The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, May 11-17, 2023

40th Parallel North Preservation Brigade
Through August 1, 2023
InLiquid Gallery, Crane Arts, 1400 N American Street, Philadelphia

InLiquid’s 40th Parallel North Preservation Brigade looks to tie art and community together in Kensington with a variety of events and installations now through the summer. Coming up this weekend is the opening reception for Crafting Nature, a sustainability-themed group exhibit running through Saturday, June 3. The artists featured use natural materials like bones, flowers, seeds, and wood to “create pieces that appear or are deconstructed, and mirror nature’s recurring cycle of growth and decay.”

The brigade also opens an art installation on Thursday, June 1, by Philly-based artist Jazmyn Crosby, who used recycled materials sourced from Rabbit Recycling to create new public work and spark community engagement around sustainability, climate change, and more.

Symphonie fantastique
May 11-13, 2023
Verizon Hall, Kimmel Cultural Campus, 300 S Broad Street, Philadelphia

Philadelphia Orchestra concludes its 2022-23 season with Yannick Nézet-Séguin leading the way with performances of Gabriela Lena Frank’s Walkabout: Concerto for Orchestra and Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. The performances have stories weaved into them: Frank's Walkabout is inspired by travels to her mother's homeland of Peru and, inspired by his own life, Berlioz depicts the drama of an artist’s self-destructive passion through five epic movements in his Symphonie fantastique. If you go, maybe turn your phone off?

Twice as Hard
Thursday, May 11, 5:30-7:30pm
College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 19 S 22nd Street, Philadelphia

Jasmine Brown is a UPenn medical student, a Rhodes Scholar recipient, and the founder of the Minority Association of Rising Scientists. To add to the list, she’s now an author. Her debut book, Twice as Hard: The Stories of Black Women Who Fought to Become Physicians, from the Civil War to the Twenty-First Century explores the erased stories of nine pioneering Black women physicians, beginning in 1860. The talk includes Mütter Museum admission and book signing.

School of Rock
May 12-28, 2023
Ritz Theatre Company, 915 White Horse Pike, Haddon Township

The historic New Jersey venue hosts a theater performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock, the hit movie that follows failed wannabe rock star Dewey Finn who poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school to make extra cash, only to end up making a band with the students and having to find a way to get to Battle of the Bands without the parents and head of school finding out.

Bumpin’ Bride: All Ages Dance Party
Friday, May 12, 6-8pm
Painted Pride Open Market, 5212 Market Street, Philadelphia

Movement artist Ani/Malayaworks and Painted Bride bring an evening open dance party for all ages to West Philly, with Motown, afrobeat, and folklorico music on deck. The event is free, but RSVPs are recommended.

Julieta Zavala: Tradition, Cultura, Memory Fashion Show
Saturday, May 13, 6-9pm
Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington

Designer Julieta Zavala brings a fashion show to DelArt this weekend. Experience the culture, tradition, and memory of the 1970s Chicano movement as Zavala threads art, fashion, and social justice together. Live performances from hip-hop artist Audry Funk and DJ Kaadi are also in tow, with a cocktail hour after the show.

The Puzzle
May 17-28, 2023
Hedgerow Theatre, 64 Rose Valley Road, Media

Hedgerow presents the world premiere of Juliette Dunn’s The Puzzle, a new production that blends clowning and neurodivergence to tell a story of connectivity through the perspective of Finneas and Quinton, two clowns who strive to escape a surreal scrapyard. The story also follows the Boy, a non-speaker with autism whose arrival upends their plans. Opening night is on Saturday, May 20, with open captioning on May 24-28, a relaxed performance on Saturday, May 27, and an ASL-interpreted performance on Sunday, May 28.