DANCE‘Prodigal Son’Thursday through SundayMerriam Theater250 S. Broad St.$30-$125, 215-893-1999www.paballet.orgThe Pennsylvania Ballet performs three works for this concert: George Balanchine’s interpretation of the Biblical story of the Prodigal Son, set to with music by Provofiev, Christopher Wheeldon’s career-making, hybrid traditional/experimental ballet “Polyphonia”, sat to music by Transylvanian composer Gyorgy Ligeti, and a new piece by current choreographer in residence Matthew Neenan, his 16th commission for the Pennsylvania Ballet.ARTGeneral ObjectsFriday through Feb. 28Fjord2419 Frankford Ave.Free, 215-837-2980www.fjordspace.comEight artists participated in this group exhibition, creating sculptures that mimic the look of banal, everyday objects like refrigerators. There’s a quiet comedy in this approach, since these objects look simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar. Everything here is, functionally speaking, useless, and yet it looks otherwise, showing how easily our brains get used to identifying basic shapes with certain ideas or functions.MUSICCorey HarrisThursday, 7p.m.The Twisted Tail509 S. 2nd St.$15-$20, 215-558-2471www.thetwistedtail.com“Rasta blues” singer-guitarist Corey Harris has crafted a unique sound that invigorates the blues tradition with elements of reggae, West African music, rock and soul, with a guitar style both familiar and strikingly fresh. His list of collaborators is broad, ranging from B.B. King to Taj Mahal to Dave Matthews to Wilco. Also, the dude has some cool headwear.BOOKSFrances JensenThursday, 6 p.m.Penn Bookstore3601 Walnut St.Free, 215-898-7595upenn.bncollege.comTurns out teenagers are right when they say they’re misunderstood — but maybe not for the exact reasons they think. Dr. Frances Jensen, head of Penn’s Department for Neurology, will explain why in this talk on her book “The Teenage Brain,” as well as how to better communicate with the teenager in your life, if there is one.ARTCrystal BeingsThursday through March 20Esther Klein Gallery3600 Market St.Free, 215-966-6188estherkleingallery.tumblr.comCrystals have been a source of endless fascination, both for their beauty and their mysterious properties, for centuries. Some of those properties are backed by science, others merely by enthusiastic hearsay, but at the very least, crystals seem magical to human eyes. In this group exhibition, nine artists tapped into that vein of inspiration to create works exploring crystals. GOING OUTShow Off Your Purse-N-alitySaturday, 3 to 6 p.m.Philadelphia Marriott Downtown1201 Market St.$20, 215-236-7700oicpursenality.eventbrite.comBid on designer handbags and purses at this charity auction for Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America, an educational and employment training organization that sums up its mission as “helping people help themselves.” As for you, you’ll be able to help yourself to hors d'oeuvres, sparkling wines and live music. You’ll help people get a leg up, and maybe nab yourself a new bag!THEATER‘Mothers and Sons’Friday through March 8Suzanne Roberts Theatre480 S. Broad St.$46 to $59, 215-985-0420www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.orgPhiladelphia Theater Company presents this 2014 play by Terrence McNally, a Tony nominee for Best Play. It focuses on a mother whose son died of AIDS several years ago. When she visits the home of his former partner, who’s moved on since and has a son of his own, she’s forced to confront her grief full-on, and set on a journey toward forgiveness.‘Long Live the Little Knife’Through Feb. 22Off-Broad Street Theatre1636 Sansom St.$25-$30, 215-454-9776inisnuatheatre.ticketleap.comInis Nua Theater presents this play by Scottish playwright David Leddy, a whacky meta-caper about a pair of petty con artists who attempt to get into the art forgery business. The larger con at work, however, is that of the theatrical fiction itself, to which Leddy makes frequent reference. Perhaps you’ll walk out with more awareness of the unacknowledged fictions in everyday life. MUSICBeauSoleil avec Michael DoucetFriday, 8 p.m.World Cafe Live3025 Walnut St.$25, 215-222-1400www.worldcafelive.com’TGis the season for Cajun music, and this Louisiana band just happens to be in Philly for an early Mardi Gras. Led for 39 years by singer-fiddler Michael Doucet, BeauSoleil is authentic as it gets, with strong roots in Cajun tradition as well as a zest for experimentation, incorporating rock, jazz, blues and even Middle Eastern sounds.DANCEAn Evening of DuetsFriday through SundayCommunity Education Center3500 Lancaster Ave.$15-$18, 215-387-1911www.cearts.orgIt’s a little in advance of Valentine’s Day, but then again, every date-worthy event is probably going to be packed on the 14th, so this evening of dance duets, described as ranging from romantic to volatile, might make a good V-Day date anyway. Eleven different dance companies from Philly and New York are represented, with some pieces incorporating music and poetry.MOVIES‘Ghostbusters’ Double FeatureFriday, 7 p.m.International House Philadelphia3701 Chestnut St.$7-$9, 215-387-5125www.ihousephilly.orgThe two “Ghostbusters” films are so entertaining that they make it seem easy to create a movie that mixes the genres of comedy, sci-fi/horror, adventure and drama, as well as sincerity and irony, so well. Here they are together, in all their 80’s glory, from Billy Murray’s sass to the weirdly terrifying monstrosity of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
