Weekly Entertainment Guide – GLOW, Supremes Collection, and ‘Wolf-in-Skins’

Beat the cold with exciting and warm indoor events. WHYY’s Robin Bloom has some recommendations on what’s happening in the Philadelphia region.

GLOW: Living Lights at DE Museum of Natural History

Get a good look at one of nature’s most fascinating features, bioluminescence, in the Delaware Museum of Natural History’s newest exhibit, “Glow: Living Lights” opening this Saturday, January 26. The display brings visitors up close with incredible creatures who can produce their own light, from the familiar firefly and glowworm to the alien-looking angler fish and siphonophore, the longest living creature on Earth. Includes a number of interactive components and engaging displays that demonstrate why these creatures glow and how the study of bioluminescence benefits the human world, through May 27, 4840 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, DE.

Come See About Me: The Mary Wilson Supremes Collection

Opening this weekend at the African American Museum in Philadelphia is “Come See About Me: The Mary Wilson Supremes Collection,” an exhibit that features over thirty of the Motown group’s stunning gowns along with rarely seen video footage, gold records and album covers, historic photographs, and contemporary magazine and news articles, conceived by Mary Wilson, an original member of the Supremes. Related programming includes concerts, celebrity appearances, fashion shows, and more through June 30, 7th & Arch Streets, Philadelphia. In cooperation with Blair-Murrah Exhibitions.

 

Woodmere Art Museum exhibitions & online collection

Woodmere Art Museum presents three exhibitions that focus on the growth of its collection of more than 2,000 works of art that tell the story of the art and artists of Philadelphia: “Just In: Recent Acquisitions in the Collection of Woodmere Art Museum, on view this weekend through March 17, including works acquired by Woodmere over the last two years, by Pennsylvania Impressionists, Arthur B. Carles and his circle, and contemporary abstract painters; “The Philip Jamison Collection, celebrating the Philadelphia collector’s dedication to artists of the region and his gift to Woodmere; and “Philip Jamison Watercolor: The Spirit of Chester County,” an accompanying look at Jamison’s own grand watercolors of rural Pennsylvania (pictured). Both Jamison exhibits are on view this weekend through May 5 with related programs and events including a free open house, Saturday, January 26, 1pm-4pm, 9201 Germantown Avenue, Chestnut Hill. View Woodmere’s online collection (www.woodmerecollection.org), featuring almost 1,400 works, many that aren’t currently on view in the galleries.

Wolf-in-Skins

The Philadelphia Dance Projects presents the Philadelphia preview of “Wolf-in-Skins” Friday, January 25, 7:30pm, and Sunday, January 26, 2:30pm and 7:30pm, featuring extracted scenes from an epic “dance-opera” choreographed by Christopher Williams and composed by Gregory Spears. Williams, hailed by the New York Times as “one of the most exciting choreographic voices out there,” draws inspiration from legends, folklore and early Celtic literature. The contemporary performance focuses on a hero who grapples with identity through bouts with the supernatural, otherworldly passage and transformation, Conwell Dance Theater at Temple University, NE corner of Broad Street & Montgomery Avenue, Philadelphia.

Maukingbird Theater Company’s “Bad Seed”

Mauckingbird Theater Company, known for reflecting on classic works through a gay lens, presents a staged reading of the popular novel, film, and Broadway play, “Bad Seed,” by Maxwell Anderson, for one weekend only, January 25-27. Barrymore Award-winner Amanda Schoonover (pictured) stars as Rhoda Penmark, a 9-year-old with a disturbing fondness for murder, directed by Peter Reynolds, at Off-Broad Street Theater, First Baptist Church, 1636 Sansom Street, Philadelphia.

Luna Theater Company’s “Lungs”

Onstage at Luna Theater Company is Duncan Macmillan’s “LUNGS,” a minimalist play starring Charlotte Ford and David Raphaely (pictured), a couple debating whether or not to have child at a time of political unrest and possible apocalypse. Gregory Scott Campbell directs the humorous and edgy love story, at the Skybox at the Adrienne Theater through February 16, 2030 Sansom Street, Philadelphia.

 

“The Pine Barrens: A Legacy of Preservation”

Morven Museum & Garden explores the sights and history of the New Jersey Pinelands with the new exhibit, “The Pine Barrens: A Legacy of Preservation,” opening this Friday, January 25. The exhibit features 33 photographs, shot through the lens of photographer Richard Speedy, while also detailing the preservation history of the land, through April 14, 55 Stockton Street, Princeton, NJ.

Red Baraat at Annenberg Center

The Brooklyn band Red Baraat brings their unique blend of traditional Indian bhangra and New Orleans jazz to the Annenberg Center this Saturday, January 26, 8pm. Since 2008, the band has been creating a unique groove that mixes funk, go-go, Latin and jazz, making their live performances a blur of concert and party. Before the show, audiences can attend a pre-show talk at 6:30pm and sample the Taste of India with complimentary appetizers at 7pm, 3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.

“Linedrives and Lipstick: The Untold Story of Women’s Baseball”

Opening this weekend at the Mercer Museum is “Linedrives and Lipstick: The Untold Story of Women’s Baseball,” showcasing female involvement in the sport since 1866 with photographs and memorabilia, including picture postcards, game programs, photographs and a first draft script and uniform from the movie “A League of Their Own,” through March 17, 84 South Pine Street, Doylestown, PA. Opening day is Saturday, January 26, 10am-4pm with a lecture by exhibit curator, screening of the film “A League of Their Own,” and autograph signing with Ruth Richard, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player. Youth wearing their team jerseys or uniforms receive free admission.

Jelly Bean Art at Reading Public Museum

See the world’s greatest pieces of art in jelly bean form. “Starry Night,” “Mona Lisa,” “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” “American Gothic,” and other masterpieces are on display at the Reading Public Museum beginning this Saturday, January 26. “Jelly Belly Masterpieces of Jelly Bean Art,” showcases eight world famous pieces of art recreated as jelly bean mosaics commissioned by the candy company. California artist Kristen Cumings hand placed each bean for Jelly Belly’s private collection, taking over 100 hours to complete. On view through May 5, 500 Museum road, Reading, PA.

“Evalds Dajevskis: Place, Art and Identity”

“Evalds Dajevskis: Place, Art and Identity” opens at the Latvian Society of Philadelphia’s exhibition space this Saturday, January 26. The exhibit explores the life of the Latvian artist and the places he called home once he became a displaced person after World War II. The installation is inspired by a New York Times article about an anonymous Latvian artist, who curator Peter Dajevskis recognized as his father. Open for one week, through February 2 at 531 North 7th Street, Philadelphia.

Boeing Boeing at Delaware Theatre Company

The French farce “Boeing Boeing” takes the stage at Delaware Theatre Company, written by Marc Camoletti, translated by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans, and directed by University of Delaware Professor Steve Tague. The fast-paced comedy won the Tony Award in 2008 for “Best Revival of a Play,” features a cast of six, and is onstage through February 10 at 200 Water Street, Wilmington, DE.

Chinese New Year Celebration at Grounds for Sculpture

Grounds for Sculpture closes out its January “Winter Warmth” month with a Chinese New Year Celebration, Saturday, January 26 featuring a paper-cutting demonstration at 12pm with master paper cutter Hou-Tien Cheng, and a performance by the renowned Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company (pictured) at 2pm, known for fusing Asian & modern American dance, along with the traditional Dragon and Lion Dances, in the new East Gallery, with the opportunity to see the colorful installation “Canutopia,” by Ming Fay, on view through July, 18 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton, NJ.

Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia: Bottesini I Schubert

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia performs a program of Prokofiev, Bottesini, Wolf and Schubert with Kansas City Symphony Music Director Michael Stern and Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Principal Bass Joseph Conyers (pictured), Sunday, January 27, 2:30pm and Monday, January 28, 7:30pm, in the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater, Broad Street, Philadelphia.

“Brundibar” at International House

International House presents “Brundibar and the Children of Theresienstadt,” the children’s opera written by Czech composer Hans Krasa in 1938 and subsequently performed by Jewish children at the Theresienstadt concentration camp, while Krasa was a prisoner there. The live musical tells the story of the children who gave 55 performances of the little opera, which was recorded for use as Nazi propaganda. Featuring an original script based on writings of prisoners, the play is performed by the International Opera Theater Sunday, January 27, 3pm, Tuesday, January 29, 10am, Wednesday, January 30, 10am, and Sunday, February 3, 3pm, the Ibrahim Theater, International House, 3701 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater comes to the Merriam Theater for three performances, Wednesday, January 30, 7:30pm, Thursday, January 31, 7:30 pm, and Friday, February 1, 8pm, featuring works by new artistic director Robert Battle, Paul Taylor, Rennie Harris, and more including “Revelations” by Alvin Ailey, 250 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia.

“A Chorus Line” at Eagle Theatre

Onstage at Eagle Theatre is the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway musical “A Chorus Line,” that follows the ups and downs of 17 aspiring dancers struggling to make it in show business. This production features local talent, including former Miss New Jersey, Erica Scanlon Harr, through February 9 at 208 Vine Street, Hammonton, NJ.

Beckett’s “Endgame” at Arden Theatre Company

The Arden Theatre Company presents the work of Nobel Prize winner Samuel Beckett for the first time with the classic absurdist, “Endgame.” Philadelphia actors Scott Greer and James Ijames play Hamm and Clov, two men sharing a cramped room that neither of them can leave. Beckett’s script explores the co-dependent relationship of the two men while incorporating vaudeville humor and the grim sense that nothing is funnier than unhappiness. Directed by Arden’s Associate Artistic Director Edward Sobel, through March 10 on the Arcadia Stage, 40 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia.

“Common Interests: Mobility and Transformation of Public Life”

Rowan University Art Gallery’s new exhibit, “Common Interests: Mobility and Transformation of Public Life” examines how public space, both natural and manmade, informs everyday life. The exhibit employs sculpture, drawing, social practice, performance, interventions, and video by artists Pierluigi Calignano, Sue Jeong Ka, Mary Mattingly, Alex Villar and others, through March 16, with a reception on Wednesday, January 30 from 5pm-7pm at Rowan University Art Gallery, Westby Hall, Rowan University, Route 322, Glassboro, NJ.

Other events and listings throughout the region:

Delaware Symphony Orchestra resumes full-orchestra concerts with two performances of “New World,” Friday, January 25, 7:30pm and Sunday, January 27, 2pm, featuring a program of Humperdinck, Rachmaninoff, and Dvořák, with David Amado conducting and Lura Johnson on piano at The Grand, 818 N. Market Street, Wilmington, DE.

The Philadelphia Chamber Ensemble, featuring current and/or former Philadelphia Orchestra musicians, performs the works of Franz Danzi, Max Bruch, Bohuslav Martinu, and Alexander Glazounov this Friday, January 25, 8pm and Sunday, January 27, 2pm. Refreshments will be served after the concert and the audience will have a chance to speak with the musicians at Old Pine Street Church, 4th and Pine Streets, Philadelphia.

Lyric Fest celebrates its 10th anniversary season with a double concert featuring Schubert’s “Winterreise,” performed in its entirety by Randall Scarlata and Laura Ward, Friday, January 25, 8pm, and two newly commissioned song cycles inspired by Winterreise, “A New Journey into Song,” Sunday, January 27, 3pm, featuring Andrea Clearfield’s “The Drift of Things; Winter Songs” and Daron Hagen’s “After Words.” The composers will be available after the concert for a talk with the audience. Both performances will be held at The Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce Street, Philadelphia.

Adventure Aquarium’s newest exhibit, “Journey of Survival,” spotlights one of the few animals to survive since prehistoric times, the turtle. Visitors can view a collection of exotic species of both land and aquatic turtles from around the world and learn about their habitats, biology, and how they evolved adaptations that helped them survive through modern times. Includes live shows, activities and special events through March 24 including this Saturday, January 26 with local author Donna M. Zappala reading from her book, “What Kind of Turtle Am I?” at 12pm, 1:15pm, and 2:15pm, 1 Riverside Drive, Camden, NJ.

The 15th Annual Keystone Sacred Harp Convention is Saturday, January 26, 10am-3pm, and Sunday, January 27, 9:30am-3pm, two days of four part a cappella singing for amateurs, St. Philomena Roman Catholic Church, 41 E. Baltimore Avenue, Lansdowne, PA.

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra performs Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” Overture and Act II, and Symphony No. 38, “Prague,” in “A Mozart Interlude,” Sunday January 27, 4pm. Celebrate the composer’s birthday with the semi-staged production of Act II, featuring singers from the Curtis Institute of Music and Westminster Choir College, conducted by Rossen Milanov and directed by Chas Rader-Shieber, Richardson Auditorium at Alexander Hall, 68 Nassau Street, Princeton, New Jersey.

Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” is onstage at the Allens Lane Art Center, directed by Josh Hitchens, taking Chekhov’s story of love triangles and betrayals between friends at a summer lake house and placing it in a present day setting, through February 2, 601 West Allens Lane, Philadelphia.

The children’s classic, “Pinocchio” is onstage at the Delaware Children’s Theatre through February 10, 1014 Delaware Avenue, Wilmington, DE.

Brett Rader and Sarah Pike 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.

Like us on Facebook to add the Weekly Entertainment Guide to your News Feed.