Photo by Kyle Cassidy.

Stranded on an island with daughter Miranda for over a decade, Prospero, the overthrown Duke of Milan, ensorcels a wild storm to maroon a passing ship carrying passengers returning from a royal wedding.

It’s a prophetic tempest with a purpose–with the use of illusion, manipulation, and supernatural wildlings, Prospero plans to expose his brother Antonio as abject for supplanting his post, setting in motion the fantastical emprise of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.”

Come Wednesday, July 24, the early 17th century play will be the subject of Shakespeare in Clark Park‘s (SCP) latest production when it returns to  “The Bowl” at Clark Park for its eighth summer season. SCP’s “The Tempest” will be directed by Adrienne Mackey, Swim Pony Performing Arts artistic director and adjunct Theatre professor at Drexel University, and designed by veteran SCP thespian Bradley Wrenn (also Mackey’s husband). Performances of “The Tempest,” held for free at 43rd Street and Chester Avenue, will start at 7 p.m. and run through Sunday, July 28.

“‘The Tempest’ is different from anything SCP has tackled before,” said Shakespeare in Clark Park Artistic Director Marla Burkholder. “It is a magical fantasy that falls outside of comedy and tragedy. It felt like a good challenge for the company to move away from the strictly comedic works we have done for the past [five] summers as we move into the realm of the less known pieces from Shakespeare’s cannon.”

Under Mackey’s direction, SCP’s production of “The Tempest” will color itself outside the theater lines. While Prospero’s role is typically cast with a male actor, Mackey has brought in Barrymore Award-winning actress Catharine Slusar to take on the contentious lead, describing the Bryn Mawr theater director as “an incredible power house…able to take on the challenge of a character that is controlling an opaque.”  Continue Reading

This cat seems to be lost and looking for its owners around 44th/45th and Osage, according to residents who live on that block. A neighbor, Andrew, writes that the cat is “good with humans, seems relatively well fed, and is jumpy in the outside, so my only guess is that this is an indoor cat that has lost his way.”

If you are its owner, please email Andrew at: werdnaphila@gmail.com for more information.

Photo by West Philly Local reader Jazmin Idakaar.

It’s scorching in Philadelphia and many residents are looking for ways to cool off. Unfortunately, some ways of cooling off can be costly. An illegally opened fire hydrant caused a water outage on Tuesday, July 16 near 52nd and Locust Streets. The break disrupted water service for some fifty properties in the area for 11 hours (11:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.). and then took hours of clean-up. West Philly Local readers reported lots of water coming out of spots along the street at 52nd & Locust after the break.

“When you open a hydrant illegally, you run the risk of bodily harm, possibly death, property damage and situations like this, where you have a water main break and people on the block with no water,” John DiGiulio of the Philadelphia Water Department told ABC.

Image via Crimereports.com.

There have been reports of multiple robberies and burglaries west of 43rd street, as the annual summer spike in street crime continues. Readers asked us about an increase in late night/early morning robberies and police confirmed that there were six gun point robberies over the past month in the area from 43rd to 48th, Pine Street to Chester Avenue.

There have also been many burglaries in the area in the recent weeks (see map image for robberies and burglaries in the past month). One of the reasons for that is that people leave their windows open in the summer, according to police, so please make sure to close your windows before leaving the house.

As it’s not unusual to see an uptick in crime during summer months it is still of concern, Joe Murray of the Southwest Police Detectives said in an email. We’ll keep a close look on the crime situation in the area and post updates when we have them.

The sign on the front door of Saad’s Halal at 45th and Walnut is a familiar site this time of year.

Ramadan is here so that means a few good eating spots will be closed or have seriously reduced hours for the next few weeks.

Saad’s Halal at 45th and Walnut closed July 8 and will remain closed until August 12. Saad’s also has that special brown paper on its windows that usually means some sort of renovation is going on inside. We’ll see.

Manakeesh, across the street from Saad’s at 45th and Walnut, will be open 7:30 p.m. to midnight until August 9. Sweets to go only will be served from 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Manakeesh staff will begin taking orders for meals at 8:15 and will begin serving food at sunset – around 8:30 p.m. Special meals will be offered on Friday and Saturday.

Kabobeesh, the terrific Pakastani joint at 42nd and Chestnut, appears to be keeping regular hours (Monday though Sunday, noon to 11 p.m.) as it did last year. Last year they offered free iftar (the evening meal during Ramadan) for those fasting during the holiday.

A reader, April, has found an orange and white cat on her porch near 44th and Walnut. He/she seems obviously cared for but lost outside, according to April. The cat has a bell and a pet watch tag that was never registered but it seems that the cat had been adopted from PAWS.

If it is your cat please call 215 510 1798.