Welcome! We look forward to welcoming you and your students to our 2023/24 season. Student audiences bring a unique energy and curiosity to live performances, and we know that attending great performances can powerfully shape students' relationship to curricular material and dramatic literature. Your reservation includes discounted tickets, lesson plans, study guides, and post-show talkbacks with the cast. For booking and other information, please contact Talia Speak, Education & Artistic Fellow, at tspeak@lanterntheater.org or 215.829.9002 x106.

TARTUFFE: About the Play
Prim and devout Orgon invites Tartuffe, a charlatan par excellence, into his bourgeois household, laying the scene for equal parts domestic disruption and social outrage. Banned for decades by civil and religious authorities who found the play too close for comfort, this masterpiece from perhaps the most beloved comic playwright of all time is a searing and hilarious study in how we collaborate in our own deception. Directed by Lantern Artistic Director Charles McMahon.

Best Enjoyed By
8th Grade and up

Relevant Class Subjects
Classics, Drama, English Language Arts, French Language and Culture, Theater Arts

Running Time
Approximately 2 hours and 30 mins, including a brief intermission

Weekday Morning Matinee – at 10AM
Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Performance Venue
St. Stephen's Theater, 923 Ludlow Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY: About the Play
Just arrived in Brooklyn from the South, the Crump family is seeking their place in the Philadelphia-based Father Divine movement – but their two brilliant daughters on the cusp of adulthood are chafing at their father's religious strictures. Their big dreams for the future are encouraged by their lively, fearless, free-thinking, communist Aunt Lily. This dramatic gem from two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage gently reveals the funny and touching struggles of a family trying to make a fresh start in a strange world full of temptations and surprises. Directed by Lantern Guest Artist Bianca LaVerne Jones.

Best Enjoyed By
8th Grade and up

Relevant Class Subjects
African American History, Drama, English Language Arts, Theater Arts

Expected Running Time
Approximately 2 hours and 10 mins, including a brief intermission

Weekday Morning Matinees – at 10AM
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Wednesday, December 6, 2023  SOLD OUT!
Friday, December 8, 2023

Performance Venue
St. Stephen's Theater, 923 Ludlow Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

CHARLES DICKENS' A CHRISTMAS CAROL: About the Play
In this wonderfully clear and direct telling of Charles Dickens' beloved novella, acclaimed playwright and actor Anthony Lawton brings the story vividly to life as only live theater can. Come rediscover Dickens' timeless story of a miser's miraculous redemption from a life of bitterness, greed, and isolation. Back by popular demand for its sixth year, this heartwarming adaptation has captured the hearts of theater critics and audiences alike, inspiring a new Philadelphia holiday tradition.

Best Enjoyed By
6th Grade and up

Relevant Class Subjects
Classics, Drama, English Language Arts, Theater Arts

Running Time
95 minutes (one act, no intermission)

Weekday Morning Matinees – at 10AM
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
Thursday, December 7, 2023
Friday, December 8, 2023
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Friday, December 15, 2023  SOLD OUT!

Performance Venue
The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake, 302 S. Hicks Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102

ROMEO AND JULIET: About the Play
Designed specifically for middle and high school audiences and featuring a professional company of Philadelphia actors, this production will bring the printed page to life, focusing on the clarity of action and language as well as the emotional power of the story. Beloved all over the world for the tragic romance of its star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet is also the story of an enduring feud between the Capulet and Montague families – a conflict grown so deadly that it throws an entire city into turmoil. When Juliet and her Romeo rise above the old grudges, their love may heal the deep divisions in Verona... or bring the whole city crashing down. Directed by Lantern Artistic Director Charles McMahon.

Best Enjoyed By
7th Grade and up

Relevant Class Subjects
Classics, Drama, English Language Arts, Theater Arts

Content Advisory
The play contains bawdy language and depictions of street violence and suicide. Our production will include the use of stage blood.

Running Time
2 hours and 10 minutes, including one intermission

Weekday Morning Matinees – at 10AM
Monday, April 15 - Friday, April 19, 2024
Monday, April 22 - Friday, April 26, 2024
Monday, April 29 - Friday, May 3, 2024

Performance Venue
The Theater at the Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19106

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS: About the Play
Come see how the story of a bereaved merchant searching for his lost son in a hostile city turns into an unrivaled comedy of mistaken identities, twins separated at birth, and love lost and won. When all of Ephesus is thrown into chaos, only the genius of Shakespeare can put it right again. Directed by Lantern Artistic Director Charles McMahon.

Best Enjoyed By
7th Grade and up

Relevant Class Subjects
Classics, Drama, English Language Arts, Theater Arts

Expected Running Time
To be announced

Weekday Morning Matinees – at 10AM
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Performance Venue
St. Stephen's Theater, 923 Ludlow Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Pricing
Student tickets for weekday morning matinees are $18 each. One free teacher/chaperone ticket is provided for every 10 student tickets purchased.

Study Guides
Lantern study guides enable you to bring the show into your classroom. Our guides include information about the play and the playwright, thought-provoking questions, and fun classroom activities. Lesson plans meet national and state standards in Reading, Writing, Speaking, Language Arts, and Theater Arts.

Q&A with the Cast
Learn about the making of each play! We hold a talkback following every student matinee performance to give students the opportunity to ask questions of the members of the cast.

Venues & Accessibility
Our student matinee performances are presented at multiple Center City Philadelphia venues with different levels of accessibility. Please email us with any questions or concerns.

Health and Safety Policy
Face masks are welcome but are not required.

Join us for any regularly-scheduled mainstage performance and pay just $20 per ticket. This group discount is available for all middle school, high school, and university groups of 10 or more students. To inquire about group tickets, please submit an online inquiry. Questions? Please contact Talia Speak, Education & Artistic Fellow, at tspeak@lanterntheater.org or 215.829.9002 x106.