Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theater
returns to the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus following a sold-out engagement in
2017. The renowned dance company led by Artistic director Robert Battle and
featuring Ailey’s extraordinary dancers will bring three performances to the
Academy of Music on Friday March 1 and Saturday March 2, 2019. This year’s repertoire
includes the Philadelphia premiere of Lazarus,
the company’s first two-act ballet, as well as beloved classics, including Ailey’s
seminal work, the American classic, Revelations.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater began with a now fabled performance in March
1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Since that first iconic
performance of young African American modern dancers led by Alvin Ailey, the
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has gone global, performing for an estimated
25 million people at theaters in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents –
as well as millions more through television broadcasts, film screenings and
online platforms. Lazarus, inspired
by the life and legacy of Mr. Ailey, addresses racial inequities our nation has
faced, both in 1958 when the company was founded and today. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased by calling 215-903-1999, visiting online at www.kimmelcenter.org. or at the Kimmel Center Box Office. 
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is proud to present RENT
20th Anniversary Tour, coming to Philadelphia on March
5 - 10 at the Merriam Theater on the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus as part of
the Kimmel Center’s Broadway Philadelphia 2018-19 series. RENT follows
an unforgettable year in the lives of seven artists struggling to follow their
dreams. In 1996 RENT won a Tony Award for best musical
and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Ticket availability is currently limited.
Continue to check www. kimmelcenter.org in the event new tickets become
available. A limited number of seats will be available for $25 (cash
only) for each performance. These tickets must be purchased at the Merriam Box
office on the day of the show two hours before the performance. The tickets are
limited to two tickets per person.
The
world’s most celebrated professional taiko company, KODO presents the
Philadelphia premiere of Evolution at
the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall Tuesday March 12, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. Evolution invites audiences to step into
the world that explores the rhythmic possibilities of the traditional drum
while forging ahead in new directions. This
one-of-a-kind production showcases a wide variety of drums with impeccable
precision, while highlighting dance, bamboo flute performances and
incredible visual effects. In Japanese, “Kodo” has two meanings. It can be translated
as “heartbeat”, the primal source for all rhythm. It also means “children of
the drum” which reflects the group's desire to play the drums with the simple
heartbeat of a child. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999 or visiting online at www. kimmelcenter.org.
The
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts welcomes back Martha Graham Cracker to
the SEI Innovation Studio from Thursday March 14, 2019, to Saturday March 16, 2019, for an encore performance
of Lashed
but not Leashed. Dito van Reigersberg’s raw talent emerges in his alter
ego Martha Graham Cracker as she performs an electrifying performance of a
bevy of original songs. This is a BYOB performance. Guests are invited to bring their own bottle of wine or a six-pack of beer. For more information, contact www.kimmelcenter.org. Lashed But Not Leashed had its world premiere on March
16, 2017. It was commissioned and developed through the Kimmel Center’s Theater
Residency Program, a partnership with Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater.
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts as part of Broadway Philadelphia, presents Miss Saigon from March 19, 2019 - March 31, 2019 at the Academy of Music. Miss Saigon tells the story of a young Vietnamese
woman named Kim who is orphaned by war and forced to work in a bar run by a
notorious character known as the Engineer.
There she meets and falls in love with an American G.I. named Chris but
they are torn apart by the fall of Saigon.
For three years Kim goes on an epic journey of survival to find her way
back to Chris, who has no idea that he has fathered a son. This new production
features stunning spectacles and a sensational cast of 42 performing the
amazing score. Miss Saigon has been
performed in 32 countries, over 350 cities and has won over 70 awards,
including 2 Olivier Awards and 3 Tony Awards. The new production of Miss Saigon opened in London in May, 2014
to critical acclaim. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, visiting www.kimmelcenter.org. or the Kimmel Center Box Office. Group Sales are available for groups of 10 or more and can be purchased by calling 215-790-5883.
The
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts welcomes the Monterey Jazz Festival’s fifth
national tour to Verizon Hall on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. This performance
will feature some of the most critically acclaimed Grammy® award-winning jazz
artists of their generation, including three winners of the “Thelonious Monk International
Jazz Competition. The tour creates a top roster of diverse and international millennial
talent and the leaders of jazz’s future, including Cécile McLorin Salvant, vocals; Christian Sands, piano, music director; Bria Skonberg, trumpet, vocals; Melissa Aldana, tenor saxophone; Jamison Ross, drums, vocals; and Yasushi Nakamura, bass. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-8931999, visiting online at www.kimmelcenter.org or at the Kimmel Center Box Office; For more information,. see www.kimmmelcenter.org.
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts welcomes Double Dare Live! to the Merriam Theater on Thursday March 28, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. Inspired by the iconic game show Double Dare, originally filmed in Philadelphia, Double Dare Live! features two teams comprised of audience members competing to win prizes by answering brain-bending trivia questions, competing messy physical challenges and ultimately facing its legendary obstacle course. Double Dare premiered on Oct 6, 1986 on Nickelodeon and ran from 1986-1993, making it the network’s long running game show. Mark Summers served as the original host of the show and he is hosting the Double Dare Live! tour as well. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999. Group sales are available for groups of ten or more and can be purchased by calling 215-790-5883.
The
Kimmel Center For the Performing Arts welcomes the kid-friendly musical Peg +
Cat Live! to its Merriam Theater on Saturday, March 30, 2019 at 2:00
p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Created by co-creators Billy Anderson and Jennifer Oxley, this hilarious stage adaptation of
the Emmy-award winning PBS show features wild comedy, countless songs, large
puppets and Peg and Cat’s signature problem-solving methods. When Peg’s mom asks Peg and Cat to mail some
really important letters, they come face-to-face with a really big problem – a really
big dog! To solve the problem, they’ll
need math – bar graphs, size comparison, position words, fair sharing, and a
whole lot of counting. They’ll also need to count on each other and the
audience to solve their problem! As part of the Kimmel Center’s Family Discovery Series, Peg + Cat Live! is eligible for 3-show packages starting at
just $10 per show. Other shows in the series include KODO: EVOLUTION (March 12) Paw
Patrol Live! Race To The RESCUE (April 5-7) The Illusionists- Live from
Broadway (May 10-11) and Rennie Harris: Funkedified (June
7-8) Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, visiting online at www.kimmelcenter.org or at the Kimmel
Center Box Office.
The
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts welcomes Noura Mint Seymali to its SEI
Innovation Studios for a BYOB performance on Saturday March 30, 2019. Noura is
from the Republic of Mauritania, in West Africa and will be performing vocals
accompanied on psych guitar by her husband Jeich Ould Chighaly. The
husband-wife team is accompanied by Philadelphia native and drummer/producer
Matthew Tinari who joined the group following a happenstance meeting in
Senegal. Both Seymali and Chighaly are Moorish griots, poets, storytellers and
musicians who maintain a tradition of oral history in parts of West Africa.
They have combined their roots in Moorish music with a contemporary style to
gain critical acclaim with chart-topping albums and electrifying performances.
See www.kimmelcenter.org for more information. 
The
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts welcomes world-renown concert organist
Nathan Laube to perform on the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ in Verizon Hall on
Sunday, March 31, 2019 at 2:00 p.m.
Laube, a graduate of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, has quickly
earned a place among the organ world’s elite performers. His brilliant playing
has thrilled audiences throughout the United States as well as throughout
Europe. The recording of his performance of the Stephen Paulus Grand Concerto
recorded with the Nashville Symphony received a Grammy® Award. Tickets can be
purchased by calling 215-893-1999, visiting online at www.kimmelcenter.org. or at the Kimmel
Center Box Office.