Do This!
Friday Mad woman Reporter Elizabeth Jane Cochran, better known by her pen name of Nellie Bly, was a seasoned foreign correspondent at 23 when she took an assignment from Joseph Pulitzer's New York World in 1887 to feign insanity in order to enter and investigate condition
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Friday
Mad woman
Reporter Elizabeth Jane Cochran, better known by her pen name of Nellie Bly, was a seasoned foreign correspondent at 23 when she took an assignment from Joseph Pulitzer's New York World in 1887 to feign insanity in order to enter and investigate conditions in the city's Women's Lunatic Asylum. After too easily convincing doctors and officials that she should be committed, Bly spent 10 days in the institution, and her reports of neglect and brutality sparked a grand jury case and improvement in the care of patients. In Nellie/Nellie, "a theatrical work with live music and delusional dance" presented as part of the Neighborhood Fringe, Bly's tale is told by the AntiGravity Theatre Project. The show goes on at Broad Street Ministry, 315 S. Broad St. Times: 8 p.m. Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. Information: 215-413-1318 or FringeArts.com.
Saturday-Sunday
Spirit of 76
A very appropriate number of artists - 76 - take part in the juried Liberty Bell Fall Craft Show, with photography, prints, jewelry, ceramics, glass, mixed media, and more, adjacent to the Liberty Bell Pavilion, Sixth and Market Streets. Time: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Information: 267-679-3121 or www.craftphila.org.
Saturday
Sound and vision
The New Street Dance Group mixes movement and music in kinetic multimedia works by choreographers Krista Armbruster and Shannon Dooling, set to a score by Alexandra T. Bryant, in a Neighborhood Fringe show at the Performance Garage, 1515 Brandywine St. Tickets are $15. Information: 215-413-1318 or FringeArts.com.
Sunday
Songs of praise
The Philadelphia Celebration of Gospel, featuring a tribute to gospel pioneer the Rev. Louise Williams Bishop and performances by Rev. Alyn E. Waller, the Brockington Ensemble, Willis Hickerson Jr., Enon Tabernacle Mass Choir, and the Sharon Baptist Church Praise Team, lifts off at the Mann Center, Parkside Avenue and 52d Street. Time: 4 p.m. Tickets: $25 to $33.50. Information: 1-800-745-3000 or www.manncenter.org.
Sunday-Monday
Key player
Conductor Dirk Brossé leads the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia in its season opener, with soloist Di Wu performing Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor, plus works by Verdi and Beethoven, at the Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater, Broad and Spruce Streets. Times: 2:30 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Monday. Tickets: $24 to $81. Information: 215-893-1999 or http://www.chamberorchestra.org.