Kimmel Center Presents Sponsored by Citi Expands 2008/09 Season with Six New Artists and Events
June 17, 2008
Choose 3 and Save Now!
Kimmel Center Presents sponsored by Citi expands the 2008/09 season highlights to include six new wide-ranging artistic program choices that resonate the human experience on stage. From a nationally-syndicated radio personality, to a heralded award show supporting R&B pioneers and a collaborative opera presentation, patrons can now choose three or more shows and save up to 20% through the Choose 3 subscription package.
The following new artists and/or events will be presented during the 2008/09 season: 2008 R&B Foundation Pioneer Awards (Tues., September 9, 2008), Jérôme Bel (Thur.-Sat., September 11-13, 2008), Joan Baez (Sun., October 26, 2008), Radio Stories & Other Stories: An Evening with Ira Glass (Sat., January 24, 2009), An Evening with Stephen Sondheim and Frank Rich (Sat., February 21, 2009), and Curtis Opera Theatre’s Wozzeck, in association with the Opera Company of Philadelphia (Fri., March 13, Sun., March 15 and Wed., March 18, 2009).
Tickets for all 2008/09 season performances through the Choose 3 subscription package are available online at www.kimmelcenter.org/choose0809, by calling 215-893-1999 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.
The Choose 3 interactive brochure at www.kimmelcenter.org/choose0809 allows patrons to familiarize themselves with an artist by previewing audio and video content before deciding if that concert experience is the right one for them. Patrons can mix and match a personalized subscription package from jazz, classical, world, pop, dance and Broadway performances. Subscriber benefits last all season long and include saving up to 20% off single ticket prices and exclusive offers, such as priority seating and advance ticket access.
Single tickets for the 2008/2009 season go on sale to the public on August 18, 2008.
For more information and a complete listing of events, visit www.kimmelcenter.org/choose0809.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008 | 7pm
Verizon Hall
2008 Pioneer Awards Show
In association with the Rhythm & Blues Foundation
Price: $55-$85
The Rhythm & Blues Foundation and Kimmel Center Presents host a celebratory 20th anniversary 2008 Pioneer Awards at the Kimmel Center on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 7pm with a star-studded musical event in Verizon Hall. In the past two decades, the foundation has raised more than $3 million to help meet the needs of R&B pioneers. This year’s event includes honorees Chaka Khan, Teena Marie, Bill Withers, Sugar Pie de Santo, Kool and the Gang, The Whispers and The Funk Brothers as well as appearances by Bonnie Raitt, Dionne Warwick and many more.
Thursday-Saturday, September 11-13, 2008 | 8pm
Perelman Theater
Jérôme Bel
The show must go on
In association with Philadelphia Live Arts Festival
Price: $25
Experimental choreographer Jérôme Bel debuts at the Kimmel Center with his provocative work The show must go on (2001) presented in association with the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, Thursday-Saturday, September 11-13, 2008 at 8pm in Perelman Theater. The Paris-based artist works with a cast of 20 local performers in this Bessie Award-winning contemporary dance epic set to the sounds of David Bowie, Paul Simon, Tina Turner, and other pop music icons. Called "sly, witty, joyous fun" by the New York Times, The show must go on is infused with spontaneity, humor and an intimate exploration of human experience. This performance may contain nudity.
"[Bel is] an endearingly rumpled, brilliant enfant terrible and master of wry, sly minimalism."–New York Times
Sunday, October 26, 2008 | 7:30pm
Verizon Hall
Joan Baez
Price: $31-$53
Grammy® winning singer-songwriter Joan Baez showcases her distinctive, ethereal vocals in a range of folk, rock, pop, country and gospel at the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall on Sunday, October 26, 2008 at 7:30pm. Baez has performed publicly for nearly 50 years and released over 30 albums, interpreting the music of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Jackson Browne, Paul Simon, The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder, as well as performing original hits such as "Diamonds & Rust" and "Sweet Sir Galahad." Baez's upcoming album, Day After Tomorrow, is scheduled for release in September 2008 and will feature songs by Steve Earle, Eliza Gilkyson, Patti Griffin, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Diana Jones and Thea Gilmore.
Saturday, January 24, 2009 | 8pm
Verizon Hall
Radio Stories & Other Stories:
An Evening with Ira Glass
Price: $26, $36
Named "Best Radio Host in America" by Time magazine, producer and host of NPR’s This American Life Ira Glass hosts Radio Stories & Other Stories: An Evening with Ira Glass at the Kimmel Center on Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 8pm in Verizon Hall. Under Glass's editorial direction, This American Life has won the highest honors for broadcasting and journalistic excellence, including the Peabody and DuPont-Columbia awards. This rare evening of storytelling explores the principles that guide the thought-provoking program.
"Mr. Glass is a journalist but also a storyteller who filters his interviews and impressions through a distinctive literary imagination, an eccentric intelligence, and a sympathetic heart."—New York Times
Saturday, February 21, 2009 | 8pm
Verizon Hall
An Evening with Stephen Sondheim and Frank Rich
Price: $24-$72
Two theatrical luminaries come together at the Kimmel Center on Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 8pm in Verizon Hall for an evening of poignant anecdotes and an inside perspective on musical theater. Seven-time Tony® Award winning composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim, best known for Broadway masterpieces such as Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George, takes center stage for a question and answer session with New York Times Op-Ed columnist and former chief theater critic Frank Rich.
Friday, March 13, 2009 | 8pm
Sunday, March 15, 2009 | 2:30pm
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 | 7:30pm
Perelman Theater
Curtis Opera Theatre’s
Wozzeck
In association with the Opera Company of Philadelphia
Price: $35-$115
Kimmel Center Presents hosts Curtis Opera Theatre’s Wozzeck in association with the Opera Company of Philadelphia on Friday, March 13, 2009 at 8pm, Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 2:30pm and Wednesday, March 18, 2009 at 7:30pm in Perelman Theater. In Wozzeck, Alban Berg's marches, dance music and orchestral colors enliven a dark tale of jealousy and infidelity. Tony® Award-winning Broadway star and 1993 Curtis alumnus Shuler Hensley returns to his operatic roots in this fully staged production with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Corrado Rovaris. Sung in German with English supertitles.
The Kimmel Center Presents 2008/2009 Season is sponsored by Citi. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by ARCWheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System, American Express, and Interpark. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte. NBC-10 is a media partner for Kimmel Center Presents.
Free in the Plaza 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 the recipient of partnership funding through the nationally recognized PNC "Grow Up Great" initiative, a ten-year, $100 million investment in 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.
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