119 Things to Do in Philly This Week and Weekend

The Philadelphia Auto Show, Jason Kelce’s late-night show, and a zero-proof extravaganza.

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The Philadelphia Auto Show is back in town. / Photograph by R. Kennedy for Visit Philly

FESTIVALS, FOOD, OTHER FUN STUFF

FLOWERS
Winter Wonder
Longwood Gardens shows off its new West Conservatory, a warm indoor oasis full of “lush, tropical gardens” and “the soothing sounds of water.”
Included in $25 admission, January 17th-March 23rd, Longwood Gardens, 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square.

GAMES/TABLETOP
Philadelphia Area Gaming Expo
This three-day convention in Oaks promises “he finest in table top roleplaying games, board game and miniature gaming events, a dealer’s area, guests from the gaming industry, a used game flea market/swap meet for non-commercial entities, an auction, seminars and so much more.” That’s all you need to know, all in one sentence. I have nothing to add.
$40-$55 for a one-day pass; $75 for a three-day pass; January 16th-19th, Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, 100 Station Avenue, Oaks.

FOOD
Center City District Restaurant Week
Participating Center City restaurants offer two-course lunches for $20 and three-course dinners for $45 to $60. Participating eateries include Aki Nom Nom, Banh Mi and Bottles, Bellini, Dear Daphni, El Vez and lots more. I have chosen these places at random. Here’s the whole list.
$20 for lunch, $40-$60 for dinner, January 19th-February 1st, multiple locations.

WINE/MUSIC
The Winter unWINEd
Shady Brook Farm hosts free live music by local artists every Friday and Saturday inside their greenhouse. Here’s the lineup. Also: wine and pizza.
Free, Fridays and Saturdays, 6:30-9:30 p.m., through March 8th, Shady Brook Farm, 931 Stony Hill Road, Yardley.

CARS
Philadelphia Auto Show
The Convention Center is once again crammed with cars — new cars, classic cars, “exotics” and famous vehicles from the Fast and the Furious series, Twisters, Stranger Things, Back to the Future and more. Do the cars come alive and frolic around the Convention Center in the middle of the night? Yes.
$20, through January 20th, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch Street.

FOOD ARCHITECTURE
Gingerbread Competition & Display
New Hope’s most thematic shopping village has become menagerie of twinkling lights and holiday happenings, but the main attraction is the surely the empty cookie houses built for untamed cookie humanoids with no past, no culture or formal education. They are wild creatures with nothing to lose. Except their pretty little houses. Do not eat their houses.
Free, continues through January 19th, Peddler’s Village, 2400 Street Road, New Hope.

LIGHTS/HOLIDAYS
Astra Lumina
Astra Lumina is billed as a “multisensory immersive experience for all ages” where you can take “an enchanted night walk in a beautiful sculpture park.” Based on the photos, this looks like a pretty/spooky place to walk through and snap some of your own photos.
$29-$38, continues through January, Abington Art Center, 515 Meetinghouse Road, Jenkintown.

KIDS
Bluey x Camp
Take the kids to a 50-minute immersive adventure with misshapen canine icons Bluey and Bingo; run wild and play games in their famous house.
$54, through May 1st, King of Prussia Mall, 160 North Gulph Road, Level 3, King of Prussia.

LIGHTS
Winter in Franklin Square
The Electrical Spectacle is back, filling Franklin Square with twinkling lights in wintry arrangements. There’s also fire pits, street curling, mini golf, a heated tent, hot beverages, “seasonal food” and more.
Free to enter, continues through February 23rd, 5-9 p.m. nightly, Franklin Square, 200 North Sixth Street.

WINTER/ICE SKATING
Winterfest
The family-friendly Winterfest — along the Delaware River, just north of the Ben Franklin Bridge — is back for more ice skating, hot chocolate sipping, food munching, game playing, etc.
Free till you skate or buy or do something else that costs money, through March 2nd, Blue Cross RiverRink, 101 South Columbus Boulevard.

OUTDOORS
Ice Skating @ Rothman Rink
The Rothman Orthopaedics Ice Rink and Cabin returns to Dilworth Plaza. In addition to the skating, there’s hot chocolate, food, cute little penguins for kids to hold onto while they’re going around the rink, and more.
$10 for skate rental, $9 for 90-minute skate sessions, continues through February 23rd; Dilworth Park, along the western face of City Hall.

ON STAGE

THEATER
Holy Grail of Memphis
The Arden present a world premiere of this new music-inflected comedy by great Philly playwright Michael Hollinger. Directed by Terrence J. Nolen, Holy Grail of Memphis is about the search for a lost blues legend. Stars Matteo Scammell, Erin Malimban, Newton Buchanan, Kishia Nixon, Mary Martello and Fred Michael Beam.
$32-$62, January 16th-February 23rd, Arden Theatre, 40 North 2nd Street.

MUSIC
Philadelphia Orchestra
Pianist Yuja Wang performs Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto with the Orchestra. Conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The program also includes Margaret Bonds’ The Montgomery Variations, a “beautifully ruminative tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”
$66-$214, January 16th-18th, Kimmel Center, 300 South Broad Street.

MUSIC
The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
Jeffrey Brillhart leads the COPs in this concert featuring Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto, along with other works. Featuring soprano Kara Goodrich.
$29-$82, January 17th at 7:30 p.m. and January 19th at 2:30 p.m., Kimmel Center, 300 South Broad Street.

COMEDY
Colin Quinn
The gruff veteran comedian, actor and Weekend Update alum plays a run of shows at Helium this weekend. According to Wikipedia, he was twice named to Irish America magazine’s Top 100 Irish Americans of the year list.
$30-$42, January 17th-19th, Helium, 2031 Sansom Street.

THEATER
In the Continuum
Tasha Holmes and Kassidy Carlese star in this staged reading of Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead, Black Panther) and Nikkole Salter’s play that “puts a human face on the devastating impact of AIDS in Africa and America through the lives of two unforgettably courageous women.” Directed by Monica Fleurette.
$10, January 16th-18th, 7:30 p.m., Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place.

MUSIC
Robert Glasper
The Grammy-winning pianist, producer and visionary plays long run at City Winery this week. Glasper’s best known as a jazz musician, but he’s worked in hip-hop, rock, soul, and other genres.
$60-$85, January 15th-17th, City Winery, 990 Filbert Street.

COMEDY
K. Trevor Wilson
The big-bearded Toronto comedian and actor is best known for playing the lovelorn and unnecessarily pluralizing Squirrely Dan on Letterkenny. He’s also appeared in various shows and movies playing characters with names like Homeless Guy, Bigfoot, Fat Guy at Audition, Pot Dealer, Beefy Guy, etc.
$32-$36, January 17th-19th, Punch Line Philly, 33 East Laurel Street.

MUSIC
Geordie Greep
The Black Midi frontman plays a pair of shows under his own name at JB’s this week. Born in Britain, singer-guitarist Geordie Wade Greep was named Geordie Wade Greep by his parents. Greep’s debut solo record The New Sound dropped in October. Greep is a new sound to me and I like it. Greep.
Sold out, January 16th & 17th, 8 p.m., Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 North Frankford Avenue.

THEATER
Slay and the City: A Killer Cosmo
Without a Cue Productions presents a murder mystery spoof of Sex and the City. (“Come dressed as your favorite lady and earn a free clue.”)
$35, Saturdays and Sundays, through February 24th, Red Rum Theater, 601 Walnut Street.

THEATER
MJ the Musical
This Tony-winning musical about Michael Jackson creating his Dangerous World Tour in 1992 comes to the Academy of Music for a 16-show run.
$39-$199, through January 19th, Academy of Music, 240 South Broad Street.

THEATER
Driving Miss Daisy
Walnut Street Theatre presents Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about a friendship that develops between an elderly Jewish widow and her African American chauffeur from the 1940s to the 1970s. Directed by Bernard Havard. Stars Scott Greer, Johnnie Hobbs, Jr. and Wendy Scharfman.
$25-$107, through February 2nd, Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut Street.

THEATER
The Exes
The Old Academy Players presents a “bromantic comedy of love and breakups” by Lenore Skomal. Directed by Norman Burnosky. Stars Emmie Ledesma, Eric Tuller, Ginny Kaufmann and Jay Steinberg.
$25, through January 26th, Old Academy Players, 3544 Indian Queen Lane.

THEATER
Peter Pan
The Arden Theatre Company’s Children’s Theatre Productions presents the a new production of the classic story of the boy who never grew up and also he could fly, and there’s a little flying lady and a pirate, based on the book by J.M. Barrie, adapted for the stage by Douglas Irvine. Directed by Whit MacLaughlin.
$25-$46, through January 25th, Arden Theatre, 40 North 2nd Street.

THEATER
Spiritual Experience
This “uniquely intimate encounter” is only performed for two audience members at a time. Let’s put your mind at ease now: “Spiritual Experience is not frightening and it does not involve audience participation. Directed by Rebecca Wright. Written by Adriano Shaplin. Performed by Severin Blake, Bailey Roper and Adriano Shaplin.
$150-$200 per performance, through May 11th, the Private Theater, 3408 Brandywine Street.

MOVIES

 

Delco: The Movie
Enjoy the world premiere of Chris Pierdomenico’s “coming-of-age dramedy” set in Delaware County. Stars Steve Harding, Jeff Pfeiffer and Jenna Kuerzi, along with Brian O’Halloran (from the Clerks franchise), Brian Dunkleman (American Idol), Brian Anthony Wilson (The Wire) and more.
$10-$25 ($75 for the VIP party), January 18th at 2 & 7 p.m. and January 19th at 3 p.m., Media Theatre, 104 East State Street, Media.

Rome, Open City
According to popular internet movie database IMDB, Roberto Rossellini’s classic comes with the tagline “Rossellini’s Great Film of Our Time.” And for just a minute I imagined a world where that was the original slogan they used to sell this movie in 1945 and I was in awe of the Italian director’s mid-career bravado. Then I realized no way, and I was disappointed.
$14, January 13th at 4 & 7 p.m. and January 18th at 6:30 p.m., Film Society Bourse, 400 Ranstead Street.

Paul Newman’s Own
The Film Society celebrates Paul Newman, who would’ve turned 100 this year.

  • The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961) Paul plays pool. Tagline: “They Called Him Fast Eddie.” January 13th at 7 p.m., and January 25th at 12:45 p.m.
  • Cool Hand Luke (Stuart Rosenberg, 1967) Paul goes to prison. Tagline: “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” January 17th at 4 & 6:45 p.m., and January 23th at 3 and 7 p.m.
  • The Verdict (Sidney Lumet, 1982) Paul goes to court. Tagline: “Frank Galvin Has One Last Chance At A Big Case.” January 25th at 7:15 p.m., and January 30th at 7:30 p.m.
  • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Brooks, 1958) Paul and Elizabeth Taylor do Tennessee Williams. Tagline: “Just one pillow on her bed… and just one desire in her heart!” January 14th at 4 and 7 p.m., January 18th at 1:30 p.m., January 19th at 4 p.m., and January 20 at 4 and 7 p.m.
  • Hud (Martin Ritt, 1963) Paul ranches some cattle. Tagline: “Newman means action!” January 15th at 4 and 7 p.m., January 18th at 4 p.m., January 1:30 p.m. and January 21st at 4 and 7 p.m.

$14, Film Society Center, 1412 Chestnut Street.

Lost in Animation
In advance of Naoko Yamada’s upcoming feature The Colors Within, Philly Film Center is reserving screen time for some excellent anime movies of recent vintage.

  • A Silent Voice: The Movie (Naoko Yamada, 2016) “A powerful, emotionally-driven stunner surrounding the profound effects of bullying and the difficult path to forgiveness.” January 25th at 1:30 p.m.
  • Mind Game (Masaaki Yuasa, Kôji Morimoto, 2004) An “experimental, psychedelic roller coaster feature debut about a feeble guy awaking in purgatory and, despite a shapeshifting god’s suggestion, choosing to live.” January 24th at 9:30 p.m.

$14, Film Society Center, 1412 Chestnut Street.

Love Story
Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal are doomed lovers in Arthur Hiller’s 1970 Best Picture-nominated romantic drama. Tagline: “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”
$14, January 16th at 4 & 7 p.m. and January 19th at 6:30 p.m., Film Society Center, 1412 Chestnut Street.

ART & MUSEUMS

 

Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses
A major exhibition of “artworks that are multidisciplinary, ephemeral, material, process-based, and interactive,” taking up two floors at the ICA.
Free, January 18th-April 6th, Institute of Contemporary Art, 118 South 36th Street.

MLK Weekend @ Museum of the American Revolution
The Old City museum considers themes of justice with this weekend’s programming, which includes Meet Elizabeth Freeman a “first-person theatrical performance” about “a Massachusetts woman who sued for her freedom from enslavement and won.” Plus living historian Leslie Bramlett, family-friendly discovery center Revolution Place, pop-up talk about Phillis Wheatley, “the first published Black female poet in the Western world” and more.
$23, January 18th-20th, Museum of the American Revolution, 101 South 3rd Street.

Isaiah Zagar’s Skin of the Bride mural
This exhibition — full title: Lost Landscapes: The Skin of the Bride mural by Isaiah Zagar — pays tribute to the now-demolished mural that once decorated Old City’s Painted Bride Art Center, and the groundswell of supporters who tried to save the piece.
$15, opens January 17th, continues through March 23rd, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, 1020 South Street.

Now Showing at the Michener

  • Mark Sfirri: The Flower Show A exhibition of wood-turned flowers the artist initially made for his son’s wedding, using exotic woods. “Sfirri’s flowers dance on twisting brass stems and emerge in lively arrangements from custom-carved and turned bases.” Through May 4th.
  • Charlotte Schatz: Industrial Strength Works by Philadelphia abstract sculptor/painter Charlotte Schatz (1929-2023) who “explored industrial forms through non-traditional materials and colorful, painted compositions that were considered unconventional for women artists at the time.” Through March 9th.

$15 museum admission, Michener Art Museum, 138 South Pine Street, Doylestown.

The Battle of the Bathers
This archival exhibition recalls the controversy surrounding Dr. Albert Barnes and the Philadelphia Museum of Art both displaying similar Cézannes. Through September 15th.
$30, Barnes Foundation, 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick
This new exhibition at the Brandywine Museum of Art celebrates Wharton Esherick by exhibiting some of the Father of the Studio Furniture Movement’s rarely loaned works. Read more here.
$20, through January 19th, Brandywine Museum of Art, 1 Hoffman’s Mill Road, Chadds Ford.

Transcending Uncertainty: Art Endures at Home
This group show by former UArts students in a multitude of media “highlights the rich, diverse artistic expressions of these artists navigating through change and reclaiming their creative voices in a time of great uncertainty.”
Free, through January 25th, City Hall, 1400 John F. Kennedy Boulevard.

Now Showing @ PAFA

$18 museum admission, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 128 North Broad Street.

Humans of Judaism
Nikki Schreiber, founder of the Humans of Judaism social media account, has a new book collecting her work and a photo exhibition at the Weitzman.
Free, through February 2nd, Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, 101 South Independence Mall East.

Doris Nogueira-Rogers: Form & Content
The Brazilian-born artist’s debut show includes installations and two-dimensional work in multiple media, exploring issues of nature and the environment.
Free, through March 1st, Taller Puertorriqueño, 2600 North 5th Street.

Now Showing @ the Museum for Art in Wood

Free admission, Museum for Art in Wood, 141 North 3rd Street.

Now Showing @ the African American Museum

Museum admission is $14, African American Museum in Philadelphia, 701 Arch Street.

Soft/Cover
This group exhibition of garments, furniture, shelters, etc. “surveys the many surprising ways artists have used fabric and screen-printing to create objects that relate to the body.” Through August 17th. Admission is $5 suggested donation. Fabric Workshop and Museum, 1214 Arch Street.

Now Showing @ the Art Museum

$14-$23 admission, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Walking Round My Head: Works by Stephen Wright
This long-term exhibition at Magic Gardens features “drawings, masks, tapestries, and textile figures” by Stephen Wright, mixed-media artist and creator London’s House of Dreams Museum.
$15, through January 12th, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, 1020 South Street.

Now Showing @ the Academy of Natural Sciences

  • Heirloom Plants: Ancestral Seeds in Philadelphia, celebrating the city’s community gardens and farms. Through February 17th.
  • Ice Dinosaurs This major exhibition at the Academy of Natural Sciences uses animatronic dinosaurs, fossils and skeletons to illustrate a time and a place that rarely get attention: the Late Cretaceous period in the Arctic Circle. Beware the Troodons. Through May 4th.
  • The Ecology of Fashion, The Academy of Natural Sciences teams up with Drexel’s Westphal College for this exhibition which “invites visitors to explore both the fascinating and fraught ways in which flora, fauna, fungi and fossil fuels are fundamental to our clothing.” Through August 31st.

$27 museum admission, Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Jazz Age Illustration
This group exhibition examines popular illustration in post-WWI America, 1919-1942, featuring “more than 120 works of art by prominent illustrators.”
$18-$2, through January 26th, Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington.

Lunchtime: The History of Science on the School Food Tray
Old City’s Science History Institute unveils its new longterm exhibition offering “a novel historical perspective on efforts to feed children in U.S. schools.”
Free, exhibition continues through January 2026, Science History Institute, 315 Chestnut Street.

MONDAY, JANUARY 13th

MOVIES
Fish Piss
Blood Sick Underground Presents this straight-to-VHS “low budget movie trash” directed by Steven Reifsteck. The plot summary is NSFW in a very surprising way, and I dare not repeat it here. There’s no tagline listed on IMDB so allow me: “This is a movie about a guy who [REDACTED] off a fish.”
$14.93, 7:30 p.m., PhilaMOCA, 531 North 12th Street.

COMEDY
Punch Line Philly Open Mic Night
No net, no pressure standup on the city’s biggest comedy stage.
$10, 7 p.m., Punch Line Philly, 33 East Laurel Street.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 14th

MUSIC
L’Impératrice
We don’t encounter the “nu-disco” subgenre on these pages (or these shores) very often, but if you’re picturing sweaty Hamburg dancefloors and glitter stuck to contact lenses, well, settle down. Three albums deep, L’Impératrice Paris nu-disco/pop band is smooth, gently funky and chill as refrigerated peanut butter, with head-bobbing electronic beats and basslines, and Flore Benguigui’s light and lovely vocals. And… Wait, she quit the band in September, due to mistreatment by the dudes in the band? Off. Good luck to new singer Louve. Now I’m bummed out.
$39.50-$100, 8 p.m., Franklin Music Hall, 421 North Seventh Street.

GALA/HISTORY
Robert Smith’s Birthday Celebration
Celebrate the 303rd birthday of Scottish-born/Philadelphia-based master builder Robert Smith, architect of Carpenters’ Hall. The evening’s entertainment includes Scottish music, dance and Scotch whisky, which sounds just like heaven.
$150, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Carpenters’ Hall, 320 Chestnut Street.

MOVIES
Society
Brian Yuzna’s 1989 “outrageous and hilarious body horror blast from the past” stars Billy Warlock. Tagline: “In Beverly Hills, what you fear is only the beginning.”
$14, January 14th at 7:30 p.m., Film Society Center, 1412 Chestnut Street.

More Tuesday Stuff

  • MUSIC: Moses Yoofee Trio. $15, 8 p.m., Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 North Front Street.
  • TRIVIA: Broadway Trivia, hosted by Kirsten Michelle Cills and Kaitlin Pagliaro. No cover, 7:30 p.m., City Winery, 990 Filbert Street.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15th

STORYTELLING
An Evening with Josh Gad
The Broadway and Hollywood star — Book of Mormon, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, etc. — will tell stories from his like and his new “tell-some” book In Gad We Trust. Moderated by Alicia Vitarelli.
$66-$96, 7 p.m., Kimmel Center, 300 South Broad Street.

MOVIES
Lancelot du Lac
Lightbox Film Center presents a new restoration of Robert Bresson’s 1974 Arthurian drama starring Luc Simon, Laura Duke Condominas and Humbert Balsan. “Utilizing non-actors who were instructed to minimize any emotion in their delivery, Bresson opts to foreground gestures and sound where galloping horses and clanking armor tell a tale of infidelity and revenge.”
$25.28, 7-9 p.m., Bok Auditorium, 800 Mifflin Street.

More Wednesday Stuff

  • MUSIC: Sungazer, with Evan Marien x Dana Hawkins. $25-$38, 8 p.m., City Winery, 990 Filbert Street.
  • MUSIC: Jazz Jam with Orrin Evans, featuring friends of Imani Records. Free, 8:30 p.m., World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut Street.
  • MUSIC: Kill Dyll, with Warlord Colossus & Pranav.Wav. $20, 8 p.m., MilkBoy, 1100 Chestnut Street.
  • ARTS/WORKSHOP: Miniature Ceramics on the Wheel, part one of a two-part workshop with Tuft the World. $110, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Bok Building, 1901 South 9th Street.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 16th

MUSIC
Yeison Landero
The Colombian singer and accordionist carries on his legendary grandfather Andrés Landero’s tradition for playing soulful, tropical cumbia songs, but with some light-touch modern grooves and beats added to the mix. There will be dancing.
$15-25, 8 p.m., the Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street

BOOKS
Caroline Eden
author of the well-regarded Red Sands: Reportage and Recipes through Central Asia, from Hinterland to Heartland cookbook returns with her latest, Cold Kitchen: The Year of Culinary Travels. Eden will discuss her work in conversation with Jonathan Deutsch.
$5, 7 p.m., Parkway Central Library, 1901 Vine Street.

MOVIES
The Pee Pee Poo Poo Man
The Philly premiere. Which might not surprise you. “Inspired by a real-life series of events in 2019, a troubled young man launches a bizarre crime spree against the citizens of Toronto in this thriller-comedy from director Braden Sitter Sr. starring Rishi Rodriguez, Spencer Rice (Kenny vs Spenny), and Paul Bellini (Kids in the Hall).” More info on Instagram.
$14.93, 7:30 p.m., PhilaMOCA, 531 North 12th Street.

MUSIC
The Vaccines
This long-running British band often has earned a few comparisons to the Strokes over the years — and both bands tend toward garage-rock riffs and tight arrangements — but I’ve always found something more feel-good and down to earth about The Vaccines. Their latest — Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations, released just about a year ago — has no shortage of bangers, but these dudes don’t so much swagger as saunter and swoon. Like maybe it’s fun to play rock and roll or something.
$30-$35, 8 p.m., Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden Street.

More Thursday Stuff

  • MUSIC/TRIBUTE: All You Need Is Love, featuring Kasim Sulton, Steve Kimock, Prairie Prince, Andy Forgie, Bobby Lee Rodgers, Mark Rashotte and Gil Assayas; narration by Michael Des Barres. $39-$87, 8 p.m., Keswick Theatre, 291 North Keswick Avenue, Glenside.
  • COMEDY: Paris Sashay. $32-$44, 7:30 p.m., Punch Line Philly, 33 East Laurel Street.
  • PLANTS/WORKSHOP: Plantology on Tap: Keeping Your Houseplants Happy, with artist/gardener Sue White. $29, 6 p.m., The Creamery of Kennett Square, 401 Birch Street, Kennett Square.
  • COMEDY: LeMaire Lee. $25-$35, 8 p.m., Helium, 2031 Sansom Street.
  • MUSIC: Fat Mezz, with The Dead Flowers. $17, 8 p.m., Ardmore Music Hall, 23 East Lancaster Avenue.
  • MOVIES: M*A*S*H (Robert Altman, 1970). Stars Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt and Sally Kellerman. Tagline: “M*A*S*H Gives A D*A*M*N.” $15.50, 7 p.m., Film Society Center, 1412 Chestnut Street.
  • MUSIC: Escaper, with Qway and Maantrala featuring Taylor Jamison of Solar Circuit (DJ set). $12, 9:30 p.m., Silk City, 435 Spring Garden Street.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 17th

MUSIC
Cracker
Led by idiosyncratic singer-songwriter David Lowery and bluesy rock-star guitarist Johnny Hickman, this long-lasting California band has outlived most of their peers swept up in the alt groundswell of the early ’90s. Instead, Cracker has built a seemingly stable career on modest ambition and dedication to a vision for strange, twangy, uncool rock and roll. They come to town once or twice a year and tend to fill the room whether they’ve got a new record or not. This time around, they do — a triple LP collection of rarities and re-dos called Alternative History: A Cracker Retrospective.
$30-$50, 8 p.m., City Winery, 990 Filbert Street.

TALK SHOW
They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce
Every Friday this month, retired Eagle/multimedia star Jason Kelce hosts his late night talk show live before a Philadelphia audience at Union Transfer. Tickets are free, you just gotta request them. A live talk show in Philly — like Mike Douglas used to do! Very cool.
Free, January 17th, 24th and 31st, Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden Street.

More Friday Stuff

  • MUSIC/TRIBUTE: The Ledbetters: Pearl Jam Tribute. $25, 8 p.m., Ardmore Music Hall, 23 East Lancaster Avenue.
  • ART/MUSIC: Friday Night Lounge at the Art Museum, featuring a performance by Black Buttafly. $15, 5-8:30 p.m., Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
  • DANCE PARTY: Deviant Dance Party, featuring Richard Reich, Elijah Arms, Viberium featuring Sasha Drk and Bitbyte. $10, 9 p.m., Underground Arts, 200 Callowhill Street.
  • MUSIC/TRIBUTE: Hollywood Nights — The Bob Seger Experience. $32-$84, 8 p.m., Keswick Theatre, 291 North Keswick Avenue, Glenside.
  • MUSIC/TRIBUTE: 1964 — The Tribute (recreates an early Beatles concert). $35-$59, 8 p.m., Scottish Rite Auditorium, 315 White Horse Pike, Collingswood.
  • MUSIC: Taper’s Choice. $20, 8:30 p.m., MilkBoy, 1100 Chestnut Street.

  • MUSIC: Laraaj. Pay what you wish, 8 p.m., The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street.
  • MUSIC: The Uprise record release show, with The Heels, Rage and Ruin and Impact Driver. $25, 7-11:30 p.m., Ortlieb’s Lounge, 47 North 3rd Street.
  • MOVIES: Mallrats (Kevin Smith, 1995). Tagline: “They’re not there to shop. They’re not there to work. They’re just there.” $10, 9:45 p.m., Ambler Theater, 108 East Butler Avenue, Ambler.
  • MOVIES: Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (Duwayne Dunham, 1993). $6, 11 a.m., Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr.
  • MOVIES: Chopping Mall (Jim Wynorski, 1986). Killer robots stalk ’80s dinguses through the Fast Times at Ridgemont High mall. Tagline: “Tonight Park Plaza Mall switches on the world’s toughest security force. Absolutely nothing can go wrong.” $14, 9:30 p.m., Film Society Center, 1412 Chestnut Street.
  • DANCE PARTY: C.O.C.K.S. (Charli, Olivia, Chappell, Kim, Sabrina). $10, 10 p.m.-2 a.m., Silk City, 435 Spring Garden Street.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18th

COMEDY
Bruce McCulloch: Tales of Bravery and Stupidity
McCulloch of the legendary Canadian sketch comedy troupe the Kids in the Hall performs a “one-man show that moves brilliantly between funny, relatable and surprisingly touching.”
$25-$48, 7:30 p.m., City Winery, 990 Filbert Street.

SANDWICHES/BOOKS
Sandwiches of History: Live!
Barry W. Enderwick will discuss his new cookbook Sandwiches of History: The Cookbook, with special guest Dean Clean of The Dead Milkmen. The event includes a Q&A and a “live sandwich making and tasting with audience-suggested plus ups.”
$20-$65, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m., PhilaMOCA, 531 North 12th Street.

MUSIC
H.R. (of Bad Brains)
A living legend of hardcore and reggae.
$20, 8 p.m., Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 North Front Street.

MOVIES
The People Under the Stairs
If anybody ever asked you what movie starred Ving Rhames, two Twin Peaks stars (Everett McGill and Wendy Robie) and my so-called future princess A.J. Langer, you tell them it’s Wes Craven’s 1991 horror favorite Those People Who Live Underneath of the Staircase. Tagline: “In every neighborhood there is one house that adults whisper about and children cross the street to avoid. Now Wes Craven, creator of A Nightmare on Elm Street takes you inside…”
$14, 9 p.m., Film Society Center, 1412 Chestnut Street.

MUSIC
Kurt Vile
The Philly rock demigod — and guest star to the stars — plays a solo show to benefit Germantown’s the Natural Creativity Center, “an alternative, self-directed learning center.” Mike Polizze of Purling Hiss opens the show.
Sold out, 5 & 9 p.m., Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 North Frankford Avenue.

WELLNESS/CONFERENCE
Be SELF(ISH) at Dry Vibes
Billed as “the ultimate booze-free healing experience,” this wellness fest includes a tasting lounge, a “color therapy experience,” massage, yoga, vendors, appearances by “Bravolebrities” and more.
$99-$195, noon-5 p.m., Location 215, 990 Spring Garden Street.

BOOKS
Hope and Struggle in the Policed City
Germantown author and historian Menika Dirkson will discuss her new book which “explores Philly’s history of black criminalization and resistance from the Civil Rights Era through the 1970s.”
Free, 3 p.m., Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library, 68 West Chelten Avenue

COMEDY
Tom Segura
Is Tom Segura the funniest of slouching hollow-eyed comedy podcast oafs? I think so. Maybe. Got a good laugh, at any rate. But the dudes he hangs out with, yikes. All these big-ticket Draft King bros interrupting each other with fitness anecdotes and drinking stories — what a bore. But Tom? Tom’s maybe okay. Or the glasses smarten him up.
$39-$99, 7:30 p.m., Wells Fargo Center, 3601 South Broad Street.

MUSEUMS/KIDS
Up Late with the Sphinx
Families are welcome to explore the treasures of the Penn Museum by flashlight. Plus: hands-on activities, games, a take-home patch and more.
$30, 5-10 p.m., Penn Museum, 3260 South Street.

More Saturday Stuff

  • BOOKS: Ken Kalfus, the author of 2 A.M. in Little America (highly recommended!) discusses his work. Free, 3 p.m., Falls of Schuylkill Library, 3501 Midvale Avenue.
  • MUSIC/TRIBUTE: Damn the Torpedoes — Tom Petty Concert Experience. $25-$38, 8 p.m., City Winery, 990 Filbert Street.
  • MUSIC/TRIBUTE: The Genesis Show, performing 1976’s A Trick of the Tail tour. $29-$68, 7:30 p.m., Keswick Theatre, 291 North Keswick Avenue, Glenside.
  • COMEDY: Che Guerrero. $27-$39, 9:15 p.m., Punch Line Philly, 33 East Laurel Street.
  • MUSIC: Skullcap (Janel Leppin, Anthony Pirog and Mike Kuhl), with Bryan Rogers, Matt Engle and Ian McColm trio. $10-$20, 8 p.m., The Perch, 2321 Emerald Street. 
  • MUSIC: Jeremie Albino, with Benjamin Dakota Rogers. $23-$31, 8 p.m., Fillmore Philly, 29 East Allen Street.

  • WRESTLING: Tyrant Wrestling Daystar Duals and Open. $25, 8 a.m., Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, 100 Station Avenue, Oaks.
  • DRAG BRUNCH: Big Wig Brunch: The Ultimate Drag Experience. $25-$31, noon, Punch Line Philly, 33 East Laurel Street.
  • MUSIC: Stone Cold Grace, with Best Bear and Harlee Torres. $15-$18, 8 p.m., City Winery, 990 Filbert Street.
  • MUSIC/TRIBUTE: Tell Me Lies: Fleetwood Mac Tribute with Jagged Little Thrill: Alanis Morisette Tribute. $18, 8 p.m., Ardmore Music Hall, 23 East Lancaster Avenue.
  • DANCE PARTY: Party Girl, “a night of party girl anthems.” $15-$10, 9 p.m., Underground Arts, 200 Callowhill Street.
  • MUSIC: Monét X Change. $37-$63, 8 p.m., TLA, 334 South Street.
  • MUSIC: Swan Meat, with Eev Frances, americaluvsme and Angel Jelly. $15, 9 p.m., MilkBoy, 1100 Chestnut Street.
  • MUSIC: Christopher McNulty, Rose Actor — Engel (Apologist) and Dimension Step. Free, 8 p.m., The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street.
  • MUSIC/KIDS: Ambler Symphony Children’s Concert. $10, 8 p.m., Ambler Theater, 108 East Butler Avenue, Ambler.
  • CHEERLEADING: JAMfest Oaks Classic. $19-$24, 7 a.m., Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, 100 Station Avenue, Oaks.
  • MOVIES/KIDS: Trolls (Mike Mitchell, Walt Dohrn, 2016). $5, 10 a.m., Hiway Theater, 212 Old York Road, Jenkintown.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19th

MOVIES
Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus
Filmmaker Eva Aridjis Fuentes presents her new documentary on Diane Luckey aka Q Lazzarus — the famously mysterious singer behind the cult-hit song “Goodbye Horses” (from Silence of the Lambs, and spooky social media content). The director and Q’s son James will participate in a post-screening Q&A.
$14.93, 7:30 p.m., PhilaMOCA, 531 North 12th Street.

DANCE
Dancing With the Stars: Live!
“This all-new production showcases ballroom and contemporary dances from ABC’s hit show Dancing With the Stars, including sizzling group numbers, steamy duets, and over the top original pieces.” Co-hosted by Stephen Nedoroscik. Check the current list of performers here.
$89-$139, 3 & 8 p.m., American Music Theatre, 2425 Lincoln Hwy East, Lancaster.

MUSIC
Ovlov
Noisy, lush and lovely, but also off-kilter and off-speed when it suits them, Connecticut rock band Ovlov bring to mind Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr., Blonde Redhead, Sebadoh — basically all the pillars of impulse-power laconic’90s indie. Ugh that was so rock-critty. They’re good, is what I mean. Ovlov’s good. I’m not seeing a new album on the horizon, and it’s been a few years since their last one. Grass Is Green and Speedy Ortiz open the show.
$20, 8 p.m., First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut Street.

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