Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
The weekend before your parents (or at least an awful lot of parents) invade is an excellent chance to slack off a little. The Philadelphia Film Festival is in full force, showing a very wide range of world cinema at an equally wide range of times and locales in Philadelphia. The choices range from the large budget (for independent film, that is) with major actors (if David Duchovny counts, that is) to seriously obscure and eclectic fare that you probably won’t see anywhere else. Visit phillyfests.org for a full schedule and descriptions.
If you prefer your arts live, check out “The Constant Wife” at the Walnut Street Theater, playing all this weekend. The 1926 W. Somerset Maughan comedy of manners about infidelity and, of course, social classes gets a “smartly evocative production” according to the Philadelphia Enquirer. Also this weekend, the formidable pianist Martha Argerich performs Beethoven’s happy Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by her ex-husband Charles Dutoit, who also will lead Fauré’s lovely Pelléas and Melisande (performed by the Swarthmore Orchestra last spring) and the Symphony No. 3, “Silence” of Scottish composer and Dutoit favorite James Macmillan. The concert is at 2:00 this afternoon and 8:00 Saturday at the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall.
On campus, it is also an excellent weekend for the arts. Mark Thatcher ’06 will be giving his recital tonight (see article), SAO presents its Asian Film Festival, and, of course, you can be humiliated in front of all your friends at Screw. Have a great weekend!