Pennsylvania Nightlife

Playgrounds and swings aren’t the only things that can swing. Today’s deal reveals the secret lives of soccer moms with $10 tickets to Billy Aronson’s hilarious new comedy, The First Day of School, a $20 value. Be the first to get in on the laughs—your Groupon is good for the 8 p.m. preview show on Thursday, October 1, 8 p.m., at 1812 Productions.

Escort your appetite into Mad River's cheerful, casual confines and sample some hugely portioned eats off of the enticing board of fare. Tasty meal preludes include Angus beef sliders ($8), flash-fried calamari ($7), and barbecue-chicken quesadillas ($7). Full plates can come topped with an assortment of crisp salads, sandwiches, burgers, and pasta nests, all of which pair impeccably with views of flat-screen TVs and competitive chewing. If your appetite tends more toward the alcoholic, set your tongue goggles loose on Mad River's bounty of brews on tap and encased in handy glass cylinders. Trivia takes place on Tuesday nights and tests the limits of amateur quiz masters and time-traveling Renaissance scholars alike.

Helping to spread laughs throughout the land, Helium Comedy Club hosts headliners and tomorrow's brightest stars at its Philadelphia, Portland, and Buffalo locations. In front of a tabled showroom that allows audiences a clear sightline and maximizes guffaw acoustics, a bustling calendar of familiar comic talent fills most of the week with levity, and open mic nights and standup workshops put aspiring jokesmiths higher up the comedy rung.

Most people don't go to a restaurant to sing. But that's not true at Jolly's American Beer Bar. Here, diners sway and croon at their tables as two pianists at adjacent baby grands animatedly play popular tunes from a range of eras. The dueling pianos, an entertainment form hailing from the 1930s and a fixture at this University City establishment, imbues the space with an ecstatic and raucous energy. The professional ivory ticklers' hands cascade across the keys, covering songs from icons such as Billy Joel, Elvis Presley, and Lady Gaga. In between melodies, the musicians treat the audience to bits of ribald humor and plates of deep-fried quarter notes.

In the midst of the crowd sing-alongs, patrons can sip from a cache of American craft beers from breweries such as Russian River, Dogfish Head, and Rogue or sup on handmade morsels in the form of thai chicken wings or a Carolina–style barbecue pulled-pork sandwich.

Firehouse Lounge serves up a savory menu of small bites, sliders, and burgers, impeccably paired with handcrafted specialty cocktails to fill any hour with happiness and gummy grin exposure. Enjoy a baby plate of fried zucchini ($6) or crab and bacon flautas ($9.50) to properly prepare your palate, or treat your tablemates to a round of throw-backable beef, salmon, veggie, or crab sliders to quickly gain supporters for the upcoming table mayor election. For dinner, enjoy a protein-packed BLT burger with sun-dried tomato puree, chiffonade of romaine, and bacon aioli; a succulent salmon burger topped with lettuce, tomato, and caper tartar sauce; or a veggie burger sourced from green protein with goat cheese, dijonaise, lettuce, and tomato—all burgers served with your choice of fries or salad ($8.95).

If Finnigan's menu were a flag, it would be a mixture of red, white, blue, and green, and would be proudly twirled in all Independence of St. Patrick's Day parades. The fare is mainly influenced by traditional Irish staples, but retains a touch of American pub grub. Start out with a plate of Irish wings slathered in your choice of 12 sauces ($8.95) before moving on to a Kitchen Sink Pizza overloaded with pepperoni, sausage, peppers onions, mushroom, and black olives baked in a mozzarella-provolone blend ($11.95). Sandwich selections range from the hot sausage with onions and peppers on a baguette to the crab-cake sandwich served on a Kaiser roll with homemade tartar sauce (both $9.95). You can also keep it traditional with a Squirrel Hill Reuben ($8.95). Entrees include the popular corned beef and cabbage ($10.95), fish and chips ($12.95), and Finnigan's version of country-fried steak—a breaded and deep-fried open-face Philly steak on Texas toast with Swiss cheese and gravy ($10.95). Finish off your feast with a slice of peanut-butter cream pie ($5.95).