Mausoleum Art Show of Horror and North American Tour of Terror; Friday, 6 p.m., $7, Mausoleum Horror Convention, Saturday, 11 a.m., $7-$12, philamoca.org.
—Alissa Falcone
Liberte, egalite ... comedy
A family in is in grave danger. An impostor boarding in their home plans to ruin their family's name — and take their fortune.
The storyline for the new TNT series "Dallas"? Nope, it's actually the plot of "Tartuffe," a beloved French comedy from 1664 opening Friday night at the Stagecrafters Theater. Written by the French playwright Jean Baptiste Poquelin de Moliere, it was initially written for and performed in front of King Louis XIV. Though the king loved the play, his religious advisers did not; it was censored for many years. Thankfully, we can see the play as it was meant to be performed — religious parodies and all.
Tartuffe, through July 1, $16-$25, Stagecrafters Theater, 8130 Germantown Ave., 215-247-8881, thestagecrafters.org.
— Mary Sydnor
SoLow Highlights
The SoLow Festival started as a simple solution to the starving artist's budget. Designed to promote experimental work that was financially friendly for the performer and uniquely personal to viewer, it's since blossomed into one of Philadelphia's most creative outlets for solo performers and nontraditional work. Now in its third year, SoLow today offers a platform for both emerging and established artists, as well as anyone who wants to participate. The 10-day lineup explores various subjects. Each artist has chosen his or her own venue, price, and performance piece based on this year's "Down and Dirty" theme. This year, performances invite audiences into basements, living rooms, and even an elevator to share each artist's work. SoLow curators Amanda Grove and Thomas Choinacky have transformed their own artistic will into a tangible way for dozens of local and national artists.
"Amanda and I have both experienced the financial risks of making performances on our own," Choinacky said. "We wanted to find a way to reverse all that. Performance should be affordable for both the artist making and the audience seeing. We are happy to say we have found a way to put that all together." n
SoLow Festival, through June 24, Prices vary, Various locations, solowfestival.blogspot.com.
—Amanda Wagner Art Attack is a partnership with Drexel University and is supported by a grant from the Knight/NEA Community Arts Journalism Challenge, administered by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.
