Video Games Live in Philadelphia: Award-Winning, Record-Breaking Show Collides Art and Technology
SEPTEMBER 21, 2009
Video Games Live, a complete celebration and multimedia concert experience featuring music from the most popular video games of all time, is making its way to Philadelphia with two performances on Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 3pm and 7:30pm in the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall.
Video Games Live is a multimedia concert experience featuring the best music and exclusive synchronized video clips from the most popular games from the beginning of video gaming to the present. Performed by top orchestras and choirs, the show combines exclusive video footage and music arrangements with synchronized lighting, solo performers, stage show production, special FX, electronic percussionists and unique interactive segments. Whether it's the power and passion of the more recent blockbusters or the excitement of remembering the sentimental classics you played growing up, it will truly be a special night to remember for the entire family. The show has a segment dedicated to the old retro arcade classics – but there is also modern music and older, more memorable pieces that no one has ever heard played live.
A show created and produced by actual video game composers and industry icons, Tommy Tallarico & Jack Wall (creators & executive producers) are personally involved in every show. Aside from producing, Jack is on stage for every show conducting the orchestra and choir while Tommy is the host, emcee and performs on guitar. The video game industry puts on the show to help encourage and support the art and culture that video games have become. Video Games Live bridges a gap for entertainment by exposing new generations of music lovers and fans to the symphonic orchestral experience while also providing a completely new and unique experience for families and non-gamers.
Continuing its international tour in 2009, Video Games Live is the largest and most successful video game concert in the world, having already performed around the globe to hundreds of thousands of people on five continents and selling out such locations as the Beacon Theatre on Broadway in New York City, Jones Hall in Houston, two nights at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Royal Festival Hall in London and other countries including Brazil, New Zealand, Taiwan, Korea, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Canada, Scotland, Singapore, China, Japan and many more. The Video Games Live: Volume One album (EMI Classics) was released worldwide in the summer of 2008 and debuted on the Billboard Charts at number 10. The album received the "Best Soundtrack of the Year" and Editor's Choice Awards from IGN.com as well as the "Best Soundtrack Album" from the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.). Other recent highlights include the "Special Breakthrough Achievement Award" for their three weeks of sold out performances in Brazil and being inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records for having performed the most video game concerts in a one year period (43). They are currently in the midst of breaking their record.
The show features audience participation with special interactive segments where people from the audience come up and compete while the orchestra plays the music in perfect synchronization with the visuals on screen. For 2009, Video Games Live has refurbished and added to its already successful formula by including new material. Franchises currently represented include Mario™, Zelda®, Halo®, Final Fantasy®, Warcraft®, Sonic™, Metal Gear Solid®, Kingdom Hearts, Chrono Trigger™, Chrono Cross™, Myst®, Tron, Castlevania®, Medal of Honor™, God of War™, BioShock™, Civilization IV, Tomb Raider®, Harry Potter™, Beyond Good & Evil™, Advent Rising, EverQuest® II, Monkey Island, Earthworm Jim, Pac-Man, Conan, Headhunter, Splinter Cell®, Ghost Recon™, Rainbow Six®, Jade Empire, Metroid, Contra, Guitar Hero™ and a special Classic Arcade Medley featuring over 20+ games from Pong® to Donkey Kong® including such classics as Dragon's Lair, Tetris, Frogger, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Gauntlet, Space Invaders, Outrun and many more.
A Pre-Show Festival in the Commonwealth Plaza will include game demonstrations and competitions, a costume contest with prizes and possible meet and greet opportunities with industry designers/creators, composers/sound designers, voice actors, performers and other special guests.
Tickets for Video Games Live are available for $35, $45, $55 and $65 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883. For more information, visit: www.videogameslive.com.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning at 5:30pm prior to evening curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
Kimmel Center Presents 2009/10 Season is sponsored by Citi. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents.
Free at the Kimmel programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from the Wachovia Foundation.
The Kimmel Center is a recipient of partnership funding through the nationally recognized PNC "Grow Up Great" initiative, a ten-year, $100 million investment preparing children for success in school and life. Funding gives support to the Kimmel Center's early childhood program "Bop and Swing," an arts program for children 1-5 years old, designed to promote an appreciation for American culture.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI
Sunday, October 11, 2009 | 3pm and 7:30pm
Verizon Hall
World & Pop Series
Video Games Live
FREE AT THE KIMMEL:
Sunday, October 11, 2009 | 1:30pm and 6pm
Commonwealth Plaza
Join us for a free pre-show festival in the Commonwealth Plaza, and
enjoy interactive game demos, a costume contest, game competitions,
prizes and possible meet-and-greet opportunities with top game
composers and designers.
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