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.
There’s a ridiculous number of events on campus this weekend (several described in preview articles in this section). In the unlikely event that none interest you and/or none of your friends are making you go to something every single evening, there is the wild world of Philadelphia. (Not “The Philadelphia,” part of the Night of Scenes. The place you take the train to.)
The resident theater company of Shakespeare’s Globe of London is coming to the Annenberg Center on the Penn campus this weekend with the Bard’s “Measure for Measure.” It is performed in the way the Elizabethans would see it- with an all-male cast, simple sets, and period music and dance. The play is a tragi-comedy set in Vienna, where the duke has taken a break from ruling, assigning his deputy the unenviable job of cleaning up the city’s rife licentiousness and immorality. This is trouble for Claudio, who knocked up his fiancee, Juliet. His sister, a novice nun named Isabella, comes to the rescue. Plot twists ensue. The production is tonight, tomorrow night, and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Student tickets are available. See http://www.pennpresents.org for details.
Discover a Philadelphia tradition (and maybe do a little holiday shopping, too) by visiting the light show at the Lord & Taylor’s at 1300 Market St. near City Hall in Center City. The store used to be a Wanamaker’s and is worth visiting for the architecture alone. The four-story Grand Court atrium is decorated with an enormous tree, fountains, and lots and lots of lights. The 10,000 lights, along with some robotic figures and the monumental organ give a free show at 10:00 a.m., noon, 2:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. daily.