Performing Arts
Arts groups are prepared for Philly budget cuts, but will fight elimination
As a new COVID-19 emergency budget threatens to eliminate the city’s Cultural Fund, organizations urge the mayor to spread out the fiscal pain.
6 years ago
Wilma Theater asks subscribers to buy into an unknown future
As theaters shut for the rest of the season, the next 2020-2021 season remains uncertain. The Wilma Theater asks subscribers to buy into it.
6 years ago
Listen 1:39The Elmo drumline, surprisingly busier than ever, was gifted an entire set of new pro drums
Windish Music and Productions was inspired by the troupe’s optimism.
6 years ago
Walter Dallas, 73, an icon of Black theater and mentor to legion
The former director of New Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia was considered a “genius” of American theater.
6 years ago
Listen 2:07Why ticket holders are struggling to get refunds for concerts and live events
New rules Ticketmaster announced stipulate that a show has to be either officially canceled or have new dates announced in order for the purchaser to be eligible for refunds.
6 years ago
Healing words: poets and the pandemic
We talk with poets Richard Blanco and Nikky Finney about writing and reading poetry during the pandemic.
6 years ago
Listen 35:30They can’t take the stage, so theater artists create work for online world
The coronavirus shutdown showed artists what they cannot do. Now some are exploring what they can.
6 years ago
Coronavirus: The arts in Philly will need plenty of relief funding to survive
Rob Buscher, a recently laid-off arts administrator, reflects on the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on the arts in Philadelphia.
6 years ago
Virtual field trips: A guide to Philly area online offerings for kids
Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, several organizations are putting out a schedule of live, streaming content. Many update offerings daily.
6 years ago
With doors shuttered, performers, museums and zoos are forced to go digital
Performers, museums and zoos turn to the internet during the coronavirus shutdown to entertain — and to raise money.
6 years ago
Purim, ‘the underdog of Jewish holidays,’ gets a musical treatment
“A Very Awesome Purim” tells the story of the holiday entirely through parodies of Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and more.
6 years ago
Listen 2:06To reach hard-to-count communities, a play about the census during tax-prep season
“Count Me In, a forum theatre collaboration between Ceiba and Just Act, depicts a struggle to explain the census’ importance to hard-to-count communities.
6 years ago
Three friends chronicle the gentrification of their changing hometown and call for a new Harlem Renaissance in the Wilma Theater’s newest production.
6 years ago
Listen 1:27Opera Philadelphia opens next season with a real-life art heist
The 2020-2021 season will open with a new chamber opera about a major 2012 art heist at the Kunsthal Museum in Rotterdam.
6 years ago
Listen 2:00With ‘Babel,’ a Philly playwright to get six world premieres
The drama, about a society that tolerates only perfect pregnancies tested in utero, is being mounted, and refined, at National New Play Network theaters.
6 years ago













