🌒 Your Philly guide to the solar eclipse | Things to Do

Is anyone else sniffling? With springtime blossoms come seasonal allergies and sadly I’m not immune, but I hope everyone’s faring just fine during these unpredictable temperature shifts. Bring those tissues with you!

This month is already stacked with so much fun around town for every Philadelphian, from sports fans to theater lovers to opera aficionados. What are you most looking forward to? (You know my answer: Bad Bunny.) Let me know!

This weekend, check out the crazy scenes at WrestleMania, find something fun for Philly Theatre Week, laugh at Seth Meyers, and get ready for the solar eclipse.

— Rosa Cartagena (@_RosaCartagena, Email me at thingstodo@inquirer.com)

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On Monday afternoon, grab those protective glasses and look to the skies for a glimpse of the total solar eclipse. While Philadelphia isn’t in the “path of totality,” the city will still see the moon covering 90% of the sun. Here’s our guide to the epic event.

🤼‍♀️ Ding ding ding: Enter the ring this weekend with WrestleMania kicking off in Philly. There’s so much happening, from big names like The Rock at the Linc, to local watch parties and other wrestling events. Get caught up with our beginner’s guide to WrestleMania and find watch parties, merch, and more wrestling fun around the city.

😆 Late night in Philly: Seth Meyers is in town this weekend with two back-to-back stand-up sets at the Miller Theater. We caught up with the comic who once bashed Philly but has since changed his tune.

🎤 Emotional arias: Jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard made headlines as the first Black composer to have an opera staged at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Now he’s bringing a concert version of the resonant, barrier-breaking work to Verizon Hall featuring E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet. He tells The Inquirer why he can’t be a token.

🇵🇷 Hitting 50: Taller Puertorriqueño celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with a new exhibit from local muralist Betsy Casañas called “Call & Response” featuring new paintings full of lush nature scenes from Puerto Rico.

🏀 Let’s hear it for the girls: A new Philly group dedicated to women’s sports is kicking off a watch party series this Sunday at Stir Lounge, where they’ll tune into the Women’s NCAA Championship Game with drink specials and soft pretzels. Find out more.

📅 My calendar picks this week: Black-Tie GayBINGO, Yoga in the Park, and Dine Latino Restaurant Week.

It’s the first day of Philly Theatre Week (running April 4-14) and there are dozens of shows — from classics to experimental works to local premieres — offering Pay What You Can tickets for the next 11 days. Catch Quintessence Theatre’s version of Macbeth or experience the fantastical family drama Perils of the Flowerbed from Sewer Rats Productions (a Philadelphia premiere). Just outside of Philly, head to Jersey for the Ritz Theatre Company’s take on Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Nile for a classic murder mystery. If you’re looking for something less macabre, try a show at Crossroads Comedy Theater about the solar eclipse called Laugh of Totality or see Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest from the Drama Group of Germantown promising a “great big gay farce.” Explore all the wide-ranging options at Theatre Philadelphia.

👑 Final four: While many are obsessed with March Madness, I have been closely following a far more fabulous competition in RuPaul’s Drag Race. Last week saw Philly queen Sapphira Cristál land in the top 4 (but it was a nail-biter!) and Philly fans will continue to cheer her on as the show gets closer to crowning the new Drag Race superstar. Break a leg, girl!

🐉 Roll the dice: Dungeons & Dragons, the popular fantasy role playing board game, has scores of fans in the Philly area. A traveling bar pop-up brings the game all over the city.

🗳️ Prep for the polls: Monday, April 8 is the deadline to register to vote in time for Pennsylvania’s primary elections on April 23. From who’s running to how to get a mail-in ballot, here’s everything you need to know.

🎸 Haunted church tunes: Brooklyn metal band Castle Rat will release a new album this month that they recorded in an (allegedly) haunted church in Kensington. Here’s why it was the perfect spot for their sound.

💬 Cereal killers: Meet the Philly comic creators behind a new series that makes a superhero villain out of greedy American corporations. They’ll be sharing their work at the new Moore Comics Expo this month, which spotlights indie cartoonists and comic book writers.

Dan DeLuca breaks down some of the best shows coming to town this weekend:

🎤 Friday: Philly band the Fractals, whose latest single is “Bullseye,” opens for the Samples at Ardmore Music Hall on Friday. Canadian rock and country band the Sadies has carried on under the leadership of Travis Good after the death of his brother, Dallas, in 2022. The band is touring behind Colder Dreams, which was released later that year. (The band plays Arden Gild Hall in Delaware on Saturday.)

🎤 Saturday: The Atlantic City hip-hop show at Boardwalk Hall is headlined by Meek Mill’s Miami associate Rick Ross. Last year the duo teamed up on Too Good to be True. Might Meek show up in A.C.? We shall see. Also on the bill are Jeezy, Fabolous, Peedi Crakk, Remy Ma, and Lost Boyz.

🎤 Also Saturday: Philly house singer Lady Alma, who teamed with King Britt in the 1990s and sang with Jordan Mailata on the first Eagles Christmas album in 2022, is at World Cafe Live. She’ll be accompanied by Vertical Current and a special guest in legendary hip-hop DJ Marley Marl.

We’re turning up the volume on Beyoncé's brand new Cowboy Carter album this week. My go-to right now is the beautiful harmonized “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus. I asked Inquirer staffers to chime in; here are some of our fave tracks so far.

🤠 “‘Levii’s Jeans’ has been stuck in my head,” said newsletter editor Julie Zeglen. “Obviously Beyoncé can pull off groovy, sultry, and understated — Beyoncé can do anything — but while listening I was struck with the thought: ‘Post Malone can do that?’ The album has such a cool range of featured artists! (The Nick at Nite line also makes me laugh.)”

🤠 “‘American Requiem’ reminds me of a classic 70s/80′s country song,” said product designer Juliana Okereke.

🤠 “‘Bodyguard’ continues to find itself on repeat in my headphones,” said business coverage editor Katie Krzaczek, who struggled to pick a favorite off the “masterpiece” of an album. “It’s a sultry, genre-defying love song that you can’t help but sing along to, whether you’re harmonizing with the ahh-ahhs in the background or belting out the chorus.”

Have you been listening, too? If you have any favorite songs to call out, let me know!

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This week, I started the new HBO show The Girls on the Bus about women reporters on the campaign trail. It’s a little silly (and promises to be overly dramatic) but I’m always fascinated by journalism stories in pop culture. Still, it’s a far cry from my favorite newspaper movie, 27 Dresses.