Icepack

I’m all for high concept, whether it’s an idea that drives an aesthetic endeavor, a social climb, a medical postulation or a psychological solution. The bolder and simpler, the better. That’s why I like the sound of Ardmore playwright Nicholas Wardigo’s new work, Snowglobe, about two women stuck in a small space talking about faith and science. Should be exquisitely dramatic and thought-provoking. “To me, the theme and setting of this play are interconnected,” says Wardigo. “When your entire reality fits inside a space 15 feet in diameter, asking ‘why’ is a natural reaction. Everyone, sooner or later, questions their own world. But, when you live in a snow globe, that question becomes simpler.” (So must the stage design, to some extent.) That’s not to say that answers are easier to find just because there’s less room to look for them. “You can, however, discount a lot of possibilities with more certainty by merely looking around,” says the playwright. Snowglobe’s world premiere starts Jan. 23 at Bainbridge’s Shubin Theatre. Along with the joy of Wardigo’s script, having Charlotte Northeast and Amanda Schoonover, two of Philly’s best actresses, in any space is promising. 

Know what was a good idea in its time? The Vesper Club. Started in 1901, its purpose was to bypass the Quaker “blue laws” which forbade serving alcohol on Sundays and Election Day. A little antiquated? Sure. Filled with old white men? Possibly. But the Vesper Club was still a cheery respite for outlaws who sought to eat and booze away from the rest of the world. Philly’s oldest private dining club shut its doors (at 223 S Sydenham St.) in 2012. Vesper Club members got a reprieve in 2012 when the Racquet Club (nearby at 215 S. 16th St.) offered a private dining room and a shared bar space. The problem? There’s no smoking at the Racquet Club and the Vespugees felt as if their freedoms were being squelched. So they pulled up stakes early last year, leaving the Racquet and putting their boozing/smoking lifestyle in a tailspin. Anyway. The Vesper’s original location (once up on SSH Real Estate’s spot for $5 million, then $3.9 million) has remained empty until now; rumor has it somebody’s looking to open an intimate, possibly private or speakeasy-ish saloon. I happened to stop by and noticed that they’re pulling out old furnishings and battered rugs and such. Could a Vesper Club 2 or some new-style smoking/drinking codger be cashing in, or is the ever-growing Misconduct Tavern on Locust just expanding out its back door? 

More ice at citypaper.net/nakedcity.