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By John McDevitt

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The Kimmel Center today announced its upcoming 2012-2013 “Broadway” season, with some help from the star of one of the 11 shows coming to Philadelphia.

Joey is a life-sized puppet of a horse (manned by three puppeteers), the star of the national touring production of “War Horse.”  He looked so much like the real thing today, outside the Kimmel Center, that two Philadelphia mounted police horses standing nearby were visibly nervous.

(Matthew Wolf of the Kimmel Center. Credit: John McDevitt)

Matthew Wolf, the Kimmel Center’s vice president of theatrical presentations and programming (right), says “War Horse” will kick off the new Broadway season at the end of this year.

“It has won five Tony awards including best play,” he notes. “It will be here November 20th through December 2nd, at the Academy of Music.”

The other productions include “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” in late February of next year.  And in the summer of 2013, for a six-week run, “Wicked” comes back to Philadelphia for the fourth time.

“We sold out the last three times,” Wolf says.  “It’s as big and as beautiful of a blockbuster as there ever was.”

For more information about the Kimmel Center’s 2012-2013 “Broadway” season, go to kimmelcenter.org.

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