Wednesday 27 February 2013

Glad Notes: A Play, a Pie, and a Pint


Next week, on March 6th, the Society Hill Playhouse here in Philadelphia will be launching their third season of A Play, A Pie and A Pint. This is a casual dinnertime theater special for just $15, where theater-goers enjoy an original short play, along with a choice of beverage and a slice of pie.

This tasty theatrical treat actually originated in 2004, in my old stomping ground at the Oran Mor, a beautiful pub and arts/events space in Glasgow, Scotland, just a stone's throw from my student apartment and campus. It was often the perfect for satiating my appetite for culture and pies, while appeasing my student budget.

Play/Pie/Pint is a sneeky, ingenious way to encourage non-traditional audiences to try out a trip to the theater and boost income for the arts. In Scotland they run matinees for the lunch-time crowd, so we'd catch a cheeky wee pint, lunch and a bit o'culture between lectures. Seeing a Philly incarnation amused me a lot!

Just one caveat: In the UK, pie means meat wrapped in pastry. Here in Philly it refers to a slice of pizza. I hope the quality of the beer and theater is universal though, because Philadelphia has some great beer and an excellent craft brewing scene, and fantastic arts and cultural scene. I look forward to trying it out!

11 comments:

  1. That sounds awesome! They have something similar to that near here. It's always such a treat to get dinner and then see a play.

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    1. Absolutely! We also have Movie Taverns here, but I've never been. The concept blows my mind.

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  2. This event sounds really fun! It is too bad though that they are serving pizza pie rather than savory pastry pie. When I studied abroad in Edinburgh I lived down the street from the most amazing pie shop. They had such a large variety of pies, and they had some fun, non-traditional pies such as a vegetarian "haggis" pie (which was really just spiced lentils and was my absolute favorite). Oh do I miss that shop!

    Hope the food, drink, and show are great! Can't wait to hear about your experience!

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    1. Was that PieMaker by any chance? I think they even did cheeseburger pies.

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    2. Just hop on a greyhound!

      (I originally said hope on a greyhound, maybe that means the same thing)

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  4. So fun! Enjoy! And, I was going to be mighty impressed if it was a UK-style of pie...pizza sounds more like the speed of the US.

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    1. You're so right. I had pizza twice this week. Philadelphia does make great pizza (an expert told me it was to do with the local water making the dough so special).

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