Vivaldi’s Ring of Mystery at Kimmel Center
The Philadelphia Orchestra celebrates Vivaldi, Venice and violins in this compelling mystery set in the early 1700s about an orphan girl, Katarina, who is in search of her roots. A central clue to the story is a missing Stradivarius violin that the Duke of Cremona has brought to Vivaldi’s school of the Pieta in the hope of finding his long-lost grandchild. Watch as the drama unfolds, accompanied by music from Vivaldi’s most popular and important works.
The Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St.
Saturday, April 20
Cost: starting at $15
www.kimmelcenter.org
Shiny Toy Guns
This weekend, come rock out with The Dirty Heads and Shiny Toy Guns as Radio 104.5 and Five Seven Music present the Tour Odyssey. Supporting acts include Midi Matilda and Oh No Fiasco. For every attendee who purchases a ticket to the show will receive a Five Seven music sampler. So, grab a couple of your college buddies, and head down to the TLA!
The Theatre of Living Arts
Sunday, April 14
Cost: $20
Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre hosts two Bard classics
This year the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre’s plays “Othello” and “Much Ado About Nothing” examine the microcosm of marriage, and in particular, trust. It is here in our lifelong partnerships that we finally understand ourselves — what we value and what we are about as opposed to what we say we are about. It is the place where our most personal selves are illuminated, where all our strengths and weaknesses, our many contradictions are borne out. By exploring the issues closest to our hearts — trust, betrayal, fidelity, deception and love — Shakespeare is able to show us a reflection of our larger world: our family, community, the entire society and global forces. It is the issue of trust that is front and center in these two plays.
Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, 2111 Sansom St.
“Othello” plays until May 18. “Much Ado About Nothing” plays until May 19.
Cost: varies
www.phillyshakespeare.org
The Beer Garden At The Porch offers beer and music
Experience the outdoor Beer Garden at The Porch at 30th Street Station. Bridgewater’s Pub will offer German and craft beers. Enjoy the fresh air and live music, all while taking in the sights and sounds of the third-busiest train station in America. The beer selection at the April 18-19 beer garden at The Porch will be Konig Ludwig Hefeweizen, Hofbrau Doppelbock, Great Divide Titan IPA and Warsteiner Dunkel Lager.
30th Street Station, 2955 Market St.
April 18-19, 3-8 p.m.
Cost: pay as you go
universitycity.org
Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” playing at the Academy of Music
In creating a new production of “The Magic Flute” — one of the most beloved of all Mozart operas — the creative team has focused on what makes the story so engagingly theatrical for audiences of every generation. We have sought to explore the layers of comedy, fairy tale and myth that come together in live performance. The entire opera has been reimagined as a play-within-the-play — a performance being created before our eyes by the members of a household and their guests in celebration of the name day of the opera’s heroine, Pamina. It is something out of the world of Shakespearean comedy, where the concepts of the theater and the stage are presented for what they can reveal to us about our own real-world natures.
Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St.
April 19-28
Cost: starts at $10
www.operaphila.org
First-ever South Street Spring Festival
The Street Festival will be filled with music, dancing and entertainment sure to appeal to all tastes. The main stage at 5th and South streets will feature eight popular local acts. The sounds of rock, blues and other great combinations programmed by the Legendary Dobbs and Twisted Tail music venues will be sure to keep the crowd moving and grooving. The young local talents of the School of Rock Band and the Tune Up Philly youth orchestra will also be featured throughout the day. Other musical performances will fill the air at five additional street locations as well as at participating bars and restaurants.
South Street between 2nd and 8th streets
May 4, noon to 8 p.m.
Cost: free
www.southstreet.com