To Be Famous, or Philly-Famous? That Is the Question

Well, well, well Mr. Chelmsford, look who put on his pretentious panties this morning.

I got the feeling people looted more out of a sense of obligation than commitment. Really, not such a bad night, all things considered.

'Verum usque in praesentem diem multa garriunt inter se Canonici de abscondito quodam istius Abbatis Thomae thesauro, quem saepe, quanquam adhuc incassum

Was on Broad Street today and saw the boarded-up windows in the wake of the Phillies win. Yipes. Not on a level with the Astor Place riot, of course. Not that that's something to aspire to ...

That's a great observation, and certainly true of many of Chicago's massively talented success stories. Here in Philly we haven't been quite as lucky in getting our out-of-town successes back on a regular basis. However, Philly theater hasn't been this vibrant since the Barrymore era, so maybe things are changing. After all, if the Phils can win the World Series, I'm willing to believe just about anything.

It's just in the nature of things that talent will tend to go where it gets paid the most. But don't be too concerned if they get caught in CSI. As it happens, CSI was partially the brainchild of its star, William Petersen, who has left the show to return to Chicago much enriched. He will do two plays there this season and support the companies that gave him his first work when he was a kid. Sometimes (often) the TV stars return to the theatre, bringing their TV fans with them, bringing in new audiences, some of whom discover they actually like the theatre.