Shows not to miss in Philly this spring

Photo by Chris Bennion, courtesy of the Kimmel Center
The cast of the smash-hit musical Hairspray.

by Gina Rullo, Gazette Staff Writer
 

New York is not the only place to see a musical or a play. Top quality shows are being performed right across the bridge in Philadelphia at the Academy of Music on Broad Street.
Below is a listing of some upcoming shows that are too good to miss.
HAIRSPRAY
When:
Friday, May 2, 2008 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 3, 2008 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 4, 2008 at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Where: Academy of Music
Price: $25, $37.50, $60, $70, $100
Broadway’s Tony Award-winning musical comedy phenomenon takes you back to 1962 Baltimore, as 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show. Can a big girl with big dreams—and even bigger hair! —change the world... and still have time to win the boy she loves?
This megahit is piled bouffant-high with laughter and romance—and enough deliriously tuneful new songs to fill a nonstop platter-party. It’s the winner of eight 2003 Tony Awards®, including Best Musical. As The New York Times wrote, “If life were everything it should be, it would be more like Hairspray. It’s irresistible!”
GYPSY
When:
Friday, May 9, 2008 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Where: Academy of Music
Price: $28, $42.50, $57.50, $67.50, $100
From the blast of the first trumpet to the last hot spotlight, it’s little wonder why Gypsy reigns as one of the greatest Broadway musicals of the 20th century. The big, brassy, funny and unforgettable show—with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Arthur Laurents—gloriously returns to the stage in this Phoenix Entertainment production. Packing a powerful wallop, Gypsy serves up one popular standard after another like “Everything’s Up Coming Up Roses,” “You Gotta Get a Gimmick,” and “Let Me Entertain You.” Everyone agrees—Broadway musicals don’t get much better than Gypsy.
DAVID COPPERFIELD: AN
INTIMATE EVENING OF
GRAND ILLUSION
When:
Friday, May 16, 2008 at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Saturday, May 17, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Where: Academy of Music
Price: $26.75, $44.75, $50.75, $58.75, $68.75
David Copperfield: An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion is an affecting, life-changing event that reaches into the audiences’ minds and hearts and takes them on a feast of wish-fulfillment. Displaying his off-the-cuff brand of humor, Copperfield breaks new ground in Grand Illusion and takes his art to a grand yet intimate, personal yet universal dimension for an evening of wonders you’ll never forget.
OPRAH WINFREY
PRESENTS THE COLOR PURPLE
When:
Tuesday-Thursday, June 17-June 19, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, June 20, 2008 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sunday, June 22, 2008 at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday-Thursday, June 24-June 26, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, June 27, 2008 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sunday, June 29, 2008 at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Where: Academy of Music
Price: $28, $43, $48, $72.50, $77.50, $82.50, $87.50, $138
Oprah Winfrey Presents The Color Purple, a soul-stirring musical based on the classic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker and the Oscar nominated film by Steven Spielberg.
It is the unforgettable and inspiring story of a woman named Celie, who triumphs over tremendous odds to find joy in life, and her true inner beauty. Nominated for 11 Tony Awards, The Color Purple is a landmark theatrical event, a celebration of love and a Broadway phenomenon. With a joyous Grammy-nominated score featuring jazz, gospel and blues, The Color Purple is capturing the hearts of young and old, and uniting audiences in a celebration of love.
Tickets can be purchased by calling (215) 731-3333, online at www.kimmelcenter.org/ broadway, at the Kimmel Center box office, Broad & Spruce Streets (open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or at the Academy of Music box office (during performances only).