Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:
PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE’S PORCHLIGHT REVISITS,
“LOST” MUSICALS IN STAGED CONCERT SERIES,
CONTINUES ITS FIFTH SEASON WITH
THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG,
STARRING SHARRIESE HAMILTON AND LORENZO RUSH JR.
AT THE RUTH PAGE CENTER FOR THE ARTS,
MARCH 6 - 8
All Production Photos by Austin Packard
Review:
I just discovered a new favorite format for musical theatre...
Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we've been promoting Porchlight revisits shows for years, but I'd only ever seen their main stage productions. Now that I caught THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG, I'm hooked!
Porchlight revisits shows are just a few nights, not off book, encamped on the main stage set, and utterly charming. They crackle with the improv energy of anything's possible. The pre-show history slide show, back story, and pop cultural placement of the piece is a hoot and a must see. They're Playing Our Song is retro relatable and too much fun. Earworm alert: The title tune is so catchy, your brain is likely to be "playing our song" on auto repeat for at least a few days after the last notes fade on stage.
I've caught Lorenzo Rush Jr in Five Guys Named Moe (Court Theater) and Little Shop of Horrors (American Blues Theater), and Sharriese Hamilton in Rock of Ages (Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre); Wonderful Town (Goodman Theatre),Thaddeus and Slocum (Lookingglass Theatre) Pericles (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); and We Three Lizas (About Face Theatre), so it was quite fun to see them together. The rapport between Sharriese Hamilton and Lorenzo Rush Jr was truly a treat. Don't miss this.
I've caught Lorenzo Rush Jr in Five Guys Named Moe (Court Theater) and Little Shop of Horrors (American Blues Theater), and Sharriese Hamilton in Rock of Ages (Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre); Wonderful Town (Goodman Theatre),Thaddeus and Slocum (Lookingglass Theatre) Pericles (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); and We Three Lizas (About Face Theatre), so it was quite fun to see them together. The rapport between Sharriese Hamilton and Lorenzo Rush Jr was truly a treat. Don't miss this.
The Tony Award-nominated Musical Features Book by Neil Simon, Music by Marvin Hamlisch and Lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and the Production is Directed and Choreographed by Christopher Carter and Musical Direction by Andra Velis Simon
Porchlight Music Theatre announced that Lorenzo Rush Jr has replaced James Earl Jones II in Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song, music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and book by Neil Simon, with direction and choreography by Christopher Carter and musical direction by Andra Velis Simon. Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing our Song is presented for three-nights-only Tuesday, March 6 through Thursday, March 8 at 7:15 p.m. and is performed on the set of Porchlight’s Merrily We Roll Along (previews begin January 26) at Porchlight’s new home, The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Tickets for They’re Playing Our Song are $35. All tickets include access to the popular pre-performance event, Behind the Show Backstory, a multimedia presentation, created and hosted by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Weber that discusses the evening’s production including the show’s creative history, juicy backstage gossip and the state of the art on Broadway that season. Single tickets to They’re Playing Our Song and subscriptions for the entire series are available at porchlightmusictheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office at 773.777.9884.
Due to a scheduling conflict, James Earl Jones II is unable to perform in this production. Rush assumes the role of “Vernon Gersch” and joins Sharriese Hamilton in Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song, a romantic musical comedy about the affair (both professional and romantic) of a wisecracking composer and an aspiring, offbeat lyricist. Creatively, their relationship works great, but personal trials and tribulations lead them toward finding a new way to make harmonious music together in this laugh-a-minute romantic charmer. The show features musical hits “Fallin’,” “If He Really Knew Me” and “Just For Tonight.”
The cast of Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song includes: Sharriese Hamilton (Sonia Walsk), Lorenzo Rush Jr. (Vernon Gersch) and Anastasia Arnold, (voice of Sonia Walsk); Kiersten Frumkin, (voice of Sonia Walsk); Yando Lopez, (voice of Vernon Gersch); Billy Rude, (voice of Vernon Gersch); Tyler Symone, (voice of Sonia Walsk) and Koray Tarhan, (voice of Vernon Gersch).
The production team includes Christopher Carter, director; Andra Velis Simon, music director; Lucia Lombardi, stage manager; Joaquin Gomez, assistant stage manager and Samantha Treible, wardrobe supervisor.
The musicians are Chel Hernandez, bass; Tony Scandora, drums and Page Kallop, guitar.
ABOUT CHRISTOPHER CARTER, director and choreographer
Christopher Carter is a graduate of Grand Valley State University with a liberal arts degree in dance. Carter has traveled all over performing/directing and choreographing. Some of his credits include Dreamgirls and In The Heights at Porchlight Music Theatre; as well as Sweeney Todd, Godspell, Secret Garden and Pirates Of Penzance (Grand Valley State University); Show Boat and Oklahoma (Lyric Opera Chicago); Show Boat (San Francisco and Houston Grand Opera); Hairspray (Drury Lane Oakbrook), Joseph… (Paramount Theater); Duke Ellington’s Queenie Pie (Chicago Opera Theater); Oliver, Carousel and Brigadoon (Light Opera Works); The Wiz, 42nd Street and Guys and Dolls (Theatre at the Center); Smokey Joe’s Café (Circle Theatre); The Wild Party (Actor’s Theater). Carter has been the choreographer for the Grand Rapids Civic’s SRT the past four years. Other credits include national tours, commercial, industrial and concert work. As a scholarship student of The Debbie Allen Dance Academy in California, he moved to Chicago in 2009 to expand his mind and resume.
Christopher Carter is a graduate of Grand Valley State University with a liberal arts degree in dance. Carter has traveled all over performing/directing and choreographing. Some of his credits include Dreamgirls and In The Heights at Porchlight Music Theatre; as well as Sweeney Todd, Godspell, Secret Garden and Pirates Of Penzance (Grand Valley State University); Show Boat and Oklahoma (Lyric Opera Chicago); Show Boat (San Francisco and Houston Grand Opera); Hairspray (Drury Lane Oakbrook), Joseph… (Paramount Theater); Duke Ellington’s Queenie Pie (Chicago Opera Theater); Oliver, Carousel and Brigadoon (Light Opera Works); The Wiz, 42nd Street and Guys and Dolls (Theatre at the Center); Smokey Joe’s Café (Circle Theatre); The Wild Party (Actor’s Theater). Carter has been the choreographer for the Grand Rapids Civic’s SRT the past four years. Other credits include national tours, commercial, industrial and concert work. As a scholarship student of The Debbie Allen Dance Academy in California, he moved to Chicago in 2009 to expand his mind and resume.
ABOUT ANDRA VELIS SIMON, music director
Andra Velis Simon returns to Porchlight, where she music directed last year’s Porchlight Revisits On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Most recently she was the music director for the Firebrand production Lizzie. Regional credits include: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, A.R.T. in Cambridge, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Skirball at NYU, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Berkeley Rep and Olney Theatre Center in Maryland. In Chicago, her credits include Chicago Children’s Theatre, Firebrand, The Goodman, The Hypocrites, Theater Wit and many others. Velis Simon is an adjunct faculty member at Columbia College Chicago, where she has taught musical theatre performance since 2008.
ABOUT SHARRIESE HAMILTON, “Sonia Walsk”
Sharriese Hamilton returns to Porchlight Revisits where she last starred in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. She hails from Okemos Michigan with a BA in Theatre from Michigan State University and has been seen at Porchlight Music Theatre in How To Succeed, Ain’t Misbehavin, Pal Joey and A Class Act. Her Chicago credits include Sleeping Beauty, Madagascar, The Velveteen Rabbit, Sister Act (Marriott Theatre); Rock of Ages, James and the Giant Peach (Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre); Wonderful Town (Goodman Theatre),Thaddeus and Slocum (Lookingglass Theatre) Pericles (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); The Wild Party, See What I What I Wanna See and Passing Strange (Bailiwick Chicago); All Shook Up (Theatre at the Center) Jesus Christ Superstar (Theo Ubique), and We Three Lizas (About Face Theatre). Regional credits include HAIR (McLeod Summer Playhouse) Spamalot, Working, The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee, and Buddy:The Buddy Holly Story (Timber Lake Playhouse).
ABOUT LORENZO RUSH JR., “Vernon Gersch”
Lorenzo Rush Jr returns to Porchlight Music Theatre where he appeared in Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Jeff Award Nomination) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He has also performed in Five Guys Named Moe (Court Theater) Jesus Christ Superstar (Paramount Theater), Dreamgirls, City of Angels (Marriott Theater), Little Shop of Horrors (American Blues Theater), and Parade (BoHo Theater). Rush’s TV/Film credits include: “Sirens” on USA Network. Rush received his BFA in Musical Theater at Western Illinois University.
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT REVISITS
Continuing to forge its role as “Chicago’s Music Theatre,” Porchlight launched the exciting new series Porchlight Revisits in 2013; especially created for the die-hard music theatre aficionado. Each season, Porchlight Music Theatre shares with audiences the rare opportunity to visit three musicals that opened on the Great White Way but have since gone “unsung.” The finest music theatre artists in Chicago dust off these neglected treasures and, with script in hand and minimal staging, escort audiences to a world of Broadway long past. Previous Porchlight Revisits productions include: (2016/17) The Rink, Little Me, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever; (2015/16) Chess, Applause, Babes in Arms; (2014/15) Bells Are Ringing, City of Angels, Mack & Mabel and (2013/14) Anyone Can Whistle, Golden Boy, Fade Out-Fade In.
Do Re Mi
May 22 – 24
Book by Garson Kanin
Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Direction and Choreography by Christopher Pazdernik
Music Direction by David Fiorello
Starring Nancy Voigts and Porchlight Artistic Director Michael Weber
Originally created for the comic style of the great Phil Silvers and Nancy Walker, this is the story of “Hubie Cram,” a minor-league conman endlessly scheming to win big who, at the urging of his long-suffering wife, “Kay,” decides to go (somewhat) straight by moving into the jukebox and music promotion business as he concocts his biggest score ever. Featuring the hits: “Make Someone Happy,” “Fireworks” and “I Know About Love.”
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE AS RUTH PAGE ARTIST IN-RESIDENCE
Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to be a member of the vibrant Ruth Page Center for the Arts community and an Artist In-Residence. Central to the Ruth Page Center for the Arts’ programming is the Artists In-Residence program, which is designed to serve organizations looking for a home base while they grow or expand their artistic and organizational capabilities. The Center is committed to nurturing and assisting
dance and other performing artists, allowing for exchange and collaborative relationships to develop within the artistic community. The Ruth Page Center for the Arts is a destination for quality performing arts, accessible to a wide community regardless of race, gender, age, education or disability. An incubator of artistic energy and excellence, the Ruth Page Center for the Arts carries forward the vision of its founder, legendary dance icon Ruth Page, to be a platform for developing great artists and connecting them with audiences and community.
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
As the home for music theatre in Chicago now in its 23rd season, Porchlight Music Theatre is nationally recognized for reimagining classic productions, developing new works and showcasing musical theatre’s noted Chicago veterans and rising stars. Porchlight elevates the genre by providing intimate and powerful theatrical experiences of music theatre through the lens of the “Chicago Style.” The 2017–2018 year marks a milestone for Porchlight as the company becomes an Artist In-Residence at the historic Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago’s Gold Coast. Porchlight’s rich history includes the staging of more than 60 productions with 15 Chicago premieres and five world premieres. Through Porchlight’s “Off the Porch” new works program, the musicals of the next generation are developed and given a first audience. The School at Porchlight is Chicago’s center for music theatre training in the areas of performance, writing and appreciation including the launch of a youth summer “Make Your Own Musical” Camp in 2017. The company’s many accolades include 22 Black Theatre Alliance nominations and seven awards, as well as a total of 139 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations resulting in 42 Jeff Awards including five consecutive Best Production awards for The Scottsboro Boys (2017), Dreamgirls (2016),Sondheim on Sondheim (2015), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (2014) and A Class Act (2013).
Porchlight Music Theatre continues its fifth season of Chicago’s “lost” musicals in staged concert series with Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song, starring Sharriese Hamilton and Lorenzo Rush Jr., music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and book by Neil Simon, with direction and choreography by Christopher Carter and musical direction by Andra Velis Simon. Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing our Song is presented for three-nights-only Tuesday, March 6 through Thursday, March 8 at 7:15 p.m. and is performed on the set of Porchlight’s Merrily We Roll Along (previews begin January 26) at Porchlight’s new home, The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Tickets for They’re Playing Our Song are $35. All tickets include access to the popular pre-performance event, Behind the Show Backstory, a multimedia presentation, created and hosted by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Weber that discusses the evening’s production including the show’s creative history, juicy backstage gossip and the state of the art on Broadway that season. Single tickets to They’re Playing Our Song and subscriptions for the entire series are available at porchlightmusictheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office at 773.777.9884.
