At this time one year ago, the only testament to Eastern State Penitentiary’s original Alfred W. Fleisher Memorial Synagogue was a room filled with the detritus of fallen plaster, flanked by the rotting benches used by a religious community long gone.
Abandoned when the rest of the historic prison closed in 1971, the synagogue sat untouched for years, and, situated as it was between several taller structures, the area behind Cellblock 7 received years’ worth of rainwater runoff, advancing the state of decay slowly creeping across the entire penitentiary.
When Andrew Fearon, lead conservator for Milner + Carr Conservation company was contracted to survey the synagogue in 2005, rain was dripping through the broken skylights, further contributing to the mess inside.
But just one year after Milner + Carr’s extensive restoration project, overseen by Sally Elk, executive director of Eastern State, and Cindy Wanerman, president of the board of trustees of the penitentiary, the synagogue has been restored to its original glory, with a combination of restoration and re-creation work. Read more.

    In many ways, the work of Dr. Seuss  parallels the mission of BalletX; each transforms ordinary, standardized vocabulary into something a bit more exciting. Dr. Seuss  did it with words, as he took reading  lists from the official Dolch vocabulary guide and turned them into zany stories about fantastic, made-up creatures; BalletX does it with movement, using daring choreography rooted in the firmly established lexicon of classical ballet.  
    So it’s logical that the two boundary-pushers would work well in tandem, as explored by co-artistic director Christine Cox during BalletX’s Spring Series production running at the Wilma Theater April 4-11. Affectionately titled “It’s Fun to Have Fun, but You Have to Know How,” from a quote in Dr. Seuss’ famous book The Cat in the Hat, the program features Ms. Cox’s “The Striped Hat,” as well as new choreographer Edwaard Liang’s “Largo” and co-Artistic Director Matthew Neenan’s “Wonder Why.” Read more.