Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Kimmel Center, Inc. Ends an Artistic and Financially Successful 2007-08 Season
October 9, 2008

As Kimmel Center, Inc. enters its eighth year of operation, Philadelphia’s premiere performing arts venue for eight resident companies and offerings of jazz, classical, world & pop, new music, dance and Broadway announces glowing financial, artistic and audience successes during its 2007-08 season.

A milestone of the year was the cooperative effort of the Kimmel Center Board, four local philanthropies (H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, the William Penn Foundation, the Neubauer Family Foundation, and The Pew Charitable Trusts), individuals, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, City of Philadelphia and two banks, which enabled the Center to retire its $30 million construction debt, a goal of the Center since it opened in 2001. The Kimmel Center, through the leadership of its President and CEO Anne Ewers and Board also received pledges that will increase its endowment to $72 million, anchored by a generous gift from Sidney Kimmel.

Both financial feats illustrate the Philadelphia community’s commitment to ensure the financial stability and artistic future of the Kimmel Center.

During the past year, the Kimmel Center, through a collaboration with Penn Praxis, engaged the community in an exploration of its public spaces and its usage. Public forums were held at the Center, where patrons voiced their opinions on modifying the public spaces to better serve communal needs. University of Pennsylvania and University of the Arts students worked in tandem on design models that would warm the public spaces and amplify the performing arts experience.

Currently, architectural design firms have been invited to submit their proposals for the feasible incorporation of students’ design concepts. The selected firm will develop a Master Plan for the Center.

The 2007-08 season also rung in bona fide positive financial tidings with the announcement of a citywide Philadelphia arts festival in 2011. On June 18, 2008, the Kimmel Center received a $10 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation that contributes toward the overall cost of the 2011 annual, month-long festival.

The festival will celebrate Philadelphia’s cultural treasures and catapult the city to a national and international destination for arts, culture and music. Participants include all eight resident companies among a broad array of Philadelphia cultural institutions.

Overall, Kimmel Center, Inc. continues to have positive economic impact on Center City and the Philadelphia region. Kimmel Center, Inc. ended the 2007-08 season with an operating surplus of $1.2 million after interest but before depreciation and amortization. The economic impact of the Kimmel Center during its 2007-08 season amounted to $40 million. In total, over the course of six performance seasons, the Kimmel Center has contributed more than $447 million to the local economy.

"The 2007-08 season brought exciting rewards to the Kimmel Center, helping to secure the organization’s financial future. First, I’d like to thank Sidney Kimmel for his continued generous support of the Center, as well as the region’s elected officials, fellow Board members, and the individuals and foundation community who aided in doubling our endowment and retiring our debt this year," said Kimmel Center Chairman William P. Hankowsky. "I’d also like to congratulate Kimmel Center President and CEO Anne Ewers for her effective leadership in all of these wonderful financial efforts. Both of these endeavors allow the Kimmel Center to grow exponentially and operate more effectively. And special thanks to the Kimmel Center staff for their hard work this year and their ongoing commitment."

"We are proud of the regional community support that Philadelphians show each year by attending Kimmel Center Presents and Broadway performances," said President and CEO Anne Ewers. "We would like to continue to evolve the Kimmel Center’s diverse cultural offerings, and serve as a catalyst for creative collaborations across the city. As we look to the future, I am thrilled at the opportunity for our organization to inspire partnerships with our local institutions for the inaugural 2011 Philadelphia arts festival, and look forward to working with my colleagues to make it an extraordinary success."

Additional Highlights of the 2007-08 season (which ended on June 30, 2008) include the following:

  • The Kimmel Center continues to provide unparalleled services to its resident companies, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, American Theater Arts for Youth, PHILADANCO, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. Approximately 390 resident company performances took place at the Kimmel Center and the Academy of Music in the 2007-08 season.

  • Together, Kimmel Center Presents and the Broadway Series presented 283 performances and events, attracting more than 426,000 attendees.

  • The 2007-2008 Broadway Series season closed with several significant accomplishments, having entertained more than 320,000 patrons with 143 performances at the Academy of Music, 39 performances in Innovation Studio and 16 performances at the Forrest Theatre. Relative to the national theatre touring industry, the Broadway Series is considered one of the top 10 touring presenters in terms of attendance and grosses in North America.

  • The Kimmel Center Presents 2007-08 season featured many great artists and performances, including 85 ticketed and 84 free performances across multiple genres. As part of the Kimmel Center Presents series, artists and ensembles from 29 countries made the Kimmel Center a stop on their international and national tours. This season 41 artists made their debuts on Kimmel Center stages.

  • In all, more than 742 performances and events took place at the Kimmel Center, the Academy of Music and the Forrest Theatre in the 2007-08 season. Of these, 85 were Kimmel Center Presents events, 198 were Broadway Series, 84 were Free in the Plaza, and 458 were resident company performances or community rentals. Approximately 1 million people attended events at the three facilities (including resident company performances and rentals), of which app. 106,000 attended Kimmel Center Presents and more than 320,000 attended Broadway Series events, ranking the Kimmel Center among the top 10 most widely attended cultural institutions in the region.

  • The Kimmel Center and Academy of Music facilitated approximately 180 independent presentations including public performances and lectures, private corporate events, non-profit and social events, and graduations. Independent presentations brought more than 120,000 patrons to the Kimmel Center and the Academy of Music.

  • The Broadway Series hosted the triumphant return of Wicked in the summer of 2007 to record breaking capacity attendance. Making a major economic impact on the city, Broadway’s programming generated more than $13 million in additional revenue for the Philadelphia region, including parking, restaurants, hotels, retail purchases and public transportation.

  • As part of the Broadway Series' continued goal of presenting diverse programming, 2007-08 season highlights also included the Philadelphia premiere of Oprah Winfrey Presents The Color Purple and African Footprint. In addition, the 2007-08 season was the first full year of Broadway Series’ programming collaboration with the Shubert Organization to present the best of Broadway in Philadelphia.

  • Highlights of the Kimmel Center Presents performances include recitals by Yo-Yo Ma, and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa; perfomances by Johnny Mathis, Polish dance troupe Mazowsze, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, k.d. lang, The Chieftains, three sold-out nights with Chris Rock at the Academy of Music, and the 50th Anniversary Tour of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

  • The Kimmel Center also joined the Curtis Institute of Music and the Opera Company of Philadelphia for the first time to co-present the Philadelphia premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, "Fountain of Tears." The success of this endeavor has inspired plans to continue an annual collaboration among the three institutions.

  • The all day and night Summer Solstice Celebration returned to the Kimmel Center on June 21st with 15 hours of entertainment in all venues of the Kimmel Center. Over 4,000 patrons attended Solstice this year, an increase of 14 percent from the previous year.

  • The Merck Arts Education Center in the Kimmel Center offered 71 free curriculum-based performing arts classes, with participation from approximately 1,275 students from Pennsylvania and New Jersey school districts in the 2007-08 season. Additionally, 77 students participated in the weekly PHILADANCO-taught dance classes of the Dance in the Schools Initiative; 80 students participated in the Head Start Program of the PNC Grow Up Great Initiative; 145 students participated in the four two-week, tuition-free 2007 Teen Summer Arts Camp; and 512 students participated in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute. In all, the Kimmel Center touched 14,000 students during its 2007-08 season.

Kimmel Center, Inc. is a non-profit organization that owns, manages, supports and maintains the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts as well as the Academy of Music which is owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association. The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Academy of Music serve as the home to eight Resident Company performing arts organizations including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, American Theatre Arts for Youth, PHILADANCO, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. Kimmel Center, Inc.’s mission also includes arts in education, community outreach and a rich diversity in programming through its Kimmel Center Presents and Broadway Series of performances.

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