OUTDOORS
Thursday through Oct. 1
Shofuso Japanese House and Garden
Lansdowne Drive and Horticultural Drive
From $5, Japanesehouse.org
Friday through Apr. 3
The Pennsylvania Convention Center
101 Arch St.
From $21, Discoverthedinosaurs.com
Thursday through Apr. 16
Walnut Street Theatre
825 Walnut St.
From $14, Walnutstreettheatre.org
Thursday through Apr. 3
Academy of Music
240 S Broad St.
From $57, www.philadelphia-theater.com
Thursday through Apr. 2
Verizon Hall
300 S. Broad St.
From $40, Kimmelcenter.org
Saturday, 7 p.m.
World Café Live
3025 Walnut St.
From $35, Worldcafelive.com
Celebrate spring with beautiful cheery blossoms
Provided
Shofuso Japanese House and Garden 2016 Season
The Shofuso Japanese House and Garden is now open for its regular six months out of the year, beginning with viewing the beautiful spring cherry blossoms in bloom. The traditional Japanese tea house offers tea ceremonies and demonstrations, which are open to the public with a reservation.
Related: Who knew? Philly is a whiskey town
Discover the Dinosaurs
This sensory experience features rooms and rooms of animatronic dinos, a complex scavenger hunt, rides and educational activities. If that’s not enough, the event also features mini golf, inflatables and playrooms designed for the youngest dinosaur enthusiasts.
THEATRE
‘Freckleface Strawberry’
Adapted from a book by Julianne Moore, “Freckleface Strawberry” tells the story of a little girl who is teased for her freckles. Since this is children’s musical, freckles, as you can imagine, are a metaphor for the differences seen and unseen in everyone, and the story aims to celebrate the uniqueness of each person.
‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’
Incorporating the music of the legendary singer/songwriter herself, “Beautiful” tells the story of Carole King’s rise to fame and the missteps and moments of grace along the way. This show won two Tony awards in 2014, and has been lovingly endorsed by the lady who inspired it.
Emmy Award-winning comedian David Cross, known best for role in “Arrested Development,” brings his “Making America Great Again” tour to Philadelphia. This show will be funny, offensive and probably not as enjoyable for our right-leaning friends. But Cross is a professional, so relax as much as possible and enjoy the ridicule afforded to our increasingly politically correct world.
ART
Inspired by the work of experimental performance artist Laurie Anderson, musicology PhD candidates at the University of Pennsylvania Maria Murphy and Roksana Filipowska present “Listening (to) Cyborgs,” a workshop devoted to analyzing how analog and digital technologies influence listeners and communicate gender and political agency. In conjunction with art exhibit “Daughter of the Cave,” by Paige Adair.
MUSIC
LauraStevensonstarted out as a keyboard player for punk collective Bomb the Music Industry! before going out on her own. Her folk, punk and rock-inflected songs reside happily outside genre specification. Her voice is just right for quietude as well as defiance, stepping easily from melancholy to confidence in one song. Chris Farren and Crying open.
Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn
Pablo Heras-Casado conducts a program of Tchaikovsky’s “The Tempest,” Prokofiev’s “Violin Concerto No. 2” and Mendelssohn’s “Symphony No. 3.” Akiko Suwanai performs the energetic violin concerto from Prokofiev that references Russian folk tunes and Spanish castanets.
AC/DC’s “Rock or Bust” world tour continues to promote their latest studio album of the same name, released in 2014. This fifth leg of six is the second to last show in the U.S. before the tour ends, so catch the Australian rockers before they retire once more to the warm beaches of their homeland.
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
A live performance of indie-psychedelic rock group Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros is an experience of positivity and good vibes, their bouncy beats and blissful harmonies an affirmation of sunshine, spirituality and moderate drug use.
Rihanna’s “Anti” world tour, supporting her latest album of the same name, is rumored to be a fascinating continuation of the multi-faceted story Rihanna tells about herself; one minute she’s reeling off dance hits, the next she’s exploring a dark and emotionless sound from a place of androgyny. Travis Scott opens.
