Tagged Performing Arts

Sundays on Stage: The Nutcracker with Pages to Pirouettes

Presented by Pages to Pirouettes , The Nutcracker returns to the Free Library stage! Bring the whole family to hear the story of Marie and the Nutcracker Prince, then see the tale come to life to the enchanting music of Tchaikovsky. A…

Saturdays on Stage: Kids Tell Tales with Thembi Palmer

At Kids Tell Tales, families will explore all the ways to share stories through movement, drama, read alouds, music, and more. Thembi’s Palmer’s inclusive and engaging event encourages bonds within communities, fosters a…

Saturdays on Stage: Los Bomberos de la Calle

Get ready to dance and move with Philadelphia-based Los Bomberos de la Calle ! This musical group brings a piece of Puerto Rican culture and life everywhere they perform with vibrant, soulful music. This performance will feature bomba,…

Saturdays on Stage: Michael & the Rockness Monsters

A rock ‘n roll show in a library? Right on! Michael and the Rockness Monsters kick off the Saturdays on Stage season with an energetic, interactive concert that will have kids out of their seats to sing, jump, and dance it out!…

BORBS: Improv Musical Performance

What's you favorite bird sound? Ours is a coo (both pigeons and chickens coo when you feed them birdseed ❤). The Music Department hosts BORBS for an improvisational musical performance, followed by a brief Q&A session. Come…

Coffee & Conversations: Ghosts and Memories

Join us for another enchanting evening of spoken word at Coffee & Conversations: Ghosts and Memories. This open mic night, with three featured poets and an open mic session, is an invitation to explore the haunting beauty of…

Saturdays on Stage: East Meets West with Hua Hua Zhang

Watch short stories come alive with the magic of puppeteering! With string puppets, hand puppets and rod puppets, Hua Hua Zhang fuses graceful movements, Chinese opera, and Western technology in this enchanting performance of Chinese…

LitFinder

Discover literature content from more than 150,000 full-text poems, 840,000 poem citations and excerpts, 7,100 full-text short stories and novels, 3,800 full-text essays published in the 16th-20th centuries, 2,400 full-text speeches, and…

Karen Valby | The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History

Featuring: Lydia Abarça, Sheila Rohan, Marcia Sells, Karlya Shelton, and Khadija Tariyan (daughter of Gayle McKinney Griffith) In conversation with Shelly Power, The Dr. Carolyn Newsom Executive Director, Philadelphia Ballet Karen Valby…

Kimberlé Crenshaw | #SayHerName: Black Women’s Stories of Police Violence and Public Silence

In conversation with Dorothy Roberts One of the country’s foremost authorities in civil rights, Black feminist legal theory, race, and the law, Kimberlé Crenshaw is a law professor at UCLA and Columbia Law School, where in 1996 she…

Sarah Cooper | Foolish: Tales of Assimilation, Determination, and Humiliation

In conversation with comedian Chanel Ali Referred to by Amy Schumer as “the funniest, smartest person I know,” Sarah Cooper is best known for her hilarious lip-syncing videos of Donald Trump sound bites. The author of 100 Tricks to…

Lidia Matticchio Bastianich | Lidia's From Our Family Table to Yours: More Than 100 Recipes Made with Love for All Occasions

In conversation with Heather Marold Thomason, Butcher & Founder of Primal Supply “The cookbook author who changed the way Americans cook Italian food” ( The New York Times ), Lidia Matticchio Bastianich is the author of 15 beloved…

Emily Wilson | The Iliad

In conversation with Sheila Murnaghan, chair of the classics department at the University of Pennsylvania “A cultural landmark” ( The Guardian ), Emily Wilson ’s 2017 translation of The Odyssey was hailed for its fresh and unpretentious…

Bernie Taupin | Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton and Me

In conversation with novelist and musician Wesley Stace Legendary English song lyricist Bernie Taupin has worked with Elton John since 1967 and has written the lyrics for most of the iconic performer’s hits, including “Rocket Man,”…

Sheryl Lee Ralph | Diva 2.0: 12 Life Lessons From Me For You

In conversation with award-winning journalist and broadcaster Tracey Matisak A celebrated veteran of film, television, and the Broadway stage, Sheryl Lee Ralph won an Emmy Award, a Critic’s Choice Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award…

R. Eric Thomas | Congratulations, the Best Is Over!: Essays

R. Eric Thomas  is the author of the Lambda Literary Award finalist  Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul America , a bestselling essay collection that tackles just what it means to be an “other” in the maelstrom of modern America.…

Michelle Zauner | Crying in H Mart

In conversation with Homay King The lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist of the indie rock outfit Japanese Breakfast, Michelle Zauner has garnered wide acclaim for her shoegaze-inspired pop earworms. These works include  Psychopomp…

Adam Gopnik | The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery

Featuring magician, Justin Gilmore A staff writer at  The New Yorker  for more than three decades, Adam Gopnik is the author of  Paris to the Moon ,  The Table Comes First ,  At the Strangers’ Gate , and  A Thousand Small Sanities , a…

Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr. | Who Hears Here: On Black Music, Pasts, & Present

In conversation with Marc Lamont Hill Professor emeritus of Music at the University of Pennsylvania, Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr. is a celebrated musicologist, composer, pianist, and music historian. He is the author of Race Music: Black…

Misty Copeland | The Wind at My Back: Resilience, Grace, and Other Gifts from My Mentor, Raven Wilkinson

In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6abc Action News morning edition The first African American principal dancer in the history of the elite American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland is one of the world’s most accomplished and…

Ralph Macchio | Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me

In conversation with Jason Freeman, author events producer and editor Ralph Macchio is best known for his portrayal of Daniel LaRusso in the 1984 film The Karate Kid . This iconic piece of pop culture has spawned a slew of sequels and…

Bo Seo | Good Arguments: How Debate Teaches Us to Listen and Be Heard

In conversation with Tracey Matisak, award winning broadcaster and journalist A two-time world champion debater and a former coach of the Harvard College Debating Union and the Australian national debating team, Bo Seo has won the World…

Jeremy Denk | Every Good Boy Does Fine: A Love Story, in Music Lessons

In conversation with Peter Dobrin, classical music critic and culture writer,  The Philadelphia Inquirer One of classical music’s most celebrated pianists, Jeremy Denk has performed with ensembles such as the National Symphony…

Harvey Fierstein | I Was Better Last Night: A Memoir

In conversation with comedienne, actor, and author Catherine "Cat" Cohen An acclaimed playwright, screenwriter, and actor, Harvey Fierstein is the Tony Award–winning author of Torch Song Trilogy and La Cage aux Folles . His play A…

Brendan Slocumb | The Violin Conspiracy

In conversation with Stanford Thompson, founder and executive director of Play On Philly A public and private school music educator for more than 20 years, Brendan Slocumb has performed on violin with the Washington Metropolitan…

Bernardine Evaristo | Manifesto: On Never Giving Up

In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition Bernardine Evaristo won the 2019 Man Booker Prize and the Dublin Literary Award for  Girl, Woman, Other , “a breathtaking symphony of Black women’s…

Jackie Kay | Bessie Smith: A Poet’s Biography of a Blues Legend

In conversation with Sapphire The National Poet Laureate of Scotland from 2016 to 2021, Jackie Kay is the author of the celebrated poetry collections  Life Mask ,  Off Colour , and  The Adoption Papers , winner of the Scottish Arts…

James Lapine | Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created “Sunday in the Park with George”

In conversation with Benj Pasek, Tony Award-winning songwriter and New York Times bestselling author of  Dear Evan Hansen A celebrated director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist, James Lapine earned three Tony Awards for “Best…