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!
Lovely blog!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteThat sounds awesome! They have something similar to that near here. It's always such a treat to get dinner and then see a play.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! We also have Movie Taverns here, but I've never been. The concept blows my mind.
DeleteThis 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!
ReplyDeleteHope the food, drink, and show are great! Can't wait to hear about your experience!
Was that PieMaker by any chance? I think they even did cheeseburger pies.
Deletethat is brilliant! can I come?
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DeleteJust hop on a greyhound!
Delete(I originally said hope on a greyhound, maybe that means the same thing)
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.
ReplyDeleteYou'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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