The mail is one of those things taken for granted in the changing ways people deliver messages to each other. Where parchment and a wax seal delivered by horseback/carriage were the standards when the United States was created, a message to someone in a text from our phone is the new norm.

1917 (2019, directed by Sam Mendes. U.S.A./U.K., in English [some parts in French and German are subtitled], Color, 117 minutes) Watching “1917” I realized that technical innovation without purpose is pointless.

ASTON — If you happen to be in a neighborhood Wawa in the coming months and see someone who looks an awful lot like Kate Winslet buying a shorti hoagie, you may not be imagining the celebrity sighting.

Ann Crumb, a Media native and Tony Award-nominated actress who originated the role of Rose Vibert in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Aspects of Love" and who often returned to perform at the Media Theatre, has died. She was 69.

A rainy morning cleared the way for a bright, warm closing afternoon of the 28th Philadelphia Film Festival. What a wonderful 10 days it has been (skipping opening night because I don't bother with that anymore) of exploring such a wide variety of stories and talents. Looking over all of the…

One of my biggest gripes with the film festival is its "competition" titles that vie for an award for best narrative feature, short, and a gaggle of other nonsensical laurels for a third-rate festival. A gold star from a festival is always a nice piece for a film to add to other appeal, but …

In my capsule review of "The Report" I said it was not "Spotlight", the Oscar-winning film about journalists investigating wrongdoing in a prolific institution, in that case the Roman Catholic Church Archdiocese of Boston. 

Day seven and the usual annoyances of the festival have been fully realized by this point:

Over a year ago, film director Joshua Coates, an Upper Darby resident, filmed “Hollywould” here in Delaware County and it’s now on the big screen.

The days become a daze when in the thick of the festival. After eleven movies in three days during the first weekend there hasn't been much time to do anything else but hop from movie to movie, perhaps venue to venue, including the Prince Theater Dash. We know we saw something, but when did …

Forget what I said yesterday about seeing four films in a day being exhausting. I mean, yeah, it can be, but I just needed to be broken into that festival routine again.

Day three and another slate of films on the schedule: four to be exact.

Philadelphia's 11-day movie marathon is always a special event for cinephiles. Most people have seen dozens or hundreds of films before they sit down to see a couple dozen more for the Philadelphia outing held annually in late October, which happens to be the best time to get the leg up on s…

The pride of Upper Darby, Todd Rundgren, is among this year's nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 2020 class.

LANSDOWNE — They are making sweet music in the borough. And now, with the release of its first compact disc, its signature organization, the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra, is garnering national attention.

Cinephiles will have 120 reasons to check out the 28th Philadelphia Film Festival starting next week.

HAVERFORD — Mother Nature must enjoy the music.

A short film based in Media and shot around Delaware County that tackles teenager sexual identity and school shootings has claimed another award at a local film festival.

Upper Darby — Though the shows will go on the icon is gone. The 100 year-old sign and ball atop the Tower Theater is being removed this week after engineers declared the steel structure unsafe.

–UPPER DARBY— The musical “Big Fish” exacerbated an existential crisis I was having on the eve of my 30th birthday. A single line sung by the character Will Bloom in the song “Stranger” really struck a chord with me as I watched a preview of this Summer Stage production at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center: “Because after almost 30 years, I still don't know the man.” How peculiar that this line was uttered to me at this time in my life? Did I know myself?

The Dead Don't Die (2019, directed by Jim Jarmusch. U.S.A., in English, Color, 104 minutes) Auteur Jim Jarmusch has devoted an almost 40-year feature film career to the dynamics and personalities of human interaction, giving audiences something more substantial than the ordinary box office f…

The tall, wooden longcase clock stands regal in the Delaware County Historical Society’s first-floor gallery, and a peek inside its bonnet reveals the timepiece has only one arm!

"Saturday Night Fever: The Musical" will bring disco fever to The Media Theatre stage April 17 to June 9.

The Delaware County Historical Society’s (DCHS) Pennies 4 Lincoln campaign, in which the nonprofit is asking all residents of Delaware County to donate to help restore an 1860 Abraham Lincoln presidential banner, launched earlier this year on Lincoln’s birthday.

MEDIA — “Beehive, The 60’s Musical,” playing until March 31 at the Media Theatre, captures the music, culture, politics and flower-power innocence of the 1960s when beehive hairdos, mini skirts and go-go boots were all the rage, and popular songs by the Shirelles, the Supremes, Connie Francis, Tina Turner, Dusty Springfield and other female singers ruled the AM dial airwaves.

MEDIA— The 2019 Media Film Festival will once again take the stage at the historic Media Theater from April 4 – 6 for a showcase of short films. Continuing a tradition of elevating exceptional storytelling, this year’s 52 film lineup includes the work of emerging talent from as far away as C…

The Players Club of Swarthmore will present "Six Degrees of Separation" by John Guare Friday, March 15, through Saturday, March 30.

Widely regarded as one of Ireland’s most exciting young performers, star of PBS’s "Celtic Thunder" and multi award-winning Irish tenor Emmet Cahill will perform at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center March 16 at 7:30 p.m. as part of a nationwide tour of the United States.

A pioneer in the field of women’s medicine, Dr. Anna Broomall’s contributions made an indelible mark on obstetrics and Delaware County history in a way few others could.

Ruben Brandt, Collector (2019, directed by Milorad Krstić. Hungary, in English [with English subtitles as needed], Color, 94 minutes) A psychotherapist has vividly horrific nightmares about masterpiece paintings. So what’s the cure? Well, steal them, of course, and hang them in his house!

The Swarthmore Friends of the Arts will present original paintings by local artist Lora Lavin in a new exhibit running Feb. 28 to March 31 at Swarthmore Borough Hall, 121 Park Ave., Swarthmore.

Delaware County Historical Society welcomed author Patrick Parr for a free event that highlighted the time the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spent in Chester studying at Crozer Theological Seminary.

Never Look Away (2018, directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Germany, in German with English Subtitles, Color, 188 minutes) At over three hours long, “Never Look Away” is not a disappointing film to look at by any stretch of the imagination- it is a film about an artist and his art, …

The Delaware County Historical Society hosted a book signing with Patrick Parr Friday, Feb. 8, as a kickoff to the new exhibit, "A Glimpse of Black History 1800s — 2019.”

"The Snow Queen" is the perfect winter tale for children ages 4 and up, and it's on The Media Theatre stage Sundays at noon through March 3.

For its fifth show of the 2018-19 season, The Players Club of Swarthmore will present "Shakespeare in Hollywood," a supernatural, screwball comedy romp, by Ken Ludwig.

A German immigrant-turned-professional chef, Heinrich Schmitz meticulously journaled his life’s adventures, as evident by the 22 scrapbooks at the Delaware County Historical Society.

The Media Theatre will present "Julius Caesar" on stage Jan. 30 through Feb. 24.

PHILADELPHIA — For the first time, the Philadelphia Flower Show will host the FTD World Cup competition.

It’s a story as old as time — coming up with excuses not to re-start my diet … or, as I’ve changed my way of thinking to say, “resume my healthy lifestyle.”

An exhibition of original paintings and mixed media by local artist Kathy Agostinelli will be on display through Jan. 30 at Swarthmore Borough Hall, 121 Park Ave., Swarthmore.