{{Short description|Nonprofit performing arts center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania}} {{primary sources|date=June 2018}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox venue | name = Highmark Mann | fullname = Highmark Mann Center for The Performing Arts | image = Mann Center for the Performing Arts, June 2012.jpg | image_size = 250px | address = 5201 Parkside Ave<br>Philadelphia, PA 19131 | location = Fairmount Park | mapframe = no | broke_ground = February 1975 | opened = June 14, 1976 | owner = City of Philadelphia | former_names = Robin Hood Dell West {{small|(1976–79)}} <br> Mann Music Center {{small|(1979–2000)}} <br> Mann Center for the Performing Arts {{small|(2000–25)}} | seating_capacity = {{Collapsible list|expand=|framestyle=|titlestyle=|title=Detailed venue capacity<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.pollstar.com/2020/03/04/live-nation-to-be-mann-centers-exclusive-booker/ |title=Live Nation To Be Mann Center’s Exclusive Booker |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=March 4, 2020 |website=Pollstar |publisher= |access-date=February 1, 2026|archive-url=https://archive.today/20260201104240/https://news.pollstar.com/2020/03/04/live-nation-to-be-mann-centers-exclusive-booker/ |archive-date=February 1, 2026}}</ref>|liststyle=|hlist=|bullets=||TD Pavilion: 13,000|Skyline Stage: 3,000-7,500}} | website = {{URL|http://www.highmarkmann.org/|Venue Website}} }}
The '''Highmark Mann''' (formerly known as the '''Robin Hood Dell West''' and '''Mann Music Center''' and '''The Mann Center for the Performing Arts''') is a nonprofit performing arts center located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia's West Fairmount Park, built in 1976 as the summer home for the Philadelphia Orchestra. It is the successor in this role to the Robin Hood Dell outdoor amphitheater, where the Philadelphia Orchestra had given summer performances since 1930. Highmark Mann's campus includes an amphitheater, '''TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann''', and a smaller open-air stage, the '''Skyline Stage at Highmark Mann'''.
Highmark Mann has hosted artists and touring companies such as the American Ballet Theatre with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Marian Anderson, Leonard Bernstein, Buena Vista Social Club, Ray Charles, Judy Garland, the Metropolitan Opera, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Paul Robeson, Itzhak Perlman, Lang Lang, Midori, and Yo-Yo Ma. Major Philadelphia premieres have included the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Bolshoi Ballet and Orchestra's production of ''Spartacus'', and Britain's Royal Ballet’s productions of ''Romeo and Juliet'' and ''Swan Lake''.
Among the scores of award-winning popular artists presented by Highmark Mann in recent years are Celine Dion, Phish, Jack Johnson, Ed Sheeran, Tony Bennett, Mary J. Blige, Roger Daltrey, Bob Dylan, Furthur, Kesha, Lake Street Dive, Tame Impala, Arcade Fire, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Herbie Hancock, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Wynton Marsalis, Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson, Jill Scott, James Taylor, Damien Rice, Blondie with Garbage, Sugarland and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
In 2010, 2011, and 2014, Highmark Mann was nominated by Pollstar, a concert industry trade publication, as "Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue" in North America. TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann has a total seating capacity of approximately 14,000, with 4,743 seats under the roof and over 8,600 outside.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mann Center For The Performing Arts – History |url=http://www.manncenter.org/about/history.asp |publisher=Mann Center For The Performing Arts |access-date=2008-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080519172720/http://www.manncenter.org/about/history.asp |archive-date=2008-05-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Skyline Stage at Highmark Mann has a capacity of 6,500.
== History == The present building first opened in 1976 as '''Robin Hood Dell West''' and subsequently was designated in 1979 the '''Mann Music Center''' in honor of Fredric R. Mann. In 2000, the facility was renamed to '''The Mann Center for the Performing Arts''' to reflect the center's plans to broaden its programming and service to the overall community.<ref>{{Cite web|title=About Mann – History|url=http://www.manncenter.org/history|publisher=Mann Center for the Performing Arts|access-date=2020-08-29}}</ref> In 2025, signed a 12-year naming rights sponsorship deal with Pittsburgh-based insurance company, Highmark, renaming the facility as '''Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts'''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dobrin |first=Peter |date=2025-10-15 |title=Mann Center lands sponsorship deal — and a new name |url=https://www.inquirer.com/arts/highmark-mann-center-new-name-philadelphia-orchestra-20251015.html |access-date=2025-10-16 |website=Inquirer.com |language=en}}</ref>
== Education and community engagement == Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts' Education & Community Engagement program is the region's largest free education program, serving over 50,000 young people annually. Highmark Mann's annual Young People's Concert Series features free main stage performances making performing arts programs accessible to children in the Philadelphia region. The Connecting Arts-N-Schools series brings guest artists directly into 22 partner schools, and the Judith Gitlin ArtsTeach @ The Mann programs include 6 individual series: Meet the Artist, Tiny Tots Fascination Series, Greenfield Performance Treasures, Connecting Arts @ The center, Artist in Residency and Master Class.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
==See also== * List of contemporary amphitheatres
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.facebook.com/highmarkmann Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts] at Facebook *MSS 154, Fredric R. Mann Papers in the Irving S. Gilmore Music Library of Yale University.
{{Music venues of Pennsylvania}} {{Authority control}} {{Coord|39|58|59|N|75|13|22|W|format=dms|display=title|type:landmark_region:US-PA}}
Category:Music venues in Philadelphia Category:West Philadelphia Category:West Fairmount Park Category:1976 establishments in Pennsylvania