Dr. Lonnie Smith
Hear the sounds of the legendary Dr. Lonnie Smith.
Credit: Lourdes Delgado
The legendary, perpetually turbaned organ master leads his long-running trio.
March 22, Montgomery County Community College, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, 215-641-6518, www.mc3.edu/livelyarts
’30/30/1′
The Philadelphia theater community comes together to celebrate Latina/o playwrights with thirty plays presented over the course of a single day.
March 22, Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delaney Place, 215-735-0630, www.playsandplayers.org
‘Jessie Drew-Bear: Stories and Dreams’
Exhibition of work by the proprietor of the London Flower Shop at 18th and Chestnut streets, who began painting just before her 60th birthday and continued for more than 20 years until her death in 1962.
March 23-July 13, Woodmere Art Museum, 9201 Germantown Ave., 215-247-0476, www.woodmereartmuseum.org
Bodytraffic
Los Angeles troupe Bodytraffic is coming to Philly this spring.
Credit: Christopher Duggan
Philadelphia debut of the Los Angeles-based dance troupe, offering a trio of pieces by some of contemporary dance’s most distinctive choreographers.
April 3-5, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St., 215-898-3900, www.annenbergcenter.org
Network for New Music
The Philly ensemble celebrates the music of composer John Harbison, with new pieces by five composers with Philly ties inspired by the folk tunes in Harbison’s “Songs America Loves to Sing.”
April 4, Rock Hall, Temple University, 1715 North Broad St., 215-848-7647, www.networkfornewmusic.org
‘Last Call at the Downbeat’
Jazz Bridge co-founder Suzanne Cloud presents her one-man play recounting trumpet legend Dizzy Gillespie’s early days in Philadelphia.
April 4-13, Society Hill Playhouse, 507 S. 8th St., www.jazzbridge.org
‘Down Past Passyunk’
Politically minded InterAct Theatre Company presents the world premiere of A. Zell Williams’ South Philly-set new play inspired by the “Speak English” sign controversy at Geno’s Steaks.
April 4-27, The Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., 215-568-8079, www.interacttheatre.org
Takacs Quartet
An evening of European masters, as the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents the Hungarian string quartet performing pieces by Shostakovich, Beethoven, and Webern.
April 9, Kimmel Center, Perelman Theater, 300 S. Broad St., 215-569-8080, www.pcmsconcerts.org
‘Three Days of Rain’
Quince Productions opens its 2014 season with Richard Greenberg’s play that alternates between two generations of a single family.
April 9-23, Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5, 825 Walnut St., 215-627-1088, www.quinceproductions.com
Cinedelphia Film Festival
The festival of Philly-centric film programming returns for its second installment, opening with the ultra-obscure, locally-lensed ‘80s spy spoof “Video Wars.”
April 10-26, www.cinedelphiafilmfestival.com
PRISM Quartet
The Philly-based saxophone quartet celebrates its 30th anniversary with a trio of concerts premiering music composed for the ensemble by six renowned jazz saxophonists, including David Liebman, Rudresh Mahanthappa and Greg Osby.
April 11-June 11, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, www.prismquartet.com
UCLA Festival of Preservation
A dozen lesser-known classic films recently restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, ranging from film noir to documentary and comedy, including the venue’s star-packed 1933 namesake, “International House.”
April 2-19, International House, 3701 Chestnut St., 215-387-5125, www.ihousephilly.org
Ghost Train Orchestra
Trumpeter Brian Carpenter’s acclaimed throwback big band plays music by obscure composers of the 1920s.
April 12, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St., 215-898-3900, www.annenbergcenter.org
A Concert of Jazzical Music
Lifeline Music Coalition offers a summit meeting of jazz and classical players, including pianist Di Wu, erhu player Qin Qian and members of the Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble.
April 13, University of the Arts Elaine Levitt Auditorium, www.lifelinemusiccoalition.com
Center City Jazz Festival
In its third year, the fest brings in alto great Steve Coleman and the all-star trio Thumbscrew to supplement its roster of local jazz players in four Center City venues.
April 19, www.ccjazzfest.com
‘Still the New Thing’
The Painted Bride’s series of concerts celebrating legends of the jazz avant-garde comes to an explosive close with a big band double-bill featuring Bobby Zankel’s Warriors of the Wonderful Sound and the Sun Ra Arkestra.
April 19, Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St., 215-925-9914, www.paintedbride.org
‘Unnatural History’
Photographer Lori Nox gives a behind-the-scenes look of a natural history museum.
Credit: ©Lori Nix
Photographer Lori Nix creates miniature black and white dioramas that peek behind the scenes of a typical natural history museum.
April 19-Aug. 3, Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Ben Franklin Pkwy., 215-299-1000, www.ansp.org
Philadelphia Orchestra
Music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and piano prodigy Jan Lisiecki celebrate Mozart with three different programs focusing on the great composer’s three specialities: operas, symphonies, and piano concertos.
April 24-26, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Streets, 215-893-1999, www.philorch.org
Opera Philadelphia
Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” is coming to the Academy of Music.
Credit: Philip Groshong for Cincinnati Opera
A playful staging of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” starring alumni of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Academy of Vocal Arts.
April 25-May 4, Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St., 215-732-8400, www.operaphila.org
eX-Fest
The kid sibling to Exhumed Films’ annual 24-hour Horrorthon offers 12 hours of films from non-horror cult genres: obscure action, martial arts, sci-fi and exploitation flicks.
May 3, International House, 3701 Chestnut St., www.exhumedfilms.com
Ani Cordero
Crossroads presents the singer and multi-instrumentalist’s project “Recordar: Latin American Songs of Love and Protest,” which brings together classic folk ballads, protest anthems, and love songs from the 1930s to the 1970s.
May 4, Calvary Center for Culture and Community, 801 South 48th St., 215-729-1028, www.crossroadsconcerts.org
Pennsylvania Ballet
The company performs former artistic director Robert Weiss’ “Grieg: Piano Concerto” and premieres a new piece by award-winning choreographer Trey McIntyre.
May 8-11, Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, www.paballet.org
‘The Real Thing’
The Wilma closes its season with its 10th production of a Tom Stoppard play, a Tony-winner about a playwright whose work bleeds into his real life.
May 21-June 22, Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St., 215-546-7824, www.wilmatheater.org
‘A Boy and His Soul’
Philadelphia Theatre Company presents Colman Domingo’s autobiographical one-man show, telling his story through a box of vinyl records in his West Philly boyhood home.
May 23-June 22, Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St., 215-985-0420, www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org
‘Picasso Prints: Myths, Minotaurs, and Muses’
Exhibition of Picasso’s musings on the world of classical antiquity in more than 60 prints spanning four decades.
May 24-Aug. 3, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street & Ben Franklin Pkwy.
215-763-8100, www.philamuseum.org
