8 things to do in Philly this weekend

COMEDY

Comedian Deconstruction
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
L’Etage
624 S. 6th St.
$5-$10, 267-978-3391
www.comediandeconstruction.com

This monthly show mixes stand-up and improv, two genres of comedy that are usually, but for no really good reason, kept separate. This month’s featured acts are Bed Fidler, Patrick Graves and Sylis P. and the improv troupe Bed Savage. Animal lovers should get advance tickets online (half price!), because all online sales will go to the PSPCA.

THEATER

‘A Life in the Theatre’
Jan. 13 through Feb. 1
Walnut Street Theater
825 Walnut St.
$30-$45, 215-574-3550
www.walnutstreettheatre.org

In this 1977 two-character play by David Mamet, a veteran Broadway actor, now doing local repertory theater, finds himself sharing a dressing room with his fresh young co-star. The bond shared by fellow artists confronts the alienation of the generation gap as the elder’s encroaching sense of being a has-been plays out against the younger’s enthusiasm and ambition.

‘Doubt: A Parable’
Thursday through Feb. 15 (Opening night Jan. 21)
St. Stephen’s Theater
923 Ludlow St.
$22-$56, 215-829-0395
www.lanterntheater.org

With the moral debates within the Catholic Church once again in the headlines, Lantern Theater Company seems to have picked a good time to stage this play by John Patrick Shanley, in which an older, hard-bitten nun, principal of a Catholic school in 1960’s New York, accuses a young, popular priest of improper relations with a student.

MOVIES

‘The 78 Project Movie’
Thursday, 7 p.m.
International House Philadelphia
3701 Chestnut St.
$7-$9, 215-387-5125
www.ihousephilly.org

This documentary follows filmmakers Alex Steyermark and Lavinia Wright as they travel across America making field recordings of local musicians in genres ranging from folk to punk to gospel to Cajun, using only an old Presto machine from the 1930s that cuts directly onto 78 RPM discs. After the screening, the Dead Milkmen’s Joe Jack Talcum will perform a song.

‘Sun Ra: Space is the Place’
Friday, 8 p.m.
The Rotunda
4014 Walnut St.
Free
www.therotunda.org

Avant-garde jazz maestro Sun Ra was easily one of the most far-out musicians in American history, both in his radically forward-looking compositions and his eccentric persona. Ra claimed to be an ambassador from the planet Saturn and appeared on stage in flamboyant, pseudo-Egyptian garb. This 1972 film is a great introduction to his music and his “cosmic philosophy.”

DANCE

Koresh Artist Showcase
Saturday and Sunday
Koresh Dance Company
2002 Rittenhouse Square
$10, 215-751-0959
www.koreshdance.org

Periodically, Koresh Dance Company hosts an artist showcase for emerging local dance talent, staged in an intimate, black box-type setting for an up-close introduction. Performers up this time include Koresh Youth Ensemble, Alchemy Dance Company, Project Moshen Dance Company, Mettin Movement, Company Danzante Contemporary Dance, Grier Dance, Open Category Dance, Brandi Ou Dance, Evalina “Wally” Carbonell and Elissa Streng.

MUSIC

Maceo Parker
Saturday, 8 p.m.
Merriam Theater
250 S. Broad St.
$30-$50, 215-893-1999
www.kimmelcenter.org

When you think funk and saxophone your next thought has to be Maceo Parker. He was there at very birth of funk, emerging as the sax player in James Brown’s band in the 1960s. He’d have a couple more stints with Brown in the 70s and 80s, and he’s performed with a laundry list of other artists, including Parliament-Funkadelic, Prince and De La Soul.

Metalachi
Friday, 9 p.m.
Ortlieb’s
847 N.3rdSt.
$10, 21+, 267-324-3348
ortliebslounge.ticketfly.com

Metalachimight sound like the name of a Pokemon, but it’s actually a band that covers classic heavy metal tunesmariachistyle, clad in sombreros and leather pants. Their chirpy, campy renditions of bands like Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Black Sabbath and Guns n’ Roses are as hilarious as they are clever. You could almost believe them asmarachisongs — almost.