Arden Cabaret Series Presents Ben Dibble in ARE WE THERE YET? JUST A LITTLE FATHER(HOOD CABARET)

Arden Cabaret Series presents Barrymore Award-winning actor, vocalist and cabaret artist Ben Dibble in ARE WE THERE YET? JUST A LITTLE FATHER(HOOD CABARET) on Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18, at 8pm. Dibble takes the stage in the Arden's 100-seat Studio Theatre at the Hamilton Family Arts Center, 62 N. 2nd Street in Old City, Philadelphia. The Honorary Producers are David and Christina Fryman.

Ben Dibble has been a proud Philadelphia performer since graduating from University of the Arts in 2000. In that time, he's performed in 70 productions, received 14 Barrymore Award nominations and won two Barrymore Awards. His favorite roles include Leo Frank in Parade and Toad in A Year With Frog and Toad, both at the Arden Theatre Company, Elwood in Harvey and Freddy in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, both at Walnut Street Theatre, and the title roles in Henry V (Lantern Theatre Company), and Herringbone (Flashpoint Theatre Company). Ben has been an adjunct Assistant at University of the Arts since 2010, where he teachers private voice lessons and performance classes. Next Up: Ben will play D.J. Monty in Saturday Night Fever at Walnut Street Theatre.

About ARE WE THERE YET? JUST A LITTLE FATHER(HOOD CABARET)

Dibble's cabaret will include a mix of Broadway, Musical Theatre and Pop in what he calls a "real mélange of styles." Dibble says, "When I was looking through songs and deciding what songs I wanted to perform for this cabaret, two themes - fatherhood and mentorship - kept popping into my head."

Dibble's last cabarets were between the years of 2003 and 2006, before the birth of his three children with his wife, Amy Dugas Brown. He says, "The last 10 years or so have been so busy that I didn't entertain doing a solo show because I simply didn't have the time or brain space. It is interesting to realize what kinds of stories I now want to tell. As we watch our kids grow up, or I think about my own childhood or as we watch our parents age, I realize that a lot of songs I've been drawn to are about the beauty and ambivalence of life and time passing."

Dibble will open with The Rainbow Connection, a song that resonates from his childhood, but also captures the bitter-sweetness of life that his cabaret will explore. He will sing from the show Brigadoon, a show that he saw as a child when his father starred in a community theatre production in a role that Dibble later played in High School.

He adds, "My experience as a father has changed everything in both funny and touching ways. I am many times the actor I was since we've had kids. I understand a depth of feeling that I didn't before."

Arden Cabaret Series

The Arden Cabaret Series was created to provide an opportunity for artists to perform, develop and present work that is important to them, and offers a unique and intimate conversation between Arden artists and audiences.

Arden Artistic Associate Matthew Decker says, "When we opened the Hamilton Family Arts Center we realized we have the perfect space for cabaret in our 100-seat Studio Theatre. Many of our cabaret performers work regularly at the Arden and at other theatres in the region, and the intimacy of the Studio Theatre gives our audiences, and perhaps new audiences, a chance to see their favorite performers in an up-close and personal way."

Decker adds, "We realize that the local cabaret scene often features performers from outside of Philly. Philadelphia is home to some of the finest actors in the region, and to be able to showcase those talents is both thrilling for us and deserved for them."

Next up in the Arden Cabaret Series is Alex Keiper on June 23 and 24 at 8 p.m. Alex will be hosting a night of all female artist, celebrating the next generation of Philadelphia musical theatre talent.

Tickets and Reservations

Premium tables for $200 are available that seat four patrons each. General admission table seating is also available for $30 per person. All seating is BYOB, and the Arden supplies complementary corking service and cups, upon request.

Patrons are invited to BYOB and bring their own snacks, or they can buy drinks at the new Arden bar, open at every performance.

Arden donors and subscribers receive a $5 ticket discount. For tickets, call the Arden Box Office at 215.922.1122, visit www.ardentheatre.org or walk-up at the box office at 40 N. 2nd Street in Old City, Philadelphia.

About the Arden

Founded in 1988, Arden Theatre Company is dedicated to bringing to life great stories by great storytellers-on the stage, in the classroom, and in the community. Five productions are staged each season as part of the Mainstage series and two productions through Arden Children's Theatre, the city's first resident professional children's theatre program. New work is produced through the Independence Foundation New Play Showcase. The Arden's Education Department includes: Arden for All (AFA), a theatre access and education program for underserved young people; Arden Drama School, the after-school, Saturday, and summer camp classes for students in grades pre K-12; Teen Arden, an immersive after-school access program for Philadelphia-area based teenagers; and the Arden Professional Apprentice Program, a nationally renowned comprehensive theatre management training program. The Hamilton Family Arts Center is the new facility dedicated to education programs and new play development.

The Arden has received numerous honors including 65 awards and 334 nominations from the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre. The Arden is a winner of four "Theatre Company of the Year" designations (Philadelphia Inquirer), six Philadelphia Magazine "Best of Philly" awards and three "Best of Philly Kids" awards, the City Paper's Reader's Choice Award and the prestigious "Great Friend to Kids Award" from the Please Touch Museum for Arden Children's Theatre work. For accessibility efforts, the Arden was named a "Keystone of Accessibility" by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Arden Theatre Company is a professional, nonprofit 501(c)(3) theatre company and a member of the Theatre Communications Group, the League of Resident Theatres, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Old City Arts Association. The Arden also participates in The Barrymore Awards, a program of Theatre Philadelphia.

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