Mavericks, Richard Thompson Headline Philly Folk Fest

The 52nd Philadelphia Folk Fest kicks off at the Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford Aug. 16-18.

The Philadelphia Folksong Society has announced the lineup for the 52nd Philadelphia Folk Festival, running August 16 to August 18 at Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford Township. The Mavericks and Richard Thompson are headlining the fest, according to a blog on Philly.com. The Maverick are country rockers and Thompson is a British guitar virtuoso, according to the blog. Here is the rest of the bill: Tickets for the Folk Fest are, at present, 20 percent off. You can buy tickets here. Here is the breakdown for ticket prices. There are extra fees for RV camping: Vehicle camping requires a $40 add-on ticket for each RV. Attendees can also buy reserved seating tickets at an extra cost. Reserved seating are located at the front of the stage. Friday…

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Steel River Playhouse Gets Silly with 'Becky Shaw'

Steel River Playhouse's newest comedic production, titled 'Becky Shaw,' debuts on Friday at 8 p.m.

Steel River Playhouse will debut their newest production this Friday with a viewing of "Becky Shaw" scheduled for 8 p.m. Directed by Aaron Gould, the production is built around "the worst possible blind date." Tickets for the show range between $15 to $19, and additional showtimes are availble on their website. Per their press release: Who is BECKY SHAW? She's the namesake of our next production, a furious comedy built around the worst possible blind date. A brisk, scathingly funny, and contemporary look at dating, marriage and the foibles of relationships, BECKY SHAW is a tale of two mirrors. One mirror reflects well-drawn characters to laugh at and with, to hiss at or cheer, all the while thinking, "That so reminds me of..." Then there's…

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Bill Haley Jr. and the Comets to Perform at Sunnybrook Ballroom

Bill Haley Jr. will perform and share inside stories behind the enduring music of the 1950s in his Rock and Roll History Show.

Bill Haley Jr. tells the story of how his father’s iconic song, “Rock Around the Clock,” almost never was. “That song was never recorded as a hit,” Haley explained. The story starts off with Bill Haley Sr. being stuck on a sandbar during a ferry ride to the recording studio. The recording session, under Decca Records, took place in April of 1954, and was meant for the A-side recording of the song, “Thirteen Women (and Only One Man in Town).” Haley said that the band took all day to record that song and finished up with only 45 minutes left of studio time, of which Haley Sr. decided to record the B-side “Rock Around the Clock.” “It took two takes,” Haley said. “They thought they kind of blew it.” According to Haley, the recordings were not …

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Pottstown Poet Publishes First Collection

Chad Repko’s ‘Touch and Moonlight’ explores the erotic pull of love and romance.

Pottstown native Chad Repko has published his first collection of poems with the book “Touch and Moonlight,” which has a focus on erotic poetry . “Erotic poetry would be any poems that have a sexual fervor to it,” Repko said in a correspondence with Pottstown Patch. “It could be spiritual, romantic or straight up pornographic, I suppose.” Further description of this poetic sub-genre to love or romantic writings may be seen through the first stanza of his poem “A Prayer so Long Forgotten”: I want to touch this temple, and feel the smoothness of its skin I want to kneel down at the alter and feel the fire that burns within But, to exactly define the meaning of erotic poetry, Repko said, would be, “like reaching in the air and pulling …

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Local Student Named to Cast of Emerson College's 'Newfest 2013: Catatonia' Production

Katharine Burkhart, of Pottstown, has been cast as Scenic Designer in Emerson's production of 'Newfest 2013: Catatonia.'

Emerson College has announced that Katharine Burkhart, of Pottstown, has been cast as Scenic Designer for the upcoming "Newfest 2013: Catatonia" stage production. In a press release, Emerson describes the production with the following: In a chaotic but cozy apartment, a young woman named Molly is deep in a quarter-life crisis. When she is unexpectedly visited by ghosts of the literary past, she is forced to reckon head-on with the sad state of her disintegrating marriage, her sexually manipulative affair, and her cosmically twisted spiral downward. Burkhart, a BFA Double Major, was previously featured in the Pottstown Patch after she made the Dean's List for the fall 2012 semester. We would like to wish her continued success in all her …

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PJPII High School’s 'Disney Beauty and the Beast' a Treat for All Ages

Kelly Thunstrom, local arts reviewer, attended opening night of Pope John Paul II High School's 'Disney Beauty and the Beast.'

Pope John Paul II High School’s Studio 38 Drama Department has become renowned in the area for putting on class-act spring musicals. Their 2013 performance of Disney Beauty and the Beast easily continues the tradition, with exquisite costumes (courtesy of a squadron of costume moms), beautiful and complicated sets (courtesy of four set designers and a team of builders), gorgeous music (courtesy of musical director/conductor Eleanor Bono Griffin and a 16-member orchestra), and a cast and crew of 200 students (yes, you read that correctly). Director/choreographer Marusia Griffin Lynn has assembled a very talented group of students, young children, and adults to be a part of her latest endeavor. What makes PJPII productions different from …

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Neil Simon's Award-Winning Comedy 'Lost in Yonkers' to Premier at Steel River Playhouse

Beginning on March 7 and ending on March 24, 'Lost in Yonkers' will show Thursdays through Sundays at the Steel River Playhouse in Pottstown.

Neil Simon's Pulitzer winning "Lost in Yonkers" will make it's debut at the Steel River Playhouse on Thursday, March 7, and will continue to show Thursdays through Sundays until March 24. Tickets for the show cost $15, and can be purchased online by clicking here. From the Steel River Playhouse: For Lost in Yonkers, it’s 1942 in a Yonkers, N.Y. apartment atop the family candy store.  But all is not sugar and spice.  A traveling salesman leaves his sons Jay and Arty, with their crusty grandmother, the candy store's gritty proprietor.  Enter a vivid array of family characters from “gangster” Uncle Louie to “mouth breather” Aunt Gert. Grandma Kurnitz and her grown, but child-like daughter, Bella, provide lots of family fireworks.  And Jay and…

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Arts and Antiques with Dr. Lori

Appraising Some Manly Antiques

Dr. Lori’s antiques appraisal can sometimes break hearts and make millionaires.

At my events, I cut to the core. No nonsense, no delicate high-brow vocabulary, no malarkey. I tell it like it is. If you have a piece of junk, I tell you. If you spent too much money on something, I tell you. If you are hoping to become of millionaire on a collection of Pez dispensers, I tell you that it’s not happening in this lifetime. I have been known to break a heart or two and I have been known to reveal that the ugly lamp you have can make you a millionaire in the antiques market. And, I reveal my faults too—like my well-documented and obvious (particularly on my thighs and hips) addiction to chocolate bars. My antiques appraisal shows—presented more than 150 times every year-are funny and frank. I have been told by my audience …

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Equipment Problems Force Cancellation of Songs for the Heart

The Songs for the Heart Lyric Fest cabaret, which was scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16, has been cancelled due to equipment problems.

If you were planning on visiting the Steel River Playhouse to see the Songs for the Heart Lyric Fest this Saturday, you're going to have to wait a little longer. Due to an equipment problem, Saturday's show has been cancelled, but don't lose hope: a new date for the show will be announced as soon as it can be scheduled. Those who purchased tickets in advance will receive refunds, and according to Warren Levy, of the Steel River Playhouse, the repairs are being made as quickly as possible as to not affect future performances or productions. Additionally, rehearsals, classes and lessons will continue as scheduled, as they are not affected by the technical issue.

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'You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown' in Boyertown

The show will be presented on Thursday, Feb. 28 and Friday, March 1 at 7 p.m., with a matinee performance on Saturday, March 2 at 3 p.m.

“Good Grief!” can be heard in the hallways of Boyertown Junior High West these days as the students are preparing for the musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. This year’s show promises another great night of entertainment with music for everyone to enjoy. You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown follows the daily life of Charlie Brown and the other Peanuts gang members. Quinn Hair plays the role of Charlie Brown, one of the most beloved comic strip characters. Charlie Brown’s highly imaginative sidekick, Snoopy, is played by Adam Helmer. Featured Peanuts gang characters include David Helmer as the piano prodigy Schroeder; Trent Soto as the blanket-carrying Linus van Pelt; Allyson Bennett as “know-it-all” Lucy van Pelt; Kiersten Tadley as …

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