Lantern Theater Company Announces Extension Of COPENHAGEN and New Events

Lantern Theater Company announced today that its production of Copenhagen by Michael Frayn has been extended to meet extraordinary audience demand and will now close on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. The following extension week performances have been added:

Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m.

Opening tonight, Copenhagen continues the Lantern's record-breaking 2017/18 season and the company's ongoing exploration of science and the ways in which science reflects humanity's most pressing concerns. Frayn's riveting drama explores a fascinating mystery: why did German physicist Werner Heisenberg visit his old mentor and Danish counterpart Niels Bohr in 1941 while their countries were at war? Was he looking for clues to atomic secrets, asking for absolution, or searching for something unknowable? As the characters wrestle with their memories and motives, what becomes clear is the ultimate uncertainty of why we do what we do. Directed by Kittson O'Neill, the production stars Charles McMahon as Werner Heisenberg, Sally Mercer as Margrethe Nørlund Bohr, and Paul L. Nolan as Niels Bohr.

As part of its ongoing In Conversation Series of fascinating discussions with theater artists and special guests, the Lantern will host three noted experts for conversations that explore the themes of the play. The conversations immediately follow 2:00 p.m. matinee performances on Saturday, Jan. 20 (Gino Segrè and Bettina Hoerlin) and Saturday, Jan. 27 (Kenneth W. Ford) and are free to the general public with ticket purchase. Members of the press are invited to attend by contacting Anne Shuff at ashuff@lanterntheater.org; advance reservations are required as space is extremely limited.

In Conversation with Gino Segrè and Bettina Hoerlin (Saturday, Jan. 20 at 4:45 p.m.)

Moderated by Lantern Artistic Director Charles McMahon, this conversation will focus on Segrè and Hoerline's new book, The Pope of Physics: Enrico Fermi and the Birth of the Atomic Age. Gino Segrè is a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania. He previously served as director of theoretical physics at the National Science Foundation. Bettina Hoerlin served as health commissioner of Philadelphia and taught at the University of Pennsylvania. Though not a physicist herself, Hoerlin is the daughter of one and grew up in the Atomic City of Los Alamos. Like her husband and co-author, Gino Segrè, Hoerlin's parents fled anti-Semitism in Europe at the same time that Fermi did.

In Conversation with Kenneth W. Ford (Saturday, Jan. 27 at 4:45 p.m.)

Moderated by Lantern Artistic Director Charles McMahon, this conversation will focus on Kenneth W. Ford's career in theoretical physics, beginning in the 1940s and including his fellowship under Werner Heisenberg in Germany in the 1950s. Dr. Ford is former first chair of the physics department at the University of California at Irvine and served as executive director and chief executive officer of the American Institute of Physics. He is the author of nine titles, including the 2015 book Building the H Bomb: A Personal History.

Tickets for upcoming Copenhagen performances are $34 - $43 and are available online at www.lanterntheater.org or by phone at (215) 829-0395. Student tickets are $15 in advance; $10 student rush tickets are available 10 minutes before curtain with valid ID. Discounts are also available for theater industry professionals, seniors 65 and up, groups of 10 or more, and U.S. military personnel. Lantern Theater Company is located at St. Stephen's Theater, 10th & Ludlow Sts. in Center City Philadelphia.

The Lantern will further explore the world of Copenhagen with Lantern Searchlight, available online at www.lanterntheater.org/searchlight. Published and upcoming articles include a primer on theoretical physics, the groundbreaking work of Heisenberg and Bohr and their mysterious 1941 meeting, the neuroscience of memory, the race to build the atomic bomb, and the famed personalities within the physics community in the years leading up to World War II. New content will be added throughout the production's run.

About Lantern Theater Company

Founded in 1994, Lantern Theater Company launched the 2017/18 season with a record number of subscribers, its largest-ever operating budget at $1.5 million, and a growing community of theater artists engaged in its productions and audience enrichment events. The Lantern's innovative Theater Artist Fair Pay Initiative was featured in American Theatre magazine as a leading national success story for increasing artist compensation through a combination of fundraising and higher ticket sales. The Lantern seeks to be a vibrant, contributing member of its community, exposing audiences to great theater, inviting participation in dialogue and discussion, engaging audience members on artistic and social issues, and employing theatrical language and techniques to enrich learning in the classroom. Since the inception of the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre in 1995, the Lantern has been recognized with 96 nominations and 19 awards, including the 2009 Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service. Following Copenhagen, the Lantern's 2017/18 season continues with The Tempest by William Shakespeare and the Philadelphia premiere of Don't Dress for Dinner by Marc Camoletti and adapted by Robin Hawdon. More information is online at www.lanterntheater.org.

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