The Performing Arts

Music, theater, and dance are presented regularly all over the city. I have restricted the venues below to those in Center City and West Philadelphia, where you'll be most of the time, and where the quality of entertainment tends to be highest. Although the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Ballet finish their seasons at the end of May, they continue limited performances off season, often in outdoor venues such as the Mann Music Center.

Most cultural attractions keep their box offices open until curtain time. Many performing arts companies and venues -- the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Ballet, and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society -- have assigned their telephone box office to Ticket Philadelphia, who levies a surcharge and can be reached at tel. 215/893-1999 and www.ticketphiladelphia.org. Also check out UPSTAGES (tel. 215/569-9700), the city's nonprofit box-office service, representing smaller dance companies and theaters such as the Adrienne. They take phone orders Monday through Friday from 10am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday noon to 5pm. The principal walk-up location is at the Prince Theater, at 1412 Chestnut St.; the box office is open daily noon to 5pm. There's a small service charge.

Dance Companies

Local troupes perform alongside such distinguished visitors as White Oak Dance Project, Pilobolus, and the Dance Theater of Harlem.

Theater Companies

At any given time there will be at least one Broadway show in Philadelphia, on its way into or out of New York. There are also student repertory productions, professional performances by casts connected with the University of Pennsylvania, small-theater offerings in the various neighborhoods of Center City, and cabaret or dinner theater in the suburbs.

Performing Arts Venues

In addition to musical performances held at the listed major institutions, look out for concerts presented in churches, especially around Rittenhouse Square.

Philadelphia's Film Festivals

Philadelphia hosts two major film festivals annually. The largest is the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema. For 2 weeks in April, the popular Ritz Movie Theaters, the Prince Theater, and Penn's International House host screenings and premiers of all manner of independent films. Notable festival showings have included Friends with Money, Akeelah and the Bee, and My Architect. Actors and directors are often in attendance -- Susan Sarandon! Laurence Fishburne! Will Shortz! -- and stick around to answer the audience's questions when the film ends. The other big movie deal is the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, which takes place 2 weeks in July and draws major crowds to the theaters -- and to the notoriously amazing after parties. For more info on both, visit www.phillyfests.org.

Good Shows, Good Deals

Not all, but a few good venues offer performances free of charge. The Avenue of the Arts's Kimmel Center often hosts free performances in its ground-level Commonwealth Plaza, especially around the Kimmel's birthday in mid-December. Another option is Rittenhouse Square's beautiful Curtis Institute of Music where mightily talented 18- to 25-year-olds give weekly afternoon concerts. Who knows? You might encounter the next Yo-Yo Ma.

Seniors can receive discounts of about 10% or $5 per ticket or more at many theaters, including the Annenberg Center and Wilma Theater. Concert halls generally make rush or last-minute seats available to students at prices under $10; these programs sometimes extend to adults as well. Groups can generally get discounts of 20% to 50% by calling well in advance.