Disclosure: Details shared via Press Release from the Kimmel Cultural Center
While we wait patiently for the curtains to rise again, the Kimmel Cultural Campus announced today it is one of a select group of 16 nonprofit arts organizations across the nation who’ve partnered to present an exclusive live-streamed, relief concert event, Christopher Jackson: Live from the West Side, on Saturday, August 15 at 8 p.m. EST. Jackson is a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning songwriter/composer and a Tony Award-nominated actor best known for originating the role of George Washington in the cultural phenomenon Hamilton.
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Christopher Jackson: Live from the West Side is accessible with a $40 donation and includes access to the livestream performance plus an additional 72 hours of on-demand viewing of the livestream. Donations support the Kimmel Cultural Campus’ COVID-19 Relief Fund, which was created to ensure the continuation of their free arts education offerings that serve the region’s Title 1 schools, as well as their ongoing efforts to protect and preserve their three buildings along Broad Street, and the successful re-emergence from this crisis.
As the city of Philadelphia cautiously reopens in safe ways, the Kimmel Cultural Campus remains closed in compliance with City and Commonwealth guidelines. With no incoming revenue to support our community outreach initiatives or sustain our buildings, we launched our COVID-19 Relief Fund. We are honored to partner with the incredibly talented Christopher Jackson to help raise funds to make up for lost ticket sales, Resident Company activity, and venue rentals,” says Anne Ewers, President and CEO of the Kimmel Cultural Campus. “We’ve spent the last five months experimenting with emergent technologies and digital platforms, reaching new audiences in new ways. Our hope is that Philadelphia responds positively to this exciting offering and that this is the first of many large-scale livestream events.”
“Nonprofit arts presenters are the lifeblood of the performing arts industry and a pipeline for young talent. Without them there is no Broadway,” said Jackson. “While everything is shut down during this terrible pandemic, I am delighted to be able to help spread some joy and help raise some much-needed support for these deserving organizations.”
Accompanied by a live band, Jackson will perform songs from his favorite musicals, pop standards, and some of his original material. He will also share stories from his time with two of the most important musicals of the last decade In The Heights and Hamilton. Audience members will be invited to text questions in real-time, which will be answered during the live event.
The livestream, which is a co-production of Dallas Summer Musicals and Entertainment Benefits Group, is a partnership enterprise with 14 nonprofit arts presenters around the country. The event will be livestreamed from New York’s renowned New World Stages, the original off-Broadway home to the smash hits,
Donations of $40+ to the Kimmel Cultural Campus Relief Fund will grant access to Christopher Jackson: Live from the West Side. Donations can be made at www.kimmelcenter.org.
