Each month, we share our own calendars with YOU!

Welcome back to BSR in the Wild, our monthly subscribers-only tips on where our team is headed on the Philly scene this month. And we want to flag that we are still out here on the scene because of our Readers Decide campaign donors. THANK YOU to 118 donors (and counting) who are securing our spring coverage. Check out a quick video update from Alaina and Neil here. If you want to join the campaign and help fund our summer coverage, it's running through March 31. You can make a gift of any size (really, even just $5 is huge) here.

Let's see what's coming up for us!

FIND NEIL

Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park
WHEN: Saturdays starting April 4
WHERE: FDR Park, Broad and Pattison, Philadelphia
WHY: This market is an embarrassment of culinary riches. Every time I visit, I'm torn between old favorites like stuffed chicken wings and exploring new options. Bring cash, friends, and a blanket.

Flavors on the Avenue
WHEN: Sunday, April 26, 12pm-5pm
WHERE: E. Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia
WHY: I swear I'm not only going to tell you where I'm eating this month. When South Philly's streets get closed down for festivals, I find myself drawn to strolling.

Single Woman: Work In Progress
WHEN: Wednesday, April 29, 7pm & Friday, May 1, 6pm
WHERE: Sawubona Creativity Project, 1935 E. Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia
WHY: I'm directing this show in Philly Theatre Week! My friend and collaborator Tess has created a solo work that mixes storytelling and consensual audience participation to humorously interrogate her dating life.

Philly Book Launch: FAT SWIM by Emma Copley Eisenberg
WHEN: Thursday, April 30, 7pm
WHERE: Philadelphia Ethical Society, 1906 Rittenhouse Sq., Philadelphia
WHY: Emma Copley Eisenberg knows how to throw a book launch party: a staged reading, performance art, conversation, and beverages. Her new work of fiction is linked short stories, incredibly up my alley.

Flashback Friday to July 2024 for this BSR meetup at the famous Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park: (from left) writer Thomas Hagen, Alaina, our supervisor Ginny, Friend of BSR and former board member Neil Kleinman, associate editor Kyle, and Neil Bardhan. (Photo by Jimmy Chang.)

FIND ALAINA

No Kings Day 3
WHERE: Philadelphia City Hall, with a march up the Parkway to speeches at 22nd Street
WHEN: Beginning 12pm on Saturday, March 28, 2026
WHY: I've made a habit of protesting regularly for many years, including the giant nationwide No Kings Day events that began last year. You can find whatever discourse you want about these marches: either that they're saving democracy, or they're just a bunch of lazy liberals who won't do more than a stroll on a spring Saturday, or something in between. I believe that protest movements succeed when they enlist the greatest number of people, and a big march can be a fabulous way to help folks learn about other action items and become plugged into activist groups who are doing more. It matters when we show up together to say no to authoritarian government, and resistance movements should be welcoming to as many people as possible, who can participate according to their ability. This WHYY story covers details on Saturday's protest, including the big march downtown and dozens of smaller events throughout the region. Find one!

These Truths: The Declarations of Independence
WHERE: The American Philosophical Society in Old City
WHEN: Running April 10, 2026-Jan 3, 2027
WHY: There are approximately 8 million Philly exhibitions and events related to America's 250th (so far), but this one caught my eye. It includes 19 rare printings of the Declaration from the first 50 years of its history, the chair Jefferson purportedly sat in while writing said document, and a first printing of Thomas Paine's Common Sense. The show highlights that "the creation of the Declaration was a process, not an event," with a story more complex than we know today. Our country is demonstrably still under construction 250 years later, and it seems like a worthy time to grapple with our principles.

Seng's Hair Salon
WHERE: InterAct Theatre Company in Center City
WHEN: Running April 17-May 20, 2026
WHY: Lao American poet and playwright Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay's new play is set in a South Philly hair salon and "centers Lao, Vietnamese, and Cambodian characters navigating a health crisis and rapidly shifting cultural and political landscape," tackling questions of "visibility, advocacy, and generational responsibility." It's part of InterAct's Philly Cycle program, and was developed in partnership with Laos in the House, VietLead, and the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia. Bi Jean Ngo, one of my favorite local actors, joins the cast. I am always excited to see the work of Asian artists on our stages. Look out for Krista Mar's review of this production.

The Sound of Music
WHERE: The national tour at the Academy of Music on the Avenue of the Arts
WHEN: March 31-April 5, 2026
WHY: I grew up watching The Sound of Music on a battered double VHS, and last year, I rewatched the movie for the first time in many years. I found it unexpectedly affecting -- the music, characters, and drama still grabbed me. And the cruel march of fascism seems a lot closer today than it did when I was in elementary school. Resistance takes many forms, and it's an all-ages project. Look out for Cameron Kelsall's review of this production.

Trio Montage at 1807 & Friends
WHERE: The Academy of Vocal Arts in Rittenhouse
WHEN: April 20, 2026 at 7:30pm
WHY: Chamber music group 1807 & Friends has been in the BSR network for many years, and when member Lloyd Smith reached out to invite me to this concert, the program was intriguing. Trio Montage is Nancy Bean on violin and Pellegrina viola, Derek Barnes on cello, and Anne Sullivan on harp. They've been together for 25 years. The program includes Schubert's Serenade, Marcello's Cello Sonata, Handel's Passacaglia, Tomaso Vitali's Chaconne, Camille Saint-Saëns's Fantaisie, and a new work by local composer Maria Thompson Corley, who's also a BSR writer. I love strings and chamber music, so I'm looking forward to this.

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
WHERE: The Arden Theatre in Old City
WHEN: Running April 18-May 3, 2026
WHY: The Stinky Cheese Man was a staple of my teenage babysitting years. The kids loved having it read aloud. In Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith's zany book, with its distinctive, chaotic collage-style illustrations, the hapless fairy-tale characters wander hilariously in and out of each other's stories and don't get the endings they expect. John Glore adapts the book for the stage, and Philly's Steve Pacek directs, with a cast including Matteo Scammell and Lee Minora (another of my favorite local actors). Look out for my review.

4DSOUND
WHERE: FringeArts in Old City
WHEN: April 10, 2026
WHY: According to FringeArts, Philly artist James Allister Sprang is "a pioneer in creating sonic holograms to facilitate uniquely moving forms of immersive storytelling" with his 4DSOUND system, which is owned by only six artists in the whole world. 4DSOUND is "an Amsterdam-based studio focused on spatial sound as a creative medium," and this is the first chance Philadelphians are getting to experience it. Now what is a sonic hologram? What is spatial sound? I honestly have no idea. That's why I quickly said yes to this experience

A reading and signing of Parent Trip
WHERE: Giovanni's Room in the Gayborhood
WHEN: April 9, 2026 at 6pm
WHY: Longtime BSR writer Anndee Hochman, who is one of my favorite writers in the city, is celebrating the publication of her new book, which is a collection of her pieces for her popular "Parent Trip" column in the Inquirer. Anndee uses her platform to explore all roads to parenthood, in joyful, surprising, complicated narratives of every kind of family. Anndee will be doing a reading and signing books at Philly's historic queer bookshop.

InterAct Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Seng's Hair Salon by Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay this month.

The Sound of Music
WHERE: The national tour at the Academy of Music on the Avenue of the Arts
WHEN: March 31-April 5, 2026
WHY: I grew up watching The Sound of Music on a battered double VHS, and last year, I rewatched the movie for the first time in many years. I found it unexpectedly affecting -- the music, characters, and drama still grabbed me. And the cruel march of fascism seems a lot closer today than it did when I was in elementary school. Resistance takes many forms, and it's an all-ages project. Look out for Cameron Kelsall's review of this production.

Trio Montage at 1807 & Friends
WHERE: The Academy of Vocal Arts in Rittenhouse
WHEN: April 20, 2026 at 7:30pm
WHY: Chamber music group 1807 & Friends has been in the BSR network for many years, and when member Lloyd Smith reached out to invite me to this concert, the program was intriguing. Trio Montage is Nancy Bean on violin and Pellegrina viola, Derek Barnes on cello, and Anne Sullivan on harp. They've been together for 25 years. The program includes Schubert's Serenade, Marcello's Cello Sonata, Handel's Passacaglia, Tomaso Vitali's Chaconne, Camille Saint-Saëns's Fantaisie, and a new work by local composer Maria Thompson Corley, who's also a BSR writer. I love strings and chamber music, so I'm looking forward to this.

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
WHERE: The Arden Theatre in Old City
WHEN: Running April 18-May 3, 2026
WHY: The Stinky Cheese Man was a staple of my teenage babysitting years. The kids loved having it read aloud. In Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith's zany book, with its distinctive, chaotic collage-style illustrations, the hapless fairy-tale characters wander hilariously in and out of each other's stories and don't get the endings they expect. John Glore adapts the book for the stage, and Philly's Steve Pacek directs, with a cast including Matteo Scammell and Lee Minora (another of my favorite local actors). Look out for my review.

4DSOUND
WHERE: FringeArts in Old City
WHEN: April 10, 2026
WHY: According to FringeArts, Philly artist James Allister Sprang is "a pioneer in creating sonic holograms to facilitate uniquely moving forms of immersive storytelling" with his 4DSOUND system, which is owned by only six artists in the whole world. 4DSOUND is "an Amsterdam-based studio focused on spatial sound as a creative medium," and this is the first chance Philadelphians are getting to experience it. Now what is a sonic hologram? What is spatial sound? I honestly have no idea. That's why I quickly said yes to this experience

A reading and signing of Parent Trip
WHERE: Giovanni's Room in the Gayborhood
WHEN: April 9, 2026 at 6pm
WHY: Longtime BSR writer Anndee Hochman, who is one of my favorite writers in the city, is celebrating the publication of her new book, which is a collection of her pieces for her popular "Parent Trip" column in the Inquirer. Anndee uses her platform to explore all roads to parenthood, in joyful, surprising, complicated narratives of every kind of family. Anndee will be doing a reading and signing books at Philly's historic queer bookshop.

The Sound of Music national tour stops at the Academy of Music starting March 31. (Photo by Jeremy Daniel)

Neil's nod of the month

Funding at the state level for the arts and related ecosystems is always a hot topic around the proverbial BSR water cooler. Camille Bacon-Smith's writing for us this month about upcoming changes. I eagerly anticipate her analysis and being able to share that article link around town.

I liked the snippets of different experiences that BSR writers sent Alaina for an October 2025 No Kings protest article. A similar event is scheduled for this weekend and I'm curious to see what's similar to the fall march in tone and explicit messaging. I also appreciate that our writers represented several different parts of our coverage area.