PHILADELPHIA PERFORMING ARTS (CONT'D)
Nnenna Freelon
April 1, 2011 | 8:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices | Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts | Website
Six-time Grammy® Award nominee Nnenna Freelon
is hailed as the “international voice of jazz” and according to the Los
Angeles Times, “she’s positioned herself in the very top echelon” as
one of the greatest singers of our time. She’s shared the stage and
appeared on recordings with music icons such as Herbie Hancock, Aretha
Franklin, Ray Charles, the Count Basie Orchestra and more, and she’s
been heard and seen in the feature film “What Women Want,” on the Emmy®
and Golden Globe® winning TV show Mad Men and in performances at the
world’s top concert halls and jazz festivals. Now she returns to
Philadelphia performing hits from her hot new album, Homefree — a mix
of tunes that Freelon identifies as “feeling at home in your own skin”
and that bubble with the energy and creativeness that have become her
hallmarks.Philadelphia Orchestra
Chamber Music Concert
April 3,
2011 | 3:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center
for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Join members of the Orchestra and special
guest artists in the intimate setting of Perelman Theater, where the
virtuosity of each musician shines. Through a wide range of ensembles
and musical styles, encounter the Orchestra's musicians as individuals,
with their unique talents and musical personalities.Basil Twist's Petrushka
April 6 - 16, 2011 | Call for Ticket Prices | Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts | Website
Known the world over for his astonishingly
innovative puppet shows, master puppeteer Basil Twist makes his
Philadelphia debut with Petrushka and breathes new magic into the
legendary 1911 Ballets Russes production. Delight your eyes and ears as
life-size puppets fly, dance and float in midair and tell the tale of
the tragic love triangle between three magical puppets whose stories
emerge amidst the swirl of the Russian carnival. Russian identical twin
pianists, Julia and Irina Elkina, perform a special two piano version
of Stravinsky’s masterpiece and nine hidden puppeteers combine Czech
and Japanese puppetry traditions in a tour-de-force of puppetry
technique. It’s a true spectacle of wonder and fantasy perfect for
adults and children alike!Performances on April 9th are part of the Philadelphia International Children's Festival.
Showtimes Wed-Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8:00 PM, Sat 12:00 PM & 4:00 PM, Sun 2:00 PM.
Philadelphia Chamber Music
Society Ebene Quartet
April 7,
2011 | 8:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Distinguished
by its youth, open-mindedness, and versatility, France's Ebène Quartet
has had a meteoric rise to the top. Having only made its US debut in
the Spring of 2009, wherever the Ebène has performed rave reviews
followed them—the New York Times described their playing as "nuanced,"
"supple," "hot-blooded" and "consistently inventive." Using an
unusually wide variety of tone, vibrato, intensity and other expressive
devices, the Ebène make everything they perform sound newly considered.
Technically, they are of the highest order. For its first Philadelphia
appearance the Ebène present repertoire they are intimately familiar
with in Ravel and Debussy. The Ebène's 2009 recording of quartets by
Debussy, Ravel, and Fauré was a Gramophone Award Winner—Best Chamber
Recording and Record of the Year! It also led Gramophone to boldly
state: 'What a sensational disc! The Ebène Quartet stake its claim to
join the top rank with riveting playing that encompasses an almost
other-worldly sound-range.'Philadelphia Orchestra
Pulcinella Alive
April 7,
2011 | 7:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
In an historic collaboration, The
Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Ballet launch PIFA with two
masterpieces from the first decades of the twentieth century.
Originally staged by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballet Russes, both works
featured choreography by Léonide Massine and sets and costumes by Pablo
Picasso. Boston Ballet resident choreographer Jorma Elo has created a
new ballet to Stravinsky's commedia dell'arte-inspired Pulcinella, to
be performed live onstage by the Orchestra and the Ballet.Philadelphia Orchestra
Pulcinella Alive
April 8 - 10,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
In April 2011 the Kimmel Center launches the
first annual Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, a
month-long, citywide arts festival involving all eight Kimmel Center
resident companies focused on early-20th-century Paris. The
Philadelphia Orchestra opens the festival with a program of two
masterpieces from the first decades of that century. In 1919 in London,
Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes presented the world premiere of the
full-length version of Manuel de Falla's ballet The Three-Cornered Hat,
and the following year in Paris the same company gave the premiere of
Stravinsky's commedia dell'arte-inspired Pulcinella. Both works
originally featured choreography by Léonide Massine and sets and
costumes by Pablo Picasso. In his first collaboration with The
Philadelphia Orchestra, Finnish native and Boston Ballet resident
choreographer Jorma Elo creates a new ballet to Stravinsky's
Pulcinella, to be performed live onstage by the Orchestra and
Pennsylvania Ballet. Rossen Milanov, the Orchestra's Bulgarian-born
associate conductor, conducts.Showtimes Fri 2:00 PM, Sat 8:00 PM, Sun 2:00 PM.
1812 Productions presents
Laughter on the 23rd Floor by Neil Simon
April 7 - May 8,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Plays & Players Theater | 215.735.0630
McCarthy’s blacklist, the FBI, a big bully
Television Network, and a who’s who of comedy legends-to-be. It’s the
1950s in America and the fight to be funny is on. Neil Simon’s classic
comedy, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, takes us to the legendary writer’s
room for Sid Caesar’s variety comedy program Your Show of Shows.
Laughter on the 23rd Floor is a fabled account of how writers Mel
Brooks, Woody Allen, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, and others matched wit
to wit and punchline to punchline to make comedy history.Mud, River, Stone by
Lynn Nottage
April 8 - 24,
2011 | $16.00
| Stagecrafters Theater | 215.247.8881
Stranded in a seedy hotel somewhere in the
interior of Africa, a vacationing African-American couple experiences
an unforeseen turn of events. A romanticized journey to their roots
detours into a harrowing and bizarre adventure. An insightful and witty
story reflecting on the inescapable connection between the personal and
the political.Jazz Up Close
Celebrates Thelonius Monk
April 9,
2011 | 8:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Grammy® nominated Parisian jazz pianist
Martial Solal makes his Kimmel Center debut, rounding out the Jazz Up
Close series with a spectacular program. Solal's distinctive style
blends classical technique with the intricate melodies and themes found
in popular jazz standards. The performance opens with a re-creation of
Thelonious Monk's legendary 1959 New York Town Hall concert featuring
fresh, innovative interpretations by up-and-coming, young American jazz
artists. The evening closes with a breathtaking—and rare—solo
performance by Solal. Experience a true jazz master and be transported
back to the height of 1950s jazz!A Soldier's Tale
April 10,
2011 | 7:30 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
For
the first time in its 46-year history, The Chamber Orchestra of
Philadelphia creates an exciting new theatrical experience. In
collaboration with stage director Robert Smythe, the orchestra mounts a
provocative new production of Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale. A recipient
of fellowships from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, the National
Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Smythe
has delighted Philadelphia with his puppetry work for decades.Chamber Orchestra of
Philadelphia Stravinsky
April 10 & 11,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Stravinsky:
L'Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier's Tale) Conducted by Dirk Brosse'.
Showtimes Sun 2:30 PM, Mon 7:30 PM.
A View from the
Bridge by Arthur Miller
April 13 - 23,
2011 | 3:00 PM | $15.00 - $20.00 |
Randall Theater at Temple University | 215.214.1122
Eddie
Carbone’s humble hopes and dreams for his family, his wife and
especially for his innocent young niece and ward, Catherine, are torn
apart by the arrival of immigrant relatives in search of the American
Dream. In the expert hands of the great dramatist Arthur Miller, this
tender tale of love, jealousy and betrayal, set in the street’s of
Brooklyn’s working-class Red Hook district in the 1950s, sweeps the
audience into the breathless realm of classic tragedy.Philadelphia Orchestra
Mahler Symphony No. 4
April 14 - 16,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Sacred and profane, heaven and hell comingle
in this pairing of Mahler's Fourth--with its finale derived from the
composer's own song "Heavenly Life"--and a suite of densely colorful
music from Berg's gruesome, tawdry operatic masterpiece. Longtime
Philadelphia Orchestra favorite David Zinman continues the Orchestra's
contributions to the first annual Philadelphia International Festival
of the Arts with two works that could hardly be more different. At the
end of Mahler's Symphony, a soprano chimes in with a sublime, childlike
song in which angels bake bread, St. Peter goes fishing, and St.
Cecilia's band accompanies dancing virgins. At the end of Lulu, the
lascivious title character tries to seduce a man who turns out to be
Jack the Ripper--with expected consequences.Showtimes Thu 8 :00 PM, Fri 2:00 PM, Sat 8:00 PM.
Pennsylvania Ballet Building on Balanchine
April 14 - 17, 2011 | Call for Ticket Prices | Merriam Theater | societyhillplayhouse.com
Agon is an organic collaboration between
choreographer George Balanchine and composer Igor Stravinsky, who
together designed the structure of this ballet during the creation of
the score: 12 pieces of music for 12 dancers. Minimalist costumes and
sets let Balanchine's choreography take center stage. The ballet takes
its name from the Greek word for 'contest' or 'struggle,' and was
lauded by Balanchine himself for its striking precision.Renowned French-born choreographer Benjamin Millepied creates his first world premiere for Pennsylvania Ballet. Currently a Principal Dancer at New York City Ballet, Millepied offers both a fresh perspective and inspiration from his mentor, choreographer Jerome Robbins, one of Balanchine's colleagues.
Who Cares? brings a bit of Broadway to the ballet. The lively George Gershwin score features beloved classics like 'The Man I Love' and 'I Got Rhythm.' An enchanting, fun-filled ode to the 1930's, Who Cares? sends audiences from the theater feeling energized.
Showtimes Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM, Sun 2:00 PM.
Orchestre National de France
Daniele Gatti, conductor
April 15,
2011 | 8:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
France's best-known orchestra last performed
at the Kimmel Center on its final tour with outgoing conductor Kurt
Masur. Praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer for its 'sheen and
brightness that bathes the music in a new light,' the ensemble returns
for the Kimmel Center debuts of conductor Daniele Gatti and pianist
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet to perform works that revolutionized musical
composition—and scandalized audiences—more than a century ago, and
which continue to challenge and inspire today. Rennie Harris
Puremovement
April 15 - 17,
2011 | 8:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Rennie Harris Puremovement, the
world-renowned dance company founded by hip-hop ambassador Rennie
Harris, presents the most intricate work of his choreographic career.
In collaboration with French choreographers Gemini and Michel 'Meech'
Onomo, Harris has created a new work inspired by Stravinsky's
masterpiece Rite of Spring, rethinking how shared cultural vocabularies
in dance and music cross generations and cultural divides. Complete
with 15 dancers, Japanese motifs, and multimedia anime that includes an
innovatively designed lighting installation and live music, Heaven
reflects on the emergence and popularization of hip-hop dance.Showtimes Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM, Sun 2:30 PM.
Philadelphia Chamber Music
Society Jennifer Frautschi, violin Efe Baltacigl, cello Ignat
Solzhenitsyn, piano
April 20,
2011 | 8:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
An
all-Russian program directly linked to The Philadelphia International
Festival of the Arts showcases three outstanding musicians—all with
deep ties to the Philadelphia community. Violinist Jennifer Frautschi
(an adventurous performer with a wide-ranging repertoire who performs
nearly every season in Philadelphia); Efe Baltacigil ('a highly
individualized solo artist' and associate principal cellist of the
Philadelphia Orchestra); and Ignat Solzhenitsyn (one of today's most
gifted musicians and former conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of
Philadelphia) have put together a program of early compositions by
Shostakovich alternating with two of Stravinsky's most enjoyable pieces
and certainly could be considered the more popular of his works for
strings and piano. Listen for the charm of Pergolesi's melodies and the
piquant flavor of Stravinsky's arrangement in his Suite Italienne as
well as passages in the Duo Concertante suggesting the spirit of
pastoral life.Jesus Christ Superstar
by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice
April 21 - 23,
2011 | $19.50 - $43.50
| Keswick Theatre | 215.572.7650
The
remarkable, multiple-Tony Award-winning show changed the face of
musical theater when it originally opened on Broadway in 1971.
This special performance, staged by Midnight Productions, will feature
an elaborate fusion of styles, rock rhythms with ballad narratives,
dramatic characterizations with rollicking choreography, stunning
special effects plus operatic star performances.Showtimes Thu-Fri 8:00 PM, Sat 5:00 PM & 9:00 PM.
1812 Productions presents
Our Show of Shows!
April 21 - May 15,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Plays & Players Theater | 215.735.0630
Playing in tandem with Laughter on the 23rd
Floor, 1812 Productions’ Our Show of Shows takes the exuberant comedy
of Sid Caesar’s writer’s room and brings it center stage. À la Your
Show of Shows, 1812’s Our Show of Shows features vintage and original
material performed in 1812’s signature style. If you loved The Big
Time: Vaudeville for the Holidays, Let’s Pretend We’re Married, Always
a Lady, and This Is The Week That Is, 1812’s Our Show of Shows is the
place to be for unpredictable, one-of-a-kind comedy.Los Munequitos de Matanzas
April 23, 2011 | 7:00 PM & 9:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices | Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts | Website
After
nine long years, the Grammy® nominated rumba ensemble Los Muñequitos de
Matanzas returns to the United States with a brand new program: Tambor
de Fuego, featuring selections from their latest recording, tributes to
legendary members and new works created especially for this eagerly
awaited tour. Hailed as the "reigning regents of rumba" by the San
Francisco Chronicle and "the essence of Cuba's musical soul" by the San
Diego Union Tribune, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas are amongst the highest
regarded percussionists in the world and masters of Afro-Cuban ritual,
rumba music and dance. Founded in 1952, the group currently spans three
generations of an extended family of musicians, singers and dancers.So Percussion
April 23,
2011 | 7:30 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Since coming together at the Yale School of
Music in 1999, So Percussion has been creating music at once raucous
and touching, barbarous and refined. The ensemble's Imaginary City is a
meditation on the sound, architecture, light, and color of urban life.
So Percussion's sound explorations, the work of video artist Jenise
Treuting, and the theater direction of Pulitzer-nominated director and
playwright Rinde Eckert capture the unexpected of everyday sights and
sounds of cities as diverse as Philadelphia and Paris.Peter Nero & The Philly
Pops Springtime in Paris
April 23,
2011 | 8:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Maestro Peter Nero serves up a generous
helping of music from the early twentieth century, from Debussy and
Ravel to Cole Porter's greatest French tunes. With popular music from
France and popular music saluting France (then and now), Nero and a
glamorous French vocalist transport you to the City of Lights.Hope: An Oratorio (World
Premiere)
April 24,
2011 | 3:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Praised by the New York Times for his
'glowing melodic lines over autumnal string harmonies,' JONATHAN
LESHNOFF is quickly earning an international reputation as one of
America's most gifted young composers. His brilliant HOPE: An Oratorio
explores the cycles of faith, from the throes of abandonment to the
revival of hope. Embracing universal spirituality, he includes
multi-lingual texts from the Old Testament, African-American
spirituals, and poems by Walt Whitman and 14th-century Persian poet
Hafiz, setting them for diverse voices, including 'Africa's premiere
diva' (Time Magazine) Angelique Kidjo and innovative Belgian jazz
singer David Linx.Keyboard Conversations
with Jeffrey
Siegel
Paris 1911 - A Festive Musical Year!
April 25, 2011 | 7:30 PM | Call for Ticket Prices | Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Siegel brings his enthusiastic narrative and
passionate performance to a program featuring works written and
performed in Paris a century ago. With his 'unusual gift for commentary
as wells as extraordinary pianism' (Los Angeles Times), he introduces
the most influential minds and music of early 20th Century Paris,
including RAVEL's Valses Nobles and Sentimentale, Preludes of DEBUSSY
and FAURÉ, and STRAVINSKY's Pétrouchka.Philadelphia Chamber Music
Society Orion Quartet
April 27,
2011 | 8:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Over
the past two decades, the Orion Quartet has earned praise for its
imaginative programming, interpretive precision, and unique ensemble
personality. In a program designed specifically for The Philadelphia
International Festival of the Arts, the Orion members present an entire
evening of music written between 1910-1930. Joined by two members of
the legendary (now retired) Guarneri Quartet, John Dalley and Peter
Wiley, together with the Orion Quartet, the ensemble presents the
Sextet for Strings by Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff— a piece that
marked a synthesis of avant-gardism with European mainstream tradition
and also reflected the influence of Slavonic folksong and the dance
music of the day. Also on this program are two of the three works by
Stravinsky for string quartet—Concertino and 3 Pieces. Both works are
less than ten minutes long and take note of each work's unique
sonority: Concertino carries even further the Three Pieces'
preoccupation with unusual and sometimes bizarre instrumental effects.EgoPo Classic Theater
Hell by Henri Barbusse
April 27 - May 15,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| The German Society | 215.552.8773
Based on the novel by Henri Barbusse.Philadelphia Orchestra
Greek Tragedy and Mythology
April 28 - 30,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Two of Stravinsky's most searing mythological
compositions were written back-to-back during the 1920s, when his music
was adopting a new clarity of structure and texture--a style now called
Neoclassicism. Maestro Charles Dutoit and The Philadelphia Orchestra
continue their contribution to the first annual Philadelphia
International Festival of the Arts with two masterworks from early-20th
century Paris. Apollon musagète tells the story of Apollo's
consecration of the muses, while Oedipus Rex attempts to leave
Sophocles's original play behind, as Stravinsky said, to distill its
essence toward "a greater degree of focus on a purely musical
dramatization." Dutoit leads a stellar cast led by one of the
Metropolitan Opera's most stalwart lyric tenors, Paul Groves. He is
joined by German-born mezzo Petra Lang as Oedipus's mother, Jocasta,
Polish bass-baritone Robert Gierlach as his Uncle Creon, British
bass-baritone David Wilson-Johnson as the seer who understands the
king's dark truth, and the men of the Philadelphia Singers Chorale.Showtimes Thu 8 :00 PM, Fri 2:00 PM, Sat 8:00 PM.
Theatre Exile Saturn
Returns by Noah Haidle
April 28 - May 22,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices | Christ Church
Neighborhood House | theatreexile.org
A man in the twilight of his life sits alone
in his house. Around him orbit the shadows of his wife, his daughter,
his caretaker and his former selves, playing out the pinnacle moments
of his life with the same heartbreaking and savagely funny simplicty
that made Mr. Marmalade an audience favorite.The Opera Company of
Philadelphia
Tosca by Giacomo Puccini
April 29 - May 8,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Academy of Music | 215.790.5800
From Madama Butterfly and Turandot to La bohème's Mimi,
composer giant Giacomo Puccini is famous for the grace and strength of
his glorious heroines. Enter Floria Tosca, a diva with flashing eyes
and a jealous heart who loves only one man -- Mario Cavaradossi. When
he is taken as a political prisoner, his captor, Baron Scarpia, has met
his match in Cavaradossi's faithful Tosca. Featuring the breathtaking
Te Deum chorus and the renowned tenor anthem E lucevan le stelle, plus
one of the most famed soprano arias in all of operatic repertoire,
Vissi d'arte, Puccini's beloved work has not been seen at the Opera
Company of Philadelphia for over ten years.Three dazzling stars make their OCP debuts in this production. Beautiful Romanian soprano Adina Nitescu sings the title role after making a name as a Puccini leading lady at Paris National Opera, and sizzling Brazilian-Italian tenor Thiago Arancam is her Cavaradossi. As Scarpia, formidable Russian baritone Boris Statsenko promises a villainous star turn in the acclaimed, grand and classic Opera Company of Philadelphia production.
Showtimes Fri 8:00 PM, Sun 2:30 PM, Wed 7:30 PM, Fri 8:00 PM, Sun 2:30 PM.
A Moon for the Misbegotten
by Eugene O'Neill
April 29 - May 15,
2011 | $15.00
| South Camden Theatre Company | 866.811.4111
A Moon for the MIsbegotten is a beautiful
play about two lost souls and a chance encounter under the full moon.Eugene O’Neill’s last play is a warm, wise and infectious blend of comedy, tragedy, autobiography and imagination. Two people, whose only chance at love and forgiveness lies in the other, spend the night in an often comic struggle to find hope, happiness and ultimately the redemption of love.
Winner of four Pulitzer Prizes, O’Neill is the greatest American playwright. "Moon for the Misbegotten" is hailed as his most honest, immediate, comic and lyric play. It is a modern classic.
As the past comes to life once again on our stage, we celebrate our new season themed, "The Past in the Present is Our Future."
The play runs for 4 weeks. Performances will be held on Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday afternoons at 2:00 pm. Seating is limited in the new theatre space. Purchase your tickets or Season Pass today.
Into the Woods by
James Lapine
April 29 - May 21,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Footlighters Theater | 610.296.9245
An ambivalent Cinderella? A blood-thirsty
Little Red Riding Hood? A Prince Charming with a roving eye? A
Witch...who raps? They're all among the cockeyed characters in this
fractured fairy tale. When a Baker and his Wife learn they've been
cursed they embark on a quest for the special objects required to break
the spell, swindling, lying to and stealing from Cinderella, Little
Red, Rapunzel and Jack. Everyone's wish is granted at the end of Act
One, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later,
with disastrous results. What begins a lively irreverent fantasy
becomes a lesson about community responsibility and the stories we tell
our children.Bell'Aria
In Concert
May 1,
2011 | 3:00 PM | $25.50 - $39.50
| Keswick Theatre | 215.572.7650
Bell'Aria:
Straight from their PBS Special and Las Vegas Dates! Bell'Aria is the
sound track of the Italian-American Experience – LIVE!This very special quintet reinvigorates classic Italian-American songs creating a sonic journey for listeners at a special spring matinee.
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
May 1,
2011 | 3:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Led by incomparable trumpeter-composer
Marsalis, the inimitable Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra closes PIFA
with a French-influenced program. Whether performing historic
compositions or commissioned works, the 'finest big band in the world
today' (Daily Telegraph, United Kingdom) delivers a dynamic,
attention-grabbing show every time. The 15 jazz soloists and ensemble
players, under Marsalis' esteemed direction, are serious musicians
whose playing is as fun as it is stylistically remarkable.The Bridge Club by
Richard Raskind
May 3 - 29,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Society Hill Playhouse | 215.923.0210
Set on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge,
where Jack Brennan parks his car and considers the waters
below only to find a mouthy, opinionated woman already on the
edge. These two discover what, if anything, is worth living for. A true
to life tale that offers mystery and humanity.My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra
May 3 - June 26, 2011 | $30.00 | Walnut Street Theatre | walnutstreettheatre.org
Frank Sinatra made women scream when he
walked up to the microphone. With a twist of a phrase, men wept. His
ability to interpret a song defined an American generation. My Way is
the must-see musical that celebrates the mystique of Frank Sinatra and
the music he made famous. Two dynamic couples take the audience from
the 1940s swing era to the bright lights of Las Vegas with the Rat Pack
and beyond. Relive the magic of Ol' Blue Eyes with songs that include
"Strangers in the Night," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "Fly Me to the
Moon" and "New York, New York."Vicki Lawrence & Mama:
A Two-Woman Show
May 5,
2011 | 8:00 PM | $47.50 - $57.50 |
Keswick Theatre | 215.572.7650
The Emmy Award-winning comedienne and
legendary cast member of The Carol Burnett Show – a hilarious
combination of stand-up comedy, music, and observations about real life.Aszure Barton & Artists
May 5 - 7, 2011 | Call for Ticket Prices | Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts | Website
Mesmerizing, dense, invigorating and
compelling are just some of the adjectives that describe this
fascinating company. Awarded the City of Edmonton’s prestigious
Ambassador for Contemporary Choreography Award, Aszure Barton is in
huge demand having created works for Hubbard Street, American Ballet
Theatre, Mikhail Baryshnikov, the National Ballet of Canada, Sydney
Dance Company and Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal as well as the Broadway
production of Three Penny Opera. Barton makes her Philadelphia debut
with the premiere of Busk, a full-length work inspired by street
performers (buskers) featuring street hoofers, hooded monks, compelling
video projections and an evocative score by composer and violinist Lev
Ljova Zhurbin. Using the idiosyncratic movement of her virtuoso
dancers, Barton creates a psychological portrait riveting with humor,
sadness, zaniness and unpredictability. Join us and discover this new
bright light for yourself!Showtimes Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8:00 PM, Sat 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM.
Philadelphia Orchestra
Masur Conducts Tchaikovsky
May 6 & 7,
2011 | 8:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center
for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
The terrified 19-year-old Shostakovich could
not eat, drink, or sleep the night before his First Symphony received
its premiere in 1926. It was a wild success, with the Leningrad
audience demanding a reprise of the Scherzo. "When our handsome young
composer appeared," wrote his mother, "looking almost like a little
boy, the enthusiasm turned into one long thunderous ovation." (Just two
years later, Leopold Stokowski and The Philadelphia Orchestra presented
the work's acclaimed United States premiere.) Maestro Kurt Masur, the
much-decorated former music director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus
Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the London Philharmonic,
juxtaposes Shostakovich's exuberant first symphonic effort with
Tchaikovsky's last--the somber, hyperbolically tragic Sixth Symphony
completed just weeks before the composer's untimely and
still-mysterious death.Philadanco
May 6 - 8,
2011 | $30.00 - $40.00
| Kimmel Center
for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Fresh from celebrating 40 years of
exceptional, influential dance, PHILADANCO's high-spirited energy sets
in motion the award winning choreography of Ray Mercer's Guess Who's
Coming to Dinner. In this dare-devilish piece based on the
controversial 1960s film of the same name, PHILADANCO earns their
international reputation for technical superiority, enthralling
movement, and extraordinary performance. Showtimes Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM, Sun 2:30 PM.
Jerry Blavat's Rock
& Roll Extravaganza
May 8,
2011 | 7:30 PM | $35.00 - $69.00
| Kimmel Center
for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Radio icon and larger than life personality,
Philadelphia's beloved rock and roll expert is a perennial favorite
with Kimmel Center audiences. Spend an evening with the best rock of
the 50s, 60s, and 70s during a show guaranteed to have you dancing!The Baby Blue Sound
Collective
May 9,
2011 | 7:30 PM | $20.00
| World Cafe Live | 215.222.1400
The Baby Blue Sound Collective is an eclectic
musical ensemble of pediatric cardiologists, surgeons, nurses,
therapists and other medical professionals from Children's Hospitals
across the country and around the world. The song lists and genres are
as diverse as the members, including classical, jazz, pop, musical
theater, blues and rock.Recently the BBSC was approached by The Congenital Heart Information Network (TCHIN), and asked to consider recording a CD. TCHIN (www.tchin.org) is an international organization that provides information and support services to families of children with congenital heart defects and acquired heart disease. Proceeds from the sale of the CD will provide crucial financial assistance for patients with CHD, and their families.
The “Collective” is organized by:
- Gil Wernovsky, MD; piano and group arranger, a Pediatric Cardiologist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
- Tom Karl, MD; alto sax, guitar, keyboards, a Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon at the Mater Children's Hospital, Australia.
Members of the BBSC
• Lisa D’Allesandro MD; vocals, a fellow in pediatric cardiology at CHOP.
• Joseph Dearani MD; tenor saxophone, a Pediatric Heart Surgeon at Mayo Clinic.
• Richard Donner MD; tenor and baritone saxophones, a Pediatric Cardiologist at CHOP
• Chloé Gallagher RN; cello and vocals, a Registered Nurse and music instructor in Philadelphia
• Colleen Lavin Gordon, RN; vocals, a Registered Nurse in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at CHOP
• Lisa Hornberger MD; vocals, a Pediatric and Fetal Cardiologist at Stollery Children's Hospital
• Craig Kahn; drums. Craig is a computer software programmer in California
• Amy Jo Lisanti MSN, RN, CCNS; vocals, a Registered Nurse in Pediatric Cardiology at CHOP
• Leo Lopez, MD; vocals, a Pediatric Cardiologist and the Director of Non-Invasive Imaging at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore
• Vanessa Madrigal MD; vocals, a specialist in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at CHOP.
• Allison Messina MD; vocals, a specialist in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at All Children's Hospital
• Cindy Myers, MD; guitar and percussion, a fellow in Pediatric Cardiology at CHOP
• Bryan Wattier RRT; piano, a Respiratory Therapist at the Mayo School of Health Sciences
Art by Yasmina Reza
May 10 - June 5, 2011 | $22.00 - $33.00 | Act II Playhouse | act2playhouse.org
How would you feel if your best friend did something so
colossally unfathomable that it made you doubt the very basis of the
friendship? When an art lover buys a painting for a very expensive sum,
his best friend goes ballistic. A third is pulled into their wrangling,
and battle lines are drawn. By turns funny and explosive, Yasmina Reza
(author of the Broadway hit God of Carnage) crafts a sly, reveling
portrait of what men expect from their friends - and themselves.Newsweek calls this Tony Award-winning international smash hit "a nonstop cross-fire of crackling language, serious issues of life and art expressed in outbursts that sound like Don Rickles with a degree from the Sorbonne.
Dividing the Estate by Horton Foote
May 11 - June 5, 2011 | Call for Ticket Prices | People's Light & Theatre Company | peopleslight.org
The Broadway hit makes its Philadelphia
premiere at People's Light! In a small Texas town c. 1987 at the height
of the oil recession, the Gordons are land rich, cash poor and grandly
deluded. A crisis in the family forces these self-absorbed, endearingly
dysfunctional brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and servants to agree on
a course of action to steady that looks like a very uncertain future.Join the actors after every Thursday evening performance to discuss the making of the production.
Philadelphia Orchestra
Holst the Planets
May 12 - 17,
2011 | 8:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center
for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
One of the most significant violin talents of
our time, American-born Gil Shaham has been praised by Strings magazine
for his virtuosity and his "innate musicality and beautiful, expressive
tone, which can glow like bronze and shimmer like gold." Winner of an
Avery Fisher Career Grant, multiple Grammy awards, and the 2008 Avery
Fisher Prize, Shaham presents Walton's Violin Concerto, commissioned by
Jascha Heifetz and structured similarly to the composer's better-known
Viola Concerto. The piece was part of an outpouring of great violin
concertos during the 1930s--a repertoire that Shaham has highlighted
recently through performances of works by Barber, Berg, Stravinsky,
Bartók, and Prokofiev. Maestro Dutoit casts the Walton against Holst's
beloved The Planets, composed a generation before and inspired by the
characteristics of the Roman gods for whom each planet is named.Philadelphia Orchestra
Other Worlds?
May 13,
2011 | 7:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center
for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Delve deep into the meaning and historical
context of these musical works through stunning visual and musical
presentations. Each Beyond the Score concert is hosted by Creative
Director Gerard McBurney and conducted by Charles Dutoit.Philadelphia Orchestra
Chamber Music Concert
May 15,
2011 | 3:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center
for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Join members of the Orchestra and special
guest artists in the intimate setting of Perelman Theater, where the
virtuosity of each musician shines. Through a wide range of ensembles
and musical styles, encounter the Orchestra's musicians as individuals,
with their unique talents and musical personalities.Peter Nero & The Philly
Pops Big Numbers
May 15 - 21,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
You asked for it! Peter Nero at the piano and
the unmatched virtuosos of the Philly Pops play your most requested
songs in this spectacular program!Showtimes Sun 3:00 PM, Wed 7:00 PM, Fri 8:00 PM, Sat 3:00 PM.
Miss Saigon by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil
May 17 - July 17, 2011 | $10.00 - $95.00 | Walnut Street Theatre | walnutstreettheatre.org
A classic love story is brought up-to-date in
one of the most stunning theatrical spectacles of all time. In Miss
Saigon, the creators of Les Misérables bring Puccini's Madame Butterfly
to the modern world in a moving testament to the human spirit. In the
turmoil of the Vietnam War, an American soldier and a Vietnamese girl
fall in love, only to be separated during the fall of Saigon. Their
struggles to find each other over the ensuing years end in tragedy for
her and a fighting chance for the child he never knew he had. An
international sensation, Miss Saigon is an epic musical masterpiece
with a thrilling score. Miss Saigon promises to be a truly spectacular
finale to the Walnut's 202nd season!My Wonderful Day by
Richard Hamburger
May 18 - June 19,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center
for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Critically acclaimed in both London and New
York, My Wonderful Day is the most recent work by Tony® winner Alan
Ayckbourn (The Norman Conquests, Absurd Person Singular), who has
surprised and entertained audiences with over 70 plays in the past 50
years. In this play, Laverne, an Afro-Caribbean cleaning woman,
brings Winnie, her 9-year-old daughter, to the house of her wealthy
clients in London. Winnie’s determined to complete her school
assignment of chronicling her “wonderful day,” but quite unexpectedly
finds herself witness to a tangled love affair. What ensues is a
wickedly funny and bold dissection of a turbulent marriage that serves
as Winnie’s topsy-turvy initiation into Life. The Cripple of Inishmaan Druid Theatre of Galway
May 19 - 22, 2011 | Call for Ticket Prices | Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts | Website
It’s 1934 and news on the island of Inishmaan
is “thin on the ground.” Then word arrives that they’re making a
Hollywood film on neighboring Inishmore and Cripple Billy for once is
paying attention. So begins this comic masterpiece by master
storyteller Martin McDonagh about a Hollywood fever epidemic and
eccentric island characters in rural Ireland that will seduce theatre
lovers of all types with humor, wit and hearthside warmth. Don’t miss
your chance to see the Druid Theatre of Galway in their Philadelphia
debut, fresh from an internationally acclaimed, award-winning run on
Broadway!Showtimes Thu 7:30 PM, Fri-Sat 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM, Sun 2:00 PM.
Philadelphia Orchestra
Beethoven Symphony No. 9
May 19 - 22,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center
for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
Composed a century apart, Stravinsky's
Symphony of Psalms and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony both share a sense of
pushing the symphonic genre into new areas, in both cases partly
through the inclusion of chorus. But while Beethoven's final work in
the genre bears an outwardly "symphonic" structure--four movements and
a big finale--Stravinsky's from 1930 feels more oratorio-like. "It is
not a symphony in which I have included Psalms to be sung," Stravinsky
said. "On the contrary, it is the singing of the Psalms that I am
symphonizing." In any event Stravinsky's finale, "Alleluia-Laudate
Dominum" delves the same celebratory spirit that made Beethoven's "Ode
to Joy" an unprecedented expression of ecstasy in 1824. Maestro Dutoit
is joined in this ingenious pairing by renowned soloists and the
Philadelphia Singers Chorale.Showtimes Thu & Sat 8:00 PM, Sun 2:00 PM.
Vigil by Morris Panych
May 19 - June 12, 2011 | $10.00 - $36.00 | Lantern Theater Company | lanterntheater.org
Witty, cheeky, and gratifyingly macabre, this
black comedy from Canadian playwright Morris Panych ends the Lantern's
2010/11 season with a bang. Middle-aged curmudgeon Kemp receives a
letter from his rich aunt, who writes him she is "old and dying"... or
does it say "yodeling?" It's hard to tell – her handwriting isn't very
good. But Kemp quits his job and crosses the country to ready her for
death, beginning an outrageous series of missteps and misunderstandings
that gives way to a surprising, poignant finish. Join us for this
clever, glittering hit of the Edinburgh Fringe and London's West End.Philadelphia Theatre
Company
Ruined by Lynn Nottage
May 20 - June 12,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Suzanne Roberts Theatre | 215.985.0420
This Pulitzer Prize-winning play is a probing
and courageous work about human strength in the face of unimaginable
horror. Ruined is a story of silent sufferers in the Republic of Congo
who, through sheer will and fortitude, transcend the abominations and
embrace life to discover that love is still the binding force amidst
the violence, and distrust.Philadelphia Orchestra
Berlioz Damnation of Faust
May 27 & 28,
2011 | 8:00 PM | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center
for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
At once operatic, oratorio-like, even
cinematic, The Damnation of Faust is perhaps Berlioz's masterpiece, a
légende dramatique (in his words) that he spent the better part of his
life creating. Maestro Charles Dutoit, a peerless exponent of the works
of Berlioz, has led performances of the composer's Goethe-inspired
Faust worldwide that are the stuff of legend. He concludes his third
season as chief conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra with concert
performances of the piece, part of his continuing cycle of Berlioz's
major work with the ensemble. He is joined by a star cast, including
Susan Graham as Marguerite--whose mezzo the New Yorker described as "a
voice without regrets, healthy, rounded, ineffably musical." Versatile
American tenor and Richard Tucker Award-winner Paul Groves sings the
title role of the aging scholar on a quest for meaning. David
Wilson-Johnson is Mephistopheles, the dark, devilish figure who is more
than happy to guide the hapless hero into the fires of hell.Pennsylvania Ballet
La Fille mal gardee by Sir Frederick Ashton
June 2 - 11,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Academy of Music | 215.790.5800
La Fille mal gardée (loosely translated as
'The Wayward Daughter') is Sir Frederick Ashton's touching tale of two
determined lovers and their quest to marry. Lise, the young daughter of
a wealthy farmer, wishes to marry Colas, a handsome, young farm worker,
but her mother, Mother Simone (who, in the tradition of English
theater, is played by a man) disapproves. Set along a backdrop of
simple country life, this uplifting ballet is brimming with charming
characters (including dancing hens!), hilarious antics, and memorable
dances -- a delightful romantic comedy.Lost in Yonkers by
Neil Simon
June 2 - 19,
2011 | $20.00 - $25.00
| Plays & Players Theater | 215.735.0630
In a remarkable coming of age story that won
4 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize, two brothers are left to fend for
themselves when their father sends them to live in Yonkers with their
formidable immigrant grandmother, a sweet but simple-minded aunt and a
hoodlum of an uncle. Playwright Neil Simon uses his sharp comedic
talents in a humorous drama about the effects we have on the people we
love.June 2-4, 9-11, and 16-18 at 8:00 PM. June 5, 12, and 19 at 4:00 PM.
The Opera Company of
Philadelphia
Phaedra by Hans Werner Henze
June 3 - 8,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | 215.790.5800
This arresting opera is based on the classic
Greek myth of Phaedra, wife of Theseus, the Athenian King who
vanquished the dreaded Minotaur. Phaedra's forbidden and unrequited
love for her stepson, Hippolyt, embroils her in a tragic battle between
feuding goddesses Aphrodite and Artemis for his affections, and
ultimately results in Hippolyt's demise at his father's hand and
Phaedra's death at her own. The New York Times praised its 2007 World
Premiere for '... a consistent rhythmic vitality and often an
otherworldly beauty that is hard to resist.'A new production for the American Premiere is conceived by Artistic Director Robert B. Driver with designer Philippe Amand, creators of the June 2010 new production of Orphée et Eurydice for the Opera at the Perelman Series. Jack Mulroney Music Director Corrado Rovaris conducts.
Showtimes Fri 8:00 PM, Sun 2:30 PM, Wed 7:30 PM.
The Price by Arthur
Miller
June 10 - 27,
2011 | $16.00
| Stagecrafters Theater | 215.247.8881
Two estranged brothers get together for the
first time in years, in the attic of their old family home, to dispose
of their late parents’ property. Discussing price with an elderly used
furniture dealer, the brothers confront each other and their respective
pasts, angers and regrets. A beautifully written piece on coming to
terms with choices made in life, and the price one pays for making them
... an attic symbolizing memories, and things that one day must be let
go.Hatchetman by David Wiltse
June 15 - July 10, 2011 | Call for Ticket Prices | People's Light & Theatre Company | peopleslight.org
A six-character, four door-slamming comedy
set in the offices of Putts, a golf magazine headed for corporate
takeover. The exceedingly incompetent editorial staff, fearful of
change and, most of all, of the dreaded "hatchetman," descends into
near hysteria, and office politics shift into high gear. Hilarity
ensues!Join the actors after every Thursday evening performance to discuss the making of the production.
Next to Normal by
Brian Yorkey
June 21 - 26,
2011 | Call for Ticket Prices
| Academy of Music | 215.893.1935
From
the director of Rent comes Next to Normal, an emotional powerhouse of a
musical with a thrilling contemporary score about a family trying to
take care of themselves and each other. Winner of three 2009 Tony
Awards® including Best Score, Next to Normal is the most talked about
new show on Broadway having recently been chosen as "one of the year's
ten best" by major critics around the country. The New York Times calls
Next to Normal "a brave, breathtaking musical. A work of muscular grace
and power. It is much more than a feel-good musical; it is a
feel-everything musical." Rolling Stone raves, "It is the best musical
of the season—by a mile. It'll pin you to your seat."Mormon Tabernacle
Choir
June 23,
2011 | 8:00 PM | $11.50 - $75.00
| The Mann Center for the Performing Arts |
215.893.1999
The
360 members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir represent men and women from
many different backgrounds and professions and range in age from 25 to
60. They reflect a medley of unique lives and experiences and are
brought together by their love for singing and their faith. Their
incomparable voices are the common chord that unites to form the choral
group known all over the world as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.The Choir has appeared at 13 world's fairs and expositions, performed at the inaugurations of five U.S. presidents, and sung for numerous worldwide telecasts and special events.
Five of the Choir's recordings have achieved "gold record" and two have achieved "platinum record" status. The most popular was the Grammy-Award-winning 1959 release of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
