Recent Highlights: Sep – Dec 2024
Our thanks to The Philadelphia Inquirer for anticipating the season ahead with an array of great selections. Shaun Brady’s jazz season preview highlighted both Joshua Redman and Abdullah Ibrahim, noting the latter’s music “is as spare, precise, fragile, beautiful, and profound as a Zen koan; every note meaningful, every melody indelible.” Brady also later interviewed Ibrahim for an advance feature in the Inquirer.
Nate Chinen featured several upcoming performances in the WRTI Fall Preview, including jazz artists Joshua Redman, Gabrielle Cavassa and Abdullah Ibrahim Trio, as well as The Gesualdo Six in his classical picks. WRTI also shared spotlights on Abdullah Ibrahim and Bria Skonberg. Chinen also reviewed Ibrahim on his Substack, The Gig, saying “He has always been the most reflective of rhapsodists.”
The Gesualdo Six was a classical preview selection in The Philadelphia Inquirer, with Peter Dobrin noting that the British a cappella ensemble is “praised for its preternatural precision and timbral range.” Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings were a top choice of Dan DeLuca, who said the pair are “three decades on…still making beautiful music together.” In November, DeLuca picked Ben Folds for his This Week in Philly Music recommendations.
Longtime favorite Sweet Honey in the Rock was well received by press and the audience. Carol Maillard, a Philadelphia native and one of the group’s founders, graciously spoke with The Philadelphia Tribune and was also heard on WURD Radio and 100.3 WRNB Philly.
Musician Seo Jungmin also received notice from WRTI and FLIP Fabrique’s SLAM! was highlighted in Visit Philadelphia’s event roundup, Things to Do in Philadelphia.
On the dance stage, Ellen Dunkel spotlighted our fall season in her dance season preview and later wrote about Le Patin Libre. Fjord reviewed Complexions Contemporary Ballet, as did thINKingDANCE. Dance Magazine previewed Kayla Farrish’s recently premiered The Quake that Held Them All, leading up to the Limón Dance Company performances in November, which were reviewed by Broad Street Review and thINKingDANCE.
We welcomed arts writers from the Daily Pennsylvanian’s 34th Street Magazine to several shows this fall, leading to reviews of Pilobolus, “With steampunk costumes and oceanic sound design, the troupe evoked a whimsical mix of seafaring town and vaudeville charm,” of Joshua Redman, who “[wove] a sonic tapestry that transported the audience across time and space,” and The Gesualdo Six, which they described as “polyphonic perfection.”
Penn Students Onstage
Student talent was on display on our stages this fall, with a wide range of shows:
- Stimulus Children’s Theatre production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Penn Singers Light Opera Company’s production of Pippin
- LOAF, a VOGUE-inspired a cappella performance by Penny Loafers
- Penn Theatre Arts Program’s Antigone
- West Philly Swingers’ Gotta Swing ‘Em All
- Sparks Dance Company’s Sparks Grand Prix
- Penn Players’ The Rocky Horror Show
- Bloomers Comedy’s 12 Angry Bloomers
- Penn Atma’s A Garden of Time
- Soundworks Tap Factory’s Tappily Ever After
- A 2024 Showcase by the Miss May Dance Crew
Beyond the Stage
We were busy off the stage as well. In anticipation of the release of the movie, Wicked, we hosted discussions in LA and New York with the movie’s producer, Marc Platt, a member of our Director’s Advisory Council. Participants had the opportunity to share some time with Platt and get a special glimpse behind the curtain at the process of adapting a beloved stage work for the big screen.
We Are Nature: Selected Earthlings from the University of Pennsylvania Art Collection curated by Daniel Tucker, is on view now in the Feintuch Family Lobby through February 28, 2025. Presented by the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania Art Collection and Penn Live Arts, the exhibition draws connections between varied representations of nature and depicts living beings alongside sites as diverse as urban streets, recreational sites, extractive industries, farms, universities and parks. We Are Nature takes place in conjunction with our 24/25 season, Beyond Boundaries, and contributes to the rich conversation offered by the season’s programs with an exhibit that considers the inclusion of artworks by international and local artists, all donated to the university art collection.
With INSIGHTS events and expanded educational opportunities, we offered a variety of ways to enhance your experience beyond the theatre. Whether chatting with the dancers of Pilobolus, exploring the artistic journey of Mythili Prakash or learning about the 25-string Gayageum with Seo Jungmin, patrons dove deeper into the themes and influences of our artists’ work. Leading up to our first Student Discovery program of the year with Limón Dance Company, our teaching artists visited three classrooms at West Philadelphia High School, Philadelphia Performing Arts: A String Theory Charter School and Philadelphia Charter School for the Arts and Sciences to lead activities designed to deepen students’ understanding of the troupe’s technique and enrich their upcoming in-theatre experiences.
The 67th Grammy® Awards were announced in November and we were thrilled to see so many of this season’s artists nominated, including upcoming performers Shemekia Copeland, Angélique Kidjo and Lakecia Benjamin, in addition to Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, who recently performed to a sold-out audience. We also extend congratulations to the many nominated artists from seasons’ past: The Crossing, JACK Quartet, Aoife O’Donovan, Miguel Zenón, Chucho Valdés, Samara Joy, Sullivan Fortner, Béla Fleck, Meshell Ndegeocello, Caroline Shaw and So Percussion.
What’s Next in 2025
As we wind down the year, we’re already looking ahead to the second half of the season, packed with something for everyone, including Koros, a virtual reality dance experience by Agora de la danse, the Philadelphia debut of Mali Obomsawin, the return of Benjamin Bagby with Gregorius—The Holy Sinner, Rennie Harris Puremovement’s world premiere of American Street Dancer, and the 40th anniversary of our Philadelphia Children’s Festival. We look forward to seeing you in 2025!
