June 26, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Local Life

Local star of ‘Les Miz’ would ‘rescue stray dogs’
by CLARK GROOME

Hugh is on every producer’s list these days for the leading male role in almost any Broadway musical.

When the Walnut Street Theatre approached Hugh Panaro about playing Jean Valjean in its current production of Les Misérables, one of his first reactions was that at long last he would actually be playing “a grown up role.”

The East Oak Lane native is no stranger to Les Miz, having played young Marius in the national tour (which played Philadelphia in the late 1980s) and on Broadway, but this is a different role in a different production.

Panaro, a veteran of several Broadway productions including The Phantom of the Opera (in which he is the only person to have played both Raul and the Phantom), says that his reaction to playing Valjean is driven by the fact that “I’m actually seen.

“People don’t realize that, [as the Phantom], psychologically it’s very strange to be encased in latex and make-up all night long and never really be seen even though you’re the lead and everybody thinks you’re hot stuff. It’s really almost an anonymous role.

“With [Valjean] there’s a more human element. This character is, to quote the play, ‘a man, no worse than any man.’”

Having played Marius in the show before, a lot of people, he says, asked him if it’s weird to watch somebody else play his former role. “It’s the farthest thing from weird,” he says. “That was 20 years ago. There is no way in hell I would ever do that again. [Playing Valjean] was a nice chance to show people that I’m not 20 years old anymore, running around in a tuxedo singing pretty songs. I’m a grownup.”

New grads: here’s all you need to know to find a job
by JIM HARRIS

Recent college graduates, unless you take Jim Harris’ sage advice, offered free in this column (he will start charging next week), you have as much chance of landing a really good job as this orangutan.

I address this to all of the new college graduates:

Your parents have just spent their entire retirement fund on your education, and you now owe it to them to obtain a high-paying job so that you can make them proud and support them in their doddering old age. Trust me, nursing homes are outrageously expensive.

But seriously, folks, you really do need to get a job quickly before you forget all of that educational stuff that you presumably learned between keg parties and panty raids. Of course, the age-old, traditional way of doing that is by using the venerable “Yellow Pages.” This massive opus, many years in the making, has a complete alphabetical listing of every potential employer in the area.

A stitch in time will be ‘Perfect’ on the Avenue
by PAT STOKES

Bruce Levin, designer and owner of The Perfect Stitch Upholstery, plans to open his showroom around July 1 at 8012 Germantown Ave. Bruce formerly had his business in Wyndmoor for eight years. Among his many clients have been Pomerantz Office Supplies in center city, Harvard University and Bryn Athyn Cathedral. (Photo by Erin Vertreace)

As if from nowhere, a helping hand is about to arrive in Chestnut Hill  near a certain corner  where three sizeable retail spaces are now or soon will be unoccupied. The news is that the space formerly occupied by Jahayia skin care products at 8012 Germantown Ave, according to plans already under way, will be transformed into an attractive showroom for fine upholstery work and an office for an upscale catering service.

Bruce Levin, designer and owner of The Perfect Stitch Upholstery, plans to open his showroom around July 1 at 8012 Germantown Ave. Bruce is familiar with the Chestnut Hill area, having centered his business in Wyndmoor for about the last eight years. Previously, until about l996, his workroom/factory was in the Tacony section of Philly where he specialized in foam rubber chair cushions, especially for office chairs, since in those days, office furniture was not pre-upholstered and cushions were a must.