Honoring and congratulating The Philadelphia Theatre Company on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

WHEREAS, On September 23, 1974, The Philadelphia Company (now Philadelphia Theatre Company) was established by Dr. Robert Hedley, then Chair of the Theatre Department of Villanova University and Jean Harrison; and

WHEREAS, In 1982, Sara Garonzik became the Producing Artistic Director, catapulting the Philadelphia Theatre Company (“PTC”) to prominence on the local and national stages; and

WHEREAS, In 1995, PTC premiered Terrence McNally’s

Master Class

, which later earned three Tony Awards and cemented PTC’s reputation as a home for exceptional new plays and musicals; and

WHEREAS, In 2004, PTC established the Barrymore Award-winning Drama Contact, the company's first in-school program servicing over a dozen Philadelphia secondary schools, created to meet the Philadelphia School District's call to bring curriculum-based arts enrichment programs to its students; and

WHEREAS, In 2007, PTC opened the Suzanne Roberts Theatre on South Broad Street, a state-of-the-art proscenium theater located prominently on Philadelphia’s prolific Avenue of the Arts; and

WHEREAS, In 2012, PTC established the Terrence McNally Award, an annual playwriting award that provides financial and dramaturgical support to a Philadelphia-identified playwright; and

WHEREAS, In 2017, Paige Price joined PTC as the Producing Artistic Director. Under her leadership, PTC returned to its practice of commissioning new work with the rock musical

The Tattooed Lady

; and

WHEREAS, In 2022, Taibi Magar and Tyler Dobrowsky became PTC’s Co-Artistic Directors; and

WHEREAS, The addition of Dobrowsky and Magar marks a new era for PTC, with a renewed focus on bringing together art and community and fostering connection and understanding through superb works of theater; and

WHEREAS, PTC is a vital civic institution dedicated to the creation of extraordinary theatrical experiences that reflect the essential issues and ideas of our time; and

WHEREAS, PTC has engaged and strengthened our community through exceptional productions of new and contemporary plays and musicals, inspiring education programs, and mutually beneficial civic partnerships; and

WHEREAS, PTC develops exciting new work that resonates both locally and nationally, and upholds a deep commitment to be a fully inclusive, welcoming home for the artists, audiences, and people of Philadelphia; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby honors and congratulates The Philadelphia Theatre Company on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to The Philadelphia Theatre Company, further evidencing the sincere respect and admiration of this legislative

End