FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2011

Lantern Theater Company will present a series of panel discussions and lectures in conjunction with New Jerusalem, The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation: Amsterdam, July 27, 1656, the opening production of the 2011/12 season, running October 6 - 30. The Fall Philosophy Festival: Theater and the Age of Reason – created by the Lantern's Artistic Director Charles McMahon and Associate Artistic Director Kathryn MacMillan – will explore the Jewish experience in Europe and Spinoza's lasting influence on art, literature, and philosophy with special guests Jonathan Israel, Anne Oravetz Albert, Bruce Graham, Vince Regan, Jordan Barnett, and M. Craig Getting.

Produced under the auspices of Lantern Theater Company: In Conversation, the Lantern's audience enrichment series, the Fall Philosophy Festival begins with an event on Monday, October 10 and continues Friday, October 21 through Sunday, October 23 at Lantern Theater Company, located at St. Stephen's Theater at 10th & Ludlow Streets in Philadelphia. Individual event admissions vary. An All-Access Festival Pass is available for $50 for the general public and $25 for seniors, students, and Lantern subscribers. Tickets are available online at www.lanterntheater.org or by calling the Lantern Box Office at (215) 829-0395. [A full festival schedule and event descriptions follow below.]

About Baruch de Spinoza
Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch-Jewish rationalist philosopher who laid the groundwork for the 18th century Enlightenment. His questioning of the authenticity of the Hebrew Bible and the nature of the Divine was so highly controversial that the Dutch-Jewish religious authorities targeted him for his ideas (the basis for New Jerusalem). His most influential text, Ethics, was published shortly after his death in 1677. He has earned recognition as one of Western philosophy's most important contributors, eliciting praise from Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Albert Einstein, and Gilles Deleuze in the 20th century, who named Spinoza "the 'prince' of philosophers."

Fall Philosophy Festival: Theater and the Age of Reason
Programs & Events

Presented in conjunction with New Jerusalem, The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation: Amsterdam, July 27, 1656, the Fall Philosophy Festival will feature a series of lectures and discussions with guest artists and scholars, offering deeper insight into one of the greatest philosophers in history. A full schedule of events follows below.

Where:
Lantern Theater Company (unless otherwise noted)
At St. Stephen's Theater
10th & Ludlow Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Admission:
Event admissions vary and include FREE programs. An All-Access Festival Pass is available for $50 ($25 for seniors, students, and Lantern subscribers), and includes admission to all lectures/discussions and one ticket to any New Jerusalem performance during the Festival weekend.

Information:
(215) 829-0395 or visit www.lanterntheater.org

Monday, October 10

Lecture: The Sephardic Community in Amsterdam, with Anne Oravetz Albert of the University of Pennsylvania's Department of History. This lecture will present the history of the Sephardic Jews in Amsterdam, revealing how their culture was shaped by a history of domination by others and persistence in the face of obstacles. Albert holds a Ph.D. from Brown University and is an authority on the experience of the Sephardic Jewish community, their emigration to Amsterdam, and Spinoza's place within that community.
7:00 p.m., $10 ($8 for subscribers, students, seniors, and groups of 10+)
Location: Lantern Mainstage, approx. 90 minutes

Friday, October 21

Festival Kick-Off Party @ Marathon. Mingle with Lantern staff, artists, and fellow theatergoers over happy hour specials and complimentary light fare.
6:00 p.m., FREE
Location: Marathon, 10th & Walnut Streets; approx. 1 hour.

Curtain Raiser/Lecture: Spinoza's Thinking, created and performed by New Jerusalem assistant director and Lantern teaching artist M. Craig Getting. This anecdotal lecture serves as an entertaining introduction to Spinoza's work, his life as a young man in Amsterdam, and his relationship to his Sephardic Jewish community. Getting's directing credits include A Skull in Connemara, Act Without Words II, Molloy, Lady with Lapdog at Lantern Theater Company; Straw, Stick, Brick, in this year's Philly Fringe; Really Rosie at Theatre Horizon; and assistant directing projects with the Lantern, The Wilma Theater, Theatre Horizon, and PDC.

7:00 p.m., FREE
Location: Lantern Lab; 25 minutes

Saturday, October 22

Panel Discussion: Out of Order! Courtrooms As Theater, Courtrooms in Theater with Assistant Chief District Attorney of Philadelphia Vince Regan, Philadelphia playwright Bruce Graham, and Jordan Barnett of the Defender Association of Philadelphia. This discussion will offer diverse viewpoints on a popular subject in modern entertainment: the courtroom drama.

This presentation has been approved for 1 Substantive Pennsylvania CLE Credit.

Vince Regan is the Assistant Chief at the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, where he has served as Assistant District Attorney for nine years. He earned his degree from LaSalle University and Temple Law.

Bruce Graham's plays include Coyote on a Fence (Winner of The Rosenthal Prize, Two Drama Desk Nominations - the West End production starred Ben Cross), Something Intangible (2009 Barrymore Award, Best New Play), According to Goldman, Dex and Julie Sittin' in a Tree, and The Philly Fan. The Outgoing Tide recently premiered at Northlight starring John Mahoney and Rondi Reed and opens at Philadelphia Theatre Company in March 2012, followed by the premiere of Mister Hart and Mister Brown at People's Light.

Jordan Barnett has worked for the past eight years as an attorney at the Defender Association of Philadelphia handling a wide variety of criminal matters at all stages of representation. He currently represents clients on appeal to the Superior Court and Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and assists in training and forensic evidence litigation

2:00 p.m., $10 ($8 for subscribers, students, seniors, and groups of 10+)
$25 for CLE Credit ($20 with purchase of a ticket to New Jerusalem)
Location: Lantern Mainstage, approx. 90 minutes

Curtain Raiser/Lecture: Spinoza's Thinking
7:00 p.m., FREE
Location: Lantern Lab; 25 minutes

Sunday, October 23

Curtain Raiser/Lecture: Spinoza's Thinking
1:00 p.m., FREE
Location: Lantern Lab; 25 minutes

Keynote Lecture & Closing Reception: How Spinoza Made America Possible, with Jonathan Israel, one of the world's leading historians of the Enlightenment. This discussion will compare the philosophies of Baruch de Spinoza and founding father Benjamin Franklin, revealing the impact of Spinoza's thinking on the democratic principles that have shaped the United States and left an indelible mark in Philadelphia. This event will be followed by a reception in the Lantern's lobby.

Professor Israel was appointed the Modern European History Professor in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in January 2001. He was previously Professor of Dutch History and Institutions at the University of London. In 2010 he was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) for his outstanding contribution to Enlightenment scholarship.

5:00 p.m., $15 ($12 for subscribers, students, seniors, and groups of 10+)
Location: Lantern Mainstage; approx. 2 hours

New Jerusalem, The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation: Amsterdam, July 27, 1656
Thursday, October 6 - Sunday, October 30

As the Inquisition bears down on them, a small Jewish community flees Portugal to find a tenuous peace in seemingly liberal Amsterdam. But Spinoza, a favorite son of the community and the rabbi's heir apparent, is a revolutionary thinker. When the boldness of his ideas strains the bounds of Amsterdam's professed tolerance, it leads to a dangerous confrontation between powerful political forces and his own beloved community. Well-liked, and considered to be a brilliant religious student, Spinoza is accused of atheism for his radical new ideas and risks excommunication from the Jewish faith, including complete social isolation. The Lantern's production of New Jerusalem begins previews on October 6, opens on October 12 (press night, 7:00 p.m.), and closes on October 30, 2011.

Tickets are $20 - $36 and are available online at lanterntheater.org or by calling the Lantern Box Office at (215) 829-0395. $10 student rush tickets are available 10 minutes before curtain with valid ID; cash only. Additional discounts are available for seniors and groups of 10 or more.

Additional In Conversation Events for New Jerusalem
Regularly-scheduled Lantern Theater Company: In Conversation events will include Directors: In Conversation with New Jerusalem director Charles McMahon on Friday, October 14 (7pm, Lantern Lab), Artists: In Conversation with members of the New Jerusalem cast on Sunday, October 16 (after the 2pm performance, Lantern Mainstage), and Artistic Director: In Conversation with Artistic Director Charles McMahon and Associate Artistic Director Kathryn MacMillan on Friday, October 28 (7pm, Lantern Lab). These events are free for New Jerusalem ticket holders.

2011/12 Season
Lantern Theater Company will continue its 2011/12 season with Private Lives by Noël Coward (December 8 - 31, 2011); The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis (February 7 - 12, 2012); Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (March 1 - April 1, 2012); and The Island by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona (May 17 - June 10, 2012).

Lantern Theater Company thanks its 2011/12 season corporate partners at Marathon, La Fourno Ristorante Trattoria, and Dunkin' Donuts, and its community partners at St. Stephen's Church.