Notes on Music ♫

The eight Tony Awards-winning musical œOnce”, book by Enda Walsh, music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, is at the Arden Theatre now through Oct. 21, an œIrish-kissed” hit that took Broadway by storm, here staged by Producing Artistic Director Terrence J. Nolan with a cast of twelve including such local favorites as Greg Wood, Scott Greer, Alex Bechtel and Charlie DelMarcelle, along with Ken Allen Neely as a Dublin street musician and Katherine Fried whose love for his songs permits him to soar and dream, and œthe power of music to connect all of us”. 40 N. 2nd St. 215-922- 1122 for tickets and information on Post-Show discussions.

Mary Shelley™s œFrankenstein”, adapted and directed by Alex Burns in a Quintessence Theatre production, opens on Sept. 26 featuring Kevin Burgen, Jake Blouch, Lee Cortopassi, Leah Gabriel, Hannah Wolff and Michael Zlabinger, in a 200th anniversary tribute to Shelley™s tale of œhumanity™s obsession with knowledge and of the unintended consequences of scientific innovation”. Through Oct. 21 at the Sedgwick Theater, 7137 Germantown Ave., Mt. Airy. 215-987-4450.

Liebesfreud chamber group opens its new 13th season of free Last Friday concerts on Sept. 28 at 5:30 p.m. offering an hour-long performance of Mozart™s String Quartet in B flat, K. 458 (œThe Hunt”), and Mendelssohn™s String Quartet in A minor, op. 13. Geoffrey Michaels, Philip Kates, violins; David Giles, viola; Charles Forbes, cello. 251 S. 18th St. 215-545-4302.

Celebrated jazz pianist Fred Hersch, a twelve-time Grammy Awards nominee, appears in a solo concert on Sept. 28 at 8 p.m., performing works from throughout his illustrious career and from his more than three dozen albums. This Benefit for St. Stephen™s Episcopal Church Arts Programming is the first in a series of four such events, curated by Mr. Hersch and dubbed œThe Future of Jazz Piano Series”. St. Stephen™s is an historic parish founded in 1823 and is known for its strong commitment to the arts. 19 S. 10th St. Tickets at 215-922-3807.

The Philly POPS open their 40th season on Sept. 28 with Leslie Odom, Jr., local dynamo who starred on Broadway in the musical smash œHamilton”, earning a Tony and a Grammy, and here performs with Maestro Michael Krajewski in a lush American Songbook program that he feels Nat King Cole would perform today including” Autumn Leaves”, œUnforgettable”, œMona Lisa” and œWithout You”, working with his guitarist Steven Walker. Sept. 28 at 8 p.m., Sept. 29 and 30 at 3 p.m. Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce. 215-893-1999.

The Friends of the Wanamaker Organ™s big Fall Concert is set for Sept. 29 at 8 p.m., dedicated to the memory of beloved Philadelphia organ virtuoso, long-time member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Wanamaker asst. organist and Friends board member Michael Stairs, performed by Peter Richard Conte and Joshua Stafford and including such Stairs favorite composers: Franck, Dvorak, Humperdinck, Sir Arthur Sullivan, Sowerby, Lemare as well as Disney hits. Flugelhornist Andrew Ennis will offer a cameo. In the hushed main floor of Macy™s, 1300 Market St. 215-241-9000, ex. 2408.

The Philadelphia Orchestra is in Verizon Hall on Sept. 29 at 8 p.m. with Maestro Yannick Nezet-Seguin on the podium for Dvorak™s œOthello” Overture, Rachmaninoff™s Symphonic Dances, and with guest soloist Lisa Batiashvili, Tchaikovsky™s Violin Concerto. Broad and Spruce, 215-893-1999.

The annual free Puerto Rican Day Parade will turn Sept. 30 into a massive and colorful event of music, dancing and floats as they march from their starting point at 16th and The Parkway. 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Further information at 215 627 3100.

Inis Nua Theatre presents, all the way from Scotland, David Greig™s œThe Monster in the Hall” with music by Nigel Dunn and Stephen Wright, directed by Claire Moyer, a dark tale of a daughter and father pretending to be fine, a random Norwegian woman in the closet, and a backup band to wipe away the gloom. With Eleni Delopoulos, Doug Durlacher, Jamison Foreman and Chris Park. Oct. 3 - 21 at the Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake, 302 S. Hicks St. near 15th and Spruce. 215-454-9776.

The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts opens its new season on Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. with œHumans”, performed by Circa, ten highly-skilled Australian circus performers and acrobats on a bare stage, illustrating” the expressive possibilities of the human body at its extremes”. Repeated on Sept. 29 at 2 p.m. 3680 Walnut St. 215-898- 3900.

œLove Never Dies”, Andrew Lloyd Webber™s sequel to œThe Phantom of the Opera”, gets its local premiere on Oct. 2 at the Academy of Music for eight performances including matinees through Oct. 7 in a revised working of the original 2011 Australian production. Broad and Locust. 215-790-5800.

Curtis-trained pianist Hanchien Lee and her Philadelphia Orchestra violist husband Meng Wang make their first-ever local joint appearance on Oct. 3 at 12:30 p.m. in an intriguing hour-long recital: Schubert™s Sonata in D Major D 384; Bruch™s Romance; and Brahms™ Sonata in E flat major, opus 120, no. 2. Free but with a goodwill donation always welcome. Church of the Holy Trinity, 19th and Walnut on Rittenhouse Square. 215-567-1267.

Source: http://ucreview.com/notes-on-music-p7973-86.htm