Performing Arts

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

dance

• FRUITION: AN EVENING TO HELP HUMANITEE (HUMANS AND MANITEES) New Extreme Dance Explosions Awesomes (aka Allison Lorenzen and Rebecca Patek) are joined by Bianka Brunson, Lindsay Delooze and Liza Clark for this edgey piece exploring the unconscious. You can choose to donate the suggested $10 to humans or to manitees. Runs through April 5, 8pm, $10, Mascher Space Cooperative, 155 Cecil B. Moore Ave., 530-906-5073.
• JEANNE RUDDY DANCE Jeanne Ruddy Dance presents "Quasi Normal" by German expressionist choreographer Susanne Linke and a new version of Ruddy's "Breathless." Runs through April 19, $15-$25, the Performance Garage, 1515 Brandywine St., 215-569-4060.
• IN MEMORY OF A DEATH TRAP Pink Hair Affair invites you into an old row home to experience its crumbling memories and fresh coats of paint. Seating is limited, as the performance is intended for an audience of eight. Directed by Anne MacGillivray Wilson. Thu-Sat, April 3-5, 7 & 9pm; Sun, April 6, 6 & 8pm, $10, 2133 Christian St., pinkhairaffair.blogspot.com.
• TAMAGAWA TAIKO and DANCE ENSEMBLE In celebration of the Cherry Blossom Festival, this troupe performs Japanese folk dance with contemporary Taiko. Sat, April 5, 2 & 8pm, $30, Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St., 215-925-9914.

  theater

• BROTHERS-IN-LAW Related only by marriage and sharing no common interests, Fred and Richard face off on the afternoon of their mother-in-law's funeral in this comedy. Directed by Harriet Power. Runs through April 6, $30-$40, Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, 215-654-0200.
• CURRY TALES This one-woman show explores identity, nationalism, fertility, love, hunger and globalization through the process of making curry. Written and performed by Rani Moorthy. Runs through April 6, $40-$55, Crossroads Theatre, 7 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, 1-877-STATE-11.
• DANCING AT LUGHNASA Ursinus College Theater presents Brian Friel's award-winning memory play about a young man recalling his family in Ireland before they were forced apart in 1936. Runs through April 12, $2-$5, Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center, Ursinus College, 601 E. Main St., Collegeville, 610-409-3000.
• FIRST PERSON SALON This month's showcase includes theater, dance, sculpture, memoir, documentary and interdisciplinary arts by local artists including Miss Koco, David Andrew Watson, Nicole Bindler, Jacques-Jean Tiziou and James Peniston. Wed, April 9, 7-9pm, $5-$10, Gershman Y, 401 S. Broad St., 215-446-3027.
• FROZEN This play documents the psychological workings of three intricately connected people: a mother mourning her lost daughter, the man condemned for killing her and a psychologist studying serial killers. Runs through May 4, $27-$49, InterAct Theater Co., 2030 Sansom St., 215-568-8077.
• THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Oscar Wilde's satire is about two friends who discover themselves in a ridiculous situation after their fiancées learn they are coincidentally engaged to the same man. Runs through April 16, $17-$30, the Ritz Theatre Co., 915 White Horse Pike, Haddon, NJ, 856-858-5230.
• INTO THE WOODS This musical with tunes and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim explores the darker side of fairy-tale characters such as Cinderella, Rapunzel and the Wicked Witch. Runs through April 6, $8-$16, Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St., 215-732-5446.
• THE LONESOME WEST Martin McDonogh's comedy is about two unreconcilable brothers living in the same dreary cottage in rural Ireland. This play spoofs "The Old Couple" with Irish cynicism, wit and physical comedy. Runs through April 13, $20, Centre Theatre, 208 DeKalb St., Norristown, 610-279-1013.
• THE ODD COUPLE Neil Simon's comedy tells the story of the neurotic Felix and his new roommate, the disorganized and sloppy Oscar. Runs through April 27, $10-$67.50, Walnut Street Theatre, 9th & Walnut sts., 215-547-3550.
• OTHELLO In Shakespeare's tragedy, Venetian general Othello is in love with the beautiful Desdemona, but the evil Iago has other plans. Directed by Charles McMahon. Runs through April 27, $15-$104, Lantern Theater, 10th & Ludlow sts., 215-829-9002.
• THE PIANO LESSON August Wilson's drama tells the story of siblings in 1936 Pittsburgh who are debating the future of a treasured heirloom: the piano carved by their grandfather, an enslaved plantation carpenter. Directed by Walter Dallas. Runs through April 6, $27-$45, Arden Theatre Co., 40 N. 2nd St., 215-922-1122.
• QUARTET Four aging former opera stars plan a comeback of sorts in this play by Ronald Harwood. But as they rehearse the classic quartet from "Rigoletto," drama ensues. Runs through April 13, $28, Walnut Street Theatre — Independence Studio on 3, 825 Walnut St., 215-952-9560.
• RAG AND BONE Vagabond Acting Troupe presents the play by Noah Haidle about George, a black market heart salesman. When he comes across a poet's heart, he's surprised to find that most people can't handle such an organ. Directed by Aileen McCulloch. Runs through April 26, $12-$20, the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., 215-563-4330.
• THE RIVALS: A DRAG COMEDY To The Wall Productions presents this gender-bending version of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's Restoration England comedy of manners. Runs through April 12, $10-$15, the Actor's Center, 22 N. 3rd St.
• ROMEO AND JULIET This newly staged production re-examines those star-crossed lovers who must choose between love and family. Directed by Carmen Khan. Runs through May 18, $10-$28, Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, 2111 Sansom St., 215-496-8001.
• A SIMON DOUBLE BILL Enjoy two one-act plays comedies by Neil Simon: "Visitor from Philadelphia," the story of a couple dodging a hooker in Beverly Hills, and the murder mystery farce "The Dinner Party." Runs through April 13, pay what you can, Gershman Hall, University of the Arts, 401 S. Broad St., 215-569-8080.
• SMOKE ON THE MOUNTAIN Reverend Oglethorpe has invited the Sanders Family Singers to provide an uplifting evening in 1938 North Carolina, but they prefer some more upbeat vintage pop. Directed by Peter Reynolds. Runs through April 13, $10-$30, Hedgerow Theatre, 164 W. Rose Valley Rd., Media, 610-565-4211.
• SUBURBAN LOVE SONGS 1812 Productions presents this mix of comedy and dance set durring a Tupperware/Swingers Party in 1968. Runs through April 27, $15-$25, Plays and Players Theater, 1714 Delancey St., 215-735-0630.
• THIRD Wendy Wasserstein's drama chronicles the painful decisions a professor at an elite college must make when confronted with a plagarism scandal. Runs through April 20, $10-$58, Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad Street, 215-985-0420.
• TONY 'N' TINA'S WEDDING The happy couple and their unusual guests invite you to anything but a quiet, intimate affair. Runs through May 17, 7:30pm, $89, Innovation Studio, Kimmel Center, 260 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999.
• VINCENT F. Reed Brown stars in this one-man play about Vincent van Gogh and his brother, Theo, the artist's only friend and benefactor. Runs through April 4, $25-$40, Stockton Performing Arts Center, Jim Leeds Rd., Pomona, NJ, 609-652-9000.
• WAITING FOR LEFTY This drama by Clifford Odets is a collection of scenes set in NYC during the Great Depression and documents average people trying to make do while the world around them falls apart. Runs through April 20, $5-$15, Arcadia Theatre, 450 S. Easton Rd., Glenside, 215-572-2112.

  opera

• IL TROVATORE Center City Opera presents this Italian opera by Verdi about a vengeful mother who kills her own son by accident. Arrive 45 minutes early to hear a lecture about the performance by director Andrew Kurtz. Sun, April 6, 7pm, $36, the Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-790-5800.
• NORMA The Opera Co. of Philadelphia presents this emotionally charged 19th-century Italian work by Vincenzo Bellini about a Druid priestess who, after breaking her vow of celibacy to mother two children, discovers her lover is in love with someone else. Performed in Italian with English subtitles. Runs through April 18, $7.50-$185, Academy of Music, Broad & Locust sts., 215-893-1999.
• SOIRéE OPeRA The Alliance Francaise de Philadelphia presents an evening of French opera performed by Robert McFarland of the Metropolitan Opera, Beatrice Beer of the Chatelet Opera and artists from the Atlantic Coast Opera Festival. Fri, April 4, 7pm, $20-$30, Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce St., 215-735-1685.