Chestnut Hill Local

Hiller's grandmom survived the Titanic sinking

Horticulturist opens shop on Bethlehem Pike

by LEN LEAR

No matter what Chestnut Hill resident Mark Petteruti, 46, achieves in life -- and the long-time successful horticultural consultant numbers many owners of spectacular Chestnut Hill area mansions among his clients -- he will always be associated with an epic tragedy that took place on April 12, 1912, 46 years before he was even born.

On that date the storied RMS Titanic, the most elegant and luxurious passenger ship ever built up to that time, sank in the North Atlantic, about 350 miles southeast of Newfoundland, Canada, killing 1,522 passengers.

Among the 705 passengers who were rescued was Bertha Elizabeth Noon (nee Mulvihill), 20, one of 10 children from a family in Athlone, Ireland, who had been traveling on the maiden voyage of the Titanic to Providence, Rhode Island. There she had planned to marry Henry Noon, a factory worker she had met after immigrating to Providence in 1910. Bertha had been a waitress at a resort hotel in Newport, Rhode Island, and she had saved up her tips to pay for one last trip to visit her family in Ireland. After visiting her...

My weekend got underway Friday night with a fabulous solo piano recital given by Yefim Bronfman in the Perelman Theater. Across Commonwealth Plaza on the same evening, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia Singers Chorale were performing Johannes Brahms' sublime Ein Deutsches Requiem in Verizon Hall, a program that I would catch the following night. Then on Sunday afternoon, Chestnut Hiller Ignat Solzhenitsyn led the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia in an all-Mozart program in the Perelman that brought the ensemble back to its original core repertoire of music composed during the baroque and classical styles of the 18th century.

Solzhenitsyn framed Sunday afternoon's concert with the two symphonies Mozart composed in the key of G minor: Symphony No. 25, K. 183, and Symphony No. 40, K. 550. In both scores, he made powerful claims for chamber orchestras being the sole proprietors of this truly classical repertoire as well as for the music of the 18th century being the most appropriate for this particular chamber orchestra.

In this week's jazz piano lesson, I've been revisiting a Kurt Weill song, "This is New" from Lady in the Dark. While the musical is old, old, the song is a classic. Maybe it was a coincidence, but "this is new" is the first thing I thought of, walking into this scintillating, jazzy, upbeat wall-to-wall gorgeous shop, Artisans on the Avenue. It's at 8440 Germantown Ave., yes, in the very place where you used to have your hair done.

The slightly sassy good looks of this merchandise may not be new in L.A., but believe me it's new for Chestnut Hill. Refreshing? Yes! Exciting? Yes! Fun? Yes! Note that the jazz music background is non-stop, not too loud, just right to set the mood.

The shop opened in its present location on Saturday, Nov. 20, but as you probably know, it had a previous life in smaller quarters a few doors down the Avenue in the "little gray house" next to Caruso's, having originated there in December of 2002. When Chestnut Hair decided to move, they did too. Richard Snowden, owner of the space, worked with them in every possible way to help get things up and running in the shortest possible time.

So who is responsible for all this? Three supercharged ladies, who are indeed artisans in their own right. Lisa Howe, who does decoupage and painted furniture; Georgia Doyle, buyer of gift items, flower arranger for weddings and parties; and Beth Redpath, decoupage and knitted scarves and accessories.

Just getting some facts down on paper was a kind of whirlwind experience, as all three were perpetually busy, with customers or on the phone or doing their spectacular gift wrapping in brilliant tissue and net ties.

When Lisa had a few free moments, I learned she lives in Wyndmoor with husband...

Superb, clever, funny and musical 'Sleeping Beauty'

By CLARK GROOME

The British pantomime version of Sleeping Beauty that People's Light and Theatre is presenting through Jan. 2 is nothing like the Tchaikovsky ballet or any kind of mime you've ever been accosted by on a street corner or in a mall.

This beguiling show tells the same story Tchaikovsky does, but it does it in a way that is so engaging and intelligent you're likely to wonder why the British tradition of holiday pantomimes hasn't made it across the ocean more frequently.

What you'll experience at People's Light is a group of first-rate actors doing all sorts of silly things, many of them involving the audience, in a way that delights the kids in the crowd, which by the time the show ends includes just about everybody in attendance.

With good music and clever lyrics by Gary Smith, this Sleeping Beauty has been adapted by People's Light's Kathryn Petersen and Vince di Mura. The ensemble tells the story about the two witches who compete for power and the two suitors who vie for the hand of the sleeping beauty who's been...

Ride the wave with entertaining 'Oceans'

By NATHAN LERNER

In the sequel to the remake of Ocean's Eleven, three years have elapsed since Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his 11-man crew robbed $160 million from the Bellagio Hotel. Danny has abandoned crime to enjoy life with his ex-wife, Tess (Julia Roberts), whom he also stole from Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the owner of the Bellagio. Inexplicably, Terry somehow has tracked down Danny. The cuckolded casino head demands that Danny replay him the stolen money plus interest. Otherwise, Terry's goons will kill Danny and his colleagues.

Danny summons his second-in-command, Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), and the rest of his gang. Faced with the threat from the no-nonsense Terry Benedict, the team reunites in hopes of stealing enough money to pay him off. It's too risky trying to execute another robbery stateside. This launches the plot into gorgeous European locations in Amsterdam, Paris and Rome.

While there, the gang is hounded by Interpol agent Isabel Lahiri (Catherine Zeta-Jones). A modern day Inspector Javert, Isabel comes replete with a back story. She is driven...

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