Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Philadelphia International Festival Of The Arts Kicks Off Ticket Sales With Cast Of Jersey Boys And First Of Its Kind Neighborhood Truck Tour

OCTOBER 7, 2010

With only 6 months to go before the Philadelphia region’s arts and culture community steps into the world spotlight for three weeks next spring with the launch of the first Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, inspired by the Kimmel Center (April 7 – May 1), organizers will kick-off ticket sales today with a festive ceremony at 10:30 am at the Kimmel featuring the national touring cast of JERSEY BOYS buying the first tickets.

In addition, as a way to generate excitement and participation across the region and highlight the festival’s theme of Paris 1910-1920 and the innovative and creative spirit of the time, the ceremony will climax with the unveiling of the one-of-kind PIFA Truck, which, complete with costumed representatives of some of festival’s event categories (food, fashion, dance, theatre and art), will take the truck on the road to four regional neighborhoods, offering fresh croissants and chances to win a pair of tickets to the festival’s opening night gala and performance. Stops on the tour include:

Pat’s and Geno’s Steaks in South Philadelphia, followed by stops at Festival partner organizations:

Taller Puertorriqueño in North Philadelphia

Institute of Contemporary Art in University City

Bryn Mawr Film Institute on the Main Line

 

Said festival executive director J. Edward Cambron, “We wanted to find a way to literally take the philosophy of collaboration, creativity and innovation that PIFA is based on, as well as its content of artistic expression from across the region and around the world, directly to the Philadelphia area audiences. The truck is both a creative and unique way to do that. And having the JERSEY BOYS – based on the lives and careers of music icons Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons – step up to buy the first tickets is another way we’re connecting Philadelphia’s diverse and vibrant cultural community and neighborhoods to the festival.”

 

Featuring music, dance, fashion, fine arts, theatre, poetry, cuisine and more—all generously flavored with the essence of Paris, circa 1910-1920—festival highlights include over 30 specially commissioned works as well as the participation of 128 regional arts and cultural partner organizations collaborating on an expansive and diverse array of programs, performances, events and exhibits occurring throughout Philadelphia in spring 2011.

Just a few of the extraordinary works to be showcased that exemplify the scope and diversity of the citywide festival include:

 

  • A long-anticipated collaboration between the Philadelphia Orchestra and Pennsylvania Ballet, which will open the festival with a performance of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, conducted by Rossen Milanov with choreographer Jorma Elo;
  • Hope: An Oratorio, a sacred work by Jonathan Leshnoff, one of the nation’s most exciting young composers, featuring texts from a variety of spiritual and worldly sources and sung in several languages, featuring performances by The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, with conductor Roberto Minczuk and four solo performers including Grammy® Award-winning singer Angelique Kidjo and jazz vocalist and composer David Linx, The Pennsylvania Girlchoir and the Mendelssohn Club Chorus of Philadelphia;
  • The Story of James Reese Europe, a documentary by Scribe Video Center on this visionary African-American bandleader, an early 20th century star who brought new African-American music forms to the attention of fans in Paris and introduced syncopation, including ragtime and early jazz compositions, to an international audience;
  • Paris Through the Window: Marc Chagall and His Circle, an exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (March 5-July 10, 2011), presented in conjunction with PIFA, features works by Chagall and his fellow Montparnasse artists from 1910 to 1920. The exhibition includes around 40 paintings and sculptures by these emigré artists, created in a unique atmosphere of mutual encouragement before the Second World War. Highlighting an exceptional strength of the museum’s holdings of early modern art, the exhibition will focus in particular on the paintings Chagall made between 1910 and 1920, including the iconic Paris Through the Window, 1913 (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY) and Half Past Three (The Poet), of 1911, one of the treasures of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Technology will also be an active participant in PIFA, from a digital projection mural by Philadelphia’s renowned Mural Arts Program that will grace the front of the Kimmel Center to “The Journey,” a unique project that enables fans to follow six artists throughout their year-long creative process on the PIFA web site – www.pifa.org – getting a behind-the-scenes look at how they are developing their works for the festival. And family and multicultural programming abounds, from a concert outside of Taller Puertorriqueño to death-defying Circus Arts performances and more. In short, PIFA will put Philadelphia’s greatest talents center stage in ways that will attract longtime arts lovers and novices alike.

 

The full slate of PIFA programming to date can be accessed both on www.pifa.org as well as on-hand at the Kimmel Center Box Office. While special ticket packages will be announced soon, tickets to individual performances and events can be purchased as of Thursday, October 7 both on the PIFA website and in-person or by phone at the Kimmel Center Box Office.  Tickets are priced by individual presenting organizations, ranging from FREE to the public to $125. For the most up to date information, contact PIFA at (215) 790-5800 or visit www.pifa.org.  

 

About PIFA -- The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA), inspired by the Kimmel Center, launches the city’s art and cultural scene onto the world stage with a three-week festival offering performances, exhibits and events for loyal fans and casual attendees. Based on the philosophy of collaboration, innovation and creativity, PIFA’s programs represent every arts discipline and include more than 100 partners. Offerings include newly commissioned works, classical performances and exhibits, surprising partnerships featuring local and international artists and exciting explorations of traditional, non-traditional, new and emerging art forms. In homage to the artistic energy of Paris 1910-1920, PIFA celebrates works from that era and new creations inspired by the brashly innovative spirit of the period. The festival was made possible by an extraordinary grant from Philadelphia philanthropist Leonore Annenberg, whose vision for a city-wide celebration of the arts shaped its philosophy and programming. PIFA takes place April 7-May 1, 2011. 

 

About Kimmel Center, Inc. -- A charitable, not-for-profit organization, the Kimmel Center provides a rich diversity of programming through its Kimmel Center Presents sponsored by Citi and Broadway Series of performances, as well as arts in education and community outreach. The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Academy of Music together serve as home to eight Resident Company performing arts organizations, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, American Theater Arts for Youth, Philadanco, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops®. Kimmel Center, Inc. owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center. Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, owned by The Philadelphia Orchestra Association.

 

PIFA thanks partners The Kimmel Center, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Red Tettemer, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, and more, as well as CJMpr and the Broadway Tour cast of Jersey Boys, now appearing at the Forrest Theater through December 12, Enterprise Philadelphia and Ridgways for helping to present this event.

 

For further press information on PIFA, including access to the festival, media appearances or interviews, please contact Nina Zucker Associates, 610.667.0706 or nzapr@aol.com. For information on sponsorship or festival participation please contact Dawn Frisby-Byers at 215.670.2324 or DfrisbyByers@kimmelcenter.org. For general information about the festival, please call 215.790.5800 or visit www.pifa.org.

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