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The always-impressive Arden Theatre has a truly sensational play in production now on the upstairs Arcadia Stage.

Titled Clybourne Park, the piece, a 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner, leases characters and setting from the 1959 classic A Raisin in the Sun.

The play deals with important issues of gentrification, particularly poignant in Philadelphia’s urban setting. It takes you through the story of a house, a neighborhood and the people who have come and gone over five decades’ time.

Get tickets online.

Clybourne Park at the Arden Theatre
When: Now through March 25
Where: 40 N. 2nd Street
Cost: Tickets start at $29
More info: www.ardentheatre.org

The ICA is home to provocative contemporary art.
(Photo courtesy ICA)

The Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania is offering free admission all month long.

Since the 1960s, the ICA has led the way in revealing the hottest trends in contemporary art with the first-ever museum shows of Andy Warhol, Laurie Anderson, Agnes Martin, Robert Indiana and other influential artists.

Take advantage of the month-long free admission by checking out the Charline von Heyl exhibition, featuring 18 paintings and collages; Jennifer Bolande Landmarks, a site-specific installation; and Living Document / Naked Reality: Towards an Archival Cinema, which explores cinema’s complex political, formal and ideological history from the 1910s-1960s by showcasing the work of six international artists.

Free admission to the ICA is sponsored by the Amanda (C95) and Glenn (W87/WG88) Fuhrman Fund.

Institute of Contemporary Art
118 S. 36th Street
www.icaphila.org

Watch PAFA artists as they work inside their studios, many with stunning views of the city.
(Photo by F. Dean for GPTMC)

On Friday, February 10, join the faculty, students, and staff of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) for an Open Studio Night in the Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building from 5:30-8 p.m.

You’ll get a unique behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the professional academy artists’ studios, as well as the exceptional works-in-progress being created by PAFA students in more than 175 individual studios.

Artists and art lovers alike will enjoy this exclusive opportunity to meet America’s next generation of artists in person.

You’ll even have the chance to speak to the art students one-on-one to discuss the concepts and inspirations behind their diverse and exciting original paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints that will be part of this spring’s Annual Student Exhibition.

This event is free and open to the public.

Open Studio Night at PAFA
When: Friday, February 10, 5:30-8pm.
Where: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, 128 N. Broad Street
Cost: Free
More info: www.pafa.edu

Next up in the Annenberg Center's 2011/12 season is an eccentric circus-like dance performance from renowned Israeli Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Company. (Photo courtesy Annenberg Center)

Crack open Oyster, presented by Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Company at the Annenberg Center on February 9-11, and you’ll discover a bizarre fantasy world.

With obvious nods to both Fellini and Tim Burton, the show presents a circus set-up where beauties and freaks vie for your attention.

The characters inhabit surreal scenes where mimes, acrobats and ballerinas become puppets and puppeteers. It’s a dark yet whimsical place that will surely capture your attention, because you’ve not likely seen contemporary dance quite like this.

The Israeli-based Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Company has an international reputation for innovation, and Oyster is a shining example of their individual style that presents stellar physical prowess within a highly theatrical and visual production. They’re musical collagists, too; Oyster’s score includes opera (Pagliacci), tango (Piazzolla), Harry James, Yma Sumac and Tuvan throat singers.

The troupe made its Philadelphia debut at the Annenberg Center in 2008 and it’s great to have them back to entrance us once more. This is dance-theater you won’t soon forget. Get tickets online.

Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Company’s Oyster
Where: Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut Street
When: February 9-11
Cost: $20-$75
More info: www.annenbergcenter.org

Next up in Theatre Exile’s season is Knives In Hens, a provocative, eccentric piece by David Harrower, author of Exile’s critically acclaimed Blackbird.

Audience members enter a remote and secluded world where three lives are about to collide.

The play is billed as more of “an immersive theatrical event” that invites viewers into a starlit wooded landscape crafted in Theatre Exile’s intimate Studio X space.

Be sure to get advance tickets online.

Theatre Exile’s Knives In Hens
When: February 9-March 4
Where: Studio X, 1340 S. 13th Street
Cost: $25
More info: www.theatreexile.org

Drawn from the expansive comics collection of William F. Wu, Marvels & Monsters examines stereotypes of Asian identity formed over half a century ago that continue to shape the perceptions of Asian Americans today. (Images courtesy Asian Arts Initiative)

Drawing from the expansive collection of science fiction author and cultural studies scholar William F. Wu, the Asian Arts Initiative’s latest exhibition, Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986, opens this Friday, February 3, with a free and open-to-the-public reception from 6-8 p.m.

Covering more than four decades of imagery, Marvels & Monsters offers a captivating look at America’s evolving racial and cultural sensibility as it is perceived in comic books, highlighting how images of Asian-Americans have influenced contemporary culture.

In addition to the images from Wu’s collection, the exhibit will also showcase a series of present-day graphic novels by Asian-Americans, including Ken Chen, Naomi Hirahara and Genny Lim.

And be sure to mark your calendars for Thursday, March 1 at 6 p.m. when AAI hosts an exhibition-related film screening and panel discussion. For more info about the exhibit and related programming, click here.

Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986
When: On view February 3-March 23; Opening Reception, Friday, February 3, 6-8 p.m.
Where: Asian Arts Initiative, 1219 Vine Street
Cost: Free
More info: www.asianartsinitiative.org

Paul Evans (1931-1987) , Sculpted Steel Wall Collage, 1970. (Image courtesy Michener Museum)

The creative energy, broad technical repertoire and innovative designs of studio craft artists of the Delaware Valley are subjects of the Michener Art Museum’s new installation entitled Intelligent Design, opening February 3.

Whether a mosaic tile, an abstract form in wood, a wall sculpture, or a ceramic vessel, as nonverbal forms of human expression these works not only reflect cultural values but can function to transform the particulars of our everyday lives.

Says Curator of Collections Constance Kimmerle, “The strong studio craft tradition of southeastern Pennsylvania represents a significant collecting opportunity for the Michener Art Museum, and it’s exciting to be doing this in the area in which the museum is actively building its permanent collection.” Cheers to that.

Intelligent Design at the Michener Art Museum
When: Permanent exhibition opening February 3
Where: 138 S. Pine Street, Doylestown
Cost: Children under 6 free, Adults $12.50, Seniors $11.50, College students $9.50, Ages 6-18 $6
More info: www.michenermuseum.org

Acclaimed photographer Tal Shochat's work will be on display courtesy of the Andrea Meislin Gallery in New York. (Photo courtesy Andrea Meislin Gallery)

The National Museum of American Jewish History invites you to help celebrate Tu B’Shevat, the Festival of the Trees, as it opens its new exhibit “In Praise of a Dream,” a special photo collection by acclaimed Israeli artist Tal Shochat.

Shochat’s work will keep with this theme as she highlights only the most beautiful fruit trees that she has found in her travels throughout Israel.

Shochat’s distinctive photographs produce an ethereal, dream-like feel, as each tree is impeccably pruned and photographed against a black background. The result is a symbol of strength in an otherwise unnatural environment, and a hand-picked reminder of the beauty in nature that surrounds us daily.

“In Praise of a Dream” will be the inaugural exhibit on the Museum’s concourse level, opening up an exciting new chapter for the Museum.

In case you haven’t had a chance to make it over to this phenomenally-designed building, “In Praise of a Dream” will be running, very appropriately, through Earth Day, April 22.

Advance ticket purchase is required for Saturday visits, and is available online.

“In Praise of a Dream”
When: Wednesday, February 1-April 22
Where: National Museum of American Jewish History, 101 S. Independence Mall East
Cost: $11-$12, Free for members, active military and children under the age of 12
More info: www.nmajh.org

It’s opening day for Van Gogh Up Close, the latest headlining exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The exhibit, featuring more than 40 of the close-up works the masterful artist crafted in his later years, has already received praise from The Wall Street Journal and is sure to garner more in the coming weeks.

Ppurchase your timed tickets in advance to guarantee your chance to see these works of art.

Van Gogh Up Close at The Philadelphia Museum Of Art
When: February 1-May 6
Where: 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Cost: Tickets are $25 for adults, $23 for seniors, ages 13-18 $20, 5-12 $12, kids under 4 Free
More info: www.philamuseum.org

Catch one of Mozart's rare operas at the Prince Music Theater, performed by the talented Center City Opera Theater. (Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC)

Mozart’s classic comedic opera, The Marriage of Figaro, comes to the Prince Music Theater February 4 and 5 as Center City Opera Theater (CCOT) stages its very first production of this popular 1786 comedy.

Since debuting in Vienna in 1786, The Marriage of Figaro has become one of the most popular operas of all time. The piece’s hilarious plot follows the trials and tribulations of Figaro and his bride-to-be Susanna as they attempt to plan their wedding, much to the dismay of lord Count Almaviva.

The production is fully-staged and sung in English, featuring members of CCOT’s Young Artist Program and chamber orchestra.

In an effort to bring affordable opera to the City of Brotherly Love, CCOT is offering general admission tickets at $39, with special VIP seating priced at $59, and student rush tickets are available at just $10 a pop!

Tickets are available online.

The Marriage of Figaro
When: Saturday, February 4 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, February 5 at 2 p.m.
Where: Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut Street
Cost: $10 student rush; $39 general admission; $59 VIP
More info: www.operatheater.org