Skip to content
Entertainment
Link copied to clipboard

Roller Derby championship, Phantom of the Opera and more things to do November 3-9

Things to do in Philadelphia, November 3 to 9.

The International Roller Derby Championshps hit the the Liacouras Center Friday through Sunday.
The International Roller Derby Championshps hit the the Liacouras Center Friday through Sunday.Read moreJohnson Danforth

BAM! POW!

» READ MORE: International Roller Derby Championships

10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, at the Liacouras Center, 1776 N. Broad St., $15 to $160, https://wftda.com

FILM

» READ MORE: Bound for Glory’

No use wondering what Woody Guthrie would be doing in these times — he's already doing it, through his still-influential and powerful music. Hal Ashby's 1976 film is loosely based on Guthrie's 1943 autobiography, using his songs to tell the story of an Oklahoma sign painter named Woody Guthrie (David Carradine, great) who flees the 1930s Dust Bowl and becomes a folkie composer, radio star, union activist, and wandering troubadour looking for what can connect Americans. — M.H.

7 p.m. Friday at the Peace Center of Delaware County, 1001 Old Sproul Rd., Springfield, free, 484-574-1148, www.delcopeacecenter.org 

The New York Dog Film Festival

A celebration of our best friends through canine-themed films, so big it comes in two parts. Program 1 highlights include Sue Carpenter's There's Something About Molly, a tribute to her black Lab; Blaire Dobiecki's Game of Bones, with rescue dogs playing the Lannisters and Targaryens; and the very funny Merrill Markoe's Conversation With My Dogs. Program 2 features John R. Dilworth's Fog of Courage, starring the beloved Courage the Cowardly Dog; Crespo and Romera's Valentina, about an estranged couple brought together by their pug;  and Steven Latham's Second Chances, about women prisoners training shelter dogs. Proceeds benefit the Saved Me Adoption Center. — M.H.

11 a.m. (Program 1) and 1 p.m. (Program 2) Saturday at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, $8 per program, 610-527-9898, http://www.brynmawrfilm.org

Midnight Madness: ‘Fantastic Planet’

Fantastic Planet was first released in 1973; now this stunning and surreal science-fiction classic returns to the big screen for a late-night showing. Featuring cutout animations and a psychedelic soundtrack, the movie tells the story of humans enslaved by a giant cerulean alien race on the planet Ygam who band together to fight back against their oppressors. It's like nothing you've ever seen — political commentary brought to life in a surreal, monster-filled landscape — and it is most definitely some kind of Midnight Madness. — Thea Applebaum Licht

11:59 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday, Landmark's Ritz Movie Theatres Philadelphia, 400 Ranstead St. Advance tickets on sale now. 215-440-1181, landmarktheatres.com/philadelphia/ritz-at-the-bourse/film-info/fantastic-planet.

MUSICAL

‘The Phantom of the Opera’

It's the longest-running show on Broadway, and in the surge of new subscribers since the announcement that  Hamilton is coming, the Kimmel Center sneaked Phantom into the schedule at the last moment. Cue the fiendish laughter! This is the first touring production featuring an African American in the title role. — John Timpane

Through Nov. 12, Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St., $21-$159, 215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org.

BIG TOP

UniverSoul Circus

If the winter weather is starting to get you down, it may be time for some loud, colorful big-top circus. UniverSoul Circus promises acrobatics, aerial performances and "extreme motorsports," as well as a show that is both interactive and visually stunning. Featuring music from R&B to jazz to pop, the show brings together performers from all over the world for a family-friendly spectacle. The troupe is in Philadelphia for only three weeks, so make sure to reserve a spot. —T.A.L.

6:30 p.m. Sunday, UniverSoul Circus Philadelphia, 5200 Parkside Ave. Find tickets online at Ticketmaster.com. universoulcircus.com/philly.

FALL FESTIVAL

Liberty Lands Fall Festival

Head to Northern Liberties with the kiddies in tow for an excellent excuse to spend your Saturday getting your face-painted. Look for gymnastic demos, carriage rides and live entertainment. Kids should wear their costumes for the concert parade. Come hungry: There will be pizza!

1-4 p.m. Saturday, Liberty Lands Park, 913 N. Third St., free, nlna.org.

DANCE

Paul Taylor Dance Company

The acclaimed troupe performs three signature works by its namesake choreographer: 1981's Arden Court, set to music by the 18th century baroque English composer William Boyce, and called "one of the sentimental works of our time" by the critic Clive Barnes; 1991's Company B, set to songs sung by the Andrews Sisters, an examination of pop culture, mortality, and myth; and 1975's Esplanade, set to Bach's Violin Concerto in E major and using everyday "found" movements such as standing, running, and falling. — M.H.

8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, at the Prince Theater, 1412 Chestnut St., $20 to $62, 215-422-4580,  http://princetheater.org

CLASSICAL

Philadelphia Orchestra

Conductor-in-residence Cristian Macelaru spotlights the brilliant violinist Nicola Benedetti, soloist in the Violin Concerto by jazz master Wynton Marsalis she has performed all over the world. The program will end with an audience favorite, Gustav Holst's brilliantly scored The Planets. — Tom Di Nardo

2 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday, at the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall, Broad and Spruce Streets, $56-$158, 215-893-1999, https://www.philorch.org

Main Line Symphony Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra's famed principal timpanist, Don Liuzzi, is also conductor of this ensemble, with his colleague, first associate concertmaster Juliette Kang, as soloist in Sarasate's dazzling Carmen Fantasy.  The program also includes the buoyant Polovtsian Dances from Borodin's opera Prince Igor and Beethoven's rhythmic powerhouse, his Symphony No. 7. — T.D.N.

8 p.m. Friday at Valley Forge Middle School, 105 W. Walker Rd., Wayne, $20, 610-644-5687, mlso.org

Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia

Curtis-trained conductor Sarah Ioannides leads an all-Beethoven program, with hot pianist Charlie Albright soloing in the Rondo, the Piano Concerto No. 3 and his improvisations on the famous Für Elise. Also on the bill: the realization of the unfinished Symphony No, 10, the Contradances and the Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus. — T.D.N.

2:30 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater, Broad and Spruce Streets, $36 to $90, 215-893-1999, https://chamberorchestra.org

OPERA

‘Il Trovatore’

One of Verdi's stirring masterpieces is being presented by the future stars of the Academy of Vocal Arts. The performances will be led by legendary music director Christofer Macatsoris, with stage direction by Michael Scarola. — T.D.N.

7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday at the Academy of Vocal Arts' Helen Corning Warden Theater, 1920 Spruce St.,  $30 to $65, 215-735-1685, avaopera.org

JAZZ

John Pizzarelli

The sensational guitarist and singer pays tribute to bossa nova genius Antônio Carlos Jobim — and his frequent interpreter Frank Sinatra — on his dynamite new release Sinatra & Jobim @ 50. He performs at Center City gem Chris' Jazz Cafe with his trio. — M.H.

8 and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Chris' Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom St., $35. 215-568-3131, http://www.chrisjazzcafe.com

POP

Turkuaz

The nine-member party band from Brooklyn brings their electric live show and distinctive mix of funk, soul, world beat, and psychedelia to South Street. Their new single, the infectious,  "On the Run," produced by Talking Head Jerry Harrison (with a wild video), should be tops on your playlist. — M.H.

9:30 p.m. Friday at the Theatre of Living Arts, 334 South St., $25, 215-922-1011, http://venue.tlaphilly.com

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

As far as new experimental music goes, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith is wildly testy without losing sight of her musical dynamics. After stretching her already-blurry boundaries in collaboration with electronic music legend and fellow Buchla synthesizer enthusiast Suzanne Ciani on Sunergy, Smith's brand-new recording, The Kid, is a melancholy look-and-listen to life's developmental stages, from birth to death. Rather than concentrating on the existential, Smith — the instrumentalist and singer — finds melody and common denominators in moments such as the breathy "To Feel Your Best." Smith's work is so sweet and winning, you won't realize that you're knee deep within the avant-garde. That's how she gets you. — A.D. Amorosi

8:30 p.m. Friday, PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th St., $13-$15, philamoca.org

Ibeyi

Ibeyi is the duo of French-Cuban twin sisters Naomi and Lisa-Kainde Diaz, who are the daughters of Buena Vista Social Club percussionist Anga Diaz. On their second album, Ash, the siblings collaborate with MeShell Ndegeocello and Kamasi Washington, read from the diary of Frida Kahlo, sample Michelle Obama on the feminist manifesto "No Man Is Big Enough for My Arms," and generally operate in a fluttery neo-soul realm that should appeal to fans of Solange and Blood Orange. — Dan DeLuca

8:30 p.m. Saturday at Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St. $25. 215-232-2100. utphilly.com.

The Shins

James Mercer writes songs full of unexpected leaps and inventive structures but somehow makes them fit together: They're singalong songs, as will no doubt be proved when he brings his current touring version of the Shins to the Fillmore on Saturday (in the studio, Mercer is now the only Shin). After 2012's overwrought Port of Morrow, this spring's Heartworms is a return to form, from the sharply political "Painting a Hole" to the wistfully autobiographical "Mildenhall." And those songs will fit nicely alongside indie-rock classics like "New Slang" and "Saint Simon." — Steve Klinge

8 p.m., Saturday, Fillmore Philly, 29 E. Allen St. $68.58. 215-309-0150, fillmorephilly.com.

Grizzly Bear

The Brooklyn band Grizzly Bear makes meticulously arranged, gorgeously sung indie-folk music, and has been doing so for going on a decade and a half. The band's most recognizable song is still "Two Weeks" from 2009's Veckatimest, which has been used to sell Peugeots and Volkswagens and sampled by Childish Gambino and Chiddy Bang among many others. After a five-year break, the Ed Droste-led quartet — whose drummer's name is Chris Bear — has returned with haunting, beautifully harmonized Painted Ruins, and they're playing the Fillmore with opener serpentwithfeet, the collaboration between singer Josiah Wise and Bjork producer the Haxan Cloak. — Dan DeLuca

8 p.m. Tuesday at the Fillmore, 29 E. Allen St. $39. 215-309-0150. thefillmorephilly.com.

Kimock

The eternally youthful Steve Kimock may have made his bones in the San Francisco of the late '70s — befriending Jerry Garcia, playing in the Heart of Gold Band with latter-day Dead members Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux — but the fluidly ebullient guitarist is Bethlehem, Pa.-born and just as steely. That's what comes through in his newest album, Satellite City, which holds its release party at World Café Live this week. Hot on the heels of his last album, Last Danger of Frost, Kimock's new record takes advantage of modern sampling technology, but focuses on his usual, old-school languid guitar tones and some in-the-pocket rhythms courtesy of his son, John Morgan Kimock. — A.D.A.

8 p.m., Wednesday, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., $25-$27, worldcafelive.org