This past spring the Lantern launched its inaugural production of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet exclusively for high school audiences. Due to strong demand, we expanded the performance run from five to 13 performances, moving the entire production from Drexel University's Mandell Theater to the theater at the Independence Seaport Museum. It made for several busy weeks, but all of the hard work was worth it. Over 5,500 students and teachers attended a performance of our Romeo & Juliet. All of the tickets provided to schools were subsidized by contributions to the Lantern, and the 500 students who participated in our Illumination residency program attended the performance at no cost.

"You know the program is good when ninth graders ask, 'Are the actors coming today?'" –Julie Steiner, English Teacher, W.B. Saul High School in Philadelphia

"My partnership with the Lantern is priceless. I can honestly say that I am a better teacher of Shakespeare and theater because of the Lantern." –Anissa Weinraub, English Teacher, The Academy at Palumbo in Philadelphia

"My students loved the performance and better understand Romeo & Juliet now because of coming to see the play." –Talia Bisirri, English Teacher, Paul VI High School in Haddonfield, NJ

Thanks to continued support from the William Penn Foundation and a new grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, we will be bringing Romeo & Juliet back in spring 2019 and partnering with ten local schools studying this classic text in the classroom. But we need your help to close the funding gap to provide free residencies to our new partner schools and performances to more schools throughout the region.

Our goal is to raise at least $40,000 this fall, and your gift is critical to our success. Education is a partnership, so let's work together to make this a great back to school season. Thank you for your support!

With appreciation,
Charles McMahon
Artistic Director

Questions? Please contact Maida Hanson-Wrigley, Development Associate, at 215.829.9002 x106 or mhanson@lanterntheater.org. Thank you for supporting the Lantern!