Just Do It

Mutter Museum 150th Birthday Celebration

by Alli Katz

Fri., Jan. 9, Whimsical Victorian dinner, 7 p.m., $200-$500; Disco Inferno, 9 p.m., $85-$100; Mütter Museum, 19 S. 22nd St., 215-563-3737, collphyphil.org

Two amazing abnormalities — a plaster cast of conjoined twins and the '70s — are finally coming together at Disco Inferno, a benefit in honor of the Mütter Museum's 150th anniversary. Founded to show doctors a range of pathological and anatomical anomalies during the 1850s, the Mütter now features everything from terrifying medical equipment to a two-headed boy. And while the museum might not have the real-live Cheng and Eng wearing platforms and doing the hustle at the party, their shared liver will be on display while you test yours at the open bar. Museum development and events associate Sherwood Smith-Soley says the freakiness of disco and the museum make it a good match. "We have a diverse constituency — everyone from goth kids to students to people at the top of their career that come to do research," says Smith-Soley. "We wanted something to embrace all that."

Tickets get you finger food, dancing and dessert. For folks who like fast costume changes, the museum is hosting a pre-dance Whimsical Victorian dinner, meant to harken back to when the museum was established. Hopefully, with all that accumulation of medical wisdom, someone can figure out why disco keeps rising from the grave.