Five Reasons to Leave the House This Weekend

The Brattle will celebrate 100 years of Charlie Chaplin’s ‘The Little Tramp’ this weekend. / Publicity photo from The Kid via Wikimedia Commons

Sports
“The Science of Soccer” at the MIT Museum

We’re ready for the FIFA World Cup—are you? Gear up for the global sporting event with the MIT Museum during “The Science of Soccer” on Saturday, where your usually scheduled programming will be amped up with a ball-juggling competition, science-behind-soccer lesson from MIT professor John Bush, and a performance by Receita de Samba. Brazilian refreshments will be served, saúde!

$10 regular admission, Saturday, May 24, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Ave., Building N51, Cambridge, 617-253-5927, web.mit.edu.

Theater
The Yellow Wallpaper

Many a high school lit class has been creeped out by the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” penned by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, in which the protagonist, Jane, is locked away in her bedroom by her doctor husband, where she is “recovering” from depression and hysteria. Spoiler alert, she goes completely batty. This weekend, see the haunting tale come to life at the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre.

$20 regular admission, Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, 949 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, 866-811-4111, offthegridtheatre.com.

Art
Michael Zigmond at Chase Young Gallery

Toys come to life in Zigmond’s paintings, which include still-life images of mini dinos, Superman figurines, and tiny circus animals on a simple block train, all bathed in the artist’s warm light composition. “As I’ve grown older… I’ve been giving more and more thought to those initial creative urges we experience as children,” he says of this collection.

Free, Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday, 12-4 p.m., 450 Harrison Ave., No. 57, Boston, 617-859-7222, chaseyounggallery.com.

Rock & Roll
U.S. Air Guitar Championships Qualifier

Those of you who caught Emma Stone’s recent lip sync battle with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show know: those who fake it, make it. And nothing proves this point better than the U.S. Air Guitar Championships. T.T. the Bear’s will host a qualifier round this weekend, so grab your—er, self and go show off what you can do.

$10 entry fee, Saturday, May 24, check-in at 4 p.m., show at 5:30 p.m., TT the Bear’s Place, 10 Brookline St., Cambridge, 617-492-0082, usairguitar.com.

Film
“The Little Tramp at 100”

Hard to believe Charlie Chaplin started “making a living” back in 1914. To celebrate 100 years of this iconic character, the Brattle Theatre is showing seven of the little tramp‘s films, including new restorations of Chaplin at Keystone and Chaplin at Mutual. Grab your bowler caps and mustaches, this weekend’s all about the look—and impeccable comedic timing, of course.

Prices vary by showing ($10 regular admission), Friday, May 23, through Tuesday, May 27, various showtimes, Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge, 617-876-6837, brattlefilm.org.