Dancer

Choreographer

The Queen is centerstage. In a stacked setlist of original pop, rock, gospel, and R&B bangers, OBIE Award winner Whitney White subverts one of Shakespeare’s most iconic tales. The arc of Lady Macbeth is reimagined as the story of an ambitious Black woman, told through her own contemporary perspective of femininity, desire, and power with a capital P. Dazzlingly theatrical, Macbeth in Stride brings Lady M’s herstory into the 21st century with energy, humor, and swagger to spare.

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Macbeth In Stride

Yale University

Teeth is a sharp tale of revenge and transformation that tears through a culture of shame and repressed desire one delightfully unhinged song at a time. The musical follows Dawn O’Keefe, an evangelical Christian teen struggling to be an exemplar of purity amongst her community of fellow Promise Keeper Girls. Her stepbrother, Brad - alienated by his repressive upbringing in the community led by his fanatical Pastor father and intrigued by the online camaraderie of the Truthseeker men’s support group—is haunted by an indelible incident from his and Dawn’s past. As Dawn’s desires become tested and twisted by the men in her life, she discovers a deadly secret not even she understands: when men violate her, her body bites back—literally. Crackling with irrepressible desire and ancient rage, Teeth is a dark horror comedy conjuring the legend of one girl whose sexual curse may also be her salvation.

Teeth

World Wide Plaza Residence

Opera Philadelphia proudly presents the American premiere of "The Listeners," a thrilling new opera with music by Missy Mazzoli and libretto by Royce Vavrek. This captivating work, based on an original story by Jordan Tannahill, is performed in English with English supertitles and explores the seductive power of cults and charismatic leaders in a divided nation. The opera delves into the lengths Americans are willing to go to find a sense of place and purpose, and how confident, charming leaders can exploit these needs.

Set in a southwestern U.S. suburb, "The Listeners" follows a middle-class mother, soprano Nicole Heaston in her company debut, who notices a mysterious hum that only a select few can hear. As a community organization forms to investigate, meetings led by the de facto leader Kevin Burdette take on a cult-like atmosphere, leading to a potentially destructive path.

The opera is scheduled for performances at the Academy of Music on Wednesday, September 25 at 7:00 p.m., Friday, September 27 at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, September 29 at 2:00 p.m. The runtime is approximately 2 hours and 23 minutes, including one 20-minute intermission.

"The Listeners" is a co-commission and co-production with Norwegian National Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. This season's production is supported by the Artistry Now Matching Fund, Barbara Augusta Teichert, and major support from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Female Composers program.

The cast and creative team feature Corrado Rovaris as conductor, Lileana Blain-Cruz as director, and a talented ensemble including Troy Cook, Lindsey Reynolds, Kevin Burdette, Aaron Crouch, and many more, bringing this powerful story to life.

Don't miss the opportunity to experience this groundbreaking opera that examines the sound of a divided nation through the lens of an extraordinary musical and theatrical journey.

The Listeners

Academy of Music

A thriller about social rejection, suburban loneliness, and the seductive power of cults and charismatic leaders in a divided nation.

Hell-bent on breaking free of his own self-perception, Usher, a young, gay, Black writer who hates his day job, writes a musical about a young, gay, Black writer who’s writing a musical about a young, gay, Black writer...a strange loop. Usher grapples with desires, identity, and instincts he both loves and loathes, all brought to life on stage by a hilarious, straight-talking ensemble.

A Strange Loop

Center Theatre Group

Dawn O’Keefe is an evangelical Christian teen with a powerful secret not even she understands – when men violate her, her body bites back. Literally. From Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winner Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop) and Anna K. Jacobs (POP!), Teeth, based on the cult classic film of the same name, is a fierce, rapturous, and savagely entertaining new musical crackling with irrepressible desire and ancient rage – a dark comedy conjuring the legend of one girl whose sexual curse is also her salvation.

Playwrights Horizons

A dazzling theatrical event created and performed by Obie Award-winning artist Whitney White, Macbeth In Stride examines what it means to be an ambitious Black woman through the lens of one of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters. This 90-minute rock musical uses pop, gospel, and R&B to trace the fatalistic arc of Lady Macbeth while lifting contemporary Black female power, femininity, and desire. Directed by PTC’s artistic directors, Taibi Magar and Tyler Dobrowsky.

Philadelphia Theatre Company

serpentwithfeet’s experimental electronic music explores passion and love between gay Black folks so tenderly, The Guardian said of his 2021 record DEACON, “There can be few albums this year more wholesome, soppy, or unabashedly life-affirming.” He joins with MacArthur “genius” fellow Wu Tsang and choreographer Raja Feather Kelly to present Heart of Brick, a theatrical dance and musical performance that tells the story of two men finding themselves and falling in love in a gay dance hall—and captures the multi-generational spirit of the Black queer community. Combining music created for the performance with material from serpentwithfeet’s new album, as well as older songs, Heart of Brick is an evocative new work that embodies the sweetness and sincerity at serpent’s core.

serpentwithfeet: Heart of Brick

The John Anson Ford Theatre

The ground-breaking and critically acclaimed winner of every ‘Best Musical’ award on Broadway and the Pulitzer Prize comes to London for a one time only, limited summer season.

A Strange Loop at the Barbican Theatre

Barbican Centre

Amid the violence of the Russian Revolution, a young painter named Tamara de Lempicka and her aristocrat husband are forced to abandon their luxurious lifestyle and flee to the dubious safety of Paris. Relying on raw talent and relentless ambition, Tamara claws her way from penniless refugee to in-demand portraitist, earning a place among Parisian high society. Her world is upended once again when she meets Rafaela, a free spirit from the city slums, who introduces Tamara to a new world of decadence and passion. Torn between her new muse and her husband, and fighting to leave her mark on an ever-changing world, Tamara must discover the depths of her own strength to survive. Spanning decades of political turmoil and told through a thrilling, pop-infused score, Lempicka boldly explores the contradictions of a world in crisis, a woman ahead of her era, and an artist whose time has finally come.

Raja Feather Kelly

Dancer, Choreographer

Events

Past events

5 - 14 Dec, 2024

Macbeth In Stride · Yale Repertory Theatre

16 - 17 Oct, 2024

Teeth · New World Stages

About

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