10 things to do in Philadelphia this weekend: May 14 to 17

THEATER

‘Memphis’

Through July 12

Walnut Street Theatre

825 Walnut St.

$20-$75, 800-745-3000

www.walnutstreettheatre.org

This Broadway hit, winner of the 2010 Tony for Best Musical, is inspired by the story of Dewey Phillips, disguised here as “Huey Calhoun,” a white DJ who helps break the color barrier onMemphis rock ’n’ roll radio in the 1950s. The main story is Huey’s relationship with a blacksinger, Felicia, and the drama it causes as she becomes a bigger star.

‘I Am the River Niger’

Thursday through May 24

Community Education Center

3500 Lancaster Ave.

$15-$25, 866-811-4111

www.firstworldtheatre.biz

This 1972 play by Joseph A. Walker tells the story of Jeff Williams, newly returned home from the Air Force. Just as he’s getting reacquainted with his family, a former lover he met in South Africa shows up at his door and his old friend Mo comes calling, asking him to join the revolution. Can’t a guy catch a break?

MOVIES

‘This Is Spinal Tap’

Today, 7:30 p.m.

Roxy Theater

2023 Sansom St.

$10, 267-239-2941

www.filmadelphia.org

Mockumentaries have comebefore and after, as well asmovies lampooning rock stars, but few have hit all the buttons quite so well as 1984’s “This Is Spinal Tap,” a film not just about a very stupid fictional band falling hilariously apart, but the slow burnout of a whole genre ofover-the-top ’70s arena rock.

‘Children ofParadise’

Saturday, 7 p.m.

International House

3701 Chestnut St.

$7-$9, 215-387-5125

www.ihousephilly.org

This 1945 film by Marcel Carné, often cited as one of the masterpieces of French cinema, depicts the theater world of Paris in the 1820s and ‘30s. It centers on the courtesan Garance and the four very different men who wish to win her hand: a mime, an actor, a criminal and an aristocrat.

ART

Mark Dion, Judy Pfaff, Fred Wilson: The Order of Things

Saturday through Aug. 3

Barnes Foundation

2025 Ben Franklin Pkwy.

$10-$25, 215-278-7000

www.barnesfoundation.org

Three different artists respond with their own installations to Albert C. Barnes’ famouslyidiosyncratic arrangement of his collection, broken into “ensembles” that eschewedhistory and style in favor of a more artistic mode oforganization.

G. Farrel Kellum: Urban Aesthetics

Friday through June 27

University City Arts League

4226 Spruce St.

Free, 215-382-7811

www.ucartsleague.org

G. Farrel Kellum’s sculptures draw inspiration from hip-hop in its sonic as well as visual aspects. Bright, raw and bombastic, his pieces pulse synesthetically with a street-pounding rhythm. If the colors remind us of old school hip-hop flavor, this is no accident, since Kellum is additionally concerned here with how we imagine hip-hop’s history.

GOING OUT

Preaknessat the Piazza

Saturday, 5 to 9:30 p.m.

The Piazza

Second St. and Germantown Ave.

$75 -$150

www.preaknessatthepiazza.com

Don your best flower-strewn hat or pastel bowtie and head to Northern Liberties for this annual Preakness watching party, which raises money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. “Good Day Philadelphia”’s Alex Holley and 97.5 The Fanatic’s Pat Gallen host, the horse race will be projected on the Piazza’s 400-square-foot screen, and there will be food, music and best dressed contests. What more do you need on a spring Saturday?

A Ghostly Circus

Saturday, 8 p.m.

Laurel Hill Cemetery

3822 Ridge Ave.

$20, 215-228-8200

www.thelaurelhillcemetery.org

Proving once again that cemeteries need not be morbid places — not entirely morbid, anyway — Laurel Hill hosts an evening of aerialists, fire dancers and sideshow theater, ending with a “Dance with the Dead” DJ party. If any zombies show up, just give ’em the floor — they don’t talk much, but man, can they can get down!

COMEDY

John Mulaney

Saturday, 8 p.m.

Merriam Theater

250 S. Broad St.

$30-$35, 215-893-1999

www.kimmelcenter.org

Establishing himself with a stint as a writer and “Weekend Update” anchor on “SNL,” John Mulaney went on to create and star in the semi-autobiographical Fox sitcom “Mulaney,” which debuted this past fall (but alas, didn’t last). His stand-up mixes personal stories with pop culture skewering; Mulaney plays the role of the “nice guy” who has a bit of snark in him.

MUSIC

Rising Appalachia

Saturday, 8 p.m.

World Cafe Live

3025 Walnut St.

$17-$20, 21+, 215-222-1400

www.worldcafelive.com

Sisters Leah and Chloe Smith are the frontwomen of this alterna-folk group, which takes its influence not only fromAppalachian music but pretty much every other genre from across the world, challenging the cliche of Appalachian music as conceived in some culturallyisolated mountain hideaway. Their sound is worldly and spiritual at once.