Regional arts and entertainment events

Sunday

Great books on stage Children's classics (not just for children) adapted for theater: Scott Kaiser's Splittin' the Raft retells Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn in juxtaposition with the speeches of Frederick Douglass. The play goes on at 2 p.m. at the People's Light & Theater Company, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern, and continues on a Tuesday-through-Sunday schedule to June 10. Tickets are $28 to $48. Call 610-644-3500. . . . Chicago's Lookingglass Theater combines acrobatics and drama in Lookingglass Alice, an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's works, going on at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Arden Theater Company, 40 N. Second St., and continuing on a Tuesday-through- Sunday schedule to June 10. Tickets are $27 to $45. Call 215-922-1122.

Monday

Down the Shore Memorial Day opens the summer season, and what better way to start it off than with the hardworking pop-punk combo Brand New? They play at 8 p.m. at the Borgata Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City. Tickets are $21. Call 866-900-4849.

Tuesday

Storyteller Artist Dawn A. Wms. Boyd has lately turned from paint to tapestry. The show Narrative Tapestries & Pottery, pairing her work with the organic clay works of Nadia W. Bond, is at the Tyme Gallery, 17 W. Eagle Rd., Havertown, to June 5. Call 610-853-1215.

Wednesday

Twitch and twang One of the founders of 1970s southern rock, Dickey Betts, plays at 7:30 p.m. at the Colonial Theater, 225 Bridge St., Phoenixville. Tickets are $29.50 to $39.50. Call 610-917-1228. . . . The man who invented surf guitar (with his 1962 hit "Miserlou"), Dick Dale, plays at 8 p.m. at Sellersville Theater 1894, Main and Temple Streets, Sellersville. Tickets are $23.50. Call 215-257-5808. (He follows up with a show at the North Star, 2639 Poplar St., at 9 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are $20. Call 215-787-0488.)

Thursday

Outdoor art The exhibition Sculpture New Hope features monumental pieces for the outdoors, including James Vilona's amazing bronze Jetson Chair by the Water and Joe Mooney's kinetic, stainless steel Cry. An indoor sculpture show and a guide to outdoor sites is at the New Hope Arts Center, Stockton Avenue and Bridge Street, New Hope, to June 17. Admission is free. Call 215-862-9606.

Dancing men The invaluable DanceBoom! festival opens with a program focusing on male dancers with Chosen Dance Company, Lionel Popkin, danceTactics, Tommie-Waheed Evans, and the Kingsessing Morris Men. Performances are at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St., at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Tickets are $20 to $25. Call 215-546-7824.

Pure pop for now people Neo-New Wave quintet the Bravery take a straight-on pop edge (echoing the 5 Stairsteps' "Ooh Child" and the Association on "Time Won't Let Me Go") on their excellent new CD, The Sun and the Moon. They play at 8 p.m. at the Fillmore (nee Theatre of Living Arts), 334 South St. Tickets are $18. Call 215-922-1011.

Friday & Saturday

Dance time The product of a six-month process, Under Construction showcases the work of choreographer Marc Bamuthi Joseph in pieces influenced by hip-hop, African and butoh dance. The Montazh Performing Arts Company, olive Dance Theatre and Tania Isaac Dance team up for the project at the Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St., at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $20. Call 215-925-9914.

Dreamgirl Conductor Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, with guest Jennifer Holliday (of the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls), open the season at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, 52d Street and Parkside Avenue, at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $20 to $70. Call 215-893-1999.

Over the river The Philadelphia Orchestra begins its series of "neighborhood concerts" as Rossen Milanov conducts works by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, with soloist Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano, at Wiggins Park, Mickle Boulevard and the Delaware River, Camden, at 7 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. Call 215-893-1988.

Tribute to O'Day Singers Mary Ellen Desmond and Meg Clifton salute the swinging 1950s chanteuse Anita O'Day at Chris' Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom St., at 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $15. Call 215-568-3131.