12 Things to Do in Comics, Comedy, Books, Movies and Theater
Cornel West, Box Brown, Jimmy Pardo and more.
Refugees at the Jordanian Syrian border in Ai Weiwei’s film Human Flow. (Photo courtesy of Amazon Studios)
Body & Soul @ Lightbox Film Center | Wednesday, February 7
Paul Robeson plays dual leads in Oscar Micheau’s 1925 silent “race film,” presented here with a new soundtrack by DJ Spooky.
Box Brown Book Signing @ Atlantic the Lost Bar | Wednesday, February 7
The Philly comics creator shows off his newest graphic novel, Is This Guy For Real? The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman.
Ai Weiwei’s Human Flow @ The Rotunda | Thursday, February 8
A free screening Ai Weiwei’s documentary about refugee crises in 23 countries.
Eagles Parade @ South Broad Street/The Parkway | Thursday, February 8
The parade starts at the stadiums, marches up Broad, around City Hall and up the Parkway, and convenes in front of the Art Museum where there will be a “formal celebration.” Surprise guests expected. Who they are is the surprise.
The Murder of Fred Hampton / The Jungle @ Lightbox Film Center | Thursday, February 8
Howard Alk’s 1971 documentary started as a profile of the Black Panther Party leader but turned into an investigation when Hampton was assassinated during filming. Also showing: The Jungle, a fascinating dramatized documentary starring young Philly gang members in 1967.
Jimmy Pardo @ Helium | Thursday-Saturday, February 8-10
Standup by the veteran comic and pardcaster.
Martha Graham Cracker’s Last Show in Philly for a Long Time @ L’Etage | Thursday, February 8
Last chance to see the popular drag queen/cabaret performer for awhile.
Bill Bellamy @ Punchline | Thursday-Saturday, February 8-10
The comedy veteran and ex-MTV VJ performs standup.
The Room @ Ritz at the Bourse | Friday, February 9
A midnight screening of the terrible movie people just can’t get enough of apparently.
Stranded / The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean @ Lightbox Film Center | Friday, February 9
Two films by independent filmmaker Juleen Compton. Compton also stars in Stranded (1965), her first feature, about an American woman and her gay best friend looking for love in Greece. The official description for Compton’s 1966 film is so excellent I gotta cut and paste it: “The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean is the story of a clairvoyant teenage girl, Norma Jean (Sharon Henesy), taken advantage of by a boy band, fashioned after The Beatles, determined to exploit the young woman’s powers as part of a hoax revival.”
Gary Richardson / Matt Barats @ Good Good Comedy Theatre | Friday, February 9
Standup by actor/comedians Gary Richardson (a writer for SNL) and Matt Barats (who has appeared on High Maintenance, Seth Meyers and more). This is NSFW:
Cornel West @ Free Library Parkway Central Branch | Saturday, February 10
The acclaimed author, professor and thinker celebrates the release of the 25th anniversary of his groundbreaking collection of essays, Race Matters. The auditorium is sold out, but simulcast tickets are available.
The Black Panther Project: A Living Oral History @ Community Education Center | Saturday & Sunday, February 10 & 11
Iron Age Theatre collaborates with Theatre in the X for an evening of performances of “oral histories of the Black Panthers from a ground level perspective telling many unheard stories of the Panther efforts for racial and social justice.” Directed by Eric Carter, Walter DeShields and John Doyle. Stars Terri Shockley, LaNeshe L. White, Carlo Campbell, Niya Colbert and many more.
