sal t /cit y/b l u e s
WHO LIVES THERE? BY JOSEPH WHELAN
Playwright Kyle Bass says the Salt City of salt/city/ blues is a kind of a fraternal twin to the Salt City whose official name is Syracuse, NY. The play, he says, is grounded in this community; it is infused with and inspired by the city he has called home since 1993. But the city that is home to Tipsy’s Pub on the stage of the Archbold Theatre is not the Syracuse of E. Genesee St. and beyond—though tangible reference points may be found.
three-story stand-alone building that looks like it belongs in an Edward Hopper painting, The Penny occupies what is believed to be the oldest storefront in Armory Square. For a time, the building was a boarding house for railroad workers. At street level, to the right of the pub, is a single door that leads to apartments above. That door posed a question for Bass and that question became his entrance to salt/ city/blues. Who lives there?
One such point is a downtown pub called The Penny. Housed in a red brick,
The process of answering this question traces the writer’s eye-opening and
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