Philly Chit Chat

So you’ve always wanted see New Jersey bred Kelly Ripa first thing in the morning, you can, you could either hang out at the WABC stage door or you could buy an apartment in her building. According to http://www.curbed.com/ , her current neighbor Lenny Kravitz has put his apartment up for sale.

This spectacular duplex PH loft with 6000 SF of interior space and 3000 SF of outdoor space has been newly redesigned and renovated with no expense spared to create the most luxurious and important property downtown. The 1st level contains a grand entrance area w/ 2 powder rms, living rm w/ marble FPL, a large terrace w/ a WBF, Din Rm, Media Rm w/ full bth, and a gourmet state-of- the- art kitchen w/ bth. A suspended glass staircase leads to the 2nd level which features the Mstr BR w/ a sitting area, a huge Mstr Bth and 3 addtl. BRs each w/ their own bath. Another glass staircase leads to an enormous roof deck w/ a built in barbecue. There are two large outfitted storage rooms that are included in the sale.This loft is for the Connoisseur of First Class Luxury Living and Ultimate Entertaining. Only $19 Million

Anthony Fedorov, of American Idol fame, currently appearing Off-Broadway in the Fantastiks, will be coming to Philadelphia with his band on 9/6/07 (I photographed him Sunday at the Grease opening on Broadway)

Anthony Fedorov @ Golden Gates PA – 9/6/2007
Back to Broadway Event Calendar
Anthony Fedorov will perform at the Golden Gates Club in Philadelphia on Thursday, September 6 at 7:30 PM, accompanied by his band.
The Golden Gates club is located at 11058 Rennard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19116. Meet and greet will be held before the show, so please arrive one hour prior to showtime. Parking is free, but the event is cash only.
Anthony Fedorov, who most recently starred in the off-Broadway production of the Fantasticks, will perform songs from his upcoming album, as well as some covers.
To buy tickets or for more information, go to this website: http://www.anthonyfanclub.com/concertafc.html. Tickets are $30 each.

Two-thirds of US adults admit to being in the dark about political issues outside the United States, and only a third are well-versed in US politics, the results of a poll published Tuesday showed. (Wouldn’t that be 2/3 not knowledgeable of foreign politics, and 2/3 not interested in domestic politics? or is my math screwed up?)
Candidates in the US presidential primaries “may have their work cut out for them as they work to get people interested in the election,” wrote the Harris Poll group, which surveyed 2,225 adults between July 6 and 13 for the poll.
A separate survey gave New York Senator Hillary Clinton a healthy lead over her main rival Barack Obama for the Democratic primary race.
More than 40 percent of those who would vote in a Democratic primary or caucus would vote for Clinton while 27 percent said they would vote for Obama, the poll showed.
In the Republican race for the candidacy, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani has a three-percentage point lead over ex-senator Fred Thompson, who hasn’t yet declared that he is running, that poll, which surveyed 2,870 adults in the first week of August, showed.
Global political knowledge was miniscule, with just three percent of women and 14 percent of men saying they are extremely knowledgeable on world politics.
One reason for the knowledge gap is lack of interest, according to the poll. (Photo of LL by me)

A Marathon Rain – Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (?)

According to PhillyWeather.net:

A gentle soaking rain fell throughout much of the region yesterday afternoon, last night [and today]. In some places, over an inch of rain fell, which is welcome news considering the rainfall deficit we’ve been dealing with. Philadelphia received 0.66″ of rain as of 4 AM this morning, the largest rain event in about a month in this area. Northeast Philadelphia received 1.10″ of rain.

I would have cropped this photo or spiffied it up, but I just got the new Vista system and it didn’t support my JASC Photopaint version, and I have been meaning to graduate or grudgely accept the fact that I should be doing photoshop at this point in my life, so you get nothing but virgin shots until I learn all these new applications. Well that explains why there wasn’t a post on Monday. Thanks!

I just recieved this great news: (Patti LuPone opening preview night of Sweeney Todd)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Philadelphia, PA August 15, 2007 Broadway Legends Take to the Prince Stage Tony Award winners Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin bring their new two person show to the Prince for an exclusive run. Philadelphia , PA… The Prince Music Theater is proud to announce the reunion of Broadway legends Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin in AN EVENING WITH PATTI LUPONE AND MANDY PATINKIN. More information will be coming as further arrangements are finalized. Mandy Patinkin recently finished a two season run on the highly successful television show, Criminal Minds. He won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Dr. Jeffery Geiger on Chicago Hope. In 1980 he won the Tony Award for his performance as Che Guivera in the original Harold Prince production of Evita with Ms. LuPone Patti LuPone recently received rave reviews as Mama Rose in the Jule Styne masterpiece Gypsy at New York City Center. She has been nominated for several Tony Awards including for her performance as Mrs. Lovett in the recent revival of Stephen Sondheim’s macabre opera Sweeney Todd. She won the Tony for her stellar performance as Eva Peron in the original 1980 production of Evita. Performances will begin with a special Gala Performance on Tuesday 23 October 2007 at 7pm. Other performances will run between October 24th-29th at 7pm on Wednesday, 8pm on Thursday and Friday, 2pm and 8pm on Saturday, 3pm on Sunday, and the final performance at 7pm on Monday. Tickets for non-subscribers are $65 for weeknights and matinees, and $75 for Saturday evening. Subscribers save $5 per ticket for $60 on weeknights and matinees, and $70 for Saturday evening. The opening night Gala Performance is $90 and includes an exclusive cocktail reception. All dates, times and prices are subject to change. Tickets are available through UpStages by calling 215 569 9700. Press are invited to attend performances beginning Wednesday 24 October 2007 at 7pm. For press tickets or information contact J Nathan Bazzel, Public Relations Manager, on 215 972 1014.

Something Wicked comes our way…

A ‘Wicked’ party was held Wednesday on the steps of the Academy of Music with the cast members of Wicked as they celebrated of the musical’s 1,000th performance on tour
Left to Right above: LESLIE BECKER (Midwife, u/s Madame Morrible) ; original tour company cast members: BARBARA TIRRELL (Madame Morrible). and TERRA LYNN ARRINGTON (Ensemble); TOM FLYNN (Dr. Dillamond), and BRAD WEINSTOCK (Boq). In the back is Steve Quinn, Company Manager.

Leslie Becker told me a funny story that occured the very first night of the Wicked tour last year when it played the Academy of Music for the first time; (SPOILER ALERT) as Glinda floated down in the bubble it blew the fuse on the electricity and the stage went dark. The old girl just couldn’t handle the wattage of Wicked and it’s magic. After a maintenance break, a few adjustments, the show went on and the Academy’s electricity never failed again. It has been the only glitch the show has ever experienced in Philly and they of course told me that the Philly audience was the best, giving them a standing ovation every night.

BARBARA TIRRELL and TERRA ARRINGTON sign autographs for their young fansIf you haven’t seen Wicked yet, pick up the phone, or click here http://www.wickedthemusicaltour.com/ and GO SEE IT, (I must confess, I have seen it FIVE times)

A Wicked time on Broadway err I mean Broad Street…

If you have a minute, you really outta read some of the comments left by the Def Leppard fans on my Monday posting. They are as loyal and tenacious as those Claymates that gave me an ear whipping a few weeks back!