Mayfair CDC Executive Director Brian Patrick King mentions some of the politicians who've helped the organization.

UPDATE [March 9] — Flash portion added.

For Kim Wilson and her 5-year-old daughter Marian, the STARS Program housed in Mayfair’s John M. Perzel Community Center provides a support system for facing the struggles of a disability.

“When you get a diagnosis for your child, there’s a whole process you go through in coming to terms with the diagnosis,” Wilson, whose daughter has been diagnosed with mild autism, a severe articulation disorder and a sensory integration dysfunction, said. “But then you also find out that there is this larger community of families going through that same process. Part of what STARS did for us was learning that we weren’t alone in what we were going through.”

Now, STARS, a sports program for disabled children, and more than 50 other groups that call the state-of-the-art John M. Perzel Community Center home, are facing possible program cuts, increases in fees or even facility shut downs due to recent and projected state funding cuts. continue reading »

Thanksgiving is over, and though many people had their holiday decorations up early this year, the NEast Philly staff wanted to wait for the official beginning of the season. So we give to you The 12 Days of NEastmas, a Northeast version of a classic holiday song.

You can click below for an instrumental version of the song, with our original NEast-y lyrics. Tip: start singing at about 17 seconds, and follow the lyrics to the tune and pattern of 12 Days of Christmas. continue reading »

Updated 11/16/09 @ 10:10 a.m. with a response from Devon staff; Updated 11/16/09 @ 1:42 p.m. with a response from the Mayfair CDC

The Devon Theater announced Friday it will cancel the three remaining shows in its inaugural season due to lack of funding, according to e-mails obtained by NEast Philly.

“I, too, am shocked and utterly heartbroken to hear the news.  I was not made aware that such a huge portion of our funding was in jeopardy until very, very recently, and I did not think the solution to the funding evaporation would be so severe,” said associate artistic director Kim Reilly. “Sadly, it doesn’t have anything to do with the great work going on at The Devon on the stage and behind the scenes.” [Update]

The sudden call came a day after an energetic opening night of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in front of a near capacity crowd, but just a month after founding artistic director Michael Pickering resigned without public explanation. The “Joseph” show is not in jeopardy and will continue, Reilly said.

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Photo by Christopher Wink

NEast Philly Exclusive: Michael Pickering, artistic director for Fuse Management and the Devon Theater, has stepped down from his position with the Mayfair venue. Kim Reilly, the newly appointed associate art director, has released the following statement:

“Michael has resigned for personal reasons.  It’s sad to see him go, but better for him and his family in the end.  I am stepping in as the Associate Artistic Director.”

The Devon’s next performance, which Reilly will co-direct, is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which opens Nov. 11 and run through Dec. 13.

Seymour (Michael Indeglio), the hapless hero of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, attempts to rescue his love Audrey (Jordi Wallen) from a man-eating plant in The Devon Theater's production of the cult classic musical comedy running Sept. 10-27. PHOTO CREDIT: Kimberly Reilly

The fire alarm inadvertently rang out twice Friday night at the Devon Theater. But, aside from a grumble or two, the small cast performing the bright and wild musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors couldn’t shake a small but engaged audience at the run’s first weekend performance.

Little Shop, which runs at the Devon until Sunday Sept. 27, is the quirky tale of a melancholy floral assistant who turns celebrity after he discovers a manipulative, carnivorous, R&B-singing plant. The show, famed for witty banter and an impressive score, is set in a rough urban neighborhood called Skid Row.

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Courtesy of University of Pennsylvania's neighborhoodBase.

By Shannon McDonald

It’s just a month away. The second-annual Mayfair May Fair, sponsored by the Mayfair Business Association, with help from the Mayfair Civic Association and Mayfair Community Development Corp.

The Fair, scheduled for Saturday, May 16, will include sidewalk sales, a bar crawl and open house at the Devon Theater for the Performing Arts, as well as other neighborhood business events and activities. The festival will also feature a Fallen Heroes 5k Walk/Run in honor of slain police officer Gary Skerksi of the 15th District.

For more information on the May Fair, and details about fundraising plans for Mayfair Memorial Playground, Visit the Mayfair Civic Association’s Web site.

Enjoying a tasty tomato pie from Tony's. Photo by John Suder

By Christopher Wink

Tony’s Place wasn’t always on Frankford Avenue, technically speaking.

When the pizza landmark opened in Mayfair in 1951, Tony’s originally promoted itself as being at Barnett and Sackett streets, the same location it has today.

“But no one ever heard of Sackett when we opened,” said Joe Mallamaci, who took over the shop from his father Dominic and brother Tony in 1976. So, in time, they took on the 6300 Frankford Ave. address that most know today.

The shop, famed for its tomato pies, has grown at least three fold since then, and sudden buzz comes in no small part because of last week’s much celebrated reopening of the Devon Theater across the street.

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The Devon Theater in Mayfair has seen a renaissance. It reopens this Friday.

By Christopher Wink

The Devon hasn’t gotten this much attention in generations. Perhaps neither has Mayfair.

But now that the Frankford Avenue institution has made the long transition back to prominence, opening this weekend as the Devon Center for Performing Arts. It will mark another measure in the long transition from 1946 first-run movie theater to adult-film movieplex in the 1970s to second-run theater and to abandoned eyesore.

After a gala and private screening on Friday, with a possible appearance by Mayor Michael Nutter, the Devon opens on Saturday with a sold-out performance of Nunsense, a musical comedy.

“We’re in an Irish-Catholic neighborhood,” said Michael Pickering, the Devon’s artistic director. “Nunsense was a no-brainer.”

But don’t be fooled by the Devon’s location, far from the glitz of Center City’s Avenue of the Arts or the established arts scene of Old City. The Northeast is about to get its first professional performing arts center, by way of a decidedly working-class neighborhood.

The Devon is an all-union house, including its paid, professional actors, some from Philadelphia’s growing dramatic community. Still, its long-term strategy for success in the Northeast is heavy on community.

Read more, see video and other photos after the jump.

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By Shannon McDonald

The Sixth Square reports that The Devon will reopen this spring after years of being shut down.

The former movie theater at Frankford and Barnett in Mayfair will now host live performing arts shows. These rumors have been swirling since the theater first closed, but now it seems official.

What do you think of this? Post your comments below, or e-mail your thoughts.

Image courtesy of Mayfair CDC.