Lantern Theater Company
EVENTS & TICKETS EDUCATION PLAN YOUR VISIT SUPOPRT THE LANTERN ABOUT US
BUY TICKETS
The Royale (2022)
Support the Lantern

Welcome to our 30th anniversary season!

Your support is critical to our mission of producing world-class theater while serving the Philadelphia community with our award-winning education programs. We invite you to contribute to the Lantern's success by making a tax-deductible gift today.


We have long said that the Lantern punches well above its weight class. We operate a modest 150-seat theater, down a small side street, but we have built the third largest theater audience in the City of Philadelphia. Our annual operating budget is less than half that of many of our Center City peers, but we produce more plays and employ more theater artists and technicians over more performance weeks than all but two other theater companies in Philadelphia.

Forgive us the boxing analogy, but boxing was a good fit for the Lantern this past year. Our 2022/23 season production of The Royale by Marco Ramirez – inspired by the 1908 championship fight won by Jack Johnson, making him the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion – was recently recognized with three 2023 Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre: Outstanding Overall Production of a Play, Outstanding Leading Performance in a Play for Phillip Brown, and Outstanding Choreography/Movement for director Zuhairah McGill.

Gratified as we are, Barrymore Awards are not what we are most proud of. Since re-opening from Covid in late 2021, our audience has included more than 11,000 young Philadelphians – from middle school through college – equal to 35% of the Lantern's total audience of more than 30,000 over the past 18 months. Most of these young people attend our special student matinee performances on weekday mornings, and their joy in discovering live theater is a defining feature of the Lantern.

With audiences still making their way back to live theater, ticket sales remain much lower than in pre-Covid times. That means we need to raise more money – much more money – than ever. If you have been waiting for a moment to "add a zero" to your annual gift, or to make an extraordinary one-time contribution, now is the moment.

YOU are the key to the Lantern’s success – when you are in the audience and when you support the work on stage. We ask you to dig deep to support your theater company in honor of our 30th anniversary season.

With deepest appreciation,
Charles McMahon
Charles McMahon
Artistic Director
Stacy Dutton
Stacy Dutton
Executive Director

Every dollar makes a big difference.

Questions? Please contact our Development Team at development@lanterntheater.org. Thank you for supporting the Lantern!

GuideStar/Candid Gold Seal of Transparency Lantern Theater Company is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Our Federal Tax ID number is 23-2798692. Donations to Lantern Theater Company are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. The official registration and financial information of Lantern Theater Company may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

Pictured: Phillip Brown in The Royale (2022). Photo: Mark Garvin.
Lantern Email Club Delve into the world of our plays on the Lantern Searchlight blog Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram
Box Office: 215.829.0395   Administrative Office: 215.829.9002
Hours & Contact Information   Directions & Parking   Lantern Email Club


Header Photo: Lawrence Stallings in the world premiere of Me and the Devil (2021); Anthony Lawton and Dave Johnson in Travesties (2022); Melissa Rakiro and Joanna Liao in Twelfth Night (2023); and Paul L. Nolan, Sally Mercer, and Charles McMahon in Copenhagen (2018). Photos by Mark Garvin.

Lantern Theater Company acknowledges that it is situated on Lenapehoking, the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Unami Lenape, and we pay respect to them as this region's original storytellers.

©2024 Lantern Theater Company  Privacy Policy