The gift comes at a crucial time for the arts in Philadelphia. Under Mayor Parker, the City has slashed funding for arts and culture;<\/a> the current federal government has eliminated much National Endowment for the Arts funding,<\/a> and attendance itself has still not recovered post-Covid<\/a> (it was already down pre-Covid, as younger generations were not showing the same love for the theater as previous generations).<\/p>\n The adventures of Tom and Judy <\/p>\n Titans of theater and motion pictures were a regular part of growing up in Scarsdale, New York for Tom Kleinman. He befriended Liza Minelli in high school. He delivered groceries to the Sondheims. He wasn\u2019t much interested in theater, however, until he was in Denver earning his liberal arts degree and then his law degree and would come back to the East Coast to see shows with his sister, a theater buff living in New York. When he moved back himself, and then after he met his wife, he made it a point to return to the theater several times a year.<\/p>\n \u201cTo say that I\u2019ve loved the theater for close to 70 years would be very accurate,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Judy Kleinman moved to Philadelphia from Colorado when she was 24 and has been here for over 50 years. She began her career in advertising and public relations, and served as the assistant PR director for Philadelphia\u2019s Bicentennial, among other roles. She met Tom after his company acquired the large hotel where she was working. Her background was, he recalls, an incredible carrot. \u201cThis is somebody that I want to know,\u201d he remembers thinking to himself.<\/p>\n \u201cI was yin to his yang,\u201d says Judy.<\/p>\n Tom being Tom, he was also planning a disco concept at the time (ah, the 70s!) and needed someone to navigate advertising and PR. He thought she could absolutely handle such a niche project. Eventually, they became partners in every sense. They\u2019ve been married for 49 years.<\/p>\n Together they pioneered the \u201curban inn,\u201d a boutique model more like a bed-and-breakfast than the traditional hotel stay common in major cities. They operated Society Hill Hotels and Restaurants, but also ran boat charters in the Florida Keys, owned and managed The Philadelphia Force, a women\u2019s professional fastpitch softball team in the National Pro Fastpitch league (Judy as PR and advertising director, Tom as a coach) all while was Judy building a respected consulting practice, and Tom maintaining his financial trading business.<\/p>\n Judy is also a community leader, serving on the board of Philadelphia\u2019s Rittenhouse Residences High-Rise Council and contributing to Private Industry Councils in Philadelphia and Baltimore to foster connections between the public and private sectors.<\/p>\n The Kleinmans have been patrons of Philadelphia theater for many years, including as founding members of the Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC). At the launch of the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in 2007, they developed close relationships with the artistic directors. In March of 2023 Paige Price, previously an artistic director for PTC before founding her own production company, reached out to the Kleinmans about going across the ropes to become producers.<\/p>\n They became co-producers on a new play called The Cottage, actor Jason Alexander\u2019s directorial debut, featuring a stellar cast. Despite opening at New York City\u2019s Helen Hayes Theater in June (traditionally a rough time to debut because people tend to leave the city), the play gleaned audiences looking to see new theater during the coinciding SAG-AFTRA strike. The show was a hit.<\/p>\n \u201cI got into this business at a mercurial age, because I\u2019ll be 80 next year, and it\u2019s a young person\u2019s game,\u201d says Tom. \u201cMost of the producers that I work with are in their 50s, but I got into the business saying I can make money in this business, and everybody thought that was outlandish.\u201d<\/p>\n Kleinman Entertainment Group\u2019s award-winning productions include, as of 2026, Dead Outlaw, Operation Mincemeat, Sunset Blvd., Two Strangers, Chess, Paddington: The Musical, and Evita.<\/p>\n Ensemble Arts Youth Theater Education programs <\/p>\n The gift to Ensemble Arts began as part of the Kleinmans\u2019 estate planning.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were looking for a legacy project,\u201d says Tom. \u201cOf course, there\u2019s hospitals, there\u2019s the National Cancer Institute, American Heart Association, Make a Wish, St. Jude\u2019s \u2014 all of the things that I give to on a regular basis. I served on our synagogue board for 20 years, so obviously I looked at that. But I got involved in theater!\u201d<\/p>\n As a Broadway League member, he was already familiar with supporting youth programs like The Jimmy Awards (National High School Musical Theatre Awards) in New York. \u201cBut I\u2019m a Philadelphia guy. I\u2019ve been here for 40 plus years, and I wanted to support our local theater.\u201d<\/p>\n Ensemble Arts runs a multitude of education and community engagement theater programs that serve thousands of school-age students annually. Their theater education programs begin with an introduction to musical theater for grades four through six called Set The Stage in which theater professionals visit schools for pre-show acting, music, and dance workshops. Then students are provided a field trip to the Kimmel Center for a custom interactive performance to tell their own stories.<\/p>\n The tuition-free Middle School Summer Art Sessions target emerging theater kids, immersing them for 10 days in musical theater, dance, and digital arts. If the theater bug stays with them through high school, advanced training is available via auditions for the three-week High School Summer Arts Sessions. At this level, the attendees develop a stage production alongside professional artists and theater practitioners for performance at The Kimmel Center in front of an audience (including, but not just, parents and friends). Students also have the opportunity to learn from the \u201cBehind the Curtain\u201d curriculum: producing, marketing, technical craft, lighting, scenic design and arts administration.<\/p>\n