Wilma Theater News

Since its founding in 1989, Ma-Yi Theater Company has distinguished itself as one of the country's leading incubators of new work shaping the national discourse about what it means to be Asian American today.

BalletX, led by Artistic & Executive Director Christine Cox, will perform a Pop Up on the Rooftop Terrace of the Parkway Central Free Library on Friday, June 28 at 4:30pm-5:00pm. The Pop-Up performance will feature an excerpt of The Little Prince, a full-length story ballet for the whole family by choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupery's classic novella, and being performed by BalletX in its entirety at The Wilma Theater, July 10-21. Immediately following the Pop Up, Lopez Ochoa will participate in a Q&A from 5:00pm-5:30pm, moderated by Joan DeJean, University of Pennsylvania's Trustee Professor of Romance Languages in the French and Francophone Studies department. The first 100 Pop Up attendees will receive a complimentary edition of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince (one copy per family). The event is free and open to the public.

FoolsFURY Theater Company is proud to announce the West Coast premiere of DIONYSUS WAS SUCH A NICE MAN, a play by Kate Tarker and directed by Ben Yalom, foolsFURY founder and co-artistic director. Opening in previews, Friday, September 20 at the Joe Goode Annex, Dionysus Was Such a Nice Man is a comic and pungent take on the story of Oedipus from the perspective of the family of shepherds who raised him. The play runs through October 20 with a press opening scheduled for Monday, September 23 at 7 p.m. Tickets, $15 - $40, will go on sale next month, and may be purchased online via a direct link at foolsfury.orgdionysus.

BalletX, led by Artistic & Executive Director Christine Cox, is announcing the conclusion of its critically-acclaimed 2018-19 season with a 13-performance run of Summer Series 2019 at The Wilma Theater, July 10-21.

Cake, coffin, gavel, choir, composers, live musical trolling! On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the much lauded poet Walt Whitman's birth, a group of Philly queers and misfits known as The Bearded Ladies Cabaret gathers to put this ancestor and his legacy on trial. Should Whitman be canceled? Can he be? Come with friends, complaints, heroes and villains alike. All are welcome. Presented by La MaMa, the New York premiere performances will take place in the Ellen Stewart Theater (June 20 - 29).

FringeArts announced the curated component of the 2019 Fringe Festival today, featuring eleven theater, dance, music, and interdisciplinary engagements at FringeArts' home on the Delaware Waterfront and in venues around the city September 5-22. Tickets are currently on sale to FringeArts Members, and go on sale to the public on Monday.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), announced today that nominations for the Zelda Fichandler Award, for a director or choreographer who is transforming theatre in the Central Region, are now being accepted through July 2, 2019.

The world's tallest and hairiest drag queen and her band, the Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret, make their Wilma Theater mainstage debut with their trademark masterful musical stylings and uproarious comedy. Played by Pig Iron Theatre Company co-founder Dito van Reigersberg, Martha Graham Cracker has been hailed as the 'drag queen king of Philadelphia' by The Philadelphia Inquirer and received Philadelphia Magazine's Best of Philly award for her one-of-a-kind unscripted show. This June, she will grace the stage of the Wilma for two groundbreaking performances, including a Martha Graham Cracker show like never before: a matinee performance for children and the young at heart. Tickets are on sale for this limited engagement event, running from June 28-June 29.

Christine Cox, Artistic & Executive Director of BalletX, proudly announces that Nicole Caruana is the recipient of the company's 2020 Choreographic Fellowship. With the program entering its 5th year, Caruana joins a growing list of BalletX Choreographic Fellows that includes Yin Yue (2016), Tommie-Waheed Evans (2017), Andrew McNicol (2018), and Katarzyna Skarpetowska (2019). John McFall, established choreographer and former Artistic Director of the Atlanta Ballet for twenty-one seasons, will serve as the 2020 Choreographic Mentor, providing direct support and guidance. Both fellow and mentor will present world premiere ballets on BalletX at Spring Series 2020 at The Wilma Theater, March 18-29, 2020. Subscriptions are currently available to BalletX's 2019-20 Season online at https://www.balletx.org/2019-2020-season-subscriptions/, by phone at 215-546-7824, and in-person at 215-546-7824. Single tickets go on sale in the fall of 2019.

The Wilma Theater is set to celebrate its annual fundraising event, Fete 2019, honoring former Managing Director James Haskins, who in March departed the Wilma after 13 seasons of leadership to helm the renowned Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis as their new Managing Director. For Fete 2019, the Wilma seeks to recognize and celebrate Haskins for the indelible impact of his 20 years of service to the Philadelphia cultural community, having served a number of leadership roles at arts organizations throughout the city before landing at the Wilma in 2006. Philanthropists and arts leaders throughout the city will gather for an evening of gourmet fare and drink, and performances from local favorites. Tickets and sponsorships are on sale now for Fete 2019, which will be held at the Wilma on June 10, 2019 beginning at 5:30pm.

 Christine Cox, Artistic & Executive Director of BalletX, today announces eight world premiere ballets for the upcoming 2019-20 Season, increasing the company's total number of premieres to an impressive 82 since its 2005 inception.

Soho Rep. today announces a one-week extension of the New York Premiere of Christopher Chen's Passagein response to popular demand and critical praise. The innovative play, a fantasia on colonialism past and present, asks the question: if Country Y occupies Country X, can someone from Country X and someone from Country Y ever form a mutual relationship?

Recently featured in a New York Times project called "Black Writers of Our Time," Philadelphia-based playwright James Ijames is an artist on everyone's A-list. His newest play, Kill Move Paradise, is a new take the Elysium of Greek antiquity. Inspired by recent events, the play is an expressionistic buzz saw through the contemporary myth that 'all lives matter.

The Wilma Theater has announced its 2019-2020 Season, featuring a lineup of new and innovative plays from some of the most exciting emerging voices in the field of theater. The season begins with a limited run of a world premiere stage adaptation of Etel Adnan's famous poem There, which will be co-presented with FringeArts in the 2019 Fringe Festival, co-created by Wilma Artistic Director Blanka Zizka and world-renowned visual artist Rosa Barba.

GIN BLOSSOMS, one of the top alt-rock groups of the '90s, have announced a new round of 'NewMiserable Experience Live' shows, from June 26 in Sacramento, CA through August 23 in Seattle, WA as part of their busy 2019 touring itinerary (*dates below).

 BalletX, led by Artistic & Executive Director Christine Cox, is proud to announce the conclusion of its critically-acclaimed 2018-19 season with a 13-performance run of Summer Series 2019 at The Wilma Theater, July 10-21. The season finale performances will feature the world premiere of The Little Prince, a full-length story ballet for the whole family by choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupery's classic novella. Tickets are available online atwww.BalletX.org, by phone at 215-546-7824, or in-person at 265 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

The UC San Diego Department of Theatre and Dance presents The Jefferson Middle School Monthly, written by Mara Nelson-Greenberg and directed by Carla Harting, as part of the 2019 Wagner New Play Festival.

Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor's professional theatre with an exclusive focus on new plays and playwrights, presents the Michigan premiere of "Kill Move Paradise" by James Ijames.

Pittsburgh CLO will launch its second New Musicals Weekend, a project of the Next Generation Campaign's New Small Musicals Initiative. New Musicals Weekend, the mini version of the SPARK festival, takes the core goals of SPARK and puts them into action over just seven days. New Musicals Weekend aims to develop new musicals for the CLO Cabaret by supporting writing teams with financial and creative resources and by building relationships with local and national artists. 

When a family of shepherds in the suburbs of Corinth learns their adopted son Oedipus has ascended the throne of Thebes, they plan a bender to end all benders. But who's on cleanup after the party's over? Equal parts irreverent comedy and emotional journey into family dysfunction, Dionysus Was Such A Nice Man by Kate Tarker examines with horror and humor the lasting effects of personal trauma. The first ever World Premiere commissioned for Wilma's HotHouse, this searing new play directed by French physical theater master Dominique Serrand runs April 23 - May 12 at The Wilma Theater.