John Wanamaker

Live from the Great Auditorium! The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association (OGCMA) will kick off its annual summer-long series of FREE ORGAN RECITALS at the historic Great Auditorium starting on Wednesday, July 1, 2020.

Hear the mighty, one-of-a-kind William J. Gillespie organ in all its acoustic wonder, when outstanding virtuoso Monte Maxwell performs an eclectic program of organ favorites including something for everyone during Pacific Symphony's final “Pedals and Pipes” concert this season. The renowned organist—who plays for the U.S. Naval Academy's Chapel and has performed for diplomats and national leaders from around the world—travels to Orange County for this showcase of the organ's stunning palette of sounds, often adding his own twist to classic arrangements. The afternoon recital includes the very best of organ music—from Wagner to Bach, Widor to Bizet, Vierne to Yon and far beyond! The concert takes place Sunday, April 30, at 3 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Tickets are $10-$50. For more information or to purchase tickets call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org. 

The curtain will rise on the 2015 performing arts season in Philadelphia soon, and budget-conscious theater and music lovers have reason to rejoice thanks to the many low-cost tickets options available to them. The award-winning Wilma Theatre introduces its new WynTix program, which offers tickets to all productions for just $25 each. At the Curtis Institute of Music, up-and-coming classical music stars deliver free performances three nights a week. And each Thursday, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance continues to send out its popular FunSavers email, loaded with half-price tickets for the coming week's shows and exhibitions.

No sooner than Masterworks Broadway's new release of SEVEN COME ELEVEN: A GAMING GAMBOL starts playing, listeners will find themselves transported to the intimacy of The Upstairs Room, lined with lavish, red fabric and soft light emanating from antique globes. We easily picture ourselves sitting at a small table amidst New Yorkers enjoying a night out on the town. As Julius Monk greets his live audience and us listeners, in our mind's eye we can see the lights dimming and we get lost in the enthusiastic performances of Philip Bruns (the father on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, the original Morty Seinfeld on Seinfeld), Ceil Cabot, Rex Robbins (1974 GYPSY Revival), Steve Roland, Donna Sanders, and Mary Louise Wilson (1998 CABARET revival, GREY GARDENS), who are accompanied by William Roy and Carl Norman at the plural pianos.

Rules to live by: Always wear clean underwear, always use a condom, and never, ever write a musical by yourself!