Annenberg Center to celebrate 25th anniv.

In honor of the Annenberg's Center's 25th year of providing theater, dance and music to the University and Philadelphia communities, the 25th Anniversary Gala for the Arts will be held April 29. "We're looking forward to the event," said Maryann Surla, the Annenberg Center's assistant director for development. "The 25th anniversary is quite an accomplishment and we are very excited about it." The celebration will begin with a cocktail reception at 6 p.m., which will be followed by dinner in the Annenberg Center's lobby. At this time, celebrities and honored guests will pay tribute to the Center's star-studded history, according to Annenberg Center Managing Director Stephen Goff. Later in the evening, a one-and-a-half hour performance will be held in the Zellerbach Theatre, featuring performances by many groups who have appeared on stage in the Annenberg Center. These include dancer/choreographer David Parsons, jazz vocalist Sandra Reaves, contemporary music composer and performer Philip Glass, and Giovanni Zoppe, an aerialist with the Zoppe Circus Europa. Several student performing groups, including the Penn Glee Club, will also provide entertainment. "The ideas of Philip Glass agreeing to come? is just fantastic," Goff said. "[And] I think the audience will be really excited about Giovanni Zoppe, the aerialist, since he performs out over the audience." Invited guests include Zoe Caldwell, currently starring in Masterclass on Broadway, Hal Prince, of Broadway coreography and Prince Theatre fame, and former University President Sheldon Hackney, Goff said. University Trustee Walter Annenberg was also invited. But Surla and Goff said they are not certain if he will attend. They did comment that he has been "very supportive" and in close contact with them. Student tickets for the show and party afterward will cost $25. If students want to attend the pre-show dinner, the whole evening will cost $75. Wharton senior Carol Shore, a member of the committee for the 25th Anniversary Gala, encourages students to attend the event. "People need to support the arts," she said. "It's very important to the community to society in general and to me." Assistant Managing Director for Development and Center Relations Nancy Drye said the Annenberg Center has "the finest children programming in the area." "We were the first place to do an international children's festival in the country," she said. "We get 20 to 25,000 people here in five days for the children's festival." Drye also explained that as schools cut their arts funding, theater arts centers bear the complete burden of supporting the arts.