IMPRESARIO: The Weekender
Yes, next weekend is a three-dayer, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t get out and make the most of this weekend. Here are seven ways to do it …
Hit A.C. … Sip a beachy cocktail by the pool at the Borgata’s brand new and ultraluxe Water Club. Be mesmerized at the new Kalin & Ginger magic show at Trump Marina (read my interview with illusionist Mark Kalin here). See the least attractive Beatle at the Taj. There’s also the cover-band festival Fake Fest at the Marina and the excessively altered Joan Rivers at Harrah’s.
Avoid blockbusters … If you’re sickened by the current box office offerings (The Love Guru, that Shyamalan disaster), the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, all weekend in Northern Liberties, might provide the cure.
Enjoy opera without the stupid glasses … On Sunday, the Bryn Mawr Film Institute shows Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, filmed at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala; it’s the last in BMFI’s opera series for a while, so get your arias in while you still can.
Watch veins pop … The whole 4th of July Welcome America festival kicks off on Saturday with, what else, a strongman competition on the Parkway. Stick around for the Rocky screening outside of the Art Museum at 9 p.m.
Rock out … The Philly-founded Paul Green School of Rock celebrates ten years teaching the future of America how to channel their inner thrashers with its annual festival at Penn’s Landing and the Electric Factory. The kids get to jam with the Butthole Surfers, Devo and the Dropkick Murphys.
Pretend you understand art … Yes, it’s true that there’s usually no good reason to go to Manayunk, but the Philly Mag-sponsored Manayunk Arts Festival might be a good time to reconsider. Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Get played … No matter what you might think, Oprah’s production of The Color Purple at the Academy is good. Go see it. And Souvenir, starring Media-native and Tony nominee Ann Crumb as early 20th-century eccentric and horrible opera singer Florence Foster Jenkins, closes at the Wilma on Sunday.
