PARTY
Mudball 2014
Saturday, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.
World Cafe Live
3025 Walnut St.
$25-$35, 215-925-3453
www.theclaystudio.org
When we first saw the name of this event, we imagined a game of dodge ball in a gym filled with mud, but it’s actually a dance-a-thon and costume party benefitting the Clay Studio’s arts education programs — which sounds just as fun, and a lot less messy.
ART
Doug Herren
Through Nov. 1
iMPpeRFeCT Gallery
5601 Greene St., Germantown
Free, 917-957-4504
www.imperfectgallery.com
When you think ceramics, you probably think pottery (or Mudballs: see right), but for Doug Herren, the medium has infinite possibilities. Many of his ceramic sculptures look like whimsical machines, making you wonder what they’re supposed to do or how they work — a reaction that suggests sly satire on our fascination with novel technology.
‘Complementary Colors’
Through Nov. 1
Pentimenti Gallery, 145 N. Second St.; Free, 215-625-9990
www.pentimenti.com
The concept of complementary colors is one of the basic ideas in color theory. These pairs of seemingly opposing colors have a surprisingly dynamic effect when placed beside one another. This show’s featured artists, Peter Combe, Alexis Granwell, Clint Jukkala and Donald Martiny, demonstrate different ways of exploiting, and sometimes deconstructing, these visual harmonies.
THEATER
‘Detroit’
Through Nov. 9
Suzanne Roberts Theatre
480 S. Broad St.
$52-$59, 215-985-0420
www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org
No matter where you lived at the height of the Great Recession, as long as it wasn’t Detroit, you knew things could be worse. This play takes us to that most beleaguered of metropolitan areas, where a drifting family moves into an abandoned home, leading to a candid exploration of the ruins of the suburban American dream.
‘Bad Jews’
Credit: Mark Garvin
Through Nov. 30
Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St.; $37; 800-745-3000
www.ticketmaster.com
This comedy centers on a conflict between two Jewish cousins: Daphna, who’s all about her Jewish identity, and Liam, who’d just as soon forget it. They’re fighting over a “chai” necklace that belonged to their deceased, Holocaust-survivor grandfather — but what’s really at stake is the meaning of their heritage itself.
MUSIC
Wampire
Saturday, 8:30 p.m.
MilkBoy Philly
1100 Chestnut St.
$10, 21+; 877-987-6487
www.ticketfly.com
For good or ill, most bands tend to pick one sound and run with it, but Portland, Oregon’s Wampire play in an unusually wide variety of styles, from blue-eyed soul ballads to edgy, aggressive post-punk scorchers to shimmering psychedelic excursions. The slightly eccentric vocals tie it all together, as well as the kaleidoscopic keyboard work.
Mohsen Namjoo
Saturday, 8:15 p.m.
Trinity Center for Urban Life
2212 Spruce St.
$15-$30, 267-809-3668
www.albustanseeds.org
Mohsen Namjoo has been called the Iranian Bob Dylan for his highly poetic songs, which bring classical Persian poetry into a dialogue with blues, rock and jazz, as well as his long and diverse career, which has seen him tackle all kinds of styles. He also has pretty wild hair, which has changed almost as much as his sound.
MOVIES
FirstGlance Film Festival
Friday through Sunday
Franklin Institute
222 N. 20th St.
$10-$80, 215-448-1200
www.firstglancefilms.com
This annual festival showcases a bevy of independent features, shorts, Web series and documentaries from across the world, ranging from the silly to the romantic to the dead serious.
DANCE
Beau Hancock/Stone Depot and Chris Masters
Friday and Saturday
The Iron Factory
118 Fontaine St.
$10-$15, theironfactory
@gmail.com
www.theironfactory.org
The Iron Factory continues its monthly Presenting Series with a double feature from local choreographer Beau Hancock and New York-based Chris Masters. Hancock’s Stone Depot will performs his “Mooring Field” and Masters’ dancers will take on his work “Evergreen.”
BOOKS
Bill T. Jones
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Free Library of Philadelphia
1901 Vine St.
$7-$15, 215-686-5322
www.freelibrary.org
Bill T. Jones, a living legend among modern dancers/choreographers, will discuss his book “Story/Time: The Life of an Idea.” The book focuses on his process creating a dance set to music by John Cage, but touches on his whole career in the process — a career that’s won him countless awards and has seen him working with some of the world’s top performing arts companies.
