Penn Live Arts Blog / May 2026

Toll the Bell: 2026

In the Philadelphia area, we hear near-constant news about gun violence. Our fellow citizens are injured or dying with all-too-frequent regularity in shootings near public schools, in workplaces and at gatherings meant for celebration. Though our home ranks among the top twenty cities nationally with the highest gun homicide rates, gun violence isn't exclusive to Philadelphia; within the United States, tens of thousands of people die of gun-related injuries every year.

Though these are troubling realities, there are real signs of hope. Read more...

Amplifying the Arts in America 250 Celebrations

Dance Penn Live Arts Commission World Premieres

Kathy Sachs, founder and chair of ArtPhilly, wanted to amplify the arts in the city’s semiquincentennial celebration this summer . As plans took shape for the organization’s inaugural What Now: 2026 Festival, Sachs turned to us at Penn Live Arts, where she sits on the Board of Advisors. Read more...

The Tricia & Jason Pantzer Family Box Office

We are thrilled to share that a $1 million gift will name the Tricia & Jason Pantzer Family Box Office at the Annenberg Center. The Pantzer family’s gift stands among the early leadership support of our capital campaign and reflects their strong belief in efforts to renovate and expand the facilities that support performance and cultural life on campus. Read more...

America Unfinished: Tommie-Waheed Evans

Dance Penn Live Arts Commission World Premieres

Tommie-Waheed Evans is a featured artist in our 25/26 season, America Unfinished, marking our country’s 250th anniversary. The choreographer’s latest work, in case of fire, speak—which we co-commissioned with ArtPhilly—responds to Martha Graham’s American Document (1938) and its essential question: “What is an American?”. Performed by the Martha Graham Dance Company with dancers from PHILADANCO!, the work premieres on our stage on May 29-30.

Ahead of the performance, we invited Evans to reflect and share his thoughts on the piece and this pivotal moment in our country’s legacy: Read more...

26/27 Season: Belonging

Belonging

What does it mean to belong? What do we carry with us, and what do we leave behind?

In our 26/27 season, Belonging, we explore how people navigate change and find acceptance in new worlds while longing for the community and traditions of home. Across great distances and generations, migration has formed our country as a living mosaic of cultures continually being remade, reimagined and passed on. We celebrate this vibrant and evolving tapestry through the lens of music, dance and theatre, revealing belonging not as a fixed place, but as something we must continually create together. Read more...