Recent Highlights: Jan–Jun 2025
Audiences were well-primed for our spring offerings after The Philadelphia Inquirer selected Shemekia Copeland in Spring pop and classical music picks; Lakecia Benjamin as one of the 10 best jazz concerts in Philadelphia this spring; and Rennie Harris Puremovement, Malandain Ballet Biarritz and Parsons Dance in The eight dance performances this spring you shouldn’t miss. WRTI also picked several of our shows this spring, including Benjamin Bagby and Kronos Quartet in their Fanfare Spring Preview and Lakecia Benjamin in its Jazz Spring Preview.
In January, we were honored to present the Philadelphia debut and world premiere of Minty Fresh Circus, a Penn Live Arts commission. Our thanks to The Philadelphia Tribune for a terrific feature about the company and to radio stations WURD and WRNB for interviews with the company’s artistic director Monique Martin.
The Philadelphia Tribune also advanced the Negro Ensemble Company’s revival of Day of Absence, as the company concluded its three-year residency with Penn Live Arts.
March saw an abundance of press for the world premiere of Rennie Harris Puremovement’s American Street Dancer. The performance garnered national notice from Dance Magazine in its 10 Shows to Catch in March and April and a review in the prestigious Fjord Review. Ellen Dunkel of The Philadelphia Inquirer previewed the new work and then Nancy Heller reviewed the performance for the paper. Harris was interviewed on NBC10 Philly Live, on WDAS iHeart Radio by radio legend Patty Jackson and on WURD and WRNB. Coverage also included an on-air and web feature by Peter Crimmins on WHYY, an advance feature in The Philadelphia Tribune and a review by Broad Street Review.
Broad Street Review also covered two additional spring shows: Koros, a virtual reality experience from Agora de la danse in January and Duel Reality from cirque troupe The 7 Fingers in April. In addition, Malandain Ballet Biarritz and Parsons Dance were featured in Broad Street Reviews’s The Month in Philly Dance: May 2025. Phindie also highlighted our dance series, publishing performer profiles of artists from RUBBERBAND and Malandain Ballet Biarritz.
Early and new classical music got great notice with a Kronos Quartet feature on WRTI’s Scherch for Music and a WRTI Spotlight for Ricercar Consort, and Jordi Savall was among Broad Street Review’s classical picks for April.
Our presentation of the U.S. premiere of the Italian theatrical work Dentro was recommended by both Philadelphia Magazine and The Philadelphia Tribune.
We welcomed a rich assortment of other musicians to our stages as well with a Philadelphia debut by Mali Obomsawin, profiled with 5 Questions on our blog, and Rafiq Bhatia and Chris Pattishall, included in WRTI’s Moment’s Notice by Nate Chinen. Crowd favorite Angelique Kidjo was a recommendation by Dan DeLuca of The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Old Crow Medicine Show, also a selection, rocked the Zellerbach Theatre in its Penn Live Arts debut.
Our season wrapped up in a huge way with Toll the Bell, our sonic observance of National Gun Violence Awareness Day with a city-wide sound installation and commissioned works by Philadelphia-based artists. We’re grateful to the many outlets that helped spread the word and expand the event’s reach into new neighborhoods. The Delaware County Daily Times and the Jewish Exponent gave early notice of the event, and it was also advanced by the City of Philadelphia and Nate Chinen at WRTI, who featured Ruth Naomi Floyd’s commissioned work in Moment’s Notice. Our thanks to WURD’s Solomon Jones for interviewing our Executive & Artistic Director, Christopher Gruits, the week before the event. On the day itself, we were pleased to receive coverage from Penn Today, Billy Penn, NBC10 and 6ABC, along with a host of social media posts from our community partners.
A round of applause to our 24/25 season artists and everyone who attended shows or supported us this year! We wish you a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing you in the fall for our 25/26 season, America Unfinished, observing the nation’s 250th anniversary.
