Artquicks

More stuff going on this week...

Walter Dallas' Black Nativity returns as the opening production of Freedom Repertory Theatre's 10th anniversary season. New this year: a focus on the music and dance of South Africa, and a CD collecting the musical's traditional and contemporary gospel performances, which will be available for purchase. Nov. 26-Jan. 11, $35, New Freedom Theatre, 1346 N. Broad St., 866-314-3733.

Roxie, Velma, Billy and all that jazz take the stage of the Merriam Theater for two weeks with Chicago. Nov. 25-Dec. 7, $35-$75, Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St., 215-336-1234.

Stravinksy’s Russian folktale-based ballet The Firebird gets another incarnation, this time a theatrical adaptation designed for young audiences by Enchantment Theatre Company, with musical accompaniment by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Sat., Nov. 22, 11:30 a.m., $5-$42, Kimmel Center, 260 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999.

National Book Award winner, playwright and essayist Gore Vidal brings his particular brand of political commentary to Philly when he stops by to discuss his latest book, Inventing a Nation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson (Yale University Press). Mon., Nov. 24, 5:30 p.m., $75 (includes a book), National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St., 215-561-4700 .

Lawrence Williams took architectural photos for Holiday magazine, Edmund Bacon’s City Planning Commission, I.M. Pei and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The Athenaeum, which acquired a quarter-million (!) negatives from Williams’ archive, presents an exhibit of 100 photos taken over 50 years of Philadelphia architecture and the city’s urban history. Through Feb. 27, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 219 S. Sixth St., 215-925-2688.

Philadanco presents We Too Dance, a collection of works choreographed and performed by African-American men, including Eleo Pomare’s Back to Bach and Christopher Huggins’ Blue. Thu.-Sat., Nov. 20-22, $28-$38, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce sts., 215-893-1999.

Krasnoyarsk National Dance Company celebrates the cultural traditions of Siberia with folk and round dances and more elaborate story works. Sun., Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m., $25-$38, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St., 215-898-3900.

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