Philadelphia News Briefs: 10/19/15

1.) Snakes on a bus! Well, just one snake, that is. It sounds like a ripoff of an infamous action movie, but it was a very real situation for the riders of a SEPTA bus yesterday afternoon. A 4-foot long boa constrictor escaped its owner and became loose on the bus, provoking panic and an eventual evacuation. The snake’s owner, Koron Riley, aged 26, said that he boarded the bus with the snake draped around his shoulders, hidden under a jacket. The snake somehow escaped and coiled itself under a seat. The seat had to be taken apart by a SEPTA mechanic to get the snake free, at which point a transit police officer returned the snake to Riley. It isn’t clear yet whether charges will be filed.

2.) “Bullets Over Broadway,” a Broadway musical based on Woody Allen’s 1994 film, is on tour and coming to Philadelphia. This is the show’s first national tour. Allen also wrote the libretto for the show, which has to do with a young playwright trying to get his show produced, and the drama that goes on producing it in the early 1920s. Mobsters are involved, along with a while cast of colorful characters. The Philadelphia stop is just one of 46 cities on the tour.

Zitner’s Butter Krak eggs will be featured on the Travel Channel.

3.) Local sweet-maker Zitner’s Candy will be making its primetime debut soon. The confectioner’s Butter Krak eggs are being featured on the Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods” with Andrew Zimmern, on Tuesday, October 20th at 8PM Eastern Time. Zitner’s is famous for its chocolate-covered filled Easter eggs, which it has been making locally in Philadelphia for over 100 years. Zitner’s is proud of its family roots, and has employed several of the same employees for decades.