Weekly Entertainment Guide – ‘Don Giovanni,’ ‘This is the Week,’ and Spring Festivals!

From Don Juan to Don Quixote, World Dance Day performances, concerts and festivals; there is something for everyone on the Entertainment Guide!  WHYY’s Robin Bloom offers her suggestions on what to do this week.

Festivals

Philadelphia Science Festival

The Philadelphia Science Festival kicks off Friday, April 25 with nine days of family friendly fun. The community-wide celebration of science and technology features more than 100 events all across the region with 175 partners. Highlights include Astronomy Night, Friday, April 25, 7:30pm at 27 different locations. Discovery Day is Saturday, April 26 at 4 different locations, Explorer Sunday, April 27 at 15 locations along with the popular “Mess Fest” at 1pm at the Smith Memorial Playground. The fun continues with many more events including the Science Carnival on the Parkway on Saturday, May 3.

Filadelfia Latin American Film Festival

Three days, fifteen films: This weekend the Third Annual Filadelfia Latin American Film Festival (FLAFF) presents work by cutting-edge and established Latin American and Latino filmmakers. The festival features two new films made in Philadelphia: “Aquí y Allá Crossing Borders” which documents the production of a transnational public art project that connected Mexican immigrant youth in Philadelphia with peers in Chihuahua, Mexico, and “Forbidden Lovers Meant to Be,” a collaboration exploring art and identity, produced by North Philadelphia high school students at Taller Puertorriqueño’s Youth Artist Program and filmmakers Joanna Siegel, Melissa Beatriz Skolnick, and Kate Zambon. Screenings run from Friday, April 25 through Sunday, April 27 at three venues: The Kimmel Center, the University of the Arts, and International House Philadelphia. Start off the festival weekend with the free Opening Festival Party at UArts on Friday, April 25, 9:30pm. Pictured: Matar a un Hombre/To Kill a Man.

Delaware Festivals

The WilmFilm Festival returns to Penn Cinema Riverfront with more than 50 independent and documentary films as well as Q&A panels, an opening night party and special midnight screenings, April 24-27, Wilmington, DE.  The 11th Annual Bug & Bud Festival buzzes back to downtown Milford, celebrating Arbor Day and Delaware’s State Bug, Saturday, April 26, 9am-4pm. Enjoy a ladybug and tree costumed parade for kids and pets, live entertainment, arts & crafts vendors, children’s activities including a children’s art show and nature related activities, paddle boat rides, games, and more, rain or shine and free along Walnut Street, Front Streets and the Mispillion Riverwalk.  The DuPont Environmental Education Center hosts “Spring into Nature” Saturday, April 26, 12pm-4pm with crafts, hiking excursions, live critters and the opportunity to catch fish and insects, for all ages and free, 1400 Delmarva Lane, Wilmington, DE.  Mt. Cuba Center (pictured) hosts the 10th annual Wildflower Celebration, Sunday, April 27, 10am-4pm, with activities for the entire family including gardening demonstrations, live music, plant giveaways, and the opportunity to explore the gardens and to picnic, 3120 Barley Mill Road, Hockessin, DE.

Cape May Spring Festival

Cape May celebrates the season with its annual Spring Festival, April 25 through May 4, with private home tours, ghost tours, murder mystery meals, Time Capsule Trolley Tour, food and wine events, and more, along with the exhibit “Cape May’s Ablaze,” a journey through Cape May’s fiery past. An opening reception is Friday, April 25, 7pm, Carriage House Gallery at the Physick Estate, 1048 Washington Street, Cape May, NJ. The exhibit will be on display through October 14.

New Jersey Folk Festival

The annual New Jersey Folk Festival is this Saturday, April 26 from 10am to 6pm, rain or shine, celebrating its 40th anniversary with music stages, artists & crafters, and more including performances by the Anick Brothers and tributes to Pete Seeger and Ed McDermott, all part of Rutgers Day at the Eagleton Institute Grounds on the Douglass Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. Free.

 

Lehigh Avenue Arts Festival

The 7th annual Lehigh Avenue Arts Festival is Saturday, April 26, 12pm-8pm, rain or shine, with live music, food, crafts, children’s activities, and new this year – the inflatable sculpture contest – at Portside Arts Center, 2531 E. Lehigh Avenue, Philadelphia.

 

Grounds for Sculpture’s “A Day at the Fair”

2014 marks the 350th anniversary of New Jersey’s statehood and Grounds for Sculpture celebrates its roots as the site of the New Jersey State Fairgrounds (pictured) with the annual Day at the Fair, Sunday, April 27, 11am-4pm. The park is turned into a fun-filled fantasy fair with children’s activities, music, workshops, favorite fairground food, reenactments, and more special events, rain or shine, 18 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton, NJ.

 

Sacred Arts Festival at Glencairn

Glencairn Museum hosts a Sacred Arts Festival this Sunday, April 27, 1-5pm, with family friendly activities and demonstrations of religious art in the making, including mosaic making, glass-blowing, manuscript illuminating, henna designs, stained glass painting workshop and completion and ritualistic dismantling of Tibetan Buddhist sand mandala with Losang Samten, 1001 Cathedral Road, Bryn Athyn, PA.

 

Philadelphia International Children’s Festival

The 30th annual Philadelphia International Children’s Festival returns to the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts April 30 through May 4 with accessible and affordable performances for all ages. Highlights include “Me and My Shadow,” co-produced by Australia’s Patch Theatre Company and Philadelphia-based PAPAYA (PA Performing Arts for Young Audiences), “Simple Gifts” (pictured) presented by Cashore Marionettes of Colmar, PA, and “We Shall Not Be Moved: the Hip H’Opera Project,” a collaboration between spoken-word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, composer Daniel Bernard Roumain, and Philadelphia high school students with support from Opera Philadelphia and Art Sanctuary. Opening Night festivities on April 30, 5:30pm include reduced tickets, a pre-show party with refreshments, and a performance of “Me and My Shadow.” West Philly residents are eligible for $5 PNC rush tickets for weekend performances.

Concerts

Tin Angel shows

Singer/songwriter Avi Wisnia performs original songs and inventive covers inspired by Brazilian bossa nova, acoustic American folk, 1950’s west-coast jazz, and contemporary pop with Denise Reis, Thursday, April 24, 8pm at the Tin Angel. And Lucy Kaplansky (pictured) returns to Philly on Friday, April 25, 8:30pm, 20 S. 2nd Street, Old City.

 

Ani DiFranco

Folk-rocker Ani DiFranco comes to World Café Live at the Queen with special guest HuDost, Friday, April 25, 8pm (doors open at 7pm), 500 N. Market Street, Wilmington, DE.

Onstage

“This is the Week That is” at 1812 Productions

1812 Productions launches the 8th annual 2014 edition of their riotous political comedy show This is the Week That Is opening April 24. Crafted from the headlines by a cast of actor-writers, Philadelphia’s premier comedy theater transports audiences from the hills of Russia to the halls of the Capitol. In the expanded musical portion of this year’s program, Hillary Clinton hosts a cabaret and the Motown stylings of Ann Coulter, Al Sharpton, Rush Limbaugh, Rachel Maddow, and Larry King test the limits of cooperation. Written and performed by Jennifer Childs (director), Scott Greer, Dave Jadico, Aimé Kelly, and Alex Bechtel (who also serves as musical director), with additional material by Greg Nix and Don Montrey, Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Street, through June 1.

Opera Philadelphia’s “Don Giovanni”

Opera Philadelphia brings the beloved Don Giovanni to Philadelphia for 5 performances, April 25 through May 4. Mozart’s playful and dramatic musical masterpiece about the legendary Don Juan features alumni of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Academy of Vocal Arts including baritone Elliot Madore as Giovanni, soprano Michelle Johnson as Donna Anna, lyric soprano Amanda Majeski as Donna Elvira, and David Portillo, Joseph Barron, Cecila Hall, Wes Mason, and Nicholas Masters. The lavish production (from the Cincinnati Opera) is directed by Nicholas Muni and conducted by George Manahan at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. Performed in Italian with English supertitles and running 3 hours with one 20 minute intermission. Related events include Opera Overtures, pre-curtain lectures for ticketholders.

“True West” at South Camden Theatre Company

South Camden Theatre Company introduces the work of Sam Shepard to its audience for the first time with True West, opening Friday, April 25 through May 11. The contemporary American drama, directed by Christopher “Jumbo” Schimpf and starring Patrick Alicarlo, Jason Cutts, Breen Rourke and Kris Andrews, portrays the sibling rivalry between two estranged brothers who have reconnected, at the Waterfront South Theatre, 400 Jasper Street, Camden, NJ.

Dream the “Impossible Dream” with “Man of La Mancha”

Act II Playhouse concludes its 15th anniversary season with the second classic musical in its history, Man of La Mancha, the Tony Award winning play written by Dale Wasserman and based on the novel The Adventures of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Directed by Aaron Cromie and starring Peter Schmitz as Don Quixote, Sonny Leo as his servant Sancho Panza, Maria Konstantinidis as Aldonza, and Jake Blouch, Matthew Mastronardi, Amanda Jill Robinson, Matt Tallman, Josh Totora, and Brian Anthony Wilson. The nine actors play approximately 40 roles and serve as the onstage orchestra, playing a variety of instruments such as the violin, melodica, glockenspiel, toy piano, trash can and cello. Music director Christopher Colucci serves as the onstage guitarist, opening April 29 and already extended through June 8, 56 E. Butler Avenue, Ambler, PA.

World Dance Day

In honor of International Dance Day, 954 Dance Movement Collective offers a free outdoor spring dance celebration on Sunday, April 27, 12pm-3pm at the Piazza at Schmidts, North 2nd Street and Germantown Avenue below Girard, Philadelphia.  MM2 Modern Dance Company (pictured) presents free family-friendly performances of their latest work BREATH as well as site specific improvisation at The Porch at 30th Street Station, Sunday, April 27, 1pm. Rain date for this performance is June 29 and additional performance dates are May 18 and June 1.

 

Art Appreciation

“Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Patrick Kelly’s bold colors and playful designs take the runway in two new fashion exhibitions opening at the Philadelphia Museum of Art this weekend. Runway of Love documents the late African-American fashion designer’s career from his earliest commercial collections, his banner years working in Paris, through his untimely death from AIDS. A complementary exhibition Gerlan Jeans ♥ Patrick Kelly showcases Kelly’s continued influence on the fashion world. Gerlan Marcel’s line of jeans reinterprets Kelly’s style for the wardrobes of pop icons like Beyoncé and Katy Perry. Curated by Dilys Blum, both exhibitions are on view through November 30 at the Special Exhibitions Gallery, Perelman Building, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street, Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Antiques Show

 

The Philadelphia Antiques Show: Antiques & Art through the 20th Century is back for a 53rd year Saturday, April 26 through Tuesday, April 29. Offering a full range of colonial through mid-20th century fine and decorative arts from over 50 of the most prominent antiques and art exhibitors in the country, including paintings, prints, maps, American Federal, folk and regional works, antique silver, textiles, porcelain and jewelry, nautical and Native American art. A loan exhibit from Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, MA showcases more than 30 objects including 18th and 19th century furniture, ceramics, glass, silver maps, paintings, and more. A Preview Party kicks off the festivities on Friday, April 25, 6pm (early admission at 5pm) at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia.

Marissa Nicosia contributed reporting to this week’s Guide.

To submit an event to be considered for the Weekly Entertainment Guide email Robin Bloom at artscalendar@whyy.org.