Regional arts and entertainment events

Sunday

They come in peace Formed by a group of Philly Fringe vets, the collective Swim Pony Performing Arts was the driving force behind the recent happening 30th Street Station Freeze (in which a large group did just that for a short period at the train station). For their next trick, they present Survive!, an interactive theater presentation in a mazelike installation looking at science and our place in the universe ("You are here"). Starting from the simple fact of being in a place (a theater, a city, a planet, a solar system, a galaxy, and so on), audience members are guided by a "10th-dimensional narrator" while choosing their paths through a 20,000-square-foot set - featuring a space walkway, a terrarium, and a time-travel theorist's living room, among other scenes - while interacting with cast members. The show depends on the choices made. The experience happens at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Wolf Building, 340 N. 12th St., and continues with performances at 7 p.m. Monday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. next Sunday. Tickets are $11 to $20. Call 847-309-1266.

Monday

Under the big top Artists Beth Uzwiak and Elysa Voshell collaborated on the multimedia installation Nights at the Circus, using altered book pages, large screen prints, and sculptures made of stitched maps and drawings to create the characters in their troupe. The exhibit is at the University City Arts League, 4226 Spruce St., to July 3. Admission is free. Call 215-382-7811.

He's with the band When the Max Weinberg Big Band plays, it's only reasonable for fans to keep one eye out for the bandleader's former boss, who just might drop by to jam. After all, Conan O'Brien is between jobs these days. Oh, Bruce Springsteen? Not a chance. The drummer's jazz combo plays 8 p.m. at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. Tickets are $35 to $50. Call 215-222-1400.

Tuesday

Flaming youth Views on growing up and class differences, in the 1950s and 1960s: In Billy Wilder's sublime 1954 romantic comedy Sabrina, a chauffeur's daughter draws the attention of the estate's scions, one a careless playboy, the other a ruthless businessman. The film screens at 7 p.m. at the County Theater, 20 E. State St., Doylestown. Tickets are $9. Call 215-345-6789. The film also screens at the Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, at 7 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are $9. Call 215-345-7855. . . . George Lucas' 1973 classic American Graffiti follows a group of small-town California teens on the last night before two of them start college in 1962. The film screens at 7 p.m. at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 825 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr. Tickets are $9.50; $6.75 for seniors and students. Call 610-527-4008.

Summer tradition Celebrating 75 years of outdoor summer concerts in Fairmount Park, the Philadelphia Orchestra returns to the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, 5201 Parkside Ave.: Conductor Rossen Milanov leads the orchestra in Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist Haochen Zhang, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with soloists Heidi Melton, soprano, Katherine Lerner, mezzo-soprano, Kevin Ray, tenor, and Jonathan Beyer, baritone. (8 p.m. Tuesday); Milanov conducts Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, with narrators Regis and Joy Philbin, plus works by Mozart, Dukas, and Ravel (8 p.m. Wednesday); and trumpeter Chris Botti performs with the orchestra (8 p.m. Thursday). Tickets are $10 to $60. Call 215-893-1999.

Wednesday

Retro chic Best known for her Les Paul and Mary Ford tribute collaboration with Jeff Beck at the 2010 Grammys, Irish neo-rockabilly Imelda May has the look and the smoky vocals down, but she puts her own spin on the sound (adding the bodhran, a Celtic drum, for one). She performs at 9 p.m. at Johnny Brenda's, 1201 Frankford Ave. Tickets are $12. Call 215-739-9684.

Thursday

Distinctive voices Husband-and-wife duo Mates of State have a winner with their new CD, Crushes, a covers collection delivering songs by artists such as the Mars Volta and Fleetwood Mac in exquisite chamber-pop electronica arrangements. (Their exuberant version of Daniel Johnston's "True Love Will Find You in the End" went right to the top of our playlist). They play on a three-band bill at 8 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. Tickets are $14. Call 215-821-7575.

Friday & Saturday

Love hurts The new-wave commedia dell'arte ensemble the Averagazzi performs a new work, Sincerely Yours, in which an unsigned love letter creates chaos in the knockabout style of the 16th-century comedic genre. The show goes on at the Walking Fish Theatre, 2509 Frankford Ave., at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $10. Call 610-308-9862.

She's news You know her as the Most Senior Correspondent on The Daily Show, but Samantha Bee has another life separate from her career in faux news, which she details in her book I Know I Am, But What Are You?, a collection of autobiographical essays. She discusses her life and work in the Free Library's Montgomery Auditorium, 19th and Vine Streets, at 2 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. Call 215-686-5322.

Powerful pop Big-voiced singer-songwriter Lili Añel brings her Latin-flavored pop to PSALM, 5841 Overbrook Ave., at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $20. Call 215-477-7578.