19 Things to Do in Comedy, Movies, Dance, Books and More
Author Lindsey Fitzharris launches the book tour for The Butchering Art at the Mütter Museum on Tuesday. (Youtube)
Diwali @ International House | Wednesday, October 11
A celebration of the Hindu “Festival of Lights” with food, music, dance, games and more. “Diwali is rooted in the Hindu philosophical story of the return of Lord Rama from his 14-year-long exile and his vanquishing of the demon-king Ravana. To honor and celebrate Lord Rama, and to illuminate his path home, villagers light diyas to celebrate the victory.”
The Lost Films of Weng Weng @ PhilaMOCA | Wednesday, October 11
Australian filmmaker Andrew Leavold screens a compilation highlights from films featuring Weng Weng, the little person actor known as the James Bond of the Philippines. Andrew Leavold wrote a book (and made a film) about his attempts to find the actor called The Search for Weng Weng.
The Swallowing Dark @ The Drake | Through October 11
Inis Nua Theatre Company presents Lizzie Nunnery’s story of Zimbabwean immigrants living in Liverpool, England.
Throwing Shade @ World Café Live | Wednesday, October 11
A live taping of the comedy/pop culture/politics podcast (hosted by Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi) that deals with “all the issues important to ladies and gays.” Here’s a recent episode:
Long Day’s Journey into Night @ Sedgwick Theater | Through October 22
Eugene O’Neill’s classic autobiographical play, presented by Quintessence Theatre Group. Stars E. Ashley Izard, Paul Hebron, Josh Carpenter, James Davis, Cassandra Nary and more. Directed by Alexander Burns.
James McBride @ Parkway Central Library | Wednesday, October 11
The author discusses his new collection of stories, Five-Carat Soul.
Philadelphia Lantern Slide Salon @ Wagner Free Institute of Science | Thursday, October 12
The Wagner offers an evening’s entertainment the way the Victorians (sometimes) did it — with glass lantern slides. These nifty old projectors were used to provide visual enhancement to storytelling and teaching. Pretty damn cool.
Rod Man @ Helium | October 12-14
Standup by the season eight winner of Last Comic Standing. This cracked me up:
Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration and Teach-In @ Perelman Building | Thursday, October 12
A celebration of cultural survival featuring a screening of Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac’s documentary Reclaiming Coaquanock; Aztec, Nanticoke and Lenni-Lenape drummers and dancers; and presentations by Lenni-Lenape, Taino, Mexica and other Indigenous leaders and activists.
Van Jones @ Parkway Central Library | Thursday, October 12
The author/CNN commentator discusses his new book, Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together. The auditorium is sold out, but you can do the simulcast thing.
New Media and Chance @ Lightbox Film Center | Thursday, October 12
In conjunction with Making/Breaking the Binary: Women, Art & Technology (1968-85) — which includes an exhibition at UArts’ Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery through December 8 — Lightbox is screening “two groundbreaking 1970s collaborations between female new media artists and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.”
Declassified Memory Fragment @ FringeArts | October 12-14
Baker & Tarpaga Dance Project present “a work of dance, live concert, and theater created as an open letter to life in countries — specifically Kenya, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe — where everyday life is subjected to restrictions and cultural expectations of secrecy and privacy, even within the family.”
Free Speech Film Screening and Sanctuary Poets @ Marconi Plaza | Friday, October 13
Monument Lab continues with this poetry performance and screening of two documentaries — Đất Nước: on the Entanglements of Life and Death and Like We Don’t Exist — followed by a discussion by the filmmakers .
Boris Without Beatrice @ Lightbox Film Center | Saturday, October 14
Québécois filmmaker Denis Côté’s latest film is “a sharply observed character study, an unsparing portrait of the moneyed classes, and an audaciously dark fable.” Watch the trailer here.
Snap Judgment LIVE @ Temple Performing Arts Center | Sunday, October 15
The live version of Glynn Washington’s popular and provocative storytelling radio show/podcast series, heard locally on WHYY. This is the 2016 winner and it’s a heartbreaker:
Innocent People in Prison: A Young Friends Event @ World Affairs Council of Philadelphia | Monday, October 16
United States Circuit Judge Ted McKee and PA Innocence Project Executive Director Marissa Boyers Bluestine will discuss “wrongful convictions, exonerations, as well as ways to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in Pennsylvania through public education and advocacy.”
Tokusatsu Tuesday @ PhilaMOCA | Tuesday, October 17
Tokusatsu Tuesday, in which “classic Japanese superhero shows” are screened, is a regular thing at PhilaMOCA. This edition focuses on spooky/Halloween programming.
Amy Tan @ Parkway Central Library | Tuesday, October 17
The author of The Joy Luck Club presents her latest book, Where the Past Begins, a memoir.
The Butchering Art with Author Lindsey Fitzharris @ Mütter Museum | Tuesday, October 17
The Mutter seems like the idea place for this book launch event: “In The Butchering Art, the historian Lindsey Fitzharris reveals the shocking world of nineteenth-century surgery and shows in gripping detail how it was transformed by germ theory and antiseptics. She conjures up early operating theaters ― no place for the squeamish ― and surgeons, working before anesthesia, who were lauded for their speed and brute strength.” She also does videos:
