ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
PAGE 10
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2015
For student bartenders, a balancing act Student bartenders learn to balance schoolwork and working in Philly’s nightlife. By LOGAN BECK The Temple News
MARGO REED TTN
Jeff Kinslow (left), and Allison Cahill play a game of circular billiards at the “Alice in Wonderland” 150th anniversary exhibit at the Rosenbach Museum.
Museum celebrates ‘Alice in Wonderland’ The Rosenbach highlights connections between the famous book and Philadelphia. By SAMI RAHMAN The Temple News In 1928, Philadelphia native A.S.W. Rosenbach purchased an original manuscript of “Alice In Wonderland,” for today’s equivalent of $1 million. As part of the 150th anniversary of the book's release, the Rosenbach Museum, started by Rosenbach himself, is holding an exhibit on the book and its influence on popular culture. “We were thinking about what elements of the work we wanted to look at,” co-curator Kathy Haas said. "We ended up looking at three different angles on both Alice and Carroll.” The first section of the exhibit, “Wonderland Rules: Alice at 150,” focuses on the impact the text has had and why it is still relevant to-
day.
“Before Carroll comes along, you pretty much just have these morality tales that were intended for children,” said Alice Emerson, manager of external relations at the Rosenbach. “If little Johnny does something bad, he gets punished, and things like that.”
delphia philanthropists gifted the book back to its people,” Emerson said. “It was sort of a goodwill gesture after their help in World War II.” The section also features handwritten letters between Carroll and various publishers and colleagues, as well as letters written by Alice
ended up looking at three different “Weangles on both Alice and Carroll.” Kathy Haas | Exhibits co-curator
Carroll changed that notion by emphasizing imagination and turning all of that adult authority into “nonsense.” A second section of the exhibit delves into the connection between “Alice In Wonderland” and Philadelphia. When Rosenbach purchased the book, he brought it back to his collection and made international headlines. After World War II, the book eventually made its way back to British soil. “Rosenbach and other Phila-
Liddell, the daughter of a family friend who was the inspiration for the story. When a young Liddell asked to hear a story on a boating trip, Carroll told the first version of what would come to be known as “Alice In Wonderland.” The final section of the exhibit, “Why Is A Raven Like A Writing Desk?” focuses on Carroll’s different riddles and puzzles. Carroll’s day job was a professor of mathematics at Oxford, where he went by his legal name Charles
Dodgson. “He loved puzzles,” Haas said. “And he invented a lot of them.” The original manuscript Rosenbach purchased was on display for the first week of the exhibit, but has since been returned to England. A rare first-edition copy of “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland,” as it was originally titled, can be seen in the exhibition. “The first edition was recalled by Carroll because of printing problems, so not very many copies are out there,” Haas said. Instead of recalling the books, the publishing company put in a new title page and sold the books to American readers. The exhibit runs from now until May 15 at the Rosenbach. A fourth section of the exhibit will be added March 26, focusing on the photography of Lewis Carroll. “There have been countless re-interpretations of this story throughout the years,” Emerson said. “But it can always be fresh, and I think that is a testament to the power of the story.” * sami.rahman@temple.edu
THEATER
Rizzo remembered in biographical play Theatre Exile turned the life and times of the former mayor into a new production. By GRACE MAIORANO The Temple News “This was Frank…,” said one audience member after stepping out of a “Rizzo” matinee, the show’s world premiere. Through their latest production, Philadelphia-based company Theatre Exile set out to transform the controversies of former Philadelphia mayor Frank Rizzo into a full-length play. Exile commissioned Bruce Graham to create the production using excerpts of “The Last Big Man in Big City America,” by former Inquirer reporter Sal Paolantonio. “We felt the book was a very balanced look at the man,” Exile artistic director Joe Canuso said. Social, political and racial elements surrounding Rizzo during his time as police commissioner and mayor have evoked a spectrum of views by Philadelphians over the past half-century. The play strives to iron out these conflicting perceptions of the controversial mayor with neutrality. “We didn’t want to glorify him, but we didn’t want to say he was the devil,” Canuso said. “We wanted to take a step back and be
objective.” The play is not solely an examination of the man—rather, the production uses Rizzo as a lens to witness the history of Philadelphia. Bookended by the scene of Rizzo’s death during his 1991 campaign, the play flashes back to moments of his personal and public life while tracking major events of the mid to late 20th century, like the Civil Rights Movement, antiVietnam War sentiment and gay and women’s rights reform movements. “The Rizzo years were a very turbulent time in the city. … He was in the middle of all of this change going on,” Canuso said. “And he believed that the way to keep order was to keep the status quo.” Headlines from Philadelphia newspapers were projected above the stage to convey cultural changes unfolding during the city’s tumultuous times. “It’s fascinating to be an outsider and for the play to almost be like an explanation as to why the city is the way it is,” said California native Brey Ann Barrett, the company’s director of new play development. “Why the city almost feels like it’s going through a recovery since then.” To embody the spirit of Rizzo, actor Scott Greer said he approached the role with impartiality when he joined the early stages of the production in 2014. “Everyone has their own Rizzo story,” Greer said. “But in the end, you just have to forget who he
For Stephen Recchia, happy hour is not the tell-tale sign of a long day of school coming to an end—it's when he clocks in. Recchia can be found pouring and mixing at Fado, a popular Irish pub on Locust Street near 15th. If you’re interested, he said he’ll “talk your ear off” about beer, from local brews to European pints. Recchia, a junior film and media arts major, balances part-time schoolwork with full-time bartending. “Fado is pretty much my staple in the industry, but I have worked for Cavanaugh’s River Deck and pull some guest gigs sometimes in the city as well as in the suburbs,” Recchia said. “I’ve done some private event stuff too.” Managing multiple customers has become a challenge Recchia is accustomed to after two years in the industry. “I can take three orders and compliment you on your T-shirt while singing to the new Justin Bieber track,” Recchia said. “I have fun, but try to be as efficient and steadfast as possible.” He didn’t always handle large crowds with such ease. Recchia said the best experience he got was through bar-backing— watching the bartenders work and asking them questions. “You’re not going to become a good bartender by taking a one-week course for $100,” Recchia said. “You need to be covered in beer, picking exploded glass out of your hand while taking three drink orders, all the while having to pee, to be good. You’ll get there with time.” Junior journalism major Shannon Hurley, a bartender at Fette Sau in Fishtown, said one of the biggest misconceptions about student bartenders is they’re only in it for the tips. “That’s a huge part of the job obviously, but speaking for myself, I genuinely love
You need to be “ covered in beer, picking exploded glass out of your hand while taking three drink orders ... You’ll get there with time.
”
Kathy Haas | Exhibits co-curator
COURTESY KORY AVERSA
Scott Greer (left) and Amanda Schoonover perform in “Rizzo.”
was in terms of history and what people think and just play the part.” As a native of Atlanta, Greer himself did not have his own Rizzo story from the 1960s and ‘70s. His preparation for the role, however, unbeknownst to himself, initiated two decades ago. In a chance decision, Greer read Paolantonio’s book after moving to Philadelphia in the early 1990s. “I was fascinated with his contradictions even before playing him,” Greer said. “I certainly never imagined when I read the book that I would be playing him.” After receiving the role 20 years later, Greer reviewed several parts of the book in preparation for the show, paricularly segments regarding Rizzo’s relationship with his father. Alongside Canuso,
Greer studied videos of Rizzo, concentrating on his speech pattern and mannerisms. Aside from these technical aspects, Greer and Canuso enriched the play by interviewing individuals who had direct experiences with Rizzo, like former Philadelphia mayor Wilson Goode, former Pennsylvania state senator Vince Fumo and Rizzo’s political strategist Martin Weinberg, who is also a character in the production. “We did not want to have a cartoon of this man,” Canuso said. “Rather than having to look or talk exactly like him, it was more about finding the essence of him ... this truthful and honest sense of him.” * grace.maiorano@temple.edu
talking to people, getting to know them and making them great drinks,” Hurley said. “It bothers me when people think I am being fake friendly just to get a decent tip out of someone.” For Hurley, bartending fell into her lap after a bartender at the restaurant quit. Ten percent of the job, Hurley said, is making the drink, but 90 percent is the social skills that make the customer’s experience enjoyable. Though there is no “typical day in the office” for a bartender, Recchia said the most typical nightlife atmosphere can be seen on Friday or Saturday night around 11 p.m. “Behind the bar, it’s loud and you can’t see that well,” Recchia said. “It’s all a part of the overdrive you’re about to shift gears into. Speed and precision become the policy while clear eye contact and lip reading becomes a skill.” While Recchia enjoys making drinks, he says it’s just as important to be good at networking as it is to make a cocktail. “Sure, you make the meanest alcoholic root beer float, but if you’re only posting your check-ins at work and not out there drinking and meeting people in other bar scenes, you’re not going to be much of name, are you?” Recchia said. * logan.beck@temple.edu