Philly Theatre Week Returns with 10 Day Festival with 300 Performances

Theatre Philadelphia proudly announces the return of Philly Theatre Week with 75+ organizations, and 300 events and performances between February 6 to 16, 2020. This 3rd annual 10-day celebration will showcase the vibrant and diverse theatre scene in the tri-state region, and help make theatre even more accessible to the community. Events will include full performances, workshops, panels and more in Philadelphia and suburbs, plus in New Jersey and Delaware. All tickets for participating shows are free, $15 or $30. Philly Theatre Week tickets are officially on sale now at www.phillytheatreweek.org and through the TodayTix app.

“Theatre Philadelphia is proud to announce hundreds of events and performances as part of the 3rd Annual Philly Theatre Week,” said Theatre Philadelphia Executive Director Leigh Goldenberg.  "Philly Theatre Week is not only an exciting new tradition for arts, culture and theatre audiences, but it has developed into one of the city's most exciting and anticipated festival style events that joins the ranks of Philly Beer Week, Philly Tech Week and Center City Restaurant Week. The 10 day celebration showcases the breadth and diversity of artists and organizations that make Philadelphia a vibrant hub for performing arts.”

Goldenberg continued, “Philly Theatre Week was designed to introduce new audiences to our region’s theatre scene, while encouraging existing theatre-goers to step out of their comfort zone and try something new with a variety of events and discounted price points. There is truly something for everyone, from every walk of life, and from every corner of the region. We hope to see you when the curtain goes up!"

Visitors and residents will find something for everyone with a diverse collection of world premieres, cherished classics, lavish productions, low-budget readings, experimental workshops, award-winning actors, in-depth discussions, local voices, and more. Participating organizations include a range of professional theatres, community theatres, academic institutions, self-producing artists and small-budget companies. Activities will take place everywhere from Center City to the suburbs, Bucks County to Wilmington, and South Jersey to the Main Line.

While the website for Philly Theatre Week has a full rundown of organizations, events and performances, below find a teaser of activities:  

** For local premieres: Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Everything is Wonderful; Inis Nua Theatre Company’s A Hundred Words For Snow; Curio Theatre Company’s  I ♥ Alice ♥ I; Interact Theatre Company’s Man of God; The Wilma Theater’s Describe the Night;  Quintessence Theatre Group’s Rachel. Kaleidoscope Cultural  Arts Collective’s  Khepera; Raw Street Productions’ Matt & Ben; The South Camden Theatre’s Abigail 1702 / A Twice Told Tale - A Regional Premiere; People's Light’s The Children; Lantern Theater Company’s The Vertical Hour; The Strides Collective’s Whirlpool by Jonathan Edmondson; and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts’ Grey Rock.

** For world premieres: Arden Theatre Company’s My General Tubman; Ruth and Estelle’s Ruth and Estelle's A Sequins of Fortunate Events; Tribe of Fools’  You Shouldn't Be Doing What You're Doing On That LADDER; Theatre Exile’s Babel; Automatic Arts’ HURT and other possibilities; Philadelphia Dramatists Center’s  A Thin Line Between Love & Hate; Beacon Theatre Productions’ Under The Bonnet; and Hella Fresh Theater’s Osceola.

** For the love of the classics: Bristol Riverside Theatre’s  King Lear; The Idopathic Ridiculopathy Consortrium’s  The Bald Soprano; Rutgers -Camden Theare Hamlet; Walnut Street Theatre’s A Woman of No Importance; and EgoPo Classic Theatre’s Fool for Love.

** For regional stages: Bucks County Playhouse’s Forever Young, One Man Star Wars Trilogy, and One Man Stranger Things - A Parody; People’s Light’s The Children; Delaware Theatre Company’s Outside Mullingar; The South Camden Theatre Company, Inc.’s Abigail 1702 / A Twice Told Tale - A Regional Premiere; and Uptown Knauer Performing Arts’ The Linda Ronstadt Experience and Opera tutti! The True Story of Cinderella.

** For our area’s Universities: Temple Theaters’ Temple/Theatre Philadelphia Raise Your Voice Symposium; Rutgers-Camden Theater Hamlet; and Team Sunshine Performance Corporation’s ¡BIENVENIDOS BLANCOS! OR WELCOME WHITE PEOPLE! At Swarthmore College.

 ** For food and drink lovers:  Jenna Kuerzi and Val Dunn’s Johnny Depp: A Retrospective on Late-Stage Capitalism; Temple Theaters’ Temple/Theatre Philadelphia Raise Your Voice Symposium; Ruth and Estelle’s Ruth and Estelle's A Sequins of Fortunate Events; Dani B Productions’ Brilliant: Staged Reading of a New Musical; The Savoy Company’s Gilbert & Sullivan's Guide to Courting; Tiny Dynamite’s Valentine's Day 2020, with Tiny Dynamite; Lightning Rod Special’s Big Bad Funtime Bash and The Bearded Ladies Cabaret’s Bon Voyage to the Beards: A Trestle Inn send-off party.

 ** For the musically inclined:  Ruth and Estelle’s Ruth and Estelle's A Sequins of Fortunate Events;The Hum’nbards The Artists' Temple; Julia Kershetsky’s Too Legit. To Quit; Players Club of Swarthmore’s Next to Normal; Walnut Street Theatre’s Grace for President; 1812 Productions’ Together Again for the First Timeand Philly Improv Theater’s Philly Song Jawn with Sean.

** Black History Month-themed events: Quintessence Theatre Group’s Rachel; Arden Theatre Company’s My General Tubman; Walnut Street Theatre’s Thurgood; Philadelphia Artists’ Collective and Theatre in The X’s  In Splendid Error and Philly Improv Theater’s Hoffman + No Diggity.

** For the whole family:   Ants on a Log Curious’ Think Outside the Pipeline!, and Walnut Street Theatre’s Grace for President.

** Valentine’s Day events: Curio Theatre Company’s  I ♥ Alice ♥ I; Ruth and Estelle’s Ruth and Estelle's A Sequins of Fortunate Events; Theatre Contra’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon - A Live Reading; Tiny Dynamite’s Valentine's Day 2020, with Tiny Dynamite; Unattended Baggage’s The Bed Show; Tongue & Groove Spontaneous Theater’s In Bed; The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre’s Shakespeare In Love: Open Mic Poetry Night.

** LGBTQ+ productions: The Hum'n'bards’s The Artists' Temple; Indecorous Theatre Productions’ Romeo & Juliet; Ruth and Estelle's A Sequins of Fortunate Events; Theatre Exile’s Babel by Jacqueline Goldfinger; Bearded Ladies Cabaret’s Bon Voyage to the Beards: A Trestle Inn send-off party; Curio Theatre Company’s I ♥ Alice ♥ I.

Participation in Philly Theatre Week was free for the above and other participating organizations, artists and businesses. Enrollment was open to independent artists, organizations, theatres or establishments within a 35-mile radius of Philadelphia’s City Hall. Extensive outreach efforts included theatres, galleries, schools, artists, screening rooms, and all theatre-supporting restaurants and businesses.  

Philly Theatre Week was the brainchild of Goldenberg and her team at Theatre Philadelphia. The idea dates back to 2017 when Goldenberg was in search of a new flagship program that would focus on inclusivity and reducing barriers to participation.

“Theatre Philadelphia wanted to create a new signature program that would draw even more attention to the region’s theatre organizations and artists,” added Goldenberg. “We wanted to make a big and impactful statement about the importance of theatre in our city and region, and bring artists together in a collaborative and equitable format. Like Philly Beer Week, Center City Restaurant Week or Philly Tech Week, this festival celebrated theatre alongside our city’s other flagship events that are nationally known and recognized.”

Philly Theatre Week is presented by Theatre Philadelphia in partnership with TodayTix and sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional Theatre Philadelphia funding is provided by the WIlliam Penn Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and the Shubert Foundation. Philly Theatre Week tickets are on sale on January 9th, 2020 at www.phillytheatreweek.com and through the TodayTix app. Download the TodayTix app or visit the website for more information.

For additional information, please visit www.phillytheatreweek.com or call 267-761-9950.

Connect with Theatre Philadelphia on social media at Facebook.com/PhiladelphiaTheatre, Twitter.com/TheatrePhilly and Instagram.com/theatrephiladelphia. #PhillyTheatreWeek

 ABOUT THEATRE PHILADELPHIA

Theatre Philadelphia is dedicated to bringing together and celebrating Philadelphia's diverse and growing theatre community. Founded in 2012, the organization is committed to leading efforts that grow audiences and promote the public's participation in the community's work. Theatre Philadelphia envisions a region that celebrates this growing and ever-changing theatre community – nurturing local theatre artists, fostering the creation of extraordinary work, forging stronger connections between art and audiences – recognizing that a diverse, robust, and thriving theatre community can play a pivotal role in making Philadelphia a world-class city. Current programs include the Theatre Philadelphia website (www.theatrephiladelphia.org), The Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre, Philly Theatre Week, and strategies and events empowering artists and organizations to increase audience participation. Theatre Philadelphia is an artist-in-residence at The Cherry Street Pier, a project of the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation.

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