Vol. I No. 106
Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia
November 24, 2010
Philadelphia
Daily Record
Thanks For South Pacific
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical deals with classic issues of war, race, class and sex that still sting our imagination. It will be playing at the Academy of Music through Thanksgiving weekend. See review page 5. Photo by Peter Coombs
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tate Sen. Vincent Hughes (DW. Phila.) moves into the key position as Democrat Chair of the Appropriations Committee, a post in which another Vincent – State Sen. Vincent Fumo (D-S. Phila.) – long wielded great power in the Commonwealth, and on behalf of Philadelphia.
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The significance of his ascent is not lost on Hughes, who commented yesterday: “During our caucus leadership elections last week, my colleagues elected me to serve as the Democratic Chairman of the state Senate Appropriations Committee for this session. “I was humbled and honored to be selected and the reality of my newfound responsibilities set in immediately. “The powerful Appropriations Committee is responsible for determining how State dollars are budgeted and spent. In our struggling economy there will be excruciatingly difficult funding decisions to be made when we start mulling over the new governor’s budget. One thing is clear: Our main priority will be finding ways to create jobs and spur economic developTHE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD
ment. “It is no secret we are facing serious budget shortfalls, a fragile economy and huge job losses across the state. “As Democratic Chairman, I am ready to meet these tough decisions head on. When budgets are tight, at home or here in the government, it is imperative that we prioritize. “Leaders from both the Democratic and Republican parties need to come together and find the ways to best stretch the money in next year’s budget. “We need to create good paying and sustainable jobs; we need to invest in our future and make sure our children are receiving a quality education; and we need to continue to invest in the programs and services our friends and neighbors rely on. “The legislature, and more specifically the Appropriations Committee, will be faced with a number of formidable challenges before a responsible state spending plan is settled on before June 30, 2011. As the new Democratic Chairman of the Appropriations Committee I 24 NOVEMBER, 2010
am prepared to meet these challenges. “It is imperative the legislature works relentlessly in the coming months to bring jobs back to Penn-
sylvania and find creative and cutting-edge solutions to grow our State revenues and revive our economy. “I look forward to the opportunity
to serve my caucus in this vital leadership role. I know that this will be a difficult job, but I also know that we were not elected to take the easy way out.”
Harrisburg To Honor Pa. Pearl Harbor Vets, Tell Survivor Stories ach year the Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg holds a memorial program to honor Pennsylvania Pearl Harbor attack survivors at the Capitol East Rotunda in Harrisburg. This year’s event will take place on at 12:55 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
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To raise awareness of this effort and to capture Pennsylvania Survivor stories, the Naval Support Ac-
tivity Mechanicsburg launched a major state wide community relations and communications outreach effort called “Project Pa. Pearl Harbor Attack Survivors. This program seeks to let Pennsylvanians know we are pulling out all stops to make our annual remembrance ceremony a very special event for a very special group of veterans and their families and to
create a permanent place for their stories,” noted Navy Capt. James Smart, Commanding Officer of the Mechanicsburg. Survivors, veterans and their families, and media are encouraged to contact Mike Randazzo at (717) 605-2448, or michael.randazzo@navy.mil, for more information on the Project and this year’s remembrance event.
Reading Terminal Holiday Railroad Returns To Center City eading Terminal Market will officially kick off the holiday season Friday, Nov. 26 with its annual Holiday Railroad featuring a 500-square-foot model railroad with nearly a third of a mile of track. Now in its seventh year, the display features 12 working train lines that rumble through a multitude of miniature scenery including Center City Philadelphia, a Christmas village and snow-covered countryside.
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“The Reading Terminal Holiday Railroad has become an annual tradition that our customers and their families look forward to each year,” said Paul Steinke, general manager of Reading Terminal Market. “It’s especially fitting since the Market is housed in a former railroad terminal.” The railroad will be on display in Piano Court inside the Market located at 12th & Arch Streets and THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD
run Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Nov. 26 through Jan. 2. It will be closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, along with the rest of the Market. The Reading Terminal Holiday Railroad is sponsored by the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown and Reading Terminal Market Corp.
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Grammy-Award Winning Artist Israel Houghton Joins Health Partners’ 25th Anniversary ealth Partners celebrated its 25th anniversary with the second annual Crazy Praise Dance Showcase and Health Fair, encouraging families to make dance and fitness part of healthy living. Guest emceed by Lonnie Hunter of Praise 103.9 FM, the Showcase was held at The Baptist Worship Center in Northeast Philadelphia and featured lively performances by The Baptist Worship Center Praise Dancers; Kollective Talent from Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church; Heart of Praise Dance Ministry from Beloved St. John Evangelistic Church; and Orcheo Dance Ministries from Victory Christian Center.
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Grammy Award-Winning Artist Israel Houghton & New Breed joined the Crazy Praise Dance Showcase line up as the special musical guests. “Music and dance can be joyful, energizing displays of worship and have the power to bring people together in a healthy way,” says Houghton. “It was my pleasure to lend my talents to this positive event and be part of a truly uplifting community experience.”
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Reverend Marguerite E. Handy, executive director, Mayor’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, presented Health Partners with an official Citation on behalf of Mayor Michael A. Nutter, recognizing the health plan for “on-going innovations in managed care and its commitment to improving the quality of life for citizens that benefit from the lifechanging programs and life-preserving health services that they have provided for 25 years.” Sponsored by Praise 103.9 FM; ShopRite; Villa, and the Mayor’s
Office of Faith-based Initiatives, the dance showcase attracted a healthy crowd of more than 2,000 people. Attendees at the preshowcase health fair took advantage of the complimentary body-mass index screenings offered by Health Partners, as part of a campaign to provide 2500 free BMI screenings to the community. Participants also received information and giveaways from Temple University, Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation, Porter’s Day Care, Health Partners and KidzPartners.
ISRAEL HOUGHTON, center, and New Breed perform at Health Partners’ second annual Crazy Praise Dance Showcase and Health Fair at The Baptist Worship Center. THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD
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REV. MARGUERITE E. HANDY, executive director, The Mayor’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives (left), presented a Citation from the City of Philadelphia, in honor of Health Partners’ 25th anniversary, to Merleen Harris-Williams, MD, medical director, Health Partners (right), at Health Partners’ second annual Crazy Praise Dance Showcase at The Baptist Worship Center. Photos by Leaping Lion Photography
Revival Of South Pacific Brings Issues Of labor And Rank To The Fore by Adam Taxin A revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific opened yesterday for a six-day, eight-performance run at the Academy of Music. It’s a truly excellent production that does right by the show’s glorious musicality even as it brings fresh insights to its complex social issues. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book of short stories Tales of the South Pacific by Doylestown native James Michener, the show is set on and around a tropical island during World War II. The production emphasizes the tense relationship between military hierarchy and laborers. Male chorus scenes involve “SeaBees” (“CBs,” which stands for “construction battalions”). The “SeaBees” are “the ones who sing ‘There Is Nothing Like A Dame’,” according to Ted Chapin, president and CEO of the Rodgers & Hammerstein 24 NOVEMBER, 2010
Anderson Davis as Lt. Joseph Cable and Sumie Maeda as Liat. Photo by Peter Coombs
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Dec. 3Phila. FIGHT marks 20th anniversary gala at Ritz Carlton. For ticket and other info (215) 525-8628. Dec. 573rd Annual Rev. George Feider Memorial Communication Breakfast hosted by Millay Club alumni of Gorretti-Neumann HS, at Hyatt Regency at Penn’s Landing, 201 S,. Columbus Blvd., 9 a.m. Honored will be Penna. State Secretary Basil Merenda and others. Tickets $30. For info (215) 389-0925. Dec. 8Fire Fighters Local 22 and Police FOP Lodge 5 host plaque dedication honoring 100th anniversary of largest loss of life which killed 13 firefighters, one police officer and two fire horses at Plaza Complex on 2nd St. south of Girard Ave., 11 a.m. For info Jerry Kots (267) 5496326. Dec. 14Portrait presentation of Hon. Sheldon C. Jelin at 4 p.m. in Room 653. Reception following in Conversation Hall.
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Organization, which oversaw the show’s restoration. “They were the workers, and how they deal with [Navy airman] Lt. Joe Cable and how they deal with Bloody Mary is a very different take on the society that existed within the military hierarchy that was in a place, not on the front lines of the war, but in the support positions.” Issues of racial and ethnic differences surround the primary romantic drama, which occurs between Arkansas nurse Ensign Nellie Forbush and French plantation owner Emile de Becque, as well as the secondary romantic drama between Lt. Cable and Liat, a Tonkinese teenager. Forbush is portrayed by Carmen Cusack, a veteran of leading roles in tours of Wicked and The Phantom of the Opera. DeBecque is played by international opera veteran David Pittsinger.
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The current revival made an effort to bring more realism to the interactions between the different types of military personnel portrayed in the show, especially SeaBees in support positions on construction battalions. Chapin, during his early days at the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, sat through several productions of South Pacific next to Bill Hammerstein, Oscar Hammerstein’s oldest son and a World War II Navy veteran. Hammerstein would squirm at the less-than-realistic way the members of different branches of the military would interact with each other in the show. “There was a military hierarchy that was in a place not on the front lines of the war but in the support positions,” said Chapin. South Pacific is one of the very best shows ever made, at least in terms of the songs. The story, while gripping overall, gets slightly corny in places. The secondary romance is rather creepy especially
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the song “Younger Than Springtime”, which is not my favorite to begin with. And it does not set a Broadway benchmark for dancing.
But what songs…. This musical responds well to a lush, orchestral sound. The current production made sure it had voices to carry the weight of its full-throated
lyrics. As for opera veteran David Pittsinger, who plays the male lead Emile de Becque, wow, can he sing!
Happy Thanksgiving 24 NOVEMBER, 2010
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