{"id":43247,"date":"2026-05-07T15:58:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T19:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=43247"},"modified":"2026-05-07T16:00:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T20:00:01","slug":"on-stage-philadelphia-ballet-brings-romeo-juliet-to-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=43247","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Philadelphia Ballet brings Romeo & Juliet to area"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/div>\n
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Philadelphia Ballet<\/p><\/div>\n

Mother\u2019s Day is this Sunday and a great way to treat moms of all ages is to take them to a show \u2013 not to dinner or a concert but to an actual Broadway style show.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Philadelphia Ballet\u00a0will present the world premiere of Resident Choreographer\u00a0Juliano Nunes\u2019\u00a0\u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d now through May 10 at the Academy of Music (Broad and Locust streets, Philadelphia, www.philadelphiaballet.org<\/a>).<\/div>\n
The show, which is a powerful conclusion to the company\u2019s 2025\/26 season, is set to Sergei Prokofiev\u2019s renowned score.<\/div>\n
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\u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d\u00a0reimagines Shakespeare\u2019s iconic tale of star-crossed lovers through Nunes\u2019 distinctive choreographic voice, blending classical technique with emotionally charged contemporary movement.<\/div>\n
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\u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d is a\u00a0tragedy\u00a0written by\u00a0Shakespeare\u00a0about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families.<\/div>\n

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It was among Shakespeare\u2019s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with\u00a0\u201cHamlet\u201d, is one of his most frequently performed.<\/div>\n
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The\u00a0title characters\u00a0are regarded as\u00a0archetypal\u00a0young lovers. \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d belongs to a tradition of tragic\u00a0romances\u00a0stretching back to\u00a0antiquity.<\/div>\n
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The score is brought to life by the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra, led by Beatrice Jona Affron,\u00a0The Louise and Alan Reed Music Director and Conductor.<\/div>\n
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This world premiere introduces a bold new chapter for the company, featuring custom-designed costumes and sets by Youssef Hotait, whose work brings a striking visual dimension to Nunes\u2019 interpretation.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis\u00a0Romeo and Juliet\u00a0is about human connection at its most intense and fragile,\u201d said<\/div>\n
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According to Juliano Nunes, Resident Choreographer of Philadelphia Ballet, \u201cThis\u00a0\u2018Romeo and Juliet\u2019\u00a0is about human connection at its most intense and fragile.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI wanted to explore the emotional urgency of these characters in a way that feels immediate and deeply personal for today\u2019s audiences, while honoring the beauty and power of classical ballet.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The world premiere of\u00a0\u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d\u00a0arrives at a pivotal moment for Philadelphia Ballet as the organization looks ahead to the opening of its new\u00a0Center for Dance in fall 2026, a 43,000-square-foot facility.<\/div>\n
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Run time for this production is approximately two hours and six minutes, including one 20-minute intermission.\u00a0This production features theatrical haze.<\/div>\n
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Show times for \u201cRomeo and Juliet are 7:30 p.m. on May 7 and 8, noon and 5:30 p.m. on May 9 and 2 p.m. on May 10.<\/div>\n
Ticket prices start at $29.<\/div>\n
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Two other stage shows are just getting underway this weekend \u2013 \u201cArsenic & Old Lace\u201d at the Candlelight Theater and<\/div>\n
\u201cThe Woman Question\u201d at People\u2019s Light.<\/div>\n
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People\u2019s Light (39 Conestoga Road, Malvern,\u00a0peopleslight.org<\/a>) is presenting \u201cThe Woman Question\u201d now through May 24.<\/div>\n
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A new play with local roots,\u00a0\u201cThe Woman Question\u201d\u00a0unearths the stories of medical pioneers who led the charge for women\u2019s health and reproductive freedom 150 years ago.<\/div>\n
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Suli Holum<\/p><\/div>\n

This world premiere docu-fantasy follows the 1894 class of the Woman\u2019s Medical College of Pennsylvania, an intrepid cohort of students whose struggles and joys reverberate across centuries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The play is written and performed by acclaimed theatre-maker Suli Holum (\u201cHurricane Diane\u201d) in collaboration with Company Artist Melanye Finister (\u201cA Raisin in the Sun\u201d) and a remarkable cast and creative team.<\/div>\n
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Holum is an award-winning director, performer, choreographer and playwright based in Philadelphia and Brooklyn.
\nShe was a co-founder of Pig Iron Theatre Company, where she developed 10 original works, including as\u00a0playwright for\u00a0\u201cGentlemen Volunteers,\u201d which was awarded a \u201cSpirit of the Fringe Award\u201d at Edinburgh Fringe.<\/div>\n
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As a commissioned writer\/creator of new performance, she has created pieces such as \u201cWandering Alice,\u201d \u201cOedipus at FDR: A Free Wheeling Adaptation\u201d and \u201cFourteen.\u201d<\/div>\n
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She also wrote \u201cA Fierce Kind of Love\u201d\u00a0with the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University as well as two live theater projects for the National Constitution Center.<\/div>\n
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Holum has been on faculty at the New School and University of the Arts and is currently on faculty at The Pig Iron School.\u00a0 She\u00a0holds a BA in Theatre Studies from Swarthmore College, and an MFA in Playwriting from Goddard College.<\/div>\n
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Holum\u2019s \u201cThe Woman Question\u201d is a multi-year research and performance project which has been created in partnership with the Drexel University Legacy Archive and People\u2019s Light Theater Company, with support from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage.<\/div>\n
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Finister is a 30-year member of the Philadelphia theater community. In 1991, she joined the resident acting company at People\u2019s Light where she appeared in more than 30 productions.<\/div>\n
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The creative team also features director\u00a0Melissa Crespo, choreographer Fatima Sowe, scenic designer\u00a0Ann Beyersdorfer,\u00a0Costume Designer\u00a0Lux Haac, lighting designer\u00a0Lily Fossner, sound designers\u00a0Daniela Hart,\u00a0Bailey Trierweiler, and\u00a0Noel Nichols, projection designer\u00a0Lisa Renkel, and composer and music director\u00a0Daniela Hart.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Woman Question\u201d\u00a0blends archival research, flights of collective imagination, and a delightful, Victorian-infused theatricality.<\/div>\n
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The play centers on the\u00a01894 graduating class of the Woman\u2019s Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP)\u00a0\u2014 the first degree-granting medical school in the world exclusively for women, founded in 1850.<\/div>\n
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Students came from across the U.S. and abroad, facing societal barriers, public shaming, and systemic inequities while pursuing careers in a male-dominated field.<\/div>\n
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Holum collaborated with archivists to use letters, diaries, photographs, and ephemera to bring these stories to life.<\/div>\n
Key historical figures portrayed include Anna Broomall, founder of the first outpatient maternity and prenatal care clinic in the U.S.;<\/div>\n
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Rebecca Cole, the second Black woman to become a physician in the U.S.; and Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte, the first Native American to earn a Western medical degree from WMCP.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Woman Question\u201d\u00a0examines\u00a0gendered healthcare disparities, reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and community resilience. It interweaves the 19th-century struggles of these women with the experiences of 21st-century women in medicine, creating a dialogue between past and present.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Woman Question\u201d is running now through May 24 at People\u2019s Light.<\/div>\n
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Ticket prices start at $30.<\/div>\n
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The Candlelight Theater (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware, www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org<\/a>) started 2026 with a pair of classic comedies by Mel Brooks \u2013 \u201cThe Producers\u201d and \u201cYoung Frankenstein.\u201d<\/div>\n
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For its third production of 2026, Candlelight is presenting \u201cArsenic & Old Lace.\u201d The show opens on May 9 and runs through June 20.<\/div>\n
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\u201cArsenic and Old Lace\u201d\u00a0is a\u00a0play\u00a0by American\u00a0playwright\u00a0Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the 1944\u00a0film adaptation\u00a0starring\u00a0Cary Grant\u00a0and directed by\u00a0Frank Capra.<\/div>\n
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The play opened on\u00a0Broadway\u00a0at the\u00a0Fulton Theatre\u00a0on January 10, 1941.<\/div>\n
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Of the 12 plays written by Kesselring,\u00a0\u201cArsenic and Old Lace\u201d\u00a0was by far the most successful. According to the opening night review in\u00a0The New York Times, the play was \u201cso funny that none of us will ever forget it.\u201d<\/div>\n
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In 1941, New Yorkers were looking for some entertainment to take their minds off of the war in Europe and the growing fear that America would be pulled into it. On January 10, Broadway gave them exactly what they were looking for.<\/div>\n
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The play became an immediate critical and popular success, running for 1,444 performances. It also became a hit in England in 1942.<\/div>\n
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The play, a clever combination of the farcical and the macabre, centers on two elderly sisters who are famous in their Brooklyn neighborhood for their numerous acts of charity.<\/div>\n
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Unfortunately, however, their charity includes poisoning lonely old men who come to their home looking for lodging. The two women are assisted in their crimes by their mentally challenged nephew who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt and who frequently blasts a bugle and yells \u201ccharge\u201d as he bounds up the stairs.<\/div>\n
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Matters get complicated when a second nephew, a theater critic, discovers the murders and a third nephew appears after having just escaped from a mental institution.<\/div>\n
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\u201cArsenic & Old Lace\u201d revolves around drama critic Mortimer Brewster, whose engagement announcement is upended when he discovers a corpse in his elderly aunts\u2019 window seat.<\/div>\n
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Mortimer rushes to tell Abby and Martha before they stumble upon the body themselves, only to learn that the two old women aren\u2019t just aware of the dead man in their parlor, they killed him.<\/div>\n
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The \u201cmurderous old lady\u201d plot line may also have been inspired by actual events that occurred in a house on Prospect St in\u00a0Windsor, Connecticut, where a woman,\u00a0Amy Archer-Gilligan, took in boarders, promising \u201clifetime care,\u201d and poisoned them for their pensions.<\/div>\n
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\u201cArsenic & Old Lace\u201d runs through June 20 and features a themed meal and free parking.<\/div>\n
Tickets are $83 for adults and $38.50 for children (ages 4-12). Tickets for show only are $43.50 (adults and children).<\/div>\n
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If you\u2019re looking for a different type of production, how about a circus show.<\/div>\n
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Cirque du Soleil\u2019s new production \u201cLUZIA\u201d just opened this week and will run through June 7 under a big top at the Greater Philadelphia Expo\u00a0Center (100 Station Avenue, Oaks, www.phillyexpocenter.com<\/a>).<\/div>\n
Billed as \u201cA Waking Dream of Mexico,\u201d the show looks at our neighbors from the south.<\/div>\n
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Poetically guided by light (\u2018luz\u2019 in Spanish) and rain (\u2018lluvia\u2019), \u201cLUZIA\u201d chronicles the encounters of a parachuted traveler with the culture, nature and mythology of a dreamlike land inhabited by a mystifying menagerie of characters.<\/div>\n
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Refreshing and unexpected, \u201cLUZIA\u201d enchants by artistically incorporating water into the acrobatic presentation — a first for a Cirque du Soleil touring production.<\/div>\n
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As the sun rises, the running woman awakes an imaginary Mexico, honoring the monarch butterfly\u2019s migration.<\/div>\n
In a series of grand visual surprises and breathtaking acrobatic performances, \u201cLUZIA\u201d takes audiences on a surreal escape to an imaginary Mexico \u2013 a sumptuously vibrant world suspended between dreams and reality.<\/div>\n
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Smoothly passing from an old movie set to the ocean to a smoky dance hall or an arid desert, \u201cLUZIA\u201d journeys through a colorful tapestry of multiple places, faces and sounds of Mexico taken from both tradition and modernity.<\/div>\n
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Video link for \u201cLUZIA\u201d — www.cirquedusoleil.com\/luzia<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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\u201cLUZIA\u201d will run through June 7 in Oaks.<\/div>\n
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Ticket prices start at $25.<\/div>\n
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This weekend, you could also treat mom \u2013 or just yourself \u2013 to a concert of live music\u2026.and there are plenty from which to choose.<\/div>\n
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On May 9, the Brandywine Symphony will preform a Mother\u2019s Day Concert at Winterthur\u2019s Copeland Lecture Hall (5105 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, Delaware, bvsymphony.org<\/a>).<\/div>\n
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This celebration of chamber music offers a beautiful way to honor mothers in an elegant historic setting.<\/div>\n
Guests may add tickets to explore Winterthur\u2019s 1,000-acre gardens, the 175-room former home of Henry Francis du Pont, rotating exhibitions, and the renowned research library, creating a full day of cultural enrichment.<\/div>\n
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The program will feature Samuel Barber\u2019s \u201cAdagio for Strings,\u201d Antonin Dvorak\u2019s \u201cString Quartet no.12 in F Major, \u201cAmerican\u201d and Jennifer Higdon\u2019s \u201cAmazing Grace.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cAdagio for Strings\u201d\u00a0is a work by\u00a0West Chester\u2019s Samuel Barber\u00a0arranged for\u00a0string orchestra\u00a0from the second movement of his\u00a0String Quartet, Op. 11.<\/div>\n
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Barber finished the arrangement in 1936, the same year that he wrote the quartet. It was performed for the first time on November 5, 1938, by\u00a0Arturo Toscanini\u00a0conducting the\u00a0NBC Symphony Orchestra\u00a0in a radio broadcast from NBC\u00a0Studio 8H.<\/div>\n
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The\u00a0\u201cString Quartet No. 12\u00a0in F major,\u00a0Op.\u00a096 (B.\u00a0179),\u201d nicknamed the\u00a0\u201cAmerican Quartet,\u201d is the twelfth\u00a0string quartet\u00a0composed by Dvo\u0159\u00e1k.<\/div>\n
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It was written in 1893, during Dvo\u0159\u00e1k’s time in the United States. The quartet is one of the most popular in the chamber music repertoire.<\/div>\n
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Higdon\u00a0is an American\u00a0composer\u00a0of\u00a0contemporary classical music. She has received\u00a0many awards, including the 2010\u00a0Pulitzer Prize for Music\u00a0for her\u00a0Violin Concerto\u00a0and three\u00a0Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Classical Composition\u00a0for her\u00a0Percussion Concerto\u00a0in 2010,\u00a0Viola Concerto\u00a0in 2018, and\u00a0Harp Concerto\u00a0in 2020.<\/div>\n
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The show at Winterthur will start at 1 p.m. on May 9<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $26.<\/div>\n
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Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) is hosting Jeffery Gaines on May 9.<\/div>\n
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The Colonial Theater (227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, thecolonialtheatre.com\/events<\/a>) will host Al Di Meola The Guitarchitect Featuring Electric Band on May 8.<\/div>\n
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Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985, www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>) is hosting Joey Stout and the Blue Note Band on May 7, Rev Chris and Les Garcons Crasseuax on May 8, James Maddock on May 9 and The Girke-Davis Project Mother\u2019s Day Tribute on May 10.<\/div>\n
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Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>) will have Cass McCombs + Band on May 7, 3 Night Celebration of the Grateful Dead legacy, Benefiting The Rex Foundation & Camp Winnarainbow — Unlimited Devotion on May 8, 9 and 10 and The Joy Formidable on May 13.<\/div>\n
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Elkton Music Hall (107 North Street, Elkton, Maryland, www.elktonmusichall.com<\/a>) presents John Gallagher, Jr. on May 7, Ultimate Diamond on May 8, Butch Zito on May 9, Sunny Sweeney on May 12 and Southern Culture on the Skids on May 13.<\/div>\n
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The Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0www.st94.com<\/a>) will present BoDeans: 40 Years of Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams…and Good Things on May 7, Graham Parker on May 8, Fleetwood Mask on May 9, Yacht Lobsters on May 10, Paris monster and Dave Butler & Friends on May 11 and The Lone Bellow on May 13.<\/div>\n
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The Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650, www.keswicktheatre.com<\/a>) will have Dirty Deeds on May 9, Leonid & Friends on May 10 and The Head and the Heart on May 13.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Mother\u2019s Day is this Sunday and a great way to treat moms of all ages is to take them to a show \u2013 not to dinner or a concert but to an actual Broadway style show. Philadelphia Ballet\u00a0will present the world premiere of Resident Choreographer\u00a0Juliano Nunes\u2019\u00a0\u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7441],"tags":[6269,6713,14265],"class_list":["post-43247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-peoples-light","tag-philadelphia-ballet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43247"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43249,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43247\/revisions\/43249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}