What’s Coming Up in Dance, Theater, Movies and Comedy

Starring BalletX, Piff the Magic Dragon, Tania Isaac and more.

Piff the Magic Dragon plays Punchline Friday and Saturday.

Piff the Magic Dragon plays Punchline Friday and Saturday.

BalletX @ Wilma Theater | April 26-May 7
The Philly-based contemporary ballet company presents “Spring Series 2017″ which features “the U.S. premiere of Cayetano Soto’s Schachmatt, the Philly return of Matthew Neenan’s The Last Glass (2010), and a world premiere by 2017 Choreographic Fellow and PHILADANCO! alum Tommie-Waheed Evans entitled In Between the Passing.”

Swallow @ the Drake | April 26-May 14
Inis Nua stages the American premiere of Stef Smith’s Swallow, directed by Claire Moyer. “Beautiful and wrenching, Swallow brings us three characters whose lives are taking drastic turns.” Stars Corinna Burns, Felicia Leicht and Samy el-Noury.

(Un)Witnessable: Holocaust in the East @ Perry World House | Wednesday, April 26
“After the war, the destruction of Jewish communities was not featured prominently in Soviet postwar commemorative practices that favored the memory of heroic military fighters and the victory over fascism. This discursive repression persists in independent Belarus, where war memory is largely oblivious to issues of local participation and the erasure of the rich Jewish past.” Keynote address by historian Anika Walke.

Philadelphia Independent Film Festival @ area theaters | April 26-30
Features, short films and music videos will screen at several locations around town, plus lots of discussions with the filmmakers. Too many events to list here, but some highlights include Paul Ruven’s thriller R U Safe?, Russ Emanuel’s sci-fi thriller Occupants and Lindsey Copeland’s drama Hedgehog.

 

Jinxed Science Fiction Reading @ Jinxed | Thursday, April 27
A good excuse to check out an independent book shop, this reading features “writers Alex Smith and M Eighteen Téllez of Metropolarity, as well as Moose Lane and Sarah Sawyers-Lovett… Snacks and drinks provided.”

WHITE @ Theatre Horizon | April 27-May 21
The award-winning satire by James Ijames “examines cultural appropriation, explores black female stereotypes, and satirizes the subjectivity of the art world to expose how society in general often confuses diversity with inclusion.” Starring Jessica Bedford, Jamison Foreman, Justin Jain and Jaylene Clark Owens. Directed by Malika Oyetimein.

Tania Isaac @ FringeArts | April 27-29
Choreographer/dancer/Fringe Fest favorite Tania Isaac performs crazy beautiful, a “lyrically explosive solo movement drama.” Stage design by Sebastienne Mundheim, live music by Chrysyn Harp.

KYL/D @ Prince Music Theater | April 27-29
Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers perform “home season,” a program featuring Santuario (“a moving response to the tragic shootings at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando”) and One: Immortal Game (“an exploration of humankind’s rituals surrounding the drive to win”).

 

Piff the Magic Dragon @ Punchline Philly | April 28 & 29
British comedian John van der Put (as seen on America’s Got Talent) wears a dragon suit and tells funny jokes.

The Philadelphia Moth Storyslam @ World Café Live | Monday, May 1
High-caliber storytelling in a (gently) competitive atmosphere.

May Scratch Night @ FringeArts | Monday, May 1
A showcase of Philly artists testing out new material. Performers include Betty Smithsonian & Rob Alessian, Esther Baker-Tarpaga & Nikia Camp, The Antidote, Olive Prince Dance and more.

Summer Club Salutes Broadway @ Venice Island Performing Arts Center | Monday, May 1
“A 17-piece live big band performing hits from Jersey Boys, The Music Man, Guys and Dolls, Cabaret.” Sounds swingin’.