The show must go on
Jérôme Bel
France’s Jérôme Bel, one of the most sought after choreographers in the world, will set his Bessie Award-winning, internationally renowned contemporary dance epic, The show must go on, with a full cast of twenty Philadelphia-based dancers. The Philadelphia premiere marks the first time a U.S. cast has ever performed the piece, which will be held at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater (260 South Broad Street). The local cast includes dancers diverse in age, race and disciplines including classical ballet dancers from the Pennsylvania Ballet, hip-hop dancers from Rennie Harris Puremovement, and student performers from The University of the Arts, among others. Infused with spontaneity, humor, and an intimate exploration of human experience, The show must go on explodes the notion of the theatrical fourth wall and leaves audiences with an exhilarating new notion of performance, spectacle, and human connection. (9/11 – 9/13, 8pm)
THE MeLTING BRiDgE
The Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental/Thaddeus Phillips
Thaddeus Phillips returns with the third and final installment of his Americas trilogy with THE MeLTING BRiDgE, from at Plays and Players Theatre (1714 Delancey Place). This time-traveling adventure set in Mexico City explores the rise and fall of the indigenous cultures of the Americas. A visually transformative design and an original live musical score will set the scene as Phillips’ protagonist travels the world in search of his missing archeologist father. THE MeLTING BRiDgE becomes a portal to the history and future of our continent, making stops in Alaska, Arizona, Mexico City, the Yucatán Peninsula and the Amazon basin in Brazil. Set on, below, and around a bridge, this new work uses shadows, object transformations, Mexican wrestling, and Mesoamerican concepts of time to explore the questionable future of life on earth. (9/10 – 9/13 at 7pm & 9/12 at 11pm)