PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE TO PRESENT FUN HOME JANUARY 16 - MARCH 2, 2025 AT THE RUTH PAGE CENTER FOR THE ARTS

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE ANNOUNCES THE CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM FOR THE TONY AWARD-WINNING 

FUN HOME

JANUARY 16 - MARCH 2, 2025

AT THE RUTH PAGE CENTER FOR THE ARTS

This Moving Story of Seeing One’s Parents Through Adult Eyes is Directed by Stephen Schellhardt and Music Directed by Heidi Joosten.

CONTENT ADVISORY: verbal abuse, depictions of homophobia and a death by suicide as well as allusions to sexual contact between an adult and teenagers.

The running time is 100 minutes with no intermission. 

Fun Home is a favorite of ours here at ChiIL Live Shows. I've had the pleasure of reviewing the Broadway national tour in 2016, Victory Gardens' show in 2017, and Paramount's production in 2022. I can't wait to catch Porchlight's take on this fabulously fun, dark yet tender, queer coming of age story. Don't miss this!

Porchlight Music Theatre announces the cast and creative team for the Tony-award winning and Pulitzer Prize-nominated musical Fun Home, January 16 - March 2, 2025, at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. Fun Home, with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, is based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel and is directed for Porchlight Music Theatre by Stephen Schellhardt with music direction by Heidi Joosten. 

Previews are Thursday, Jan. 16 and Friday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. The press opening is Sunday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. with additional performances Thursday, Jan. 23 at 2 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Post-show discussions are scheduled for Friday, Jan. 31, Thursday, Feb. 8, Thursday, Feb. 13 and Sunday, Feb. 23 with Open Caption performances Saturday, Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 22 at 3 p.m. 

Tickets are $20 - $85 and are on sale now at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org. Group discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. Contact Audience Services Director August Compton at August@PorchlightMusicTheatre.org for more information on group sales.

Winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and a Pulitzer finalist, Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, emotional and revolutionary musical. Based on Alison Bechdel’s critically acclaimed graphic novel, Fun Home shares how Bechdel unlocks memories, milestones and mysteries of her youth as she begins to write her first graphic novel. With a compassionate score and a brilliant script, Fun Home tells the story of seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.

Top row: (L to R) Neala Barron (Helen), Liz Bollar (Helen U/S, Alison U/S), Patrick Byrnes (Bruce), Alanna Chavez (Alison)

Second row: (L to R) Eli Vander Griend (Christian), King Hang (Roy/Mark/Pete/Bobby/Jeremy U/S), Austin Hartung (John), Josiah Haugen (Bruce U/S)

Third row: (L to R) Dakota Hughes (Joan, dance/intimacy captain), Charlie Long (Christian), Adelina Marinello (middle Alison U/S, Joan U/S), Hayes McCraken (small Alison)

Bottom row: (L to R) Z Mowry (middle Alison), Tessa Pundsack (small Alison), Elin Joy Seiler (small Alison), Lincoln J. Skoien (Roy/Mark/Pete/Bobby/Jeremy)

The cast of Fun Home including two children’s casts, in alphabetical order, is Neala Barron (she/her, Helen); Liz Bollar (she/they, Helen U/S, Alison U/S); Patrick Byrnes (he/him, Bruce); Alanna Chavez (she/her, Alison); Eli Vander Griend (he/him, Christian); King Hang (he/him, Roy/Mark/Pete/Bobby/Jeremy U/S); Austin Hartung (he/him, John); Josiah Haugen (he/him, Bruce U/S); Dakota Hughes (they/them, Joan, dance/intimacy captain); Charlie Long (he/him, Christian); Adelina Marinello (she/her, middle Alison U/S, Joan U/S); Hayes McCracken (he/him, John); Z Mowry (they/them, middle Alison); Tessa Pundsack (she/her, small Alison); Elin Joy Seiler (she/her, small Alison) and Lincoln J. Skoien (any with respect, Roy/Mark/Pete/Bobby/Jeremy).

The Fun Home production team includes Stephen Schellhardt (he/him, director); Heidi Joosten (she/her, music director/conductor); Sheryl Williams (she/they, intimacy coordinator); Jonathan Berg-Einhorn (he/him, scenic designer); Marquecia Jordan (she/her, costume designer); Denise Karczewski (she/her, lighting designer); Matthew R. Chase (he/him, lighting designer); Drew Donnelly (he/him, production stage manager, AEA); Carli Shapiro (they/them, assistant stage manager); Olivia Leslie (she/her, assistant stage manager); John McTaggart (he/him, technical director); Danny Carraher (he/him, assistant technical director); Lydia Moss (she/her, scenic charge); Kayne Bowling (he/they, lead carpenter/spot 2); Mark Brown (he/him, deck chief); Bette Schneider (she/her, costume director); Rachel West (she/her, lighting designer); Riley Woods (they/them, assistant lighting supervisor/spot 1 ); Sam Anderson (they/she, lead electrician); Morgan Dudaryk (she/they, audio and video director); Joe Court (he/him, A1); Ali Westendorf (she/they, asst. costume director/wardrobe supervisor ); Amanda May (she/her, hair & makeup director/wardrobe swing); Clare McCullough (she/her, wardrobe assistant); Patrick McGuire (any with respect, properties director); Heather Gervasi (she/her, production manager); Michael Weber (he/him, artistic director); Majel Cuza (she/her, director of production) and Frankie Leo Bennett (he/him, producing artistic associate).

ABOUT JEANINE TESORI, MUSIC

Jeanine Tesori (she/her) has written a diverse catalog for Broadway, opera, film and television. Her Broadway musicals include: Fun Home (2015 Tony Award Winner, Pulitzer finalist); Violet; Caroline, or Change; Shrek the Musical; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Twelfth Night (LCT); John Guare’s A Free Man of Color. Delacorte: Mother Courage (starring Meryl Streep). She has received five Tony nominations, three Obie Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. The hallmarks of her work have been described as "close-to-the-surface emotion, structural rigor and rhythmic drive."

Her operas include: The Lion, the Unicorn and Me and Blizzard on Marblehead Neck (MET/LCT Opera/Theater and Glimmerglass Opera commission); her upcoming collaboration with Tazewell Thompson, Blue, was commissioned for Glimmerglass Opera company and will premiere there next season. She wrote the musical featured in the 2016 revival of “Gilmore Girls” and has also written special material for artists such as The Girl in 14G for Kristin Chenoweth and has been featured in the documentaries “Show Business” and “Theater of War.”

Jeanine Tesori became the founding artistic director of a new concert series at New York City Center called Encores! Off-Center, for which she has helmed seasons joined by artists such as Stephen Sondheim, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Randy Newman, William Finn, Alan Menken, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Sutton Foster and Jonathan Groff. After producing four seasons of Off-Center concerts, she took one of those concerts, Sunday in the Park with George (starring Jake Gyllenhaal) to Broadway where she produced the 2017 revival, with ATG and Riva Marker. She was the recording producer for Sunday as well as the Original Cast Recordings of Violet; Caroline, or Change; Shrek; Twelfth Night; etc.

A lecturer in music at Yale and on faculty at Columbia University, Tesori has spoken and taught at universities and programs all over the country. She is the founding creative director of the non-profit A BroaderWay, an arts empowerment program for young women. She was given the Einhorn Mentorship Award by Primary Stages for her exceptional work with young artists. Her daughter, Siena Rafter, is a sophomore at Brown University.

ABOUT LISA KRON, BOOK AND LYRICS

Lisa Kron (she/her) is a writer and performer whose work has been widely produced in New York, regionally and internationally. Her plays include Well, 2.5 Minute Ride and The Ver**zon Play. She wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Fun Home (with music by composer Jeanine Tesori), winner of five 2015 Tony Awards including Best Musical. Kron and Tesori were the first all-woman team to ever receive a Tony for best score.

As an actor, Kron was most recently seen as “Mrs. Mi-Tzu” and “Mrs. Yang” in the Foundry Theater’s acclaimed production of Good Person of Szechuan (Lortel Award, Outstanding Featured Actress). Honors include a Guggenheim fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artists Award and the Cal Arts/Alpert Award. She is a proud founding member of the OBIE- and Bessie-Award-winning collaborative theater company The Five Lesbian Brothers.

Kron currently serves as secretary of the Dramatists Guild Council and on the boards of the McDowell Colony and the Lilly Awards.

ABOUT STEPHEN SCHELLHARDT, DIRECTOR

Stephen Schellhardt is thrilled to be back at Porchlight and working with this beautiful company of artists. Stephen is a Jeff Award-winning director whose credits include The Play That Goes Wrong, The Wizard of Oz and Footloose (Barter Theatre), A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder (Porchlight - Jeff Nomination), Queer Eye: The Musical Parody (Second City), Big Fish (Jeff Award), Urinetown (Jeff Nomination), Dogfight (Jeff Nomination) at BoHo Theatre, Greater Tuna (Timberlake Playhouse), Songs for a New World (Rockford University) and You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Northwestern University) Stephen is a proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama.

ABOUT HEIDI JOOSTEN, MUSIC DIRECTOR

Heidi Joosten is a Jeff-Award winning music director (Assassins, Theo, 2024), composer and performer who has music directed and conducted more than 150 productions across the country. National conducting/adaptation credits include Avatar: The Last Airbender, Barbie: Live in Concert at The Hollywood Bowl, Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse and Labyrinth in Concert. Other recent Chicago credits include Kokandy Productions (Alice by Heart, American Psycho), Drury Lane Theater (Grease), Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Beauty and the Beast) and The Second City (Don’t Quit Your Daydream). An avid performer, she has released two solo piano albums and continues to innovate in theatre and concert music internationally.

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE

Porchlight Music Theatre, entering its 30th season, is the award-winning center for music theatre in Chicago. Through live performance, youth education and community outreach, we impact thousands of lives each season, bringing the magic of musicals to our theatre home at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts in the Gold Coast and to neighborhoods across the city. Porchlight has built a national reputation for boldly reimagining classic musicals, supporting new works and young performers, and showcasing Chicago’s most notable music theatre artists, all through the intimate and powerful theatrical lens of the “Chicago Style.”

Porchlight's history over nearly three decades includes more than 70 mainstage works with 15 Chicago premieres and five world premieres.

Porchlight's education and outreach programs serve schools, youth of all ages and skill levels and community organizations. Porchlight annually awards dozens of full scholarships and hundreds of free tickets to ensure accessibility and real engagement with this uniquely American art form.

The company’s many honors include 178 Joseph Jefferson Award (Jeff) nominations and 50 Jeff awards, as well as 44 Black Theatre Alliance (BTA) nominations and 15 BTA awards. In 2019, Porchlight graduated to the Large Theatre tier of the Equity Jeff Awards and has been honored with seven awards in this tier to date including Best Ensemble for Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies (2019) and Best Production-Revue for Blues in the Night (2022).

Through the global pandemic, Porchlight emerged as one of Chicago’s leaders in virtual programming, quickly launching a host of free offerings like Sondheim @ 90 Roundtables, Movie Musical Mondays, Porchlight by Request: Command Performances and WPMT: Classic Musicals from the Golden Age of Radio. In 2021, Porchlight launched its annual summer series, Broadway in your Backyard, performing at parks and venues throughout the city.

The 30th Anniversary Season is Sponsored By Elaine Cohen & Arlen Rubin and Brenda & Jim Grusecki.

Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from Actors’ Equity Foundation; Allstate; Comcast/Xfinity; Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation; Free for All; Glimpse Vision; James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation; Hearty Boys; the Pritzker Traubert Foundation; Ryan and Spaeth, Inc.; Daniel and Genevieve Ratner Foundation; The Saints; Dr. Scholl Foundation; Service Club of Chicago and The Shubert Foundation.

The season program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency, and by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events. 

Porchlight Music Theatre wishes to thank members of the Matching Gift Corporate Program including Allstate; BDO; Google; Jackson National Life Insurance; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation and The Saints. 

Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St.

Tickets: $20 - $85

Website: PorchlightMusicTheatre.org/fun-home/

Thursday, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 19 at 2 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. - PRESS OPENING

Thursday, Jan. 23 at 2p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. - Porchlight Young Professionals Night

Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7:30p.m.

Friday, Jan 31 at 7:30 p.m. - Post-Show Discussion

Saturday, Feb. 1 at 3 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 2 at 2 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m.  

Saturday, Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. - Open Caption Performance

Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. - Post-Show Discussion

Friday, Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 22 at 3 p.m. - Open Caption Performance

Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. - Post-Show Discussion

Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 1 at 3 p.m.

Saturday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 2 at 2 p.m.

Show dates, post-show discussions, etc. subject to change.

PORCHLIGHT UPCOMING EVENTS ...

NEW FACES SING BROADWAY NOW

Monday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m.

Evanston SPACE, 1245 Chicago Ave.

Tickets: $45

Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario St.

Tickets: $75 (includes a pre-show wine and cheese reception at 6:30PM)

Directed by Producing Artistic Associate Frankie Leo Bennett

Music Directed by Carolyn Jean Brady

Hosted by Adrian Aguilar

The popular New Faces Sing Broadway series returns in Porchlight’s 30th Anniversary Season. Chicago’s up-and-coming talent join Broadway’s Adrian Aguilar for a 90-minute revue of the hottest shows on Broadway today including Hell’s Kitchen, The Notebook, Death Becomes Her, The Outsiders and others as well as trivia contests with prizes.

FUN HOME

January 16 – March 2, 2025

Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St.

Music by Jeanine Tesori

Book and lyrics by Lisa Kron

Based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel

Directed by Stephen Schellhardt

Music Directed by Heidi Joosten

Winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and a Pulitzer finalist, Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, emotional and revolutionary musical. Based on Alison Bechdel’s critically acclaimed graphic novel, Fun Home shares how Bechdel unlocks memories, milestones and mysteries of her youth as she begins to write her first graphic novel. With a compassionate score and a brilliant script, Fun Home tells the story of seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.

TITANIQUE

Chicago Premiere

Presented in association with Broadway In Chicago

March 25 – May 18, 2025

Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St.

Co-Written by Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli and Tye Blue.

All aboard NYC’s must-sea musical comedy! When the music of Céline Dion makes sweet Canadian love with the eleven-time Oscar®-winning blockbuster film “Titanic,” you get Titanique, off-Broadway’s most award-winning splash hit, which turns one of the greatest love stories of all time into a hysterical musical fantasia. Want to find out what really happened to Jack and Rose on that fateful night? Just leave it to Céline Dion to enchant the audience with her totally wild take, recharting the course of Titanic’s beloved moments and characters with her iconic song catalog. Sailing on fierce powerhouse voices in show-stopping performances of such hits as “My Heart Will Go On,” “All By Myself” and “To Love You More” – backed by the unparalleled energy of a full live band – Titanique is a one-of-a-kind theatrical voyage bursting with nostalgia, heart and campy chaos.

CHICAGO SINGS 30 YEARS OF PORCHLIGHT

Monday, May 12, 2025

House of Blues Chicago, 329 N. Dearborn St.

Tickets: $75 – $175 

The spring fundraising concert fittingly concludes the season with an unforgettable night of live performances commemorating 30 years of Porchlight with performances by Chicago theatre luminaries, the presentation of the 2025 Guy Adkins Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Music Theatre in Chicago and more.

Please note: Performances, actors and dates are subject to change.

OPENING: Fun Home To Kick Off Victory Gardens Theater's 43rd season 9/19-11/12

Victory Gardens Theater presents

Fun Home

Music by Jeanine Tesori

Book and Lyrics by Lisa Kron

Directed by Gary Griffin

September 19 – November 12, 2017

We had the great pleasure of catching the Broadway touring production of Fun Home. Now we can't wait to see Victory Gardens Theater's take on this 5 time Tony award winning show, including Best Musical! We'll be out to review the last week of September. 

Victory Gardens Theater begins its 43rd season with Fun Home, with music written by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics written by Lisa Kron and directed by Gary Griffin. Fun Home runs September 19 – November 12, 2017, with the press performance on Wednesday, September 27, 2017, at 7:30 pm at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue.

Hailed as one of Broadway's most original musicals and the winner of 5 Tony Awards, Fun Home is a groundbreaking story inspired by Alison Bechdel’s best-selling graphic memoir. In this intimate musical, Alison sets out to unravel the many mysteries of her childhood through a series of memories and conversations – from her coming out to her moving journey to acceptance. Gary Griffin (Hand to God, Never the Sinner) directs this emotionally charged family drama that The New York Times calls “extraordinary,” and “a rare beauty.”

Fun Home features McKinley Carter (Helen Bechdel), Preetish Chakraborty (John Bechdel), Danielle Davis (Joan), Leo Gonzalez (Christian Bechdel), Sage Elliott Harper (Small Alison), Stella Rose Hoyt (Small Alison), Rob Lindley (Bruce Bechdel), Joe Lino (Roy/Mark/Pete/Bobby Jeremy), Danni Smith (Alison) and Hannah Starr (Medium Alison).

"We are thrilled to give a home to Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori's timeless and moving new musical about our modern American family: estranged fathers, graphic novels, and queer sensibilities," commented Artistic Director Chay Yew. "I'm also elated that director Gary Griffin is returning to Victory Gardens to helm this Chicago production, making it a unique theatrical experience for our audiences."





Previews: September 19 - 26, 2017
Regular run: September 28 – November 12, 2017

Schedule: Tuesdays - Fridays: 7:30pm 
Saturdays: 3:00pm; 7:30pm
Sundays: 3:00pm

Accessible
Performances: Word for Word (open captioning) Friday, October 6 at 7:30pm; Saturday, October 7 at 3:00pm; Wednesday, October 11 at 2:00pm.  

ASL Interpreted Friday, October 6 at 7:30pm

Audio Description/Touch Tour Friday, October 6 at 7:30pm, Sunday, October 15 at 3:00pm 

Location: Victory Gardens Theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, 
in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood

Tickets: Previews: $15 - $54 
Regular run: $15 - $75

Box Office: The Box Office is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago.
773.871.3000; www.victorygardens.org.



About the Artists
Jeanine Tesori (Music) For Broadway: Fun Home (2015 Tony Award winner); Violet; Caroline, or Change; Shrek the Musical; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Twelfth Night (LCT); John Guare’s A Free Man of Color. Delacorte: Mother Courage (starring Meryl Streep). Opera: A Blizzard on Marblehead Neck (libretto, Tony Kushner; Glimmerglass); The Lion, the Unicorn and Me (libretto, J.D. McClatchy; Washington National Opera). Her songs are featured in the Netflix revival of Gilmore Girls. She is the artistic director/co-founder of A Broader Way, an arts empowerment program for girls from underserved communities; the founding artistic director of Encores! Off-Center; and a lecturer in music at Yale University and Columbia University. Ms. Tesori is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

Lisa Kron (Book and Lyrics) has been writing and performing theater since coming to New York from Michigan in 1984. Her work has been widely produced in New York, regionally, and internationally. Her play Fun Home, a musical written with composer Jeanine Tesori and based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, earned her 2 Tony Awards in 2015, for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score (with Jeanine Tesori); the show also won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Other plays include The Ver**zon Play, which premiered 2012 Humana Festival; In The Wake which received Lortel and GLAAD Media Award nominations, was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, named a “Best Play of 2010” by TimeOut and Backstage, and was included in the Best Plays Theater Yearbook 2010-2011; Well, which premiered at the Public Theater, was named a “Best Play of 2004” by the New York Times, the Associated Press, the Newark Star Ledger, Backstage, and the Advocate, included in the Best Plays Theater Yearbook of 2003-2004, and moved to Broadway where both she and Jayne Houdyshell received Tony nominations for their performances. 2.5 Minute Ride, which had its New York premiere at the Public Theater, received OBIE, L.A. Drama-Logue, New York Press, and GLAAD Media Awards, and continues to be performed by Lisa and others all over the world;101 Humiliating Stories, which received a Drama Desk nomination for its PS122 premiere and was a part of Lincoln Center’s 1993 “Serious Fun!” performance series. Lisa is a founding member of the legendary OBIE and Bessie Award-winning collaborative theater company The Five Lesbian Brothers whose plays, Oedipus at Palm Springs, Brave Smiles, Brides of the Moon and The Secretaries have all been produced by their theatrical home, New York Theatre Workshop, and have been performed widely throughout the country both by the Brothers and by other companies. Their plays are published by T.C.G. in the anthology, “Five Lesbian Brothers/Four Plays” and also by Samuel French. Lisa has received playwriting fellowships from the Lortel and Guggenheim Foundations, Sundance Theater Lab, the Lark Play Development Center, and the MacDowell Colony, the Cal Arts/Alpert Award, a Helen Merrill Award, and grants from the Creative Capital Foundation and New York Foundation for the Arts. She was a resident playwright at the American Voices New Play Initiative at Arena Stage. As an actor, Lisa’s professional career as began in 1983 when Michael Kahn chose her as member of the ANTA Company, which toured three plays in rep for a season. Since then she has acted in her own plays and the plays of the Five Lesbian Brothers, and also seen in such productions as the Foundry’s Good Person of Szechwan at LaMama, The Normal Heart at the Public Theater, Spain at M.C.C., and The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, at NYTW. Lisa is a member of Actors Equity and serves on the Council of the Dramatists Guild of America.

Gary Griffin (Director) Victory Gardens Theater: Hand to God, Never the Sinner, Appropriate. London: Pacific Overtures (Donmar Warehouse, Olivier Award, Best Musical Production and Olivier Nominee, Best Director). Broadway: Honeymoon in Vegas, The Color Purple. Off-Broadway: Saved (Playwrights Horizons); The Apple Tree, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Pardon My English, The New Moon (Encores). Regional: Antony and Cleopatra, Camelot, West Side Story (Stratford Festival); work at McCarter, Alliance, Hartford Stage, Signature, Kansas City Rep., The Muny. Chicago: Road Show, Gypsy, Sunday in the Park With George, Follies, Amadeus, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); The Merry Widow, The Mikado, Oklahoma (Lyric Opera of Chicago); The Detective’s Wife, Loot (Writers Theatre). Associate Artistic Director, Chicago Shakespeare Theater. 10 Joseph Jefferson Awards for Directing.

Preetish Chakraborty is in 8th grade and has been trained in Indian classical vocal music since age 6 and was the 2nd runner up in the very popular Indian singing reality show Saregamapa Lil Champs by Zee TV (in Mumbai, India). He has done several stage shows in many cities in the US as well as in India.  Preetish has been a member of the Young Naperville Singers boys choir and he was recently offered admission in the prestigious American Boychoir School in Princeton, NJ after his performance with them. 

Leo Gonzalez makes his first professional on-stage debut with Fun Home. Leo is 13-years-old from Oak Park, Illinois. He is actively involved in the BRAVO! Performing Arts Academy at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School and has performed in multiple musical theater shows under the direction of Tina Reynolds.  

Sage Elliott Harper makes her Victory Garden Theater debut. Sage’s recent credits include Mary Poppins (Jane Banks at Mercury Theater as well as at Night Blue Theater), Seussical (Jojo at Marriott), Billy Elliott (Keeley Gibson at Drury Lane), The Christmas Schooner (Marie Claire at Mercury Theater), Les Misérables (Young Cosette at Drury Lane), Ruthless (Big Noise), as well as local productions of Annie (Annie at Winnetka Children’s Theater), and Les Misérables (Young Cosette at New Trier High School).  

Stella Rose Hoyt makes her debut with Victory Gardens Theater. She is a 5th grade student at Clark Middle School and has been singing Broadway tunes since she was three. Recent credits include Molly in Theatre at the Center's production of Annie Warbucks, Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden at the Drama Group Theatre, and Young Cosette in Les Misérables. Stella recently filmed a commercial for McDonald's and is represented by Gray Talent Group.  
Rob Lindley makes his Victory Gardens Theater debut. He has been seen on stage at About Face Theatre (The Tempermentals), Northlight (Funnyman), Goodman (Candide), Asolo Rep (My Fair Lady), Court Theatre (Carousel, James Joyce’s The Dead, Caroline or Change, Secret Garden, and Angels and America: Part 1 & 2), Writers’ Theatre (Bach at Leipzig, and Oh Coward! – which won Rob a Jeff Award for Best Actor in a Revue). Rob directed the Off-Broadway and National Tours of 50 Shades: The Musical! and many productions for Porchlight Music Theatre including Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, Far From Heaven, and How to Succeed in Business… Rob also directs many star-studded gala concerts for many organizations including the annual Chicago Sings!, concerts for Porchlight and the Flory concert for the Chicago Humanities Festival. Rob’s vocal trio Foiled Again has two recordings available on iTunes and other online outlets, “Foiled Again: Live” and “Blanket of Winter.”

Danni Smith recently appeared as Sally Bowles in Cabaret at Theatre at the Center. Other Chicagoland theater credits include Bridges of Madison County, Mamma Mia, Man of La Mancha, and City of Angels (Marriott Theatre); A Christmas Story: The Musical  and Mamma Mia (Paramount Theatre); Chess (Porchlight Music Theatre); The Wild Party, See What I Wanna See, and Violet (Bailiwick Chicago); Jesus Christ Superstar, Always Patsy Cline, Passion, and Pump Boys and Dinettes (Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre); Romeo and Juliet, Comedy of Errors, Richard III, and Twelfth Night (Lakeside Shakespeare); Macbeth and Henry VIII (Illinois Shakespeare Festival). She stars in indie feature film The Gateway. Danni is a graduate of Ball State University and has been honored with four Joseph Jefferson Awards. She is co-founder of women-focused musical theatre company Firebrand Theatre. 

Hannah Starr is a performer, writer, and artist originally from Eau Claire, WI. Most recently Hannah played the Emcee in No Stakes Theatre Project’s production of Cabaret and last fall was seen as Olive Ostrovsky in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at pH Comedy Theater. Hannah’s solo show, BOOMBOX, premiered last December at The Beat Lounge at the Second City Training Center, where she is now known as “that girl who always carries around that old boombox”. She is a member of 99 Problemz: Chicago’s Improvised 90’s Sitcom and performs improv and sketch comedy regularly throughout the city. She’s a graduate of Columbia College Chicago, The Conservatory at The Second City Training Center, and has trained at the MacPhail School of Music, iO, Brave New Workshop, and HUGE Improv Theater. 

Production Sponsor: Merle Reskin
Playwright’s Society Sponsor: David and Loren Chernoff


Major Season Support: Allstate, Alphawood Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Doris Duke Charitable Trust, Exelon, Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Joyce Foundation, The Mellon Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Prince Charitable Trust, The REAM Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Wallace Foundation

Travel Sponsor: Southwest Airlines 



About Victory Gardens Theater
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Erica Daniels, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals.  Victory Gardens Theater is committed to the development, production and support of new plays that has been the mission of the theater since its founding, set forth by Dennis Začek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater.

Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theater work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens’ core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city’s and nation’s culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city’s active student population.  

Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Začek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 259-seat mainstage and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater.

Victory Gardens Ensemble Playwrights include Luis Alfaro, Philip Dawkins, Marcus Gardley, Ike Holter, Samuel D. Hunter, Naomi Iizuka, Tanya Saracho and Laura Schellhardt. Each playwright has a seven-year residency at Victory Gardens Theater. 

For more information about Victory Gardens, visit www.victorygardens.org.  Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/victorygardens, Twitter @VictoryGardens and Instagram at instagram.com/victorygardenstheater/

Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from The Wallace Foundation, Alphawood Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Shubert Foundation, The REAM Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Allstate Insurance, Polk Bros. Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The William and Orli Staley Foundation, and The National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding is provided by: Abbot Downing & Wells Fargo, Alliance Bernstein, The Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, Exelon, The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Illinois Arts Council, Illinois Tool Works, Italian Village Restaurants, Mayer Brown LLP, The McVay Foundation, LLP, The Prince Charitable Trusts, The Saints, Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Southwest Airlines, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Whole Foods Market, and Wrightwood Neighbors Conservation Association.

OPENING: Fun Home at Oriental Theatre 11/2-13

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

THE HOTLY ANTICIPATED NATIONAL TOUR OF THE 2015 TONY® AWARD-WINNING BEST MUSICAL IS FINALLY HERE!

PLAYING BROADWAY IN CHICAGO’S ORIENTAL THEATRE NOVEMBER 2 - 13

Broadway In Chicago and Producers Fox Theatricals (Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson) and Barbara Whitman are thrilled to announce that individual tickets go on sale to the general public on Sunday, August 28 for the first National Tour of Fun Home, the groundbreaking, Tony Award-winning Best Musical.  The tour will premiere in Chicago at the Oriental Theatre (24 W. Randolph) for a limited two-week engagement November 2 - November 13, 2016.

ROBERT PETKOFF (Broadway’s Ragtime, All The Way, Anything Goes) will play Bruce, Chicago native SUSAN MONIZ (Broadway’s Grease, Chicago’s Marriott Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater) will play Helen and KATE SHINDLE (Broadway’s Legally Blonde, Cabaret, and Miss America 1998) will play Alison.

Joining them will be ABBY CORRIGAN as Medium Alison, ALESSANDRA BALDACCHINO (Broadway’s Fun Home) as Small Alison, KAREN EILBACHER as Joan, ROBERT HAGER as Roy, LENNON NATE HAMMOND as John, PIERSON SALVADOR as Christian, ANTHONY FORTINO, AMANDA NAUGHTON, SOFIA TRIMARCHI and MICHAEL WINTHER. At certain performances, CARLY GOLD will play the role of Small Alison.

FUN HOME was the event of the 2015 Broadway season, receiving raves from critics and audiences alike, winning five 2015 Tony Awards including BEST MUSICAL and making history along the way as the first show written exclusively by women to win theater’s highest achievement.  It was named to all of the major top 10 lists including The New York Times, Associated Press, New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, BuzzFeed, The Daily Beast, Chicago Tribune, The Hollywood Reporter and more.

“EXQUISITE. AN EMOTIONAL POWERHOUSE.” – Chicago Tribune

“A RARE BEAUTY THAT PUMPS FRESH AIR INTO BROADWAY.” – Ben Brantley, The New York Times

“An uplifting musical drama of rare intensity, honesty and beauty. Fun Home speak universally about BIG THINGS THAT MATTER: LIFE, LOVE, FAMILY, SURVIVING. It’s unconventional, to be sure, and musical theatre is better for it.” - New York Daily News

“One of those ‘don’t miss it’ musicals.” – The Huffington Post

Based on Alison Bechdel’s best-selling graphic memoir, FUN HOME introduces us to Alison at three different ages as she explores and unravels the many mysteries of her childhood that connect with her in surprising new ways. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, FUN HOME is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.

FUN HOME features music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron and direction by Sam Gold, whose work on this production earned them Tony Awards for Best Score, Best Book and Best Direction.  With this win, Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori also made history by becoming the first female writing team to be awarded the Best Score Tony Award.

FUN HOME was also nominated for 2015 Tony Awards for Best Scenic Design of Musical (David Zinn), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Ben Stanton) and Best Orchestrations (John Clancy). The creative team also includes Danny Mefford (Choreography), Kai Harada (Sound Design), David Zinn (Costume Design) and Chris Fenwick (Music Direction).

Tony Award-winning director Sam Gold, who staged both the Off Broadway and Broadway productions of FUN HOME, will be restaging the national tour.

The Broadway production of FUN HOME opened on Broadway 

on April 19, 2015 

The Grammy nominated Original Broadway Cast Recording of FUN HOME is now available on PS Classics, psclassics.com.

Get Social:

funhomebroadway.com

facebook.com/funhomemusical

twitter.com/funhomemusical

instagram.com/funhomemusical

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Tuesdays at 7:30 PM

Wednesdays at 7:30 PM

Thursdays at 7:30 PM (additional 2 PM matinee on November 3)

Fridays at 7:30 PM

Saturdays at 2 PM and 8 PM

Sundays at 2 PM and 7:30 PM

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for Fun Home at the Oriental Theatre range from $25-$98. A select number of premium tickets are available for many performances. Group tickets for 10 or more are available by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710. Tickets are available at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St., 18 W. Monroe St. and 175 E. Chestnut), the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (800) 775-2000, all Ticketmaster retail locations and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com.