Martin and Malcolm arm wrestling for the future of the movement in The Meeting, one of three short plays that comprise this year’s Theatre in the X (Photos by West Philly Local).

Theatre in the X, the all-black free theatre that is quickly becoming an August staple on 52nd St., kicked off its third season Sunday evening in Malcolm X Park at 51st and Pine.

This year’s works include New Black Math, “a creative explanation of what a Black play is”; The Meeting, a poignant and provocative fictional meeting between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.; and Love, Queens who Suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,  a choreopoem that examines gun violence, abuse, love and heritage from the perspective of a black woman. Continue Reading

The new rabbi at Kol Tzedek, Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari (Photo courtesy of Kol Tzedek.)

Kol Tzedek, the reconstructionist synagogue based at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community on Baltimore Avenue, has a new rabbi, Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari, and a new Torah school director, Rabbi Michelle Greenfield. Their first services will be this Saturday, Aug. 6.

A New York native, Fornari has served as director of the Boston-area Jewish Education Program and as a part-time prison chaplain. He was ordained from the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. As a student, he spent two years working at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST) in New York, teaching, preaching, and providing pastoral care for congregants.

The synagogue’s search committee chair, Rob Auritt, told the Jewish Exponent that Fornari, who is transgender, has a “singular ability to engage people of all levels of Jewish experience and previous participation in organized Judaism, people of all sexual orientations and gender expressions, and those committed to anti-racism and to a multiracial Jewish civilization.”

Fornari replaces Kol Tzedek’s founding rabbi, Lauren Grabelle Hermann, who left for a position at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism in New York.  Continue Reading

4050-52 & 4054 Chestnut St. (Photo courtesy Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia)

Two West Philly buildings – 4050-52 & 4054 Chestnut St. and 1026-28 Belmont Ave – have recently been added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. The historic designation means that the Philadelphia Historical Commission would have to review any major changes to the buildings. Overall, nine city buildings were added to the register after the Historical Commission ended its marathon meeting on July 8. Residents from neighborhoods as diverse as Oxford Circle and University City, Germantown and Kensington had successfully petitioned for these properties to be named to the register.

“Residents all over the city, fearing that post-recession development and an epidemic of tear-downs would change the character of their communities, took action and saved these properties. It represents a citywide effort that recognizes the intrinsic and economic benefits of protecting our historic resources,” Paul Steinke, executive director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, said in a statement.

Here’s more information about the two West Philadelphia buildings added to the Register from the Preservation Alliance:

4050-52 & 4054 Chestnut Street

Nominated by professor Aaron Wunsch, University City Historical Society president Elizabeth Stegner, and historian Oscar Beisert, these three houses, two of which are attached, feature Italianate bracket-and-dentil cornices, segmental-pediment dormers and paired, round-headed sash. These twins were commissioned by Thomas H. Powers, the eminent chemical magnate and real estate developer, as part of a larger development intended to lure city-dwellers west in anticipation of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition. These are among the eight surviving homes on the block that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

This building is next door to the property recently saved (pending appeals) from demolition after a hearing in the Court of Common Pleas.

                Google Street View image.

1026-28 Belmont Avenue

Nominated by the University City Historical Society with preservationist Andrew Cushing and historian Oscar Beisert, this Italian Renaissance Revival fire house was built in 1896 for Engine Company No. 16. It is among the few surviving smaller municipal buildings designed early in his career by John T. Windrim, the architect of the Wanamaker Building, Franklin Institute and Family Court Building. No. 16 is a three-story brick and terra cotta building, with a sculpted seal of the City of Philadelphia, garland keystone on the garage arch and white sandstone ground floor façade.

July was great in West Philly, with its traditional Shakespeare in Clark Park nights, University City Dining Days, and other popular events. August doesn’t look too shabby either with more outdoor theater and concerts, outdoor movies, and more. Here’s what’s happening this month in the area:

Theatre in the X will present three Sundays of three powerful plays at Malcolm X Park this month.

Theatre in the X will present three Sundays of three plays at Malcolm X Park (51st and Pine): The Meeting by Jeff Stetson, Love, Queens who Suffer from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder by Jamila Capitman and Heather Thomas, and New Black Math by Suzan-Lori Parks. Aug. 7 at 6 p.m., Aug. 14 at 3 p.m., and Aug. 21 at 6 p.m. Free event.

BlackStar Film Festival featuring work by and about people of color in a global context will take place at the International House Philadelphia (37th and Chestnut) on August 4-7.

After taking July off due to the heat and student exodus, Uhuru Flea Market will return to Clark Park ”B” (43rd and Chester) on Saturday, Aug. 20, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. (rain date: Sunday, Aug. 21).

The 40th Street Summer Series‘ August concert will feature a powerful performance by The Liberian Women’s Chorus for Change, an award-winning group composed of renowned singers, dancers, and musicians from Liberia. Saturday, Aug. 20, 6 p.m. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page. Free event.

Due to rain, Bat Night at The Woodlands was cancelled last week, but all are invited this month to enjoy a double feature event – Bat and Moth Night – on Thursday, Aug. 25, starting at 6 p.m. Free event.

The Clark Park Movie Series kicks off on Friday, Aug. 26 with a screening of Finding Nemo. This is a free, family-friendly event. Movies begin at dusk.

West Philadelphia Jazz Heritage Series will continue at Malcolm X Park. August performances: Aug. 4 – Budesa Brothers; Aug. 18 – Perfect Solution. 7 p.m. Free.

Summer Nights Concert Series continues at Penn Museum. Concerts are every Wednesday at 5 p.m. Aug. 3 – Barakka; Aug. 10 – Leana Song; Aug. 17 – El Caribefunk; Aug. 24 – Farah Siraj; Aug. 31 – Animus. $10.

Audiences were enthralled last summer for Theatre in the X’s almost three hour all-Black presentation of Shakespeare’s Othello (Photo West Philly Local).

Theatre in the X, a group comprised of three local theater artists – Carlo Campbell, Walter DeShields and LaNeshe Miller-White – is returning for its third season to Malcolm X Park this month with free outdoor performances.

In honor of their third season the group will present ​three Sundays of three plays: The Meeting by Jeff Stetson, the story of a fictional meeting between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X; Love, Queens who Suffer from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, a choreopoem written and compiled by Jamila Capitman and Heather Thomas featuring the writing of Philadelphia poets; and New Black Math by Suzan-Lori Parks, a creative explanation of what a Black play is.

Performances take place at Malcolm X Park, 5100 Pine St., on Aug. 7 at 6 p.m., Aug. 14 at 3 p.m., and Aug. 21 at 6 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own chair for a guaranteed seat.  Continue Reading