#PhillySavesEarth at The Painted Bride

Beneath the historic landmarks and official narratives lies another Philadelphia, and artist Marty Pottenger will be unearthing it with her innovative theater work #PhillySavesEarth at the Painted Bride, April 22 through 24.

#PhillySavesEarth is part of the Painted Bride’s Pew Center for Arts and Heritage-funded Re-PLACING-ing Philadelphia – a cross-city series of performances, exhibitions and events that reflect on Philadelphia’s past while re-envisioning its future.

The show is a kaleidoscopic remix of history, ecology, protest and personal narrative that reveals the essential connections we share with the natural world.  Philadelphia experts join the performance as Philly’s social justice history comes to life through the words of Frederick Douglass, astronaut Guy Bluford, urban ecologist Scott Quitel, a SEPTA bus driver, Delaware Riverkeeper Maya von Rossum and Pope Francis.

Directed by David O’Connor, and design by Sara Outing, the score for the piece will be provided by Nioka Workman on cello and “The Philadelphia Sound.” Additional recordings from Teddy Pendergrass, Patti LaBelle, Boys II Men will be played in the show.

Pottenger researched #PhillySavesEarth for a year and a half, including a residency at The MacDowell Colony. Through interviews and her own childhood stories, interweaving this material with iconic Philly places and events, including the Underground Railroad, crafting the Constitution, the first Earth Day and the nation’s first successful strike for a 10-hour workday. At its heart, #PhillySavesEarth is an uncompromising, tender look at the significant role Philadelphia has played in the nation’s history and the opportunity to revolutionize our relationship to the environment and each other.