MAY 14, 2010 The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Announces 2010/11 Season Highlights include: Theatre season focuses on works by Irish playwrights and features performances by The Druid Theatre of Galway in The Cripple of Inishmaan and the Abbey Theatre in Terminus Other theatre highlights include Tectonic Theatre Project’s The Laramie Residency and Ella The Musical, a bio-musical about the celebrated vocalist Ella Fitzgerald Dance Celebration season, co-presented by Dance Affiliates and the Annenberg Center, juxtaposes blockbuster dance companies with emerging talent New works by Paul Taylor, Pilobolus and Parsons Dance Companies; Philadelphia debuts by up and coming choreographers Aszure Barton and Larry Keigwin Trumpet player and composer Terence Blanchard headlines the Jazz series with a performance from his Grammy® award-winning album A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina) Philadelphia native Christian McBride, jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band also perform as part of Jazz season Partnership with the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA) brings performances of famed puppeteer Basil Twist’s Petrushka to the Annenberg Center stage African Roots Series features the legendary Hugh Masekela, South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and a Gospel performance by Take 6 Irish Roots Series celebrates the 25th anniversary of Altan; other highlights include Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul, Irish holiday performance by Slide (Ireland) and singer/guitarist Kathy Mattea By Local Series continues commitment to showcase the best of Philadelphia talent – more – Page 2 Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Announces 2010/11 Season (Philadelphia, May 14, 2010) — The 2010/11 season at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts features six distinct performance series that highlight amazing artists and extraordinary experiences. This season showcases a world-class roster of performers including international theatre companies, jazz and world music greats, superstar dance companies and Philadelphia’s most edgy and innovative artists. The upcoming season includes 90 performances and runs from September 25, 2010 – May 22, 2011. Subscriptions to the 2010/11 season are on sale now and can be purchased online by visiting AnnenbergCenter.org, over the phone by calling 215.898.3900 or by visiting the Annenberg Center Box Office. Single tickets will be on sale in August. “We are delighted to announce the 2010/11 season at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts” said Managing Director Michael J. Rose. “Featuring great theatre, music, and dance from around the world, the nation, and this great city – augmented by a broad range of intriguing wraparound “issues and ideas” programs – this will be a season that entertains and enlightens, provokes and inspires, a season where one can freely engage one’s imagination and creative powers through great art.” THEATRE SERIES Moisés Kaufman’s groundbreaking play, The Laramie Project, energized American attitudes about violence against the gay community. Ten years after Matthew Shepard's murder, Kaufman, along with members of the Tectonic Theater Project, returned to Laramie, Wyoming to conduct follow-up interviews with residents portrayed in the play. Those interviews were turned into a companion piece entitled The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later – an Epilogue. Ten Years Later – an Epilogue demonstrates the power of community when people come together to deal with crisis and support each other through the healing process and features cast members from the original Laramie Project. The Laramie Residency (November 11-13, 2010) features performances of both The Laramie Project and The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later – an Epilogue over the course of three days, as well as day-long workshops with the Philadelphia theatre and LGBTQ communities. The National Theatre of Ireland, the award-winning Abbey Theatre, has produced some of the most significant and crucial plays of the 20th century. Now, the company returns to the Annenberg Center stage in performances of contemporary Irish playwright Mark O’Rowe’s wildly innovative and vivid play Terminus. Featuring a straightforward narrative told by three characters — two women and a man who are identified only as A, B and C — Terminus is a tale of three people ripped from their daily lives resulting in an audacious drama of interlocking monologues. Described as a “startling, surprisingly touching, and enormously satisfying thrill ride” by The Irish Times, The Abbey Theatre will embark on a fall tour of the U.S. that will bring Terminus to the Annenberg Center February 16-20, 2011. Featuring more than a dozen of Ella Fitzgerald’s most famous hits, including “A Tisket, A Tasket,” “How High the Moon,” “That Old Black Magic” and “They Can’t Take that Away from Me,” Ella The Musical (March 22-27, 2011) weaves myth, memory and music as it tells the uplifting and poignant story of one of the greatest jazz/pop vocalists of the 20th century. Starring vocalist Tina Fabrique, with a four-piece band – more – Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Announces 2010/11 Season Page 3 on stage to back her up, Ella The Musical leads audience members on a tour of the singer’s career and the bumps she experienced on her road to fame. Known the world over for his innovative puppet shows, master puppeteer Basil Twist makes his Philadelphia debut with Petrushka (April 6-16, 2011). Petrushka tells of the tragic love triangle between three magical, life-size puppets – the clown Petrushka, the alluring Ballerina and the dashing Moor – whose stories emerge amidst the swirl of a Russian carnival. Russian identical twin pianists, Julia and Irina Elkina, perform a specially created two piano version of Stravinsky's masterpiece while nine hidden puppeteers combine Czech and Japanese puppetry traditions. The program opens with an abstract fantasia of puppetry set to Stravinsky's Sonata for Two Pianos. Performances on April 7-9, 2011 are part of the Philadelphia International Children’s Festival, including two Student Discovery performances April 7-8. All performances are part of the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (see page 8 for more information) and are made possible by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through Dance Advance. The Cripple of Inishmaan, written by Academy Award® winner and four-time Tony Award® nominee Martin McDonagh and directed by Tony® Award winner Garry Hynes toured Ireland and the United Kingdom before attracting the highest attendance ever for a production at the Atlantic Theater in New York City in 2008. From January to June 2011, this widely acclaimed multi-award winning Druid Theatre of Galway and Atlantic Theater co-production will undertake a major tour of the USA that includes performances at the Annenberg Center (May 19-22, 2011). Set in 1934 on an island off the west coast of Ireland, The Cripple of Inishmaan begins as Hollywood filmmaker Robert Flaherty arrives on the neighboring island of Inishmore to film his movie The Man of Aran, stirring excitement in the sleepy community of Inishmaan. For orphaned Billy Claven, who has been relentlessly scorned by the island’s inhabitants, the film represents an escape from the poverty of his existence. He vies for a part in the film, and to everyone’s surprise, it is the cripple who gets his chance. The Cripple of Inishmaan is a savagely funny and brutally honest tale—one that, in the great tradition of Irish storytelling, promises to stay with you long after you leave the theater. DANCE CELEBRATION – SUPERSTARS OF DANCE, TODAY AND TOMORROW The 29th season of Dance Celebration, the region’s foremost presenter of renowned international dance companies and artists, features eight companies in 35 performances. Under the artistic direction of Randy Swartz, Dance Celebration, presented by Dance Affiliates and the Annenberg Center, brings to Philadelphia the most sought-after contemporary touring dance companies. This season, titled “Superstars of Dance, Today and Tomorrow,” juxtaposes blockbuster dance companies with hot, new talent emerging on the dance scene. “Dance has always had the tradition of having one foot in the present, the other foot in the past, and an eye to the future. The 2010/11 season is about honoring our traditions and discovering new voices,” said Swartz. “This season will feature new works by the masters and performances by the next generation that will fill their shoes.” – more – Page 4 Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Announces 2010/11 Season Hailed by the San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle as “the greatest living American choreographer,” Paul Taylor and his troupe return to Philadelphia to perform their newest works, October 21-23, 2010. Celebrating its 55th year (and Taylor’s 80th birthday), Paul Taylor Dance Company continues to be a major force in the advancement of modern dance. Not just any tango show, Luis Bravo’s Forever Tango (November 16-20, 2010) traces the evolution of the tango – from its start in 19th century Argentina to today’s popular variations. Forever Tango features 14 of the world’s finest tango dancers, who are joined by an 11-piece orchestra. This internationally-acclaimed spectacle is now the longest-running tango production in Broadway history and a “must see” production according to the New York Times. The Swiss group Mummenschanz (which loosely translated means “masquerade”) provides a unique option to those looking for an alternative to The Nutcracker or A Christmas Carol this holiday season. Enchanting audiences for over 30 years, Mummenschanz’s newest show 3 x11 (a 33-year restrospective) uses ordinary materials such as toilet paper, white sheets, foam and recycled junk that morph into giant balloons to tell stories that transcend the need for words. These invisible masters of movement (founding members Bernie Schürch, Floriana Frassetto, Raffaella Mattioli and Pietro Montandon) have revolutionized theatre using mime, acting, dance and magic, and according to the Boston Herald, they create their “own comic universe – a place of constant wonder and ingenuity” (December 16-18, 2010).