"Aside from being pitch perfect in every way, these performers really connected with their characters. I had goose bumps during every single song..."

"The songwriting was excellent...each tune had a memorable melody, thoughtful lyrics, and real emotional integrity"

Read the full article from Rock on Philly here.

"An impressive collaboration between a diverse array of artists and community members..."

"...the ideal of what education should be."

Read the full article from Hidden City here.

"The work has this blend of despondency and ambition that touches the soul."

"...a lesson that...sparing a dime and sharing one’s time serve the same function – the fostering of hope."

Read the full article from the South Philly Review here.

The paradigm
of Spare A Dime
finds parallels of place and time,
the mystery
of history
repeating, and we hope you'll see
true Liberty
finds unity
of purpose in community.
Rise or fall, we'll always be
together, indivisibly.

A big shout out and our deepest gratitude to the fantastic cast, musicians, and crew of Spare A Dime, and to all of the project's community participants.  You define the very essence of the power of art to transform lives.  Thank you.

Click here to buy tickets – just $10 general admission!
Proceeds benefit COSACOSA's youth programs throughout the city!

After nearly a year of planning, community interviews, writing, artwork creation, and music-making, the Spare A Dime cast and crew moved our set, gear, and rehearsals to the historic Bok Tech Theater today!

With the help of our amazing professional tech crew (thank you, George, Walter, Terry, Mike, and Rodney!) and dedicated Bok students working with COSACOSA and Bok staff,  the Spare A Dime stage was set in perfect time for our singers and musicians to rehearse.

Please join us next week for our premiere performances –
Thursday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. • Friday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. • Saturday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m.

General admission is $10.  Tickets may be purchases online at www.pifa.org/events/10 or by calling COSACOSA at 215.385.2554    We want you – to hear all about the WPA in song and to see this gorgeous WPA-built space!

Brielle Leary, soprano
Leary graduated from the Philadelphia Creative and Performing Arts High School as a vocal major and was a member of the all city choir for four years. She has sung in countless concerts and musicals, as well as performing for many church events and community shows. Under the direction of Victor Rodriguez, Leary appears regularly in musical series at the Rotunda. She recently graduated from Jean Madeline Aveda Institute, soon to be licensed with her own beauty hair care salon.  "I'm a life-long singer," Leary said, "I will sing anywhere, anytime!" 

Andi Rose, soprano
Rose equates singing with marriage...'til death do us part! She was bitten by the singing bug at the age of five when a woman at her school sang “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands." Musical theater is Rose's favorite performance style, and her numerous leading roles include Maria in West Side Story and Annie in Annie Get Your Gun. For three seasons she was a cast member of Lafferty’s Wake at Society Hill Playhouse.  She recently performed Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado with the acclaimed Savoy Company.  Rose is a proud member of Screen Actors Guild.  She is happy to be working with Victor again and is thrilled to be a part of the Chorus of Liberty.  She quotes Calvin Coolidge, "The test of our progress is not whether we add to the abundance of those who have much. It is whether we provide enough to those who have little."

Donnie Hammond, alto
Hammond always wanted to be a performer; her mother laughingly claims she could dance before she could walk.  Hammond graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School and spent one year in college before she decided to work at her chosen craft full time. She has appeared with in Philadelphia venues including at the Society Hill Playhouse in Motherhood: The Musical and at the Prince Theater in Jamaica.  She was featured in the German tour of the Original U.S.A. Gospel Singers. "I love singing and playing different people," Hammond said, "so musical theater is what I always enjoy the most."

Sherria Watts, alto
Sherria Watts, Philadelphia native is no stranger to the stage. She has appeared in numerous musical theater productions including Grease (Rizzo), Hair (Dionne), and Alice in Wonderland (the Duchess).  Watts holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Theater from West Chester University where she was a starring member of a finalist team participating in the Kennedy Center's American College Theater Festival.  Watts has taught dance and musical theater throughout the region and now uses her skills as the Children's Program Coordinator for a major martial arts company in the Delaware Valley.  "I'm excited for this project," Watts said, "and for the opportunity to perform again."

Joanne Joella, contralto
Joella is a voice acting and voice development coach and founder of JoellaArts Voice and Speech at Sherman Mills in East Falls. Over the years, she has been a consultant for Philadelphia Magazine, Men’s Health, Phillyfit Magazine, and the Philadelphia Inquirer as well as appearing on Marty Moss-Coan’s Radio Times an expert on Philadelphia regional sounds and accent reduction.  Joanne has also performed in various Musical Theater productions throughout the region and has fronted or lent her powerful vocals to an array of rock bands. “Being part of Spare A Dime is an opportunity of a lifetime to feel the virtual presence of the history of my parents and grandparents," Joella said. "I know more about myself, my family, my country, and what my future may hold.  Words cannot express how awesome it is to perform in the Bok High School Auditorium and to know that the spirit we honor was the force behind the creation of the Bok.  Thank you, Brothers and Sisters of the WPA! We will share your time.” For more information about classes and private coaching at JoellaArts, please visit her website, www.joellaarts.com

Brian S. Rothman, tenor
Rothman is a second grade teacher at Forrest Elementary School.  He holds  a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology from Albright University and a Master of Elementary Education from Holy Family University.  Brian has been performing in regional community theater for more years than he would like to count.  Favorite roles over the years have been in Little Shop of Horrors (The Dentist), The Fantasticks (Matt), Once Upon a Mattress (Prince Dauntless),  Honk! (Ugly), Beauty and the Beast (Cogsworth), The Drowsy Chaperone (Feldzieg), Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (Louie), Grease (Kenickie), Annie (Oliver Warbucks), Cabaret (Cliff), and Godspell (Judas).  When not performing or teaching, Brian spends time training his Australian shepherds, Beezie and Topper, and his Dachshund, Tawney.  "Thanks to all my friends and family for their support over the years, especially Victor Rodgriguez for getting him involved with Spare A Dime!  Spread Kindness..."

Bruce Fero, baritone
Fero is a member and soloist in the Philadelphia Gospel Seminar Choir and One Faith Gospel Music Ministry.  A resident of Philadelphia's Olney neighborhood, he is also active in the choir at St. Paul's Evangelical Church.  Among his extensive musical theater credits are performances in Come Blow Your Horn, Gypsy, The Chalk Garden, and The Azuza Street Revival.  Fero is also a veteran, having served in the United States Air Force in England.  He shared his stories for Spare A Dime's character of The Veteran, and helped COSACOSA staff recreate modern-day versions of WPA photographs of veterans.  "When politicians didn't (or don't) care," Fero said, "change needs to come from within our communities, from people working and struggling for something better."

Gary Bullock, bass
Bullock has been singing in organized choirs since he was in third grade (sometime during the Harding Administration), and is presently a bass in the St. George’s Episcopal Church Choir, where he began over fifty years ago. In recent years, he has appeared in a significant number of local theater productions including Macbeth (Banquo), Cabaret (Herr Schultz), Adrift in Macao (Mitch), Don’t Drink the Water (Krojak), Jesus Christ Superstar (Bartholomew), and Sweeney Todd.  "Many thanks to Kim, Victor, and particularly Joanne Joella for the confidence to include him in this wonderful production. As always, special thanks to the Bullock family for their love and support, especially Marlee, for whom I have been a work in progress for thirty-four years and without whom none of this would be possible.  Life is a journey, not a destination.”

Vocalists Bill Gross, Lourin Plant, Khrista White, Victor Rodriguez, Julian Coleman, Phyllis Chapell, and Venissa Santi with pianist Jay Fluellen at the COSACOSA Studio.

The Spare A Dime cast rehearsed in front of a live audience at COSACOSA last night and wowed the crowd!  Much merriment ensued, even though they sang the blues!

Stay tuned for news about more open rehearsals and other public events leading up to our live performances -- and get your tickets today on the PIFA 13 website!

The gates of time momentarily flew open yesterday! The time machine constructed inside the Kimmel Center for the 2013 Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA 13) let loose characters from every era -- from prehistory to the future.  Found at iconic Philadelphia locations including Love Park, Reading Terminal Market, Rittenhouse Square, 30th Street Station, the Betsy Ross House and more, they banded together to parade first to City Hall and then back to the Kimmel Center.

Check out images from all the upcoming PIFA 13 shows on the festival blog and remember to buy your tickets for COSACOSA's Spare A Dime performances on April 18, 19, and 20, 2013 -- Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7:30 pm.
Spare A Dime tickets can be purchased with a credit card through the PIFA website or in person with cash or credit at The Kimmel Center Box Office, 300 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, or at COSACOSA, 4427 Main Street in Philly's Manayunk neighborhood.

Call us at 215.385.2554 or email SpareADime@cosacosa.org for more information!!! 

Spare A Dime vocalists Phyllis Chapell and Julian Coleman jam with Musical Coordinator Jay Fluellen and Production Coordinator Rodney Whittenberg at Melodyvision Studio.

Please join us at the COSACOSA Studio on Monday evening, March 25 starting at 7 for an open rehearsal with the Spare A Dime vocalists.  Please visit www.cosacosa.org for more information.

And stay tuned for news about more open rehearsals and other public events leading up to our live performances -- and get your tickets today on the PIFA 13 website!