.

Theater Review:
Violent Delights
REVIEW: Arden Theatre Co.'s Romeo and Juliet
by Mark Cofta
Some might find Brian Sidney Bembridge's wood-and-steel set plain, but it echoes Shakespeare's Globe Theatre thrust stage well.

Raising the Bard
REVIEW: People's Light & Theatre Co.'s King Lear
by Mark Cofta
If a checklist for good Shakespeare direction exists, Steve Umberger's King Lear at People's Light & Theatre Co. earns a near-perfect grade.

Arts Picks:
Waiting for Godot
March 12-28, $30, Latvian Society, 531 N. Seventh St., 800-595-4849, egopo.org.
by Mark Cofta
Brenna Geffers recognizes the anxiety Samuel Beckett reveals in his 1953 existential play Waiting for Godot, but the EgoPo director isn't sweating the task of staging modern theater's most revered text.

Kaleidoscope
Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby | The Calcination of Scout Niblett | Janelle Monáe | YACHT

Arts Picks:
Red Thread
Fri., March 12, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., March 13, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; $20, Performance Garage, 1515 Brandwine St., 215-546-2552, philadanceprojects.org.
by Janet Anderson
Lisa Kraus, Eva Kraczag and Vicky Shick, who danced together in Trisha Brown's renowned NYC troupe in the '70s, reunite to perform a collaborative world première, Red Thread.


Movies


Movies :: In the HoodIn the Hood
Three directors tackle the Yorkshire Ripper in the Red Riding trilogy.
by Sam Adams
The Red Riding trilogy, adapted from a series of novels by David Pearce, offers some of the satisfactions of its more costly cousins; it's not a heroic coming-of-age tale but a dense, sprawling tapestry that finds its way into every dark and seamy corner of the north of England.

A Prophet
City Paper Grade: B
by Sam Adams
Set largely in a French cell block, Jacques Audiard's A Prophet is less a film noir than gris, its scuffed-up surfaces suggesting a world where everything and everyone is just about spent.


Music


Music :: The Next MovementThe Next Movement
Oh! Pears' Corey Duncan is assembling an ambitious rock orchestra.
by John Vettese
Bonus Web Content
Duncan, former guitarist of heady rock combo Pattern Is Movement, is joined by two cellos, two violas and an upright bass. It's the first sectional rehearsal for his new band Oh! Pears' record release show on March 13. Strings today. Tomorrow is percussion, later in the week is choral/flute and finally full band.

Reconsider Me:
Lovely Bettie
Bettie Serveert: Palomine vs. Pharmacy of Love
by M.J. Fine
You probably haven't paid much mind to Amsterdam alt-rockers Bettie Serveert in more than a decade — if you ever paid them any mind at all — but they've never really stopped doing what they do.

Music Picks:
Foreign Born
Sat., March 13, 9 p.m., $10-$12, with Free Energy and Clovers, Mar Bar, 4000 Walnut St., 215-222-0800, marbarphilly.com.
by K. Ross Hoffman
While not as overtly ethno-flecked as their multiculti kissing-cousins/alter egos, Fool's Gold, sunny L.A. denizens Foreign Born still ring true to their world-wandering moniker.

The Low Anthem
Fri., March 12, 8 p.m., $13, with Annie & The Beekeepers and Lissie, First Unitarian Sanctuary, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.
by K. Ross Hoffman
Oh My God Charlie Darwin — evolutionary inspirations aside — about the furthest thing imaginable from the artily esoteric, operatic take on On the Origin of Species recently released by Swedish synth-pop duo The Knife.


Food


Food :: Green ZoneGreen Zone
A peculiar spirit behind your local cocktail bar is having its moment.
by Tim Hyland
From that initial NyQuil shock to the down-the-gullet burn (it's 110 proof — 55 percent alcohol), Green Chartreuse presents a challenging drinking experience. Which is probably why so few Chartreuse newbies become Chartreuse regulars.

Spirit Sister:
The Climb
Behind Ladder 15's Ansill-fied revamp.
by Felicia D'Ambrosio
Not every business owner can admit failure, but those who do have an opportunity to start fresh.

What's Cooking:
The Week In Eats: Philly Beer Weekend Edition
Get Out!
by Alexandra Harcharek
Left Hand Arm Wrestling at South Philly Tap Room | Pour Your Own Guinness at O'Neal's | Craft Beer Express | Stout Brunch at Johnny Brenda's | Brewers Plate at Penn Museum

Feeding Frenzy
Restaurants opening, closing and pending
by Drew Lazor
Jay's Favorite Sushi Bar | Ro-Zu | Felicia D'Ambrosio's new column, Spirit Sister | Chick-fil-A | 500° | Fare


Agenda


Agenda :: Don't Block the Box
Agenda Lead:
Don't Block the Box
Local comic artist Box Brown has a theory on why Everything Dies.
by Brian James Kirk
"From certain standpoints, the facts are funny."

Agenda Picks:
Energy Efficiency Improvements
Commercial property owners, Tue., March 16, 3-4 p.m.; Residential property owners, Tue., March 23, 5:30-6:30 p.m., free, Free Library, Walnut Street West Branch, 201 S. 40th St., 215-685-7671, universitycity.org.
by Mandy Bee
Stop bitching about the PECO bill and do something about it.

Paul Mooney
Wed.-Thu., March 17-18, 8 p.m.; Fri-Sat., March 19-20, 8 and 10:30 p.m.; $15-$20, Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St., 215-496-9001, heliumcomedy.com.
by Brendan Bianowicz
"There's always a message in my comedy and you may not get it that night. It's like time bombs. It'll get you a week later. You'll understand."

Keyboard Karaoke
Every Tue., 8 p.m., Jolly's Dueling Piano Bar, 2006 Chestnut St., 267-687-1161, jollyspianobar.com.
by Tom Tiballi
Karaoke just became a blood sport.

Icepack
Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.
by A.D. Amorosi
How do we know spring's arrived? Other than a glowing sun melting Philly's ice sculpture weathermen?

Shopping Spree
Fashion > Forward
by Felicia D'Ambrosio
Soul Purl | PHAG Liquidation Sale | Lisa M. Reisman at Liberty Place

Agenda Picks:
Liberty Bears Art Show
Fri.-Sat., March 12-13, 7 p.m., $5, Bike Stop, 206 S. Quince St., third floor, 215-627-1662, thebikestop.com.
by Josh Middleton
The members of the bear community may have a reputation for wreaking havoc, but under that tough, brawny exterior lies a sensitive spot for fine art and goodwill.

Bell 3 Figure Drawing
Every Thu., 7-10 p.m., $5, 831 N. Second St., Apt. 3, bell3drawing.wordpress.com.
by Emily Currier
It's difficult to achieve a more laid-back, artistic atmosphere than Bell 3 Figure Drawing, which is exactly the point.


 
 
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