"Aunty Donna" with "The Magical Dead Cat Tour"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (September 13, 2023) – The Kimmel Cultural Campus, in association with WestBeth Entertainment, presents sketch comedy group, Aunty Donna, on their North American leg of The Magical Dead Cat Tour at the Perelman Theater on October 7, 2023, at 8:00 p.m. This brand-new live show will feature all new sketches, but also a few fan favorites.

The Magical Dead Cat has once again put the Aunty Donna boys to the test and asked them to travel to the faraway lands of USA, Canada, UK, and Ireland to perform their wonderfully riotous, rip-roarin’ sketch comedy for the first time in five years.

“With a signature blend of absurdity, musical comedy, and non-stop hilarity, Aunty Donna will leave audiences rolling in the aisles and gasping for breath,” said Frances Egler, Vice President of Theatrical Programming & Presentations on the Kimmel Cultural Campus. “Get ready to embrace the chaos and immerse yourself in a world of comedic brilliance when they bring their show to our Campus for the very first time this fall.”

Formed in 2011, Aunty Donna, comprised of Mark Bonanno, Broden Kelly, and Zachary Ruane, with writer and director Sam Lingham, director Max Miller, and composer Thomas Zahariou, are a Melbourne multidisciplinary comedy group, specializing in being “Silly Billy’s.” Throughout their training at University of Ballarat’s Arts Academy, the group saw a lack of demand for live comedy performances and took it upon themselves to start Aunty Donna.

They have toured their live sketch show all over the world and have a cult improvised comedy podcast titled The Aunty Donna Podcast. The team has released a comedy album, written a children’s story book, and originated multiple iconic web series, 1999 and Glenridge Secondary College. For Netflix, they created the comedy sketch show Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun, which featured guest appearances from Ed Helms, Weird Al Yankovic, Antony Starr, Kristen Schaal, and more. In 2022, they published a bestselling book, Always Room for Christmas Pud, and recently created the comedy series Aunty Donna’s Coffee Café.

Aunty Donna is also the creator of Haven’t You Done Well Productions and are intent to work with “the most interesting, unique, and hilarious creators” there are. They strive to have their creators own the intellectual property of each of their own projects unless stated otherwise. These videos can be for TV, movies, or for the general public.

Other featured upcoming performances on the Kimmel Cultural Campus include Eddie Izzard – The Remix: The First 35 Years (September 14 – 15, Miller Theater); Tony Hinchcliffe: Fully Groan Tour (September 29, 2023, Miller Theater); Sir Patrick Stewart: Making it So (October 3, 2023, Perelman Theater); Nurse Blake: Shock Advised Tour (October 14, 2023, Miller Theater); Loreena McKennitt: The Visit Revisited 30th Anniversary Tour (October 20, 2023, Miller Theater); The Moth Mainstage (October 21, 2023, Miller Theater); Tribute to Jerry Blavat (October 21, 2023, Academy of Music); An Evening with the Late John Cleese (October 25, 2023, Academy of Music); Steve Martin & Martin Short: You Won’t Believe What They Look Like Today! (October 27, 2023, Academy of Music); Golden Girls – The Laughs Continue (October 27 – 28, 2023, Miller Theater); Jimmy Carr: Terribly Funny (November 11, 2023, Miller Theater); Ira Glass and Etgar Keret (November 15, 2023, Miller Theater) and David Spade: Catch Me Inside (December 2, 2023, Miller Theater).

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999 or online at www.kimmelculturalcampus.org. In-person ticket sales can be conducted daily from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. at the Academy of Music Box Office, located at 240 S. Broad Street. See www.kimmelculturalcampus.org for more information.

Aunty Donna: The Magical Dead Cat Tour

Perelman Theater on the Kimmel Cultural Campus

Saturday, October 7, 2023, at 8:00 p.m.

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WESTBETH ENTERTAINMENT

WestBeth Entertainment has consistently delivered critically acclaimed, financially successful, groundbreaking productions for over 35 years. WestBeth's ability to meld creative vision with financial and production savvy has created a unique company out of making artists’ and audience's dreams come true.

Developing and introducing artists and talent to North American audiences has a big part of WestBeth’s history. From Billy Connolly to Eddie Izzard, The Jim Henson Company to John Leguizamo and Trevor Noah to Hannah Gadsby, WBE has been the creative catalyst, partner and producer of some of the most innovative performances and productions on the continent in venues throughout North America including Madison Square Garden, The Hollywood Bowl, Toronto’s Massey Hall, Chicago’s Chicago Theatre and even New York’s Radio City Musical Hall.

With entertainment and audience enjoyment being a key element, our most recent productions include: Eddie Izzard’s ‘Wunderbar’ US tour, Professor Brian Cox’s ‘Universal’ North American Tour, Hannah Gadsby’s ‘Douglas’ Off-Broadway run and Brian Henson’s “Puppet Up! Uncensored” at Knott’s Berry Farm. Other productions include Eddie Izzard's first US book tour  for his memoir 'Believe Me', a New York Times Bestseller, North American debut of Australia's comedy group Aunty Donna, Hannah Gadsby’s North American debut of Nanette,  Dylan Moran’s Off The Hook' North American Tour, Noel Fielding (of The Mighty Boosh and the Great British Bake Off) North American debut tour ‘An Evening with Noel Fielding’, ongoing development production of Robert Townsend’s ‘Living The Shuffle’, Las Vegas engagement of Brian Henson’s ‘Puppet Up! Uncensored’ at the Venetian’s Sands Showroom, Eddie Izzard's Force Majeure American Tour performed in all 50 states; Billy Connolly's High Horse tour, the Off-Broadway run of comedian Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime; Eric Idle’s What About Dick at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles; John Leguizamo’s Ghetto Klown on Broadway, the West End, and Colombia, South America; and the national tour, Off-Broadway, Australia tour and Edinburgh Fringe Festival runs of Puppet Up!

KIMMEL CULTURAL CAMPUS

Located in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia, our mission is to engage the region's diverse communities with art through performance and education. Our Cultural Campus serves more than 1-million guests per year and includes Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, and SEI Innovation Studio), the Academy of Music, and the Miller Theater (formerly the Merriam Theater) – representing more than 160 years of rich history for the performing arts along Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts. We are home to The Philadelphia Orchestra and esteemed Resident Companies: Opera Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, PHILADANCO, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Curtis Institute of Music. With nearly 9,000 seats per night, we are the region's most impactful performing arts center, and the second largest in the country. Our Cultural Campus serves as a preeminent and inclusive place to enjoy exceptional experiences that reflect the spirit of our region by cultivating a creative and socially responsible environment where our community shares experiences that are delivered with pride, integrity, and respect. As a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization, we collaborate on, present, and produce a broad range of relevant and meaningful events, we serve as an active gathering space for social and community events, we educate the region's young people through access to quality arts experiences, and we provide support to artists in the creation of new work. Read Kimmel Cultural Campus' vision statement, world view, and mission statement here. Learn more about our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and how it encompasses our mission, coworkers, and programs here.

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