William Penn News

The Jupiter String Quartet remains committed to making music during these challenging times, and in place of its scheduled in-person performance in Syracuse, will give a virtual concert presented by Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music, recorded from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, where the ensemble has been artists-in-residence since 2012. Presented through high quality video recordings, this concert will be available to online ticketholders on Friday, September 25, 2020 at 7:30pm ET and for a few days after.

Quintessence Theatre Group, Philadelphia's classic repertory theatre, announces its Fate vs. Free Will season. This award-winning company is celebrated for its language and actor driven epic classical theatre and will resume live performance in 2020 with a season of theatrical masterpieces.

BroadwayWorld has an exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming musical episode of ABC's The Goldbergs! The episode features the return of Ana Gasteyer, who plays Ms. Cinoman, the drama teacher.

Metropolitan's 2020 Variations/Collaborations performance includes two world premieres by Princess Grace Foundation- USA award winners, Jenelle Figgins and Tommie-Waheed Evans. Metropolitan's Artistic Director Lisa Collins Vidnovic says, 'We are thrilled to showcase outstanding contemporary choreography by Evans, Figgins and Sarah Mettin, recently- appointed Artistic Associate of Metropolitan. This exciting evening with accessible ticket prices is a great way for people of all ages to enjoy the thrill of a dynamic, live performance.'

ABC spices things up with Valentine's Day-themed episodes of the network's hit comedies including “Modern Family” visiting the city of love, Paris; Tommy Lee appearing on “The Goldbergs”; and Tyler Cameron, formerly of “The Bachelorette,” guest starring on “Single Parents.” Then, to celebrate Valentine's Day on Friday, Feb. 14, ABC will air two beloved Charlie Brown specials, “Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown” and “A Charlie Brown Valentine.”

Theatre Philadelphia has announced the return of Philly Theatre Week with 75+ organizations, and 300 events and performances between February 6 to 16, 2020.

Carnegie Hall today announced that the Weill Music Institute's (WMI) Lullaby Project has received a three-year grant from the William Penn Foundation to implement the program in Philadelphia. This spring, the Lullaby Project will pilot in Philadelphia.

ABC has given a full-season order to Wednesday night comedy “Schooled,” Karey Burke, president, ABC Entertainment, announced today. The additional order brings the season total to 22 episodes for “Schooled,” the “The Goldbergs” spinoff, in its sophomore season on the network. The series is from Sony Pictures Television and ABC Studios.

ABC is the home for unforgettable holiday programming as the network celebrates the joy of the season. In November, the network serves up a bounty of Thanksgiving-themed episodes and the classic animated special “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” In December, ABC decks the halls with special Christmas and Hanukkah-themed episodes—the return of fan-favorite series “The Great Christmas Light Fight” and “The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition”; and an all-new holiday movie, “Same Time, Next Christmas,” starring Lea Michele. Timeless cartoons and beloved holiday films will also return. The fun continues after Christmas with New Year's-themed programming ringing in 2020. 

New York Live Arts, in partnership with Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, presents Rashaad Newsome's multifaceted BLACK MAGIC at New York Live Arts (Live Arts), Philadelphia Photo Arts Center (PPAC), and Icebox Project Space (Icebox), September 12 - November 30, 2019. 

Shakespeare in Clark Park, the West Philadelphia based outdoor theater company is announcing an expansion of their work. 'The Park Plays' will bring SCP's practice of engaging the community in the theater-making process while bringing free outdoor theater to two parks in Philadelphia neighborhoods in summer 2020. The two parks chosen for productions are Harrowgate Park in North Philadelphia and Vernon Park in Germantown.

The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills will take visitors back in time for its exclusive new exhibit celebrating the fashion from The Goldbergs and Schooled. The Goldbergs & Schooled Rewind! will immerse visitors into all the nostalgic fun of two acclaimed series, set in two of the most fashion-driven eras in pop-culture history. The exhibit is free and is open to the public from October 16 - November 17, and will kick off with a special preview launch event with the cast and creative team of The Goldbergs on October 15.

Inspired by Michelle Pfeiffer in 'Dangerous Minds,' Lainey Lewis (AJ Michalka) starts her second year of teaching at William Penn Academy as every student's worst nightmare: a teacher who cares. Watch 'Schooled' WEDNESDAY 8:30|7:30c on ABC, and watch the clip below!

Last January, Joseph Keckler seemed to burst forth, fully blown, like Athena from the head of Zeus, at New York's Prototype Festival (though his emergence was, in fact, no such thing, having already been a staple of the Downtown scene for several years). This month, Philadelphia's got him, at the Opera Philadelphia O19, running from September 20-28, with LET ME DIE. It's a genre-bending performance piece for the baritone, whose voice ascends to tenorial heights, that peppers famous operatic death scenes (with some singing collaborators) with video from Lianne Arnold, his own music and signature comedic je ne sais quoi.

New York Live Arts, in partnership with Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, presents Rashaad Newsome's multifaceted BLACK MAGIC at New York Live Arts (Live Arts), Philadelphia Photo Arts Center (PPAC), and Icebox Project Space (Icebox), September 12 - November 30, 2019. The project includes an exhibition at PPAC, installation at New York Live Arts, and performances at Live Arts and Icebox. BLACK MAGIC is a holistic reflection on agency, Blackness, and the futurity of intersectional identities and oppression.

Power Street Theatre is reviving their first production, Erlina Ortiz's MinorityLand, a timely piece exploring gentrification, in a co-production with Montgomery County's Theatre Horizon. The staging also kicks off a new community program from Power Street called Comunidades Conectadas, which will feature a number of initiatives including complimentary bus transportation to select performances in Philadelphia. MinorityLand will perform September 25-October 5 at West Kensington Ministry before transferring to Theatre Horizon in Norristown October 11-13. Reviewing press are invited to the September 27 performance at 7PM in Philadelphia. Lead support is provided by the William Penn Foundation.

Deadline reports that Tim Doyle will replace Mark Firek as showrunner on ABC's Schooled. 

New York Live Arts, in partnership with Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, presents Rashaad Newsome's multifaceted BLACK MAGIC at New York Live Arts (Live Arts), Philadelphia Photo Arts Center (PPAC), and Icebox Project Space (Icebox), September 12 - November 30, 2019.  The project includes an exhibition at PPAC, installation at New York Live Arts, and performances at Live Arts and Icebox. BLACK MAGIC is a holistic reflection on agency, Blackness, and the futurity of intersectional identities and oppression.

Bill T. Jones, MacArthur Genius Award and National Medal of Arts awardee and Artistic Director of New York Live Arts, and Janet Wong, Associate Artistic Director, announced the New York Live Arts' fall 2019-2020 season today. 'Is there such a thing as 'we'? How and why do we come together?  What makes a community? These questions are on our minds as we enter our 9th season. How do artists embody and shed light on these questions?', said the team.

BalletX, led by Artistic & Executive Director Christine Cox, will perform a Pop Up on the Rooftop Terrace of the Parkway Central Free Library on Friday, June 28 at 4:30pm-5:00pm. The Pop-Up performance will feature an excerpt of The Little Prince, a full-length story ballet for the whole family by choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupery's classic novella, and being performed by BalletX in its entirety at The Wilma Theater, July 10-21. Immediately following the Pop Up, Lopez Ochoa will participate in a Q&A from 5:00pm-5:30pm, moderated by Joan DeJean, University of Pennsylvania's Trustee Professor of Romance Languages in the French and Francophone Studies department. The first 100 Pop Up attendees will receive a complimentary edition of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince (one copy per family). The event is free and open to the public.