Santander Arena adds Kevin Hart show; Reading's Fall Festival lineup announced

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Sep. 18—Comedian and actor Kevin Hart has added eight shows to the second leg of his Reality Check Tour, including a stop at Santander Arena, Reading, on Oct. 6.

Three other events also have been added to the Santander Arena lineup: CoComelon Live! JJ's Journey on Dec. 6, World Championship Ice Racing on Jan. 27 and the Jo Koy World Tour on March 9. Tickets are on sale at ticketmaster.com.

Hailed as one of the highest-earning stand-up comedians of 2019 by Forbes, Hart sold out over 100 arenas around the world on his previous tour.

Emmy and Grammy nominated, Hart was born and raised in Philadelphia, where he launched his career during an amateur night at a local comedy club. Over the years, he has become a Hollywood box office powerhouse, opening 10 films at No. 1 at the box office and grossing more than $4.23 billion global revenue.

In 2020, Hart released his seventh hour-long stand-up special, which became Netflix's biggest stand-up special of 2020 and earned him a Grammy nomination for best comedy album. He is a New York Times best-selling author twice over and his first Audible original, "The Decision," was nominated for an Audie award for best original audiobook in 2021.

CoComelon LIVE! JJ's Journey is a Broadway-style musical production and an unforgettable adventure, encouraging parents and kids alike to get out of their seats and sing and dance along.

Koy started 2022 with a bang, selling-out the Climate Pledge Arena in his hometown of Seattle. His relatable comedy pulls inspiration from his colorful family.

Culture

The 37th edition of the Fall Festival of the Arts in downtown Reading is under way with the opening of this year's art show featuring the drawings, paintings and photographs of Robert Pepper in the Hintz Room of Trinity Lutheran Church, 527 Washington St. The exhibit runs through Sept. 25, with hours of 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday (with a free gallery talk at 7), 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. next Sunday.

The art show is the first of five events in this year's festival. Here is the rest of the schedule:

Thursday: The musical duo Silver, Wood & Ivory will perform at 7 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran. With their 19 flutes and recorders and one piano, Tracy Dietrich and Cindy Wittenberg will present an evening of music that sweeps from classical, Broadway and pop tunes to sacred and jazz selections. Tickets are $20.

Sept. 30: Berks Ballet Theatre presents "A Panoply of Dance" at 7 p.m. at the WCR Center for the Arts, 140 N. Fifth St. Director Nathan Bland has assembled a program of both the classical and the contemporary, including pieces with a jazzy edge as well as classical ballet variations. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students at the door.

Oct. 21-23: "Watch on the Rhine," under the direction of John Gancar, will be staged at the WCR Center for the Arts. Written and set during the rise of Hitler's Germany, Lillian Hellman's play is about an American family suddenly awakened to the danger of fascism and the threat to their liberty. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students.

Oct. 30: A Young Organists Concert featuring performers from Berks and surrounding counties will be held at 4 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 435 Court St. They will perform in a variety of styles on the 60-rank pipe organ. A free-will offering will be collected.

For tickets and more information, visit fallfestivalofthearts.org.

Film

The WCR Center for the Arts, 140 N. Fifth St., will host an exclusive screening of the Emmy nominated New York Times Op-Docs documentary "Takeover" on Oct. 8 at 2 and 7 p.m.

"Takeover" explores the 12 historic hours on July 14, 1970, in which 50 members of the Young Lords Party stormed the dilapidated Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx, drove out their administrative staff, and barricaded entrances and windows, and made their cries for decent healthcare known to the world. They raised the Puerto Rican flag atop the building and a banner reading "The People's Hospital" — a nom de guerre still used today.

Through archival footage, seamless reenactments and modern-day interviews, the film follows the Young Lords' resistance against institutions curated by wealth and white supremacy, and their fight for the most basic of human rights: the right to accessible, quality healthcare.

The 2 p.m. screening will be a Free Community Partner/Public Screening with a talkback panel moderated by Patty Torres, organizing director of Make the Road PA.

The 7 p.m. screening is a ticketed event ($35) and includes a talkback panel moderated by Anthony Orozco (Latino Communities Reporter for WITF), and a meet and greet reception with director Emma Francis-Snyder, producer Tony Gerber and one of the original Young Lords.

For more information, see wcrcenter.org.

Art

Pottstown Area Artists Guild's September Masters of Art Lecture, featuring Aaron Thompson of Lancaster demonstrating the initial steps of portrait painting, will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Boyer Gallery of The Hill School Center for the Arts, Pottstown.

Thompson will focus on the initial steps in creating a portrait from the shoulders up using oil paints. This talk is sponsored by New Wave Fine Art Products.

Thompson is a professional painter whose paintings and drawings have been exhibited in Samuel M. V. Hamilton Museum at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Art. He is represented by Drawing Room Gallery in Greenwich, Conn., as well as private collections.

A native of Charleston, S.C., he earned his BFA in Illustration from Savannah College of Art and Design. After being awarded The Merit Scholarship from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, he moved to Philadelphia where he earned a master's degree in painting, and then attended the Barnes Artist Residency in Umbria, Italy.

He is an assistant professor at the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, and works for Gamblin Artist Colors as an educational lecturer of visual arts.

For information on attending this talk, visit paag.info/meeting-times.