Regional arts and entertainment events

Sunday

Dark nights In Vincent Delaney's

The War Party

, a failed political candidate tries to come to terms with her unexpected defeat at the polls, with superfluous victory champagne, a perky intern and the ghost of FDR all figuring in the plot. The

InterAct Theatre

production goes on at 2 p.m. today at

the Adrienne

, 2030 Sansom St., and continues on a Tuesday-through-Sunday schedule to Nov. 23. Tickets are $24 to $28. Call 215-568-8079. . . . Two of our best actors,

Richard Thomas

and

Faith Prince

star in a new play by one of our best playwrights, Terrence McNally. In the sweet drama

Unusual Acts of Devotion

, a diverse group of Greenwich Village denizens gathered to celebrate a wedding anniversary confront questions of love and loss. The show goes on at 3 p.m. today at

the Suzanne Roberts Theatre

, Broad and Lombard Streets, and continues on a Tuesday-through-Sunday schedule to Nov. 23. Tickets are $48 to $59. Call 215-985-0420.

Monday

What just happened? Now that the 2008 presidential vote is done (the 2012 race starts . . . now!), it's time for reflections on the election. Journalists

Ezra Klein

of the American Prospect and

Reihan Salam

of the Atlantic Monthly discuss the campaign strategies, the voters, and the challenges facing the new president at 6:30 p.m. at

the National Constitution Center

, 525 Arch St. Admission is free; tickets required. Call 215-409-6700.

Tuesday

History and passion In

Anna Bolena

, his 30th opera, Donizetti both discovered his voice as a composer and used his magisterial skills to reveal the lyric tragedy in the ruin of Henry VIII's second wife. The

AVA Opera

performs the work at

the Academy of Vocal Arts'

Warden Theater, 1920 Spruce St., at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Saturday and Nov. 18. Tickets are $28 to $83. Call 215-735-1685.

Wednesday

Starts with I The First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art returns for a seventh year, with a one-stop venue at the

Painted Bride Art Center

, 230 Vine St. (call 267-402-2055). Highlights include: Shelley Spector and Evan Solot's

Complaint Choir

, in which our town's gripes were solicited and set to music (6 p.m., free);

Best Impression

, a juried selection of first-person tales in memoir, video and photography (7 p.m., $10); and

Underground America

, a drama based on stories of undocumented immigrants (8:30 p.m., $15).

Smart movie If the great screenwriter Charlie Kaufman has accomplished anything, it's that his movies take the audience's intelligence into account. One of his best,

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

, in which Jim Carrey stars as a man struggling to maintain his memories during a medical procedure, screens at 7:30 p.m. at

the Bryn Mawr Film Institute

, 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr. Tickets are $9.50. Call 610-527-4008.

Thursday

First Person seconds The festival continues at the

Painted Bride Art Center

, 230 Vine St. (call 267-402-2055), with

Okie Noodling 2

, Bradley Beesley's second sensational documentary about barehanded divers' pursuit of giant catfish in backwoods rivers (7 p.m., $10); and

Salon du Festival

, with actor

Pete Pryor

, filmmaker

David S. Kessler

, puppeteer

Beth Nixon

, and storyteller

Katonya Mosley

(8:30 p.m., $15).

The short form Over the last 25 years,

Amy Hempel

has established herself as a master of the short story. She reads at 7:30 p.m. at

Bryn Mawr College's

Wyndham Alumnae House, Ely Room, 101 N. Merion Ave., Bryn Mawr. Admission is free. Call 610-526-5210.

Lips service OK, you have one of the best rock bands in the world today. What do you do next? If you're

the Flaming Lips

, you make an homage to cheesy sci-fi movies in your backyard.

Christmas on Mars

is a psychedelic freakout about astronauts stranded on the Red Planet with faulty gadgets and dwindling oxygen - and an alien superbeing (or Santa?) lurking about. Wayne Coyne's directorial debut, starring the Lips, Fred Armisen (

Saturday Night Live

), Adam Goldberg (

Dazed and Confused

) and Steve Burns (

Blue's Clues

) screens at 8 and 10 p.m. at

Marvelous Records

, 208 S. 40th St. Tickets are $5. Call 215-386-6110.

Friday & Saturday

First Person thirds Weekend festival highlights at the

Painted Bride Art Center

, 230 Vine St. (call 267-402-2055): Author

Lori Tharps

reads from her memoir

Kinky Gazpacho

(6 p.m. Friday, free);

Josh Camerote

screens his Wing Bowl documentary

Swallow Your Pride

, with an appearance by former champion

El Wingador

(8:30 p.m. Friday, $15);

Stephanie Johnes

screens her documentary

Doubletime!

about the world of jump-rope competitions (6:30 p.m. Saturday, $10).

He wrote the songs It's hard to imagine 1960s pop culture without "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Up, Up and Away" or, especially, "MacArthur Park." All were written by the legendary

Jimmy Webb

, who performs at

Sellersville Theater 1894

, 24 W. Temple Ave., Sellersville, at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25. Call 215-257-5808.