Philly's Kimmel Center To Reopen In The Fall

Philadelphia, PA —The Kimmel Cultural Campus announced officially Monday that it will reopen in the fall after being closed since last March due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Kimmel website, the Broadway hit "Hamilton" is scheduled to be the center's first production, running at the Academy of Music from Oct. 20 to Nov. 28.

In a promotional YouTube video accompanying the announcement, the Kimmel Center said it has missed having guests.

"We've missed you," a voice says against soaring music and visuals of the Kimmel Campus. "We've missed being your happy place, your safe space, your let's-do-something-new place. We've missed being the place where you lose yourself and the place where you discover who you are. We miss bringing you together, but we are planning to do it again soon."

The announcement continued: "Our curtains will rise again this fall, welcoming audiences back safely and with more excitement than ever before."

On its website, the Kimmel Center made clear that the safety of patrons, artists and staff would be the first priority. The cultural center said it would not hold performances until the city and commonwealth guidelines allow, and that it was working closely with union partners, producers, artists and other performing arts centers around the nation to develop a comprehensive plan to safely reopen.

The Kimmel Center also announced other additions to its Broadway Philadelphia package for the 2021-22 season, including: "Pretty Woman: The Musical" (Academy of Music, Jan. 4 to 16, 2022), "Hadestown" (Academy of Music, Feb. 9 to 20, 2022), "Oklahoma!" (Forrest Theatre, March 8 to 20, 2022), "To Kill a Mockingbird" (Academy of Music, July, 12 to 24, 2022) and "Dear Evan Hansen," (Forrest Theatre, Aug. 16 to 28, 2022).

The Kimmel Center said more details about its safety guidelines and flexible ticketing policies are available on its website.

According to WHYY, the Kimmel Center will be making more programming announcements for the 2021-22 season, including performances for the Philadelphia Orchestra, Philly Pops, Pennsylvania Ballet and PHILADANCO.

The Kimmel Center did have some activity over the last year, according to WHYY. It was used as an election polling place, a site for blood drives and a resting place for protestors for racial justice last summer.

The Philadelphia Orchestra also assembled in Kimmel's Verizon Hall to record online performance. Plus, the Kimmel Center's education staff created thousands of hours of online content about jazz and musical theater for fourth, fifth and sixth graders.

Read more at WHYY.org.