Going against my better instincts rarely bend to suit my will. No. I should have never tried a mustache without an accompanying beard. No. Shag haircuts don’t work on men unless you’re a member of Maneskin (if you’re under 20), The Strokes (if you’re over 40) or The Rolling Stones (don’t ask). No I should not have bet on the Phillies to beat the Mets the other night. No. I probably should not have voted for Jim Kenney for Mayor solely because he was favorable to a pro-marijuana platform. Mistakes were made; of this I’m certain.
What I also should not have done is change Boldface’s Masked Philly section to Unnnnnmasked as, here we are, back in the throes of rising COVIDs and higher-than-high Omicrons. OK. That said. Let’s keep cool heads about this Philly, and stay masked this time, far longer than our health commissioners say is safe. Think of it like an antibiotic: just because you feel better and things seem clearer, doesn’t mean the infection’s gone. That’s one of my better instincts talking.
Speaking of the Phillies (and the night I should have bet on a Philadelphia victory against NY), our Alec Bohm’s vexing virtual meltdown and his “I f**king hate this place” comment lipread around the globe. Man, you’re not here long enough to hate us with that F-bomb, G. Grow up, not-so-smart Alec.
Not a Seinfeld “maestro” thing in the least, our own Maestro Louis Scaglione just celebrated his 25th anniversary of fronting the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra with a gala at the Union League attended by City Council peeps Helen Gym and David Oh. Bravo.
I guess beyond the classical world, it is a good weekend for returning Philly musical heroes, folk and indie divisions. If you play your cards right, you can look up Kensington’s son, Amos Lee at The Met on Friday then find our hometown’s The Districts’ – pared down to a trio – at Union Transfer the next night, April 16. They’re touring on the merits of their new, aptly named album, ‘Great American Painting’, so indulge.
The owners of the still young, yet way legendary Sooo Delicious soul food truck in West, University City and South West Philly – Aminah McDaniel and Angel King – just put aside the wheels for a brick-and-mortar soul food cafe in Midtown Village at 11th and Locust Street. Yum.
Just as Boldface went to press last week, the long controversial sale of the Painted Bride Art Center property in Old City finally occurred after years of legal battles focused on the preservation of its highly acclaimed Isaiah Zagar mosaic across the PBAC. The lucky winner is architect-developer Shimi Zakin of Atrium Design Group who purchased Vine Street’s 14,000-square-foot avant-garde performance palace building for $3.85 million, and swears to God to include Zagar’s broken plate 7,000-square-foot mosaic mural as part of the development of an apartment building with commercial space on its ground floor. Remember, the original Bride owners couldn’t get other buyers to incorporate Zagar’s merry mosaic into their design, and a Philadelphia Orphans’ Court judge blocked the sale, so to not see Zagar’s work destroyed. Cooler heads. Prevailing. All that.
Unmasked Philly: C. Ryanne Domingues
After having worked at Philly theaters such as the Wilma, InterAct, Simpatico and Plays & Players, C. Ryanne Domingues took her act on the road to Trenton, and has been the Artistic Director of Passage Theatre there, curating and directing plays in Jersey for over 20 years. Her next show at Passage is the literally therapeutic musical “Group,” which runs from May 5 to 22 at the Mill Hill Playhouse.
So what makes Domingues tick when she isn’t making merry at Passage?
“I love running when I can,” she says. “I did a half marathon back in 2014, and I would love to return to being in that kind of shape again.”
Outside of that, Domingues loves a great mystery (her fave books are ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’ by Haruki Murakami or ‘Sherlock Holmes’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to say nothing of watching any ‘Law & Order’ at any time) and has a sharp eye for biting documentaries such as ‘The Andy Warhol Diaries’ on Netflix. Beyond loving coffee and cardigan sweaters, music that is relatively chill, good pair of sneakers and crinkle-cut French fries, her idea of a good time, “If I had all the time in the world, would be to probably go down a very long rabbit hole of research about the life and work of Bertolt Brecht and his contemporaries.”
Beyond that, everything is all about family for Domingues: her husband Anthony, their 19-month-old daughter Gabriela, and their 6-year-old black lab mix, Izzy.
“I really do like to hang out with my husband and daughter. It’s so fun to watch my daughter discover new things. I’m also a huge fan of drinking margaritas, playing Scrabble, and going to the beach, but there hasn’t been much time for the latter, lately.”
Along with recalling the joys of her husband proposing in front of her entire family on the same day Domingues graduated from grad school and the birth of my daughter, the opening nights of ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’ and her first day working at Passage stand out as her highest-water achievements.
“Life has really changed since becoming a mom. I’m excited for the journey.”
