Stars and Stripes Forever! at the Academy of Music — Dates, Tickets, and What to Expect

Philadelphia Ballet starts its 2026/27 season with an all-American evening. Stars and Stripes Forever! is the company’s salute to the country’s 250th anniversary, built from four works by three American choreographers: Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine and Eliot Feld. There are only five performances, all in one long weekend at the Academy of Music on Broad Street.

About the Program

Fancy Free. This is where Jerome Robbins’ career as a choreographer began. He made it in 1944 with the composer Leonard Bernstein, and it follows three sailors on shore leave in wartime Manhattan. The ballet was such a hit that it grew into the Broadway musical On the Town, and the Robbins–Bernstein partnership later produced West Side Story. It runs about 34 minutes.

Variations on ‘America’. A short, punchy piece by Eliot Feld, who joined the Broadway cast of West Side Story at sixteen and went on to make more than 100 ballets. The music is by Charles Ives, in orchestral arrangements by William Schuman. Expect flags, march rhythms and plenty of athletic dancing in about 8 minutes.

Who Cares? (Concert Version). Balanchine made Who Cares? in 1970 to sixteen George Gershwin songs, orchestrated by Hershy Kay. Philadelphia Ballet is dancing the concert version, which keeps the pas de deux and solos. It runs about 25 minutes.

Stars and Stripes. The closer is Balanchine’s tribute to the marches of John Philip Sousa, also arranged by Hershy Kay. The ballet is divided into five “campaigns,” each built on a different march, and Philadelphia Ballet describes it as having the technical richness of a full-length classical ballet. It runs about 34 minutes.

What Makes This Run Special

• Season opener. These are the first Philadelphia Ballet performances of the 2026/27 season.
• America at 250. The whole program was chosen around the national anniversary, so the evening has a clear theme from start to finish.
• A night for service members. Friday, October 9 is Military, Veterans & First Responders Night. Philadelphia Ballet offers 40% off that performance with the promo code PBMVFR.

Who Should Go

• First-timers: four short works, two intermissions, and familiar music, from Gershwin songs to Sousa marches. Ballet for Beginners: 10 Works to Start With has more ideas.
• Broadway fans: Fancy Free is the ballet that became On the Town.
• Balanchine fans: two very different sides of him in one evening, jazzy in Who Cares? and grand in Stars and Stripes.

Seats and Booking Tips

• The Academy of Music is a historic theater that seats up to 2,600 people. For a large ensemble finale like Stars and Stripes, a seat a little above the orchestra level shows off the formations. See how to choose seats at a ballet performance.
• Community rush: Philadelphia Ballet sells a limited number of $45 rush tickets at the box office one hour before curtain, when available.
• Students: $10 student tickets go on sale 72 hours before each performance, online with the promo code PBSTUDENT10 or at the box office. On opening night, free student tickets are released at the box office one hour before the show. Student tickets must be picked up with a valid student ID. The company says these prices include all fees.
• For more ways to save, see How to Get Cheap Ballet Tickets in the US.
• Not sure what to wear? Ballet Etiquette: What to Wear and When to Clap covers it.

Getting to the Academy of Music

The Academy of Music sits on the Avenue of the Arts at Broad and Locust Streets, and it has been open since 1857. By subway, ride the Broad Street Line to Walnut/Locust. From New Jersey, PATCO stops at 15/16th and Locust. On Regional Rail, get off at Suburban Station and walk south on 15th Street to Locust, then one block east to Broad. Philadelphia Ballet lists several garages nearby and suggests budgeting $15 to $40 for parking. The Academy box office opens two hours before each ballet performance. Full details are on Philadelphia Ballet’s Plan Your Visit page.

Before & After the Show

Philadelphia Ballet keeps a list of partner restaurants and nearby places on its Plan Your Visit page under Restaurants & Partners.

Back to This Week

See everything on stage in New York and Philadelphia this week in Ballet This Week: October Week 1, 2026.

---

Schedules and prices can change. Please confirm on the official site before booking. Spotted an error? Let me know.