Arden Theatre Company Expands Accessibility Efforts With PNC Grant

Philadelphia-based Arden Theatre Company is expanding its commitment to making live theatre accessible to more members of the community with support from PNC Arts Alive.

The $25,000 grant contributes to the continued growth of The Arden is for EVERYONE, the theatre's season-long accessibility initiative offering services and programs designed to remove barriers for people with disabilities and other access needs. Each theatre season, the Arden provides audiences with a broad variety of accessibility resources tailored to different needs and experiences, including accessible seating, two options for Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs), and Open Captioning. Patrons can also use Caption Glasses, which display dialogue and sound effects in real time within the wearer's field of vision, while select performances feature American Sign Language (ASL) Shadow Interpreting. The Arden also offers accommodations for patrons with sensory processing needs, and its public spaces are wheelchair accessible. With support from PNC Arts Alive, the Arden is offering approximately 2,000 discounted tickets to community members throughout the 2026/27 season.

Building on these existing resources, the Arden will host two Accessibility Open Houses this year, where community members can explore the theatre and learn about the services available to them. The two Accessibility Open Houses will be held on Friday, November 6, in conjunction with Old City District's First Fridays and a performance of Topdog/Underdog, as well as Saturday, December 5, in conjunction with Arden Children's Theatre's opening of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., each open house will feature stations demonstrating the Arden's and other regional arts and culture organizations' accessibility services and opportunities to connect with community organizations serving people with disabilities. Sensory Tours will also be available, allowing patrons to ask questions, explore the theatre and their seats, and experience select production elements firsthand.

'Great theatre should be within reach of everyone, and this support from PNC Arts Alive helps us provide these open houses to bring communities together for greater amplification of the services we collectively provide,' says Amy Murphy, Managing Director for the Arden. 'From our Open Houses to $5 ACCESS tickets, we want every person who walks through our doors, or any cultural organization in the region, to know the arts are genuinely for everyone.'

The PNC Arts Alive grant also makes attending the theatre more affordable by providing approximately 2,000 discounted ACCESS tickets throughout the Arden's 2026/27 season. Available for just $5 to eligible patrons with disabilities and individuals with limited incomes, the tickets will help reduce financial barriers to experiencing live theatre. The Arden is among close to 40 arts organizations in the Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey region selected this year to receive funding through PNC Arts Alive. An initiative of the PNC Foundation, PNC Arts Alive provides grants to organizations finding new and innovative ways to increase access to the arts and encourage greater audience participation and engagement.

THE ARDEN'S 2026/27 SEASON

The Arden's 2026/27 season features five Mainstage productions and two Arden Children's Theatre productions. The Mainstage season includes Girl from the North Country (September 24–October 25, 2026), featuring the music and lyrics of Bob Dylan; Pulitzer Prize-winning Topdog/Underdog (October 29–December 13, 2026); Native Gardens (January 21–March 7, 2027); the Philadelphia premiere of John Proctor is the Villain (February 25–March 28, 2027); and Tony Award-winning musical Kimberly Akimbo (May 13–June 13, 2027). Arden Children's Theatre will present The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (November 25, 2026–January 17, 2027) for the holiday season, followed by If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (April 14–June 6, 2027) in the spring.

For tickets, performance information, and additional details about the 2026/27 season, please visit https://ardentheatre.org/.

ABOUT ARDEN THEATRE COMPANY

Arden Theatre Company, founded in 1988, is a professional theatre company in Old City, dedicated to bringing to life great stories by great storytellers on the stage, in the classroom, and in the community. To date, the Arden has produced 46 World Premieres. The Arden has developed four distinct educational programs: Arden for All, our in-school arts education program for elementary level students; Arden Drama School, our on-site, tuition-based theatre classes for pre-K through 12th-grade students; Teen Arden, our theatre enrichment program for high school students; and the Arden Professional Apprentice program, a rigorous training program for young theatre professionals.

ABOUT PNC ARTS ALIVE