Philadelphia Inquirer Article - August 21, 2007                                          

Michael Klein                                                                                                       Inqlings | An 'Idol' record may fall here                                                                                  By Michael Klein, Inquirer Columnist

Planning to show up this weekend at the Wachovia Center to audition for Fox's American Idol? Bear in mind:

The crowds will be huge.

"This is kind of impressive," producer Patrick Lynn said yesterday from Miami, the sixth of seven audition cities for season seven. Between 4,000 and 5,000 singers were processed yesterday alone. In San Diego, 12,000 came through. In little ol' Omaha, Neb., 8,000.

Philly, the last stop and the only one in the Northeast, may challenge the all-time Idol record - upward of 15,000 wannabes, set in 2004 in Washington, D.C.

Oh, plus guests. No contestant comes out alone.

Lynn advises to "be prepared to sing at least two songs." And despite the crowd, "don't be intimidated by the other singers around you."

And bring cash. Parking will be $11 on Saturday, when lines start forming in Lot F for wristbands. You'll need another $11 on for the tryout. Or take SEPTA. See a rundown of rules at http://go.philly.com/2007idol.

Steakouts

The west side of Market Street - champing at the bit for the opening of the Comcast Center - stands to get a bit beefier. I hear that Wolfgang's Steakhouse out of New York - a two-restaurant empire founded by former Peter Luger waiter Wolfgang Zwiener - is in talks with World Acquisition Partners to open at 2040 Market St., the former AAA headquarters. Meanwhile, about two blocks away, construction is underway at Chima, the Brazilian steak house that signed more than a year ago to take space in the Kennedy House at 20th Street and JFK Boulevard. Better sheath your knife. A rep of the South Florida company says it's aiming for "the first trimester of 2008."  

X-tra sensory perception

An adults-only subscription area has been added to the Web site of South Jersey Paranormal Research (http://www.sjpr.org/) as the nonprofit group showcases ghostly comments recorded during investigations. And it's clear that some spirits need to have their mouths washed out with soap. For example: an audio clip from the Plank House in Marcus Hook, which some say was used long ago as a brothel. A woman is heard uttering an obscenity, followed by the word virgins. On a G-rated front, the SJPR took a photo of a mirror above the fireplace at McGillin's Olde Ale House in Center City. Photo shows a woman in white. Some think she's Ma McGillin, dead for 70 years, looking for Pa McGillin, who'd died and left her with a bar to run and 13 kids to raise upstairs. In the photo, she is not carrying a shotgun.

The circuit

Mike Missanelli, now on New York's ESPN station, is getting national mentions for his exclusive last week that former NBA ref Tim Donaghy planned to blow the whistle on others. Mike Miss talked about the case yesterday with Brian Kilmeade on Fox News.

October is the expected roll-'em date of Baton, an Abington-set Vietnam War-era flick starring Peter O'Toole, Jon Polito, Emmanuelle Vaugier and Ross Thomas. Was supposed to start this month, but producers say they needed to firm up financing.

Wicked cast members Christina DeCicco (Glinda), P.J. Benjamin (The Wizard), Cliffton Hall (Fiyero), and Deedee Magno Hall (Nessarose), at the Academy of Music through Sept. 9, will sing the national anthem Thursday before the Phillies-Dodgers game at Citizens Bank Park. Conductor Boko Suzuki will lead.

Eagles QB Donovan McNabb did his postgame cool-downs at Borgata in Atlantic City Saturday night. He and friends visited the nightclub mur.mur, skipping the "Bed and Breakfast" party next door at the club Mixx, where most patrons partied in their pajamas.

Filmmaker John Singleton was spotted Friday hunkered over a plate of mollusks at Devon Seafood Grill on Rittenhouse Square. Title this one: oyzters in the hood.

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