Weekly Entertainment Guide — Maya 2012 and Strawberry Fest
WHYY’s Arts Calendar curator Robin Bloom sorts through hundreds of listings each week to find out what’s happening in the Delaware Valley. Here are her picks and listings.
“Maya 2012: Lords of Time,” an exhibit co-sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Instituto Hondureño de Antropologia e Historia of the Republic of Honduras, opens this weekend, exploring the fascination with the proposed “end of the world” in 2012. The exhibit, on view through January 13, 2013, compares other predictions of the apocalypse with that of the ancient Mayans, and includes more than 150 objects, including some recently excavated by Penn Museum archaeologists in Copan, Honduras, interactive displays and full-size replicas of significant monuments, detailing the Mayans’ time-ordered universe, meticulous calendar systems and beliefs in powers granted by divine kings, enabling them to become the “lords of time.” President of the Republic of Honduras Porfirio Lobo Sosa cuts the ribbon with Penn Museum Director Richard Hodges on Saturday, May 5, at 10am to open the exhibit. An Opening Weekend Ceremony, co-sponsored by the Mexican Cultural Center, includes activities for all with music, dancing, weaving and craft making on Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6, 10am-4pm. General admission timed tickets (includes the rest of the museum): Adults $22, seniors (65+) and military $18.50, students w/ ID and children (6-17) $16.50, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA.
Oil Sketches from the Victoria and Albert Museum
Princeton University Art Museum takes an impressive look at one of England’s most beloved painters with “John Constable: Oil Sketches from the Victoria and Albert Museum,” an exhibit including canvases of the “ideal” English landscape, on view through June 10. One of the first artists to work en plein air or “in the open air,” pieces in the exhibit include canvases of Suffolk and Essex, noting the date, time and weather of the scenes depicted, including the celebrated piece The Hay Wain (pictured), whose final version hangs in the National Gallery in London. Admission is free at 1 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ.
Strawberry Festival at Peddler’s Village
Peddler’s Village hosts the annual Strawberry Festival, Saturday, May 5, and Sunday, May 6, 10am-6pm, with strawberries served up in various forms, artisans showing their wares and demonstrating their skills, live entertainment, pie-eating contests and more, Routes 202 and 263, Lahaska, Bucks County, PA. Free admission, free parking
Turtle Artisan Tour in Cheltenham
The Turtle Artisan Tour is this Saturday, May 5, 11am-6pm and Sunday, May 6, 11am-5pm, showcasing nationally & internationally acclaimed artists who open their studios to the public for self-paced, self-guided tours throughout Cheltenham Township, PA.
Morven Museum and Garden May Celebration
Morven Museum and Garden hosts “Morven in May: A Celebration of Art, Craft and Garden,” with sixteen professional artists and artisans on the Great Lawn of the museum offering their work for sale including studio furniture makers, painters, ceramists, wood turners, fiber, glass and mixed media artists, Saturday, May 5, 10am-5pm and Sunday, May 6, 11am-4pm, 55 Stockton Street, Princeton, NJ. Plant sale also included. Admission $10
Shen Yun comes to the Merriam Theater with nearly 100 artists, 400 costumes, and the only orchestra in the world featuring both classical Western and Chinese instruments as permanent members, May 8-9, 7:30pm, Broad Street, Philadelphia.
Rent at Bristol Riverside Theatre
Bristol Riverside Theatre concludes its 25th Anniversary season with the Broadway hit “Rent,” by Jonathan Larson, May 8 through June 3, directed by Jose Zayas, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, PA. Tickets $30-$50
Jeanne Ruddy Dance’s final season performance
Jeanne Ruddy Dance performs their 12th and final season with “Montage a Trois,” Ruddy’s first full-length work, incorporating the paintings of artist Elizabeth Osborne, “Out of the Mist…Above the Real,” and “Game Drive,” set to the music of Jennifer Higdon, May 10-12, Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Avenue of the Arts, Philadelphia. Tickets $25-$130
Skins & Songs at Painted Bride
The Painted Bride hosts Skins & Songs: Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra meets Phillip Hamilton’s Voices with an evening of original works, May 10-13, 230 Vine Street, Philadelphia. Tickets $25 in advance, $30 day off show
Flame, the Band, a rock group composed entirely of people with developmental and physical disabilities, performs a concert of classic rock, country and blues Thursday, May 10, 7:30pm, Keith Valley Middle School, 227 Meetinghouse Road, Horsham, PA. Presented by the Hatboro-Horsham Educational Foundation. Free
Celebrate National Public Gardens Day
Friday, May 11th is National Public Gardens Day, created by The American Public Gardens Association, a Pennsylvania non-profit organization, to celebrate and promote awareness of public gardens in North America, and to encourage visitors to explore their local botanical gardens and arboreta to learn about new plants, get landscaping ideas for their yards, and appreciate the impact that gardens have in their communities and daily lives. Participating public gardens in the tri-state area include Bartram’s Garden, 54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard, Philadelphia, The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, 100 E. Northwestern Avenue, Chestnut Hill, Lewis W. Barton Arboretum and Nature Preserve at Medford Leas, Medford, NJ, University of Delaware Botanic Gardens, Newark, DE, Mt. Cuba Center, Hockessin, DE.
Other events and listings happening throughout the Delaware Valley:
Inis Nua Theatre Company presents the Philadelphia premiere of Irish playwright Enda Walsh’s black comedy “The Walworth Farce,” directed by Tom Reing, May 8-27, Off-Broad Street Theatre at First Baptist Church, 1636 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. Tickets $20-$25. Two-for-one tickets on May 16 and May 23.
The Pennsylvania Academy of Performing Arts (PAPA) performs its Spring concert series “A Night at the Opera!,” Saturday, May 5, 7:30pm, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 104 S. Village Avenue, Exton, PA and Sunday, May 6, 3:30pm, Black Box Theatre, 1645 Art School Road, Chester Springs, PA, featuring beloved opera choruses from Mozart to Gilbert & Sullivan. Tickets $10 adults, $8 students/seniors, $5 each for groups of 10 or more.
Narberth Community Theater presents “Moon Over Buffalo,” opening this weekend through May 19, Narberth Community Theater, 206 Price Avenue, Narberth, PA. Tickets $12-$30
The 85 voice Abington Choral Club presents its 65th Annual Spring Concert “From Broadway to the Big Screen,” under the direction of Peter Hilliard and accompanied by Roburt Gajdos, Saturday, May 5, 8pm, in the Abington Senior High School Auditorium, 970 Highland Avenue, Abington, PA. Free
Singers from the Delaware Valley Opera Company perform a Cinco de Mayo concert Saturday, May 5, 7pm, Keenan’s Valley View Inn, 468 Domino Lane, Philadelphia, with a night of Latin inspired food, jazz, art song and opera. $40 dinner and concert
The Curtis Opera Theatre presents Bellini’s “I Capuleti e i Montecchi,” the timeless tragedy of Romeo and Juliet retold in bel canto style, through May 6, a fully staged production with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, sung in Italian with English supertitles, directed by Emma Griffin with David Hayes conducting, at the Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Tickets $35
The Dead Playwrights Repertory presents their spring production of “The Ides of March,” a two part adaptation of Shakespeare’s well known tragedies Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra, directed by company co-founder Darryl S. Thompson Jr. and based loosely around the events of the Kennedy assassination, including music by the house band Antic Disposition, May 6-20, Haddonfield Friends Meeting, 45 Friends Avenue, Haddonfield, NJ. Tickets $10-$30
The Irish Heritage Theatre, a brand new company dedicated to presenting and preserving the rich legacy of Irish Theatre from Ireland and in the United States, presents its first ever production “Philadelphia, Here I Come!,” by playwright Brian Friel, May 5-20, Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5, Walnut Street, Philadelphia. General admission $25, Seniors $20, Students $15
Curio Theatre Company presents Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” through May 19, 4740 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia. Tickets $15-$20
New Candlelight Theatre presents “The Wedding Singer,” through May 20, 2208 Millers Road, Ardentown, DE with a buffet meal served by the actors and crew included in ticket price. $33-56
1812 Productions presents the classic David Mamet comedy “Boston Marriage,” directed by Jennifer Childs, through May 20, Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Street, Philadelphia. Tickets $20-$36
Diversion Productions presents “Sight and Sound,” a music and art event, Friday, May 4 and Friday, May 11, 7pm-10pm, with local musicians performing and kicking off a month-long exhibition of photographer Bill Strouse, Town Hall Coffee Company, 358 Montgomery Avenue, Merion Station, PA. Free
Ortlieb’s Lounge is back with concerts and events: Reckless Dodgers (feat. BlaqMel and Andrew Winter), Saturday, May 5; Jamaican Soul – Jeff & Jaime Dillan, Friday, May 11; Glotones, Saturday, May 12; 847 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia.
Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library presents “Uncorked! Wine, Objects & Tradition,” an exhibit exploring and celebrating the range of items associated with the history of wine drinking, particularly in Britain and America, including more than 300 objects. The exhibit is on view from April 28 through January 6, 2013 with related programming including lectures, wine tastings, and more, Winterthur, DE. Tickets $18 Adult, $16 Seniors and students with valid ID, $5 children (2-11)
The Cape May Spring Festival continues through May 6, with a variety of tours, food and wine tastings, a craft and antiques show, flower festival and more, including the opening of the exhibit “Cape May’s 20th Century Renaissance: From the Pages of “The First Resort” Exhibit,” adapted by the book’s author Ben Miller, with rare photographs, video and artifacts showcasing the years immediately before and after the city’s Urban Renewal movement, on display through November 4, Carriage House Gallery at the Physick Estate, 1048 Washington Street, Cape May, NJ. Co-sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities and the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cape May.
The 28th annual Philadelphia International Children’s Festival returns to the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts with family friendly music, theatre and dance along with crafts, face painting, jugglers and more in the outdoor Fun Zone, through May 5, 3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Individual tickets $10, Children’s Festival Fun Pass $25 includes 3 shows, the Fun Zone and lunch.
South Camden Theatre Company wraps up their yearlong celebration of playwright Tennessee Williams’ 100th birthday with “The Night of the Iguana,” directed by Randall McCann, through May 6 at Waterfront South Theatre, 400 Jasper Street, Camden, NJ. General admission $15
The North Star Bar hosts concerts and events: Low Cut Connie/California Wives, Friday, May 4, 9pm; Joe Duffey’s Underwater Window Garden/Old Man Cactus/Aaron & the Spell, Saturday, May 5, 9pm; The Old Ceremony/The Sea Around Us, Sunday, May 6, 8pm; Hannah Zaic/Andrea Nardello, Monday, May 7, 8pm; Tungsten/Ganto Barn/Yeah Son, Boy Meets Ghoul, Tuesday, May 7, 8pm; Spindrift/Strangers Family Band/House of Fire, Thursday, May 10, 8pm; The Makes/Root Glen/Study Electricity, Friday, May 11, 9pm; 2639 Poplar Street, Philadelphia. Tickets: $0-$17
City Theater Company closes their 18th season with the regional premiere of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” the daring rock musical with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman and book by Alex Timbers with a historically inaccurate reinvention of Old Hickory as a rock god, through May 12, OPERADELAWARE Studios, 4 South Poplar Street, Wilmington, DE. General admission $25
Onstage at Chapel Street Players is Wendy Wasserstein’s “Isn’t it Romantic,” directed by Nancy Storch, through May 5, 27 North Chapel Street, Newark, DE.
“Offering of the Angels: Treasures of the Uffizi,” an extraordinary exhibit of works from the world-renowned Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, has arrived at the James A. Michener Art Museum, the only northeast United States museum to host the display, curated by its director, Antonio Natali. The selection of over forty paintings and tapestries, which until this tour have never left Europe, depict biblical scenes by legendary Italian Renaissance artists such as Botticelli, Titian, Liberi, Tiarini, and Parmigianino, created between the 15th & 17th centuries. On view through August 10 at 138 S. Pine Street, Doylestown, PA. Hours 10am-4:30pm, Tuesday through Friday, and 10 am-5pm, Saturday and noon-5pm Sunday. Timed entry admission: adults $15; seniors $13; college students w/ ID $11, youth 6-18 $7.50; members and children under 6, free.
To submit an event to be considered for the Weekly Entertainment Guide email Robin Bloom at artscalendar@whyy.org.
Pamela Seaton contributed reporting to this week’s guide.
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