Figures released yesterday revealed that $613 million of the money gamblers have been pumping into slot machines in Pennsylvania will go to property-tax relief for most homeowners and to lower the wage tax in Philadelphia. It's all thanks to Act 1, passed in 2006, which gave the state a portion of the gaming revenues from slots to use for tax relief. The Inquirer points out that finding the lowest gas prices in the area......

The Eagles' 2008 schedule has been released, and one of the more exciting games will be the one they'll they'll play at home versus the Arizona Cardinals on Thanksgiving night. It will be nationally televised on the NFL Network. (Via Sarah) Barack Obama's wife, Michelle Obama, was apparently well received when she spoke at a rally at Haverford College yesterday. A new Daily News/Franklin & Marshall poll has Clinton still in the lead with......

Remember those makeshift stables in Strawberry Mansion that animal cruelty investigators raided yesterday? Well, the owners of about 40 of the horses living there removed their animals yesterday, as ordered. About 20 more horses were allowed to stay in three garages on Fletcher Street near 27th that had been made into stables while owners of those properties made repairs. The other structures will be bulldozed today. Yesterday, City Council gave final approval to a lease......

Ah, love. Though we may not have an overflow of the brotherly variety, Philly is offering plenty of options for those happy couples looking to sanctify said happiness with boxes of chocolates and a night on the town. We’ll tackle the latter here; we've given you some chocolate-related goodness already. If you forget to get a card and all the Rite Aid has left are American Idol Valentines, take heart: you can make your own......

Dear La Petite Mort, I think my game is broken. I haven't been out on multiple dates in years. I'll admit, I'm sort of a particular guy. If I want to see There Will Be Blood and she wants to see 27 Dresses, done. If I want to talk about Obama and all she can say is, Oh Britney! she's finished. It might seem picky, but I never want to settle. If she's too short,......

A wealth of textures in Society Hill. Photo by author, SkyscraperSunset.com, September 2, 2007.......

Scenic walkway behind Society Hill Towers. Photo by author, SkyscraperSunset.com, September 2, 2007.......

A unique doorway in Society Hill. Photo by author, SkyscraperSunset.com, September 2, 2007.......

Feeling stifled by the heat and the never-ending Menopause: The Musical run at Society Hill? Take a breath of fresh air with Vagabond Acting Troupe. Vagabond will be presenting its second annual New Works Festival tonight through Friday, featuring three one-acts from playwrights Christine M. Connelly of Chicago (To Ashes), Henry W. Kimmel of Atlanta (Saved On The Day Of Atonement), and Marie Lynch of our fair Philly (Throwing Stones). The evening is rounded......

No this isn't an ode to the Rolling Stones (though we do hear the bass line from that song in our head when we're walking down Market Street in the summertime). This is an ode to our love, Philadelphia. We are counting the hours until we get back to your edgy goodness. Unlike our other trips to Vegas, this one sucks. Perhaps it is because we are travelling alone and aren't in the mood to......

Exciting news! Philadelphia (the Pennsylvania Convention Center, specifically) is going to host VideoGame Expo 2007, from November 2nd through November 4th. The cool thing is that this expo is mostly for consumers, which means regular joes can go in to play the newest games, meet people in the industry, maybe get a job in the industry, compete in tournaments, show off their nerd costumes, and, of course, buy buy buy! The entry price isn't......

Spring break strikes the city of Philadelphia this week. Not to worry, the failsafe Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and the Kimmel Center have a few tricks up their sleeves. Monday The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia under Ignat Solzhenitsyn continues with its Mozart Beethoven Haydn program. All the greats in one evening. Perelman Theater (Kimmel Center); 7:30 PM; $36-$81 The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents Mark Kosower, cello, and Jee-Won Oh, piano in an evening......

This holiday sure can suck if you haven't found that perfect partner, mistress, or craigslist missed connection to share it with. It's cool, don't resign yourself to an evening of watching Lifetime alone just yet, because BCKSEET Productions is gearing up for the third annual anti-Valentines Day concert/singer/songwriter competition. The admission includes a free drink, a raffle ticket and a CD of artists from the event. You'll need to provide your own wingman though, sorry.......

That ramp at the Linc was swaying again, and this time the movement was even caught on tape. But engineers still insist the ramp is safe and sound. Regardless, it sounds like during the off-season they're going to try to find a way to make it not sway, so fans don't get so freaked out all the time. Fighting crime is clearly going to be the big issue in the 2008 mayoral race, so......

We are terrible at managing money. It’s always feast or famine—either we're livin’ large the closer we are to pay day or slumming it pauper-style on the opposite end of the spectrum. Payday is Friday, so today it’s all pauper, all the time. Fret not, because it’s Wednesday, the day when you can have a night out in Old City for less than $20. The poor person's Wednesday night is as follows: Drive into town......

This week’s classical music events seem to cluster during the weekend, but no matter. There’s plenty to see and hear with the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s La bohème and an assortment of chamber music concerts. Friday Puccini’s La bohème, put on by the Opera Company of Philadelphia, is not to be missed. One of opera’s most famous and most tragic love stories (the inspiration for Rent) continues to move us to this day with......

Has anyone else but Phillyist noticed that vaudeville-style theatrics seem to be coming back into vogue these days? We feel like we see it everywhere any more: family acts, burlesque shows...and now the "comic vaudeville" of Big! Gay! Show! Although with acts titled : "Ballad of Brokeback Mountain," "Don't Cry for Me, Angelina (Jolie)," and songs including "You Don't Know From Gay," and the epic "Judy Garland Medley," Big! Gay! Show! isn't exactly your traditional......

We probably don’t need to explain that quote, but if we do, just know it’s from our first play in the listings. And hey, Philly theatre is back in full swing, now that PLAF is winding down. Now, on with the listings! Schoolhouse Rock Live! - Just knowing this play exists is making us remember how to make a bill. September 14-30. Tickets online. A Prayer for Owen Meany - Baseball…and death! September 14-October 15.......

The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe kick off this Friday, and we're beginning our coverage of the events in what might seem to be the strangest way possible: with food. You see, to truly make it a worthwhile evening out, any evening of theatre is either preceded or followed by a delicious meal. Fortunately for you, there's lots of delicious food around all of the Fringe venues. Here are a few of......

Things will be quiet in these listings over the next few weeks, since Philadelphia’s theatre community will be all about the Fringe till mid-September. We’ll have extensive Fringe coverage here on Phillyist, but we didn’t want you to forget about the other shows going on, too. Now, on with the listings! By Grimm - It’s like Into the Woods, only without Stephen Sondheim. Through September 4. For more information, call 610.286.5567. Voices Underwater - Words......

This week's quote comes from the late great Charles Dickens: "It is a hopeless endeavour to attract people to a theatre unless they can be first brought to believe that they will never get in." Now, on with the listings! (And don’t be dismayed—just because it’s quiet, doesn’t mean there’s not some great theatre to catch. Besides, the summer’s almost over, which means Fringe is coming!) By Grimm - It’s like Into the Woods, only......

This week’s quote comes from the Bard himself – it’s found in Two Gentlemen of Verona, the play we start our listings with – and it’s also used as the subtitle in an Edward Albee play. The quote is, of course, all about love, and goes something like this: Who is Silvia? what is she, That all our swains commend her? Holy, fair and wise is she; The heaven such grace did lend her, That......

The idea of a stage is always tempting for Phillyist, so imagine how tempting it must have been for a master of the absurd like Eugene Ionesco, who once said: “I personally would like to bring a tortoise onto the stage, turn it into a racehorse, then into a hat, a song, a dragoon and a fountain of water. One can dare anything in the theatre and it is the place where one dares the......

This week’s quote comes from the great Ben Kingsley. It’s actually advice to film actors, but Kingsley has acted on the stage before (and how!), and we’re sure he’d give the same advice to stage actors. The advice goes: “You can throw away the privilege of acting, but that would be such a shame. The tribe has elected you to tell its story. You are the shaman/healer, that's what the storyteller is, and I think......

I think we all know what that lyric comes from. Now, on with the listings! (And don’t be dismayed – just because it’s a quiet week doesn’t mean there’s not some great theatre to catch!) Spark Showcase Festival - This is the last weekend of the festival, with a different line-up than last’s. Closes this weekend. Tickets are available for purchase online. And hey! Support local theatre! The Children of Fatima - We’re guessing......

This week’s quote comes from Tallulah Bankhead, the famous actress from days of yore. The entire quote actually reads: “It's one of the tragic ironies of the theatre that only one man in it can count on steady work - the night watchman.” Now, on with the listings! Spark Showcase Festival - We’re a day late with this listing, but this festival is a two week celebration of local theatre companies. Each of the two......

Week two of our White Christmas quote-fest – if you can call it that. This week’s quote comes from the song “Count Your Blessings.” That’s right. We still haven’t started our holiday shopping – so we’re choosing another non-holiday song. Now, on with the listings! STOMP - Who knew brooms and cigarette lighters could be so musical? At the Merriam Theater, December 20-31. For tickets and information, see Ticketmaster. The Philly Fan - They’re a......

For the rest of the month, we’ll be quoting Irving Berlin, the Jewish-American composer who, oddly enough, composed the music to White Christmas. This week’s quote comes from the song “Choreography” in that well-loved Christmas classic. We chose it because, even though it’s December, we’re not exactly ready to celebrate the holiday season. Now, on with the listings! The Philly Fan - They’re a breed of their own. December 14-January 21. For tickets and information,......

This week, we’re starting something new. You see, we’ve just about run out of generic quotes about theatre to use for headlines, and the few times we’ve used less common quotes, we’ve had a few people contact us in rather a lot of confusion. So, we’re going to begin explaining the more, er, “in-quotes,” right here. If you’ve got any theatre-related quotes you’d like us to use, e-mail the quote, play/song, and context to us......

We’ll be back in Philadelphia tomorrow (after an extended stay with the folks in Texas), and we’ve certainly picked a good theatre weekend to return for! Macbeth - We all read it in high school, and we probably remember it at least a little, so we’ll spare you the trouble of reading our summary and just let you check out the Curio Theatre Company’s production of “The Scottish Play.” The play opens this weekend and......