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1776
The story of American independence comes to life in the musical 1776, which dramatizes the debates, drafting, and signing of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress. The...
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Children’s Theater
In Philadelphia, the theater capital of the United States until New York overtook it in the 1830s, an array of children’s theater activity has long sparked creativity and imagination, informed, and...
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Films (Feature)
Philadelphia’s association with movie-making dates back to the beginning of the film industry, when the city’s Lubin Manufacturing Company created and distributed many of the first generation of silent...
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Doo Wop
The Silhouettes’ 1957 record “Get a Job” reached number one on the pop and R & B charts. (Publicity Photo) Philadelphia was one of several key cities where, in the 1950s and early 1960s, singers...
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Dancing Assembly
Established in the winter of 1748-49, the Dancing Assembly of Philadelphia— also known as “The Assembly” or “The Assemblies”— originated as an occasion for elite men and women to gather for social...
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Classical Music
Classical music stands apart from vernacular (or “folk” music) and from “popular” music (in the form of simplified commercial entertainment) in its complexity of structure and high level of performance...
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Burlesque
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Philadelphia became one of the central nodes of American burlesque, a genre with origins in the ribald Victorian “travesties”—theatrical parodies...
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Avenue of the Arts
The Avenue of the Arts is the appellation for a section of Broad Street—from Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia to Glenwood Avenue in North Philadelphia—devoted to arts and entertainment...
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American Bandstand
American Bandstand (1952-89) was a massively popular music television program with strong Philadelphia roots, storied national success, and the power to shape the music industry and society. The show...
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Blues Music
Philadelphia has had a thriving blues music tradition since the early twentieth century. While not renowned as a blues city like Chicago or Memphis, and celebrated more for related African American...
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