Performing Arts

Please call the phone number listed with the venue for specific dates, times and ticket information.

dance

• the cold dagger This performance by Beijing Modern Dance Company explores confrontation, fear and being under seige. Tue, Oct. 23, 7:30pm, $29-$39, Annenberg Center for Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St., 215-898-6701.
• Hubbard Street DAnce Chicago The repertory ensemble performs "Baker's Dozen" by Tony-Award winning choreographer Twyla Tharp and "Passomezzo" by Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin. Runs through Oct. 20, $32-$46, Annenberg Center for Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St., 215-898-6701.
• ONE-YEAR WISSAHICKON PARK PROJECT Choreographer Merian Soto will conduct 16 performances in the park joined by six fellow dancers. The program investigates the communion between movement and the elements, balance and nature. Sat, Oct. 20, 11:30am, FREE , Wissahickon Valley Park, 9800 Germantown Pike, 215-685-0060.
• TANGO BUENOS AIRES Argentinian dancers and musicians bring the sultry world of tango to life with flashing legs and dipping bodies. Sun, Oct. 21, 3pm, $32-$68, Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-790-5847.

  theater

• AN ACT OF THE IMAGINATION When mystery writer Arthur Putnam's latest novel is devoid of mystery, but replete with steamy romance, his family, friends and editor begin to suspect the book was culled from Arthur's own romantic conquests. Runs through Nov. 17, $10-$25, Hedgerow Theatre, 164 W. Rose Valley Rd., Media, 610-565-4211.
• AMADEUS Peter Shaffer's Mozart fantasy-drama pits the wunderkind against a bitter court composer, Antonio Salieri. Dismayed by Mozart's adolescent behavior and charmless self-confidence, Salieri vows to do everything in his power to take Mozart down. Directed by Jiri Zizka. Runs through Oct. 27, $19-$60, Wilma Theater, Broad & Spruce sts., 215-546-0895.
• ASSASSINS In Stephen Sondheim's most controversial musical, various Presidential assassins and would-be assassins, from John Wilkes Booth to Squeaky Fromme, tell their versions of the story — and then influence Lee Harvey Oswald's decision to murder John F. Kennedy. Directed by Terrence J. Nolen. Runs through Oct 21. Runs through Oct. 21, $27-$45, Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. 2nd St., 215-922-1122.
• BEING ALIVE This new musical blends four decades of Stephen Sondheim's revolutionary music and lyrics with jazz, blues, R&B, hip-hop and gospel in a celebration of the human condition. Directed by Billy Porter. Runs through Dec. 2, $51, Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St., 215-985-0420.
• BREATHING CORPSES Laura Wade's award-winning black comedy tries to piece together a series of gruesome deaths. Directed by Gregory Scott Campbell. Runs through Nov. 4, $15-$30, Walnut Street Theater, Studio 5, 825 Walnut St., 215-574-3550.
• THE CRUCIBLE Set in Salem in 1692, Arthur Miller's classic drama chronicles the town's unjust witch trials in an allegory to McCarthyism. Runs through Oct. 20, $15, Town and Country Players, 4158 York Rd., Buckingham, 215-348-7566.
• DEATH AND THE MAIDEN Written by Ariel Dorfman, this political thriller explores the effects of a totalitarian dictatorship on the hearts and souls of its citizens. Runs through Oct. 27, $10-$22, Curio Theatre Company, 815 S. 48th St., 215-525-1350.
• THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett's award-winning drama is the stage adaptation of Anne Frank's heartbreaking diary written while her family hid from the Nazis in 1940s Amsterdam. Directed by Meredith McDonough. Runs through Nov. 9, $31-$220.50, Delaware Theatre Company, 200 Water St., Wilmington, DE, 302-594-1100.
• DISPOSABLE MEN Writer and performer James Scruggs presents his multimedia solo work concerning the role of the popular media in the portrayal of African-American men as "disposable." Fri-Sat, Oct. 19-20, 8pm, $12.50-$25, Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St., 215-925-9914.
• AN EMPTY PLATE IN THE CAFe DU GRAND BOEUF Victor, an American expatriate living in Paris, owns the world's greatest restaurant but keeps it all to himself for his own private dining pleasure. After returning from a summer holiday in Madrid, Victor announces his plan to starve himself to death. This dark comedy celebrates cooking, bullfighting and the collected works of Hemingway. Runs through Dec. 9, $27-$45, Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. 2nd St., 215-922-1122.
• AN EVENING WITH PATTI LUPONE AND MANDY PATINKIN Broadway legends Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin perform favorites from Stephen Sondheim to Antonio Carlos Jobim. Accompanied on piano by Paul Ford and choreographed by Anne Reinking. Runs through Oct. 29, $65-$75, Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St., 215-569-9700.
• I DO! I DO! This two-person musical takes us between the sheets of Agnes and Michael, as they try to keep the marital flame alive through the good, the bad and the ugly of their 50-year odyssey together. Runs through Oct. 21, $15-$39, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Radcliffe & Market sts., Bristol, 215-785-0100.
• Independence Starts here opening ceremony The opening celebration of the Festival of Disability Arts and Culture features performances by Light Motion dance company, jazz singer Melody Gardot and guitarist Raul Midon. Hosted by Marlee Matlin. Thu, Oct. 18, 7pm, $60-$100, Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad & Spruce sts., 215-893-1999.
• THE INSANITY OF MARY GIRARD This expressionistic drama by Lanie Robertson chronicle the troubled marriage of Stephen and Mary Girard. In 1790, Stephen had Mary declared legally insane, under questionable circumstances, resulting in Mary being committed to an asylum for the rest of her life. Runs through Oct. 21, FREE , Gershman Hall, University of the Arts, Broad & Pine sts., 215-569-8080.
• LAST OF THE BOYS In the Philadelphia premiere of Steven Dietz's Pulitzer Prize-nominated drama, the bond between Vietnam soldiers Ben and Jeeter is threatened when Jeeter's young girlfriend arrives on the scene. Runs through Nov. 18, $15-$27, InterAct Theater Company, 2030 Sansom St., 215-568-8077.
• MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL This celebration of hot flashes, night sweats, memory loss, chocolate binges and "The Change" follows four women of a certain age shopping at a Bloomingdale's lingerie sale. Ongoing, $45, Society Hill Playhouse, 507 S. 8th St., 215-923-0210.
• MAN OF LA MANCHA Based on Cervantes' "Adventures of Don Quixote," this heartfelt musical is the story of a man who just wants to be a chivalrous knight errant in an era where there's no such thing. Runs through Oct. 21, $10-$67.50, Walnut Street Theatre, 9th & Walnut sts., 215-574-3550.
• A NIGHT IN THE OLD MARKETPLACE This world premiere musical adaptation of Yiddish playwright I.L. Peretz's famous work puts a Klezmer spin on a magical tale of men trying to right past wrongs and rediscover the meaning of faith along the way. Directed by Alexandra Aron. Runs through Oct. 21, $35-$55, Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St., 215-569-9700.
• THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE This one-woman show, made famous by Lily Tomlin, features 16 characters representing all walks of contemporary female American life — from prostitutes to soccer moms and, of course, Trudy the Bag Lady. Starring Jennifer Childs and directed by Mary Jackman Carpenter. Runs through Oct. 28, $12-$34, Walnut Street Theatre — Independence Studio on 3, 825 Walnut St., 215-592-9560.
• SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR In Luigi Pirandello's master work, six characters suddenly invade the rehearsal of another play and demand that their stories are told, raising questions about the nature of reality versus illusion and truth versus fiction. Runs through Nov. 4, $29-$48, People's Light & Theatre Company, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern, 610-644-3500.
• SUBURBIA In this story of high school suburbanites getting drunk and high in a convenience store parking lot, even more trouble ensues when a fellow student who has become a rock star stirs up anger and jealousy. Directed by Elisabeth Hostetter. Runs through Oct. 28, $5-$10, Tohill Theatre, Rowan University, 201 Mullica Hill Rd., Glassboro, NJ, 856-256-4545.
• THREE TALL WOMEN Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning play is about the triumphs and woes of an elderly dame trying to save her sanity. With the help of a caregiver and a lawyer, she revisits her past to find the "happiest time." Runs through Oct. 27, $16-$21, Society Hill Playhouse, 507 S. 8th St., 215-923-0210.
• TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE Based on the book by Mitch Albom, this play chronicles the story of a student learning lessons of love, work, aging, family, forgiveness and death from his ailing professor. Runs through Oct. 27, $10-$15, Cheltenham Center for the Arts, 439 Ashbourne Rd., Cheltenham, 888-715-5589.
• THE WHY Convicted school-shooter Robert tries to explain his actions amidst a fearful, manipulated world where the demise of others turns a profit for media conglomerates. Runs through Oct. 28, $12-$15, Second Stage Theatre at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., 215-923-2766.

  opera

• DAME KIRI TE KANAWA The New Zealand soprano takes the stage for a final time in her year-long farewell tour, accompanied by pianist Warren Jones. Wed, Oct. 24, $34-$81, Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-790-5847.