Penn Live Arts presents the East Coast Premiere of "UnRavelled"

Penn Live Arts presents the East Coast Premiere of "UnRavelled"

the play follows the parallel lives of a scientist and composer, both afflicted by frontotemporal dementia

Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 09/21/2026

(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- Penn Live Arts presents the East Coast premiere of UnRavelled, a multi-media theatrical production that sheds a new, empathetic light on dementia. Conceived and written by Jake Broder, UnRavelled tells the story of scientist-turned-painter Anne Adams and composer Maurice Ravel, both affected by frontotemporal dementia. Performances are October 8-11, 2026 at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Through a powerful synthesis of theatre, music, science and visual art, UnRavelled explores the complexities of the human mind through the characters' parallel lives. With a cast of 10 actors and musicians, the play follows Adams, a gifted biologist whose life unravels as she abandons her career, consumed by the desire to paint and an obsession with Ravel's iconic Boléro. As Adams' cognitive decline accelerates, her art flourishes, revealing a surprising link between neurological disease and creativity.

The music for UnRavelled weaves the sound of live musicians, who are unnamed characters in the play, and electronic soundscapes, blurring the lines between the two. As the story develops, a kaleidoscope of Ravel's music unfolds in various mashed-up states – stuttering Boleros, backwards string quartets, reshuffled trios, and quirky record player needle-drops. The musical highlight of UnRavelled is a "Reimagined Bolero" performed at the end of the play.

UnRavelled is directed by James Bonas and produced by Cath Brittan. Composer and sound designer is Mark Grey, set design is by Emma Kingsbury and lighting design by Masha Tsimring. The cast includes: Lucy Davenport (Dr Anne Adams), Andrew Borba (Robert Adams), Leo Marks (Maurice Ravel), David Aaron Baker ( Dr. Bruce Miller), and Tracey A. Leigh (Ida / Carol). Musicians: Aron Kallay: Music Director and Keyboards; Randy Gloss: Percussion; Nathaniel Edison: Winds; Rachel Iba: Violin; and Michelle Elliott Rearick: Cello.

Performances take place Thursday, October 8 at 7:00pm; Friday, October 9 at 7:30pm; Saturday, October 10 at 2:00pm; and Sunday, October 11 at 2:00pm. Post-show discussions take place after each performance with a workshop on October 10th & October 11th as well. Tickets are available for purchase online. Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is located at 3680 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, PA.

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Performances of UnRavelled will be accompanied by a rich slate of community engagement activities for general audiences and those living with dementia and their caregivers. Post-performance discussions and workshops exploring memory and relationships, through music, dance and poetry will be led by representatives from the Global Brain Health Institute, Penn faculty experts, and Penn's WriteMinds program.

"We're proud to present the East Coast premiere of UnRavelled, a deeply powerful theatrical presentation that speaks to the lived experience of so many people today," said Penn Live Arts Executive & Artistic Director Christopher Gruits. "As part of one of the country's premier research universities, we are fortunate to have access to some of the greatest minds working to understand and treat frontotemporal dementias. This production and its accompanying engagement events, which draw on these resources, exemplify how Penn Live Arts employs the power of the arts to bring people together around timely, critical issues, advancing empathy through dialogue and shared human connection."

Playwright Jake Broder is a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute (UCSF and Trinity College Dublin), and was the Hellman Visiting Artist at UCSF in 2019, an experience that resulted in the script for UnRavelled. His theatrical writing includes Our American Hamlet, Max & Willy's Last Laugh (co-written with Conor Duffy), the musical Miravel, and the solo show His Royal Hipness Lord Buckley. He has also written for television and has acted on the stage and on television.

UnRavelled had its world premiere at the Wallis Annenberg Center in Los Angeles in 2025. and has received five Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award nominations, the LADCC Award for Streaming Design, and the Beverly Hills Theater Guild Playwriting Award.

UnRavelled is made possible in part with support provided by the Penn Live Arts Accelerator Program. UnRavelled is presented in partnership with Penn Medicine as part of the International Conference for Frontotemporal Dementias.

UnRavelled is presented in partnership with The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration; the Kissick Family Foundation; UCSF Memory and Aging Center; Global Brain Health Institute; Lilly Pharmaceuticals; and the Dana Foundation.

Curated by Executive & Artistic Director Christopher A. Gruits, Penn Live Arts' 2026-27 season explores the concept of belonging, reflecting on how people experience change and find acceptance in new worlds while longing for the community and traditions of home. Through performances by today's leading dancers, musicians, actors, and cirque artists, this season-spanning thematic thread shines a light on migration and immigrant experiences.

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Penn Live Arts (PLA), headquartered at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, is the leading presenter of innovative and transformative performing arts experiences in Philadelphia. A vital resource for the performing arts at the University of Pennsylvania, PLA is an artistic crossroads joining Penn and the greater Philadelphia region through world-class music, dance and theatre on campus and at venues throughout the city, serving an annual audience of over 80,000. Penn Live Arts emphasizes artistic and intellectual excellence in its offerings; prioritizes broad inclusiveness in the artists, audiences and groups it serves; and expands arts access by actively engaging a wide range of audiences and communities from campus, the West Philadelphia neighborhood and the surrounding region.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF UnRavelled