When geeks throw the party: Philly style

Last night at the Troc, two of my favorite Philly websites, Geekadelphia and Cinedork, hosted an epicly epic screening of Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World.  Hands down, this was my favorite film of 2010, and I was thrilled to get to see it on the big screen again.

And while I didn’t break out my Envy Adams costume, a large handful of people did don their best Ramona/Scott/Kim Pine/Gideon/etc. duds and won a wide array of awesome Scott Pilgrim stuff for their efforts.  My personal favorite was the Stephen Stills who even brought his guitar.  He’s the talent, after all.

Today, Twitter was all abuzz with how much fun we all had.  Even director Edgar Wright had a kind word for us geeks and our efforts:

edgarwright: @cinedork I love it http://www.flickr.com/photos/designerofdoom/sets/72157625280212831/ about 4 hours ago via web

I might miss all my best geeks in Atlanta, but take it from me: Philly can throw the geek party right.

Photo by Dan Tabor.  See more here.

Treats in Center City

I spent this morning getting 6 vials of blood drawn, but only after the nurse took about 10 minutes digging around in my arm, trying to pierce my vein.  Not my biggest idea of fun — don’t let the tattoos fool you, I am terrified of getting stuck.  Yeeuch.

Obviously a morning this terrible needs to be compensated for in a spectacular way.  Mine? A ticket to the Philadelphia Orchestra to hear Ravel’s arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, followed by a trip to the Naked Chocolate Cafe.

As I’ve mentioned previously, I know pretty much nothing about classical music.  But NPR is my occasional friend, and I’ve been in love with Pictures since I heard it one morning on a much-too-early drive to work.  This rendition didn’t disappoint, but I did wish for more volume.  I like to feel like the decibels are punching me in the gut.

The rooftop garden at the Kimmel was actually open today, so I got a chance to go up and take a peek.  First thought: the elevator ride is scary but makes for an awesome view.  (Design Philadelphia is setting up something rad-looking in the yard next to the Broad Street Ministry; I really want to know what it is!)  Second thought: the garden is much less of a garden than I thought, but it’s still really neat.  Trees in the sky!

The rooftop garden was warm, but the street was windy and chilly.  When it’s cold, I live on hot chocolate.  I’d read about the Naked Chocolate Cafe, and knew I just had to stop by and try their wares.  I got a petit Aztec hot chocolate (mixed with nutmeg, cinnamon, and other spices) done in a European style (incredibly thick), and I picked up a chocolate and vanilla cupcake for later.  The place is decadence to the extreme — my total bill for the 2 items was 6.75 + tip — but oh so worth it.

Next time: I’m going to attempt to eat actual food at an actual food restaurant in Center City.  Suggestions are welcome.

Where are all the Halloween scares?

There are few things I drag my lazy self out of the house for, but Shakespeare is usually one of them.  I did, after all, work at a renowned Southern Shakespeare theatre for 8 years.

So was the Wilma’s Macbeth worth the train ride to Center City?  Well, yes and no.

Yes, because it featured some stunning visuals: the weird sisters crawling up and down the walls, the variable and emotional use of lighting throughout, the Birnam Wood reveal.  And no, because none of these interesting visuals translated into an emotional affective experience.  Yes, because the Wilma’s space is beautiful and worth seeing; no, because a fantastic space alone can’t make up for a lack of connection with the audience and the other actors onstage.  Yes, because Lady Macbeth’s unraveling was compelling to watch; and no, because, aside from the “Out, damn spot” scene, neither she nor anyone else on the stage seemed to have much business performing Shakespeare.

The Wilma had never tackled the Bard before, and to be honest, it shows.  Nearly every actor threw out their lines like grand pronouncements — they seemed to be eternally conscious that were Doing Shakespeare.  But the poetry of early modern theatre works best if you treat it like normal language, as the actors of PAC’s The Duchess of Malfi did.

I thought at least seeing Macbeth around Halloween-time would be a good, spooky theatre-going experience, but the play is strangely bloodless.  The production outright ignores the text when Banquo appears at the banquet scene: though Macbeth plainly calls his visage “gory,” the Wilma’s Banquo was spotlessly clean, attired in white, and not even very scary.  I haven’t seen a better Halloween production to recommend (I hear Carrie is getting panned), but I can tell you the creep-factor just isn’t here.

Macbeth is evidently popular enough that the Wilma has extended its run until November 13th.  But really, I’d recommend saving your $30+ and renting yourself a scary movie instead.

Friday afternoon highbrow interlude

If there’s one most exciting thing about the highbrow Philadelphia culture scene for me, it’s the student subscription service offered by the Philadelphia Orchestra.  For $25, students can get one ticket to as many shows as they want for the whole season.  That’s a whole lot of orchestra performances for less than 1 ticket would usually cost.

On Friday afternoon (ah, the life of a grad student), I took advantage of this deal for the first time, and hauled myself down to the Kimmel to see Dutoit conduct.  “The Starry Night of Romeo & Juliet” included excerpts from Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet ballet and a Dutilleux piece inspired by Van Gogh’s Starry Night.  Both are exceptionally beautiful pieces of music in their own ways, and were a joy to hear.

But the real treat of the show was watching my favorite classical pianist, Jeremy Denk, play Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1.  Sitting down towards the front, I didn’t have a great view of his hands, but the sheer joy in his face went a long way to making up for it.

I’d love to wow all 6 of you reading this with a detailed analysis of the music and the performances, but the truth is I’m a total classical music n00b.  The only things I know, I read in Alex Ross’s The Rest is Noise, just like every other 20-something affecting a greater cultural knowledge than she actually possesses.  So all I can say is, Jeremy Denk is a dreamboat (and runs the best blog ever), the Philadelphia Orchestra is pretty darn good, and you can’t beat $25 to visit the gorgeous Kimmel Center multiple times in a season.

Next time: 2 things!  I won’t wear the dress that shows all the tattoos — oh my, the blue hairs had some nasty looks for me — and hopefully the skylight garden will be open so I can go revel in its amazingness.

Score one for the Philly theatre scene

One of the hardest things about moving from Atlanta was leaving behind my theatre friends — I worked for 6 different theatres in the 8 years I lived there, so I knew most of the artists working in theatre in town.  I knew what to see and what not to see, got in free most places, and always knew where to grab a drink afterward.

Philly theatre isn’t the same as Atlanta by a long shot (I’ll never get past missing my puppet friends, not ever), but it ain’t too shabby either.  I saw my first production here on Friday night, and it was delightful.  Well, for values of delightful including strangling, stabbing, wax body parts, a lecherous cardinal, and everybody dead at the end.

The Philadelphia Artists’ Collective put on The Duchess of Malfi, a 17th century English revenge tragedy, at the Broad Street Ministry.  The space itself is gorgeous and perfect for the piece; it’s a working church, with a lofted room used as a thrust stage theatre, adorned with thick wooden doors and lined by balconies.  The minimalist production didn’t even need set pieces in a setting this rich.  The intimacy made the tragic tale that much more affecting — the audience literally couldn’t get away from the murder and madness (and priest near-sex) happening onstage.

The play is long, even with some juicy bits cut out, but the quality of the acting and the craziness of what happens kept it from dragging.  The actors didn’t so much revel in the lines as spit them out full force.  A play like this requires that kind of intensity.  And seriously, it had some of the most realistic death scenes I’ve ever seen put on a stage.

The show runs through next weekend.  If you’re in the area, I highly recommend going to see it.