TimeLine Theatre to open 2023-24 season with Chicago premiere production of THE LEHMAN TRILOGY, 2022 Tony Award Winner for Best Play SEPTEMBER 19 – OCTOBER 29th, 2023

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TimeLine Theatre to open 2023-24 season with Chicago premiere production of 

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY

2022 Tony Award Winner for Best Play

BY STEFANO MASSINI, ADAPTED BY BEN POWER, CO-DIRECTED BY NICK BOWLING AND VANESSA STALLING

PRESENTED AT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO’S BROADWAY PLAYHOUSE AT WATER TOWER PLACE, SEPTEMBER 19 – OCTOBER 29 

 

Pictured (from left): Playwright Stefano Massini, adapter Ben Power, and co-directors Nick Bowling and Vanessa Stalling.

TimeLine Theatre Company is pleased to announce that its Chicago premiere production of the internationally acclaimed and Tony Award-winning play THE LEHMAN TRILOGY by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power, will open the company’s upcoming 2023-2024 season.

Co-directed by TimeLine Associate Artistic Director Nick Bowling and Vanessa Stalling, THE LEHMAN TRILOGY will run September 19 – October 29, 2023 at Broadway In Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. Opening Night is Wednesday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. Casting for THE LEHMAN TRILOGY, plus details of the three other productions planned for TimeLine’s 2023-2024 season, are still to be announced.

“TimeLine is elated to create a new production of the monumental play THE LEHMAN TRILOGY,” said TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers. “Tailor-made for TimeLine’s mission of exploring history, the theatrical ambition of this play is thrilling, yet told in an astonishingly simple way, utilizing only three actors. The opportunity for Nick Bowling and Vanessa Stalling to envision a new production specifically for Chicago audiences is an honor—as is the furthering of our relationship with Broadway In Chicago, with whom we partnered on another epic Tony Award-winning play, Oslo, in 2019.”

Told in three parts over one evening, THE LEHMAN TRILOGY is the quintessential story of western capitalism, rendered through the lens of a single immigrant family. On a cold September morning in 1844, a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York dockside dreaming of a new life in the new world. He is soon joined by his two brothers, and an American epic begins. 163 years later, the firm they establish—Lehman Brothers—spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, triggering the largest financial crisis in history. Weaving together nearly two centuries of family history, this theatrical event charts the humble beginnings, outrageous successes, and devastating failure of the financial institution that would ultimately bring the global economy to its knees.                      

TimeLine’s production of THE LEHMAN TRILOGY is its Chicago premiere. The Italian theatre production had its world premiere in 2015 at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, directed by the late Italian theater innovator Luca Ronconi. THE LEHMAN TRILOGY made its English-language debut in London on July 12, 2018 at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre. On October 14, 2021, the play opened on Broadway. Both the London and Broadway premieres were directed by Sam Mendes.                 

Throughout its production history, THE LEHMAN TRILOGY has been met with extraordinary international acclaim. The Guardian proclaimed it “a kaleidoscopic social and political metaphor” and “an intimate epic about the shifting definition of the American Dream.” The Chicago Tribune praised it as “a masterwork” and The New York Times as “a vivid tale of profit and pain.” Vanity Fair raved that it is “true blockbuster theatre that will hold you captive until the final curtain call,” with Time Out New York saying “it leaves you dazzled.” And the Wall Street Journal declared that THE LEHMAN TRILOGY “surpasses all praise.”                                       

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY received five 2022 Tony Awards, including Best Play, plus Drama League and Outer Critics Circle awards, and was nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best New Play.

 

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE AND LOCATION

TimeLine’s Chicago premiere of THE LEHMAN TRILOGY begins performances on Tuesday, September 19. Opening Night is Wednesday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through October 29, 2023 at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago.

The performance schedule is Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m., Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. (also 2 p.m. matinees on October 4, 11, and 25), Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (except no 7:30 p.m. on October 8, 15, and 29).

 

BUYING TICKETS

The best way to secure seats to THE LEHMAN TRILOGY is to purchase a 2023-2024 TimeLine FlexPass Subscription. Four different tiers of 4-Admission FlexPasses, priced from $119 - $275, will go on sale soon (specific date to be announced). The three other productions of TimeLine’s 2023-2024 season are still to be announced. For more information, call (773) 281-8463 x6 or visit  timelinetheatre.com.

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY will be part of the upcoming Broadway In Chicago season on sale in Spring 2023. Individual tickets for THE LEHMAN TRILOGY will go on sale in July 2023 (specific date to be announced). Group tickets for 10 or more are now on sale by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710. For more information, visit  or  timelinetheatre.com.



ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Stefano Massini (Playwright) is an internationally renowned novelist and playwright who regularly contributes to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. For several years he has served as artistic consultant at Piccolo Teatro di Milano - Teatro d'Europa. His works, including The Lehman Trilogy, have been translated into 27 languages, and his plays have been performed in more theaters around the world than those of any other living Italian writer, produced as far afield as Iran and Korea, and staged by directors such as Luca Ronconi and Sam Mendes. His most acclaimed works, beyond The Lehman Trilogy, include Intractable Woman, a decades-long international success; Ladies Football Club, which premiered to wide acclaim in Spain; and 7 Minutes, hailed by LeMonde as a "masterpiece" at the Comédie Française. He has won numerous Italian awards, including the Premio Vittorio Tondelli and the Premio Ubu. Qualcosa sui Lehman (The Lehman Trilogy) was among the most acclaimed novels published in Italy in recent years and won the Selezione Campiello Prize, the Super Mondello Prize, the De Sica Prize, the Prix Médicis Essai and the Prix Meilleur Livre Stranger. He is currently creating a new multi-part play about the history of the atomic bomb, entitled Manhattan Project.

Ben Power (Adapter) is a writer for theatre and the screen. For the last 12 years he has worked at the National Theatre as associate director and deputy artistic director and was responsible for the temporary theatre The Shed. Work for the screen includes Munich: The Edge of War and The Hollow Crown (BAFTA nominations for Best Single Drama and Best Mini-Series). Work for the stage includes adaptations of DH Lawrence’s Husbands & Sons, Euripides' Medea and Ibsen’s Emperor & Galilean, all for the National; A Tender Thing for the RSC and Complicite’s A Disappearing Number (Olivier and Evening Standard Awards). He was associate director of Headlong where he adapted Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author and Marlowe’s Faustus. He is currently creating a television series for Working Title and is published by Faber & Faber.

Nick Bowling (Co-Director) was the founding Artistic Director and is now Associate Artistic Director and a Company Member of TimeLine Theatre, where he has directed more than 30 productions. He is the recipient of eight Jeff Awards for Outstanding Direction (The History Boys, The Normal Heart, Fiorello!, This Happy Breed, and The Crucible at TimeLine, Ragtime at Marriott Theatre, Sondheim on Sondheim at Porchlight Music Theatre, and Another Part of the Forest at Eclipse Theatre) and also received Jeff Award nominations for Oslo, Blood and Gifts, The Farnsworth Invention, Hauptmann, and The Lion in Winter at TimeLine; Closer Than Ever at Porchlight Music Theatre; and The Sound of Music, City of Angels, The King and I, and Man of La Mancha at Marriott Theatre. Other recent credits at TimeLine include the Chicago premiere of J.T. Rogers’ Oslo at Broadway In Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse, Campaigns, Inc.; Master Class; The Audience; A Disappearing Number; The Last Wife; and Blood and Gifts. Other Chicago credits include Marriott’s Oliver! and The Bridges of Madison County, Paramount's A Christmas Story, Northwestern University’s Guys and Dolls and Cabaret, Porchlight’s A Catered Affair, Writers Theatre's Bach at Leipzig, and Shattered Globe Theatre's Time of the Cuckoo and Frozen Assets.

Vanessa Stalling (Co-Director) returns to TimeLine, where she previously directed the sold-out, extended production of A Shayna Maidel. She is the director and adaptor of the Jeff Award-winning play United Flight 232. Stalling was the Associate Artistic Director of Redmoon Theater in Chicago, a Michael Maggio Fellow at Goodman Theatre, and has been recognized as one of “The Fifty People Who Really Perform” for Chicago by Newcity magazine. Recent productions include Fen at The Court Theatre, The Great Leap at Asolo Rep, and Roe at the Goodman. She is also the Head of Directing at the University of California San Diego.

ABOUT TIMELINE’S CURRENT 2022-2023 SEASON 

Now playing at TimeLine Theatre is the world premiere of Boulevard of Bold Dreams by LaDarrion Williams, a Los Angeles-based playwright new to Chicago audiences, directed by Malkia Stampley. Set on the night in 1940 that Hattie McDaniel made history at the Oscars, this is a story of dreamers striving to overcome considerable obstacles and fighting for recognition amidst the racism and inequity of Hollywood. Performances run through March 19. For more information and to purchase tickets, call (773) 281-8463 x6 or visit timelinetheatre.com.

Following Boulevard of Bold Dreams, TimeLine has added an exciting fourth production, the first Chicago-based production of What the Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schreck, directed by Helen Young, May 10 – June 24, 2023. 

ABOUT TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY

TimeLine Theatre Company, recipient of the prestigious 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, was founded in April 1997 with a mission to present stories inspired by history that connect with today's social and political issues. Currently celebrating its 26th season, TimeLine has presented 85 productions, including 12 world premieres and 39 Chicago premieres, and launched the Living History Education Program, which brings the company's mission to life for students in Chicago Public Schools. Recipient of the Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence and the Richard Goodman Strategic Planning Award from the Association for Strategic Planning, TimeLine has received 58 Jeff Awards, including an award for Outstanding Production 11 times.

The company has long been bursting at the seams of its current leased home located at 615 W. Wellington Avenue in Chicago’s Lakeview East neighborhood, where the theatre has been in residence since 1999. In December 2018, TimeLine announced the purchase of property at 5033-35 North Broadway in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood to be the site of its new home. Plans feature an intimate black box theater seating up to 250 audience members, expanded area for the immersive lobby experiences that are a TimeLine hallmark, new opportunities for education and engagement, room to allow audience members to arrive early and stay late for theatergoing experiences that extend far beyond the stage, and more. TimeLine is working with HGA as architect for its new home project, which is expected to be completed in 2024.

TimeLine is led by Artistic Director PJ Powers, Executive Director Mica Cole, and Board President John Sterling. TimeLine Company members are Tyla Abercrumbie, Will Allan, Nick Bowling, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Behzad Dabu, Charles Andrew Gardner, Lara Goetsch, Juliet Hart, Anish Jethmalani, Mildred Marie Langford, Mechelle Moe, David Parkes, Ron OJ Parson, PJ Powers, and Maren Robinson.

Major corporate, government and foundation donors providing season support via TimeLine’s Annual Fund include: Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation; Crown Family Philanthropies; Joseph & Bessie Feinberg Foundation; Laughing Acres Family Foundation; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; The MacArthur Fund for Culture, Equity, and the Arts at Prince; National Endowment for the Arts; Polk Bros. Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; Van Dam Charitable Foundation; and Walder Foundation. TimeLine also acknowledges the support of a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events and a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

For more information, visit timelinetheatre.com or Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (@TimeLineTheatre).

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO

Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 22 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country. A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining up to 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago’s Loop including the Cadillac Palace Theatre, CIBC Theatre, James M. Nederlander Theatre, Auditorium Theatre, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place. 

For more information, visit BroadwayInChicago.com or Facebook (@BroadwayInChicago), Twitter (@broadwaychicago), and Instagram (@broadwayinchicago), and #broadwayinchicago.



OPENING: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES STARRING “RUPAUL DRAG RACE’S” GINGER MINJ* VIA MUSIC THEATER WORKS MARCH 10 - APRIL 3, 2022

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MUSIC THEATER WORKS ANNOUNCES CAST FOR LA CAGE AUX FOLLES STARRING “RUPAUL DRAG RACE’S” GINGER MINJ*, MARCH 10 - APRIL 3, 2022

AT THE NORTH SHORE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 

Tickets Now on Sale for the Spring 2022 Production that is so Much Fun, it will be Hard to Keep Anything Straight, Directed by Producing Artistic Director Kyle Dougan+/^ and Music Directed by Kyra Leigh*, Choreography by Christopher Chase Carter+ and Costumes by “Project Runway’s” Justin LeBlanc+

Pronoun Key: + (he/him/his); * (she/her/hers); ^ (they, them, theirs). = (any with respect)

Music Theater Works is proud to announce the cast for its spring production of the Tony-Award winning La Cage Aux Folles,  music and lyrics by Jerry Herman+, book by Harvey Fierstein+, directed by Producing Artistic Director Kyle Dougan+/^ and music directed by Kyra Leigh* with choreography by Christopher Chase Carter+. La Cage Aux Folles performance schedule includes a preview performance Thursday, March 10 at 1 p.m. with press opening Friday, March 11 at 8 p.m. The running time is currently two hours and 40 minutes including one 15-minute intermission. The performance schedule is Wednesdays at 1 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m. Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are now on sale at $19.50 - $106 with Meet and Greet with Ginger Minj options and discounted 2022 subscriptions at MusicTheaterWorks.com.

The winner of six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book and Best Revival of a Musical, La Cage Aux Folles is a night full of belly-laughs. Based on the hit French farce that also inspired West End and international productions and Hollywood’s “The Birdcage,” this Broadway smash has a hilarious book by Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy and Kinky Boots) and a score by the king of show tunes, Jerry Herman (Hello, Dolly! and Mame).  With “RuPaul’s Drag Race” headliner, Ginger Minj*, as “Albin” and costumes by “Project Runway” designer Justin LeBlanc+, The Music Theater Works rendition of this classic is guaranteed to be one of the most entertaining productions of the year. The theatre will be transformed into La Cage’s elegant St. Tropez nightclub complete with an onstage bar and surprises at every turn. And when a non-traditional family’s future in-laws come for a visit, La Cage shines the spotlight on family, love, commitment and drag as the truth comes out in the wildest of ways. 

The cast of La Cage Aux Folles includes Ginger Minj*, (Albin); Jason Richards+ (Georges); Christopher Ratliff+, (Jean-Michel); Dane Strange+, (Jacob); Thomas E. Squires+, (Dindon/Renaud); Caron Buinis*, (Marie Dindon/Mme. Renaud); Honey West*, (Jacqueline/Albin understudy); Anthony Whitaker+, (Francis); Darryl D’Angelo Jones+, (Tabarro); Daniel Hurst+, (Chantel); Matthew Weidenbener+, (Hanna); Gabe Kohlbeck+, (Mercedes); Brian Selcik+, (Bitelle), Isaiah Engram+, (Angelique) , Jordon Taylor* (Phaedra) and Alicia Berneche*, (Marie Dindon and Jacquline understudy); Ariel Triunfo* (Anne/Cagelle understudy) and Riley Vogel+ (Jean Michel /Cagelle understudy).

The La Cage Aux Folles production team includes Producing Artistic Director Kyle A. Dougan+/^, (director); Kyra Leigh*, (music director); Christopher Chase Carter+, (choreography); Tommy Novak^, (assistant director); Scott Davis*, (scenic design); Justin LeBlanc+, (costume design); Andrew Meyers+, (lighting design) and Hayley E. Wallenfeldt*, (props design). 

Health Safety Procedure:

ALL GUESTS will be required to wear a face mask regardless of vaccination status and to present their photo ID with proof of full vaccination from COVID-19 with an approved vaccine.

Please visit https://www.musictheaterworks.com/health-safety-procedures/ for more information.

 

ABOUT GINGER MINJ*, “Albin”

Long before she held court as a finalist on season 7 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Ginger Minj reigned as The Comedy Queen of The South from her homebase in Orlando, Florida. The self-professed “nicest bitch you’ll ever meet” cites classic funny ladies Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball and Dolly Parton as her idols. “Anyone who can pile three wigs on their head, squeeze their body into a beaded and rhinestoned gown and serve humor alongside the glamour is my hero,” says Minj. That’s why she coined the term “Glamour Toad'' to describe her unique persona. 

In 2016, Ginger released her debut album, “Sweet Tea,” which was soon followed by years spent touring the world and performing showtunes for Broadway royalty on national television. With more than 200,000 global streams, Ginger Minj went on to star in the 2018 Netflix feature film, “Dumplin’” (Jennifer Anniston, Dove Cameron) and in June 2021 released her sophomore album “Gummy Bear,” which peaked at #2 on the iTunes Comedy Album Charts. She then followed up in September 2021 with her third studio album, “Double Wide Diva,” which peaked at #10 on the iTunes Country Album Charts.

Ginger Minj was a finalist of Season 6 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” and is continuously working on exciting projects to come in 2022 including a new book entitled “Southern Fried Sass” which tells her life story through stories and family recipes.

ABOUT PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR KYLE DOUGAN+/^, director

Kyle Dougan worked as casting associate and events manager for Music Theater Works, and rejoined the company in 2018 as Producing Artistic Director Designate, following a two-year stint in academia. He relocated to Chicago in 1999, after completing his Masters in Musical Theatre at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he produced and directed a workshop of new musicals. He also stage managed a series of new musicals with Perfect Pitch: New Musicals at Trafalgar Studios. In the Chicago area Kyle has directed, associate-directed and assistant-directed shows for Chamber Opera Chicago, Theatre at the Center, Big Noise Theater and The Music Theatre Company. He has served as artistic producer of a series of new musicals with Midwest New Musicals, as executive director of FWD Theatre Project and as co-owner of Style Theatrical Casting, a professional casting company in Chicago.

ABOUT KYRA LEIGH*, music director

Kyra Leigh is thrilled to be making her debut with Music Theater Works! Chicago acting credits include Porchlight Revisits Nunsense (Porchlight Music Theatre}; The Things I Could Never Tell Steven (American debut at PrideArts);Love Serving Love (Valiant Theatre); Sundown, Yellow Moon (Raven Theatre); music directing credits include HeadOver Heels (Kokandy Productions); She’s also composed Transfigure, a full concept album.

CHRISTOPHER CHASE CARTER+, choreographer

Christopher Chase Carter is the artistic director of Mercury Theater Chicago. Before moving to Chicago, Carter studied in Michigan, where he began his theater career performing, directing and choreographing award-winning community and college productions. He attended Grand Valley State University achieving his bachelor of arts while on scholarship. After graduating, Carter became an active participant in the Chicago dance and theater community. In 2019, he directed and choreographed the pilot production of “Scottsboro Boys'' working closely with Musical Theater International (MTI) and Susan Stroman at the International Thespian Festival. He followed that up by directing a history-making production of “Legally Blonde” at Northwestern University. He has been honored with many scholarships throughout his career. In 2005, he moved to Los Angeles where he was awarded a scholarship to the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. After training at DADA, he returned to Michigan to finish his degree. He was one of four dancers chosen for a scholarship to study abroad in Kingston, Jamaica to further his training and education at The Edna Manley School. After graduating, this inspired Cater to start his own scholarship, The Christopher Carter Arts Scholarship, to help underprivileged artists pursue their dreams. With a true passion for creativity and art, Carter is excited about the future of theater and looks forward to being part of the evolution of performance and artistry.

ABOUT MUSIC THEATER WORKS

Music Theater Works is a resident professional not-for-profit music theater founded in 1980. During its 40-year history it has presented more than 150 productions and intimate presentations. Music Theater Works is a professional theater company whose mission is to present works for the musical stage including historic repertoire, revitalizing the Golden Age of Broadway and earlier works, celebrating the Great American Songbook and introducing modern classics. The company uses collaborations among theaters, other artistic disciplines, social service agencies, local business, educational institutions and others to create music theater for the 21st century.

Audiences know that at Music Theater Works they will experience musical theater, which is often unavailable on the stages of commercial theaters and opera houses, in beautiful, colorful modern productions with professional artists and live orchestra.

Music Theater Works is proud to announce the cast for its spring production of the Tony-Award winning La Cage Aux Folles,  music and lyrics by Jerry Herman+, book by Harvey Fierstein+, directed by Producing Artistic Director Kyle Dougan+/^ and music directed by Kyra Leigh* with choreography by Christopher Chase Carter+. La Cage Aux Folles performance schedule includes a preview performance Thursday, March 10 at 1 p.m. with press opening Friday, March 11 at 8 p.m. The running time is currently two hours and 40 minutes including one 15-minute intermission. The performance schedule is Wednesdays at 1 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m. Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are now on sale at $19.50 - $106 with Meet and Greet with Ginger Minj options and discounted 2022 subscriptions at MusicTheaterWorks.com.

La Cage Aux Folles performance schedule is 

Preview: Thursday, March 10 at 1 p.m.

Press Night: Friday, March 11 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 12 at 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 12 at 8 p.m.

Sunday, March 13 at 2 p.m.

Wednesday, March 16 at 1 p.m.

Friday, March 18 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 19 at 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 19 at 8 p.m.

Sunday, March 20 at 2 p.m.

Wednesday, March 23 at 1 p.m.

Friday, March 25 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 26 at 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 26 at 8 p.m

Sunday, March 27 at 2 p.m.

Wednesday, March 30 at 1 p.m.

Friday, April 1 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, April 2 at 2 p.m.

Saturday, April 2 at 8 p.m.

Sunday, April 3 at 2 p.m.

JERSEY BOYS will play Broadway In Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre for a Limited Engagement May 3-8, 2022

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TONY, GRAMMY AND OLIVIER

AWARD-WINNING BEST MUSICAL 

JERSEY BOYS TICKETS NOW ON SALE

BROADWAY IN CHICAGO’S

CADILLAC PALACE THEATRE

MAY 3-8, 2022

ONE WEEK ONLY! 

I've reviewed JERSEY BOYS in 2012, 2015, and 2019 for Broadway in Chicago and it's always a fun show, packed with iconic hits. This is a good pick for multigenerational fun, appealing to and connecting grand and even great grand kids, and the generations in between with the tunes of their grandparents' youth. Oh what a night, indeed! Make some memories. 

JERSEY BOYS is the behind-the-music story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.  They were just four guys from Jersey, until they sang their very first note. They had a sound nobody had ever heard… and the radio just couldn’t get enough of. But while their harmonies were perfect on stage, off stage it was a very different story – a story that has made them an international sensation all over again. The show features all their hits including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Oh What A Night,” “Walk Like A Man,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Beggin’”and “Working My Way Back To You.”

Recipient of Broadway’s Tony, London’s Olivier and Australia’s Helpmann Awards for Best New Musical, JERSEY BOYS is the winner of 65 major awards and has been seen by over 27 million people worldwide (as of July 2021).

JERSEY BOYS opened in New York on November 6, 2005 and by the time it closed over 11 years later on January 15, 2017, it was the 12th longest running show in Broadway history, passing such original Broadway productions as 42nd Street, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, and The Producers. JERSEY BOYS also ran a record-breaking nine years in London before closing in March 2017 as the sixth longest running musical in the West End.

JERSEY BOYS returned to New York with a new production in November 2017. JERSEY BOYS also returned to London with a new production in July 2021 at the newly renovated Trafalgar Theatre. JERSEY BOYS can also be seen on board the Norwegian Bliss. 

Directed by two-time Tony® Award winner Des McAnuff, JERSEY BOYS is written by Academy Award® winner Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and choreography by Tony® Award winner Sergio Trujillo.

The JERSEY BOYS design and production team comprises Klara Zieglerova (Scenic Design), Jess Goldstein (Costume Design), Howell Binkley (winner of the 2006 Tony® Award for his Lighting Design of JERSEY BOYS), Steve Canyon Kennedy (Sound Design), Michael Clark (Projections Design), Charles LaPointe (Wig and Hair Design), Steve Orich (Orchestrations) and Ron Melrose (Music Supervision, Vocal/Dance Arrangements & Incidental Music).

JERSEY BOYS is produced by Dodger Theatricals, Joseph J. Grano, Tamara and Kevin Kinsella, Pelican Group, with Latitude Link, Rick Steiner, and NETworks Presentations.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of JERSEY BOYS, produced by Bob Gaudio, was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The cast recording is available on Rhino Records. JERSEY BOYS: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons (Broadway Books) is the official handbook to the smash Broadway hit. Seasons Greetings: A JERSEY BOYS Christmas, a holiday CD featuring international cast members of JERSEY BOYS, produced by Bob Gaudio, is available on Rhino Records.

Visit the JERSEY BOYS website at www.JerseyBoysInfo.com.

 

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Tuesday, May 3 at 7:30PM

Wednesday, May 4 at 2:00PM & 7:30PM

Thursday, May 5 at 7:30PM

Friday, May 6 at 7:30PM

Saturday, May 7 at 2:00PM & 8:00PM

Sunday, May 8 at 2:00PM

TICKET INFORMATION

Individual tickets for JERSEY BOYS will go on-sale to the public on Friday, March 4, 2022 and range from $31.00 - $111.00 with a select number of premium tickets available. Tickets are available now for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710 or emailing GroupSales@BroadwayInChicago.com. For more  information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO

Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 21 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country. A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining more than 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago’s Loop including the  Cadillac Palace Theatre, CIBC Theatre, James M. Nederlander Theatre, Auditorium Theatre, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway  Playhouse at Water Tower Place.

 

COVID-19  PROTOCOL

Our audiences are required to wear masks and show proof of vaccination. For details or further requirements visit broadwayinchicago.com/covid19.

 

For more information and tickets, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

Facebook @BroadwayInChicago ● Twitter @broadwaychicago ● Instagram @broadwayinchicago ● #broadwayinchicago

HADES TOWN at Broadway In Chicago's CIBC THEATRE March 2 - March 13, 2022

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HADES TOWN 

 MUSIC, LYRICS & BOOK BY ANAÏS MITCHELL

DEVELOPED WITH & DIRECTED BY RACHEL CHAVKIN

Broadway In Chicago's

CIBC THEATRE

March 2 - March 13, 2022

“It roars off the stage with a ferocity 

that has not been matched on Broadway in a long while.”

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

 

Don't miss this! Hadestown is the winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards® including Best New Musical and the 2020 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Theater Album. I can't wait to check it out on opening night. Check back soon at ChiILMama.com for my full review.

Part of the 2021-2022 Broadway season, the show will play at Broadway In Chicago’s CIBC Theatre from March 2 – March 13, 2022. To purchase single tickets, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com. Hadestown is part of the current Broadway In Chicago 5-show series, which can be purchased at BroadwayInChicago.com or by calling (312) 977-1717. Tickets are available now for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710 or emailing GroupSales@BroadwayInChicago.com. Ticket prices range from $52.50 - $132.50 with a select number of premium tickets available. Learn more about the new touring production at www.hadestown.com/tour.

Hadestown was the most honored show of the 2018-2019 Broadway season. In addition to the show’s eight Tony Awards®, it has been honored with four Drama Desk Awards, six Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical, and the Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical.

The acclaimed new musical is by celebrated singer-songwriter and Tony Award® winner Anaïs Mitchell and developed with innovative director and Tony Award® winner Rachel Chavkin. Hadestown marks the first time in over a decade that a woman has been the solo author of a musical: writing the music, lyrics, and book, and is the fourth time in Broadway history a woman has accomplished this creative feat.

“Hadestown is quite simply one of the most exquisite works of musical storytelling I’ve seen in my more than 25 years as a theater critic.” Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times

Producers Mara Isaacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold, and Tom Kirdahy said jointly, “Throughout its development, Hadestown has been deeply influenced by audiences around the world. We are thrilled and humbled to now share this beautiful story of hope, faith, and rebirth – written and directed by two amazingly talented women and brought to life by a diverse company of performers – with audiences across North America.”

The show originated as Mitchell’s indie theater project that toured Vermont which she then turned into an acclaimed album. With Chavkin, her artistic collaborator, Hadestown has been transformed into a genre-defying new musical that blends modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz to reimagine a sweeping ancient tale. The show opened at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway (219 West 48th Street, New York) on April 17, 2019, where it played sold-out houses nightly before performances were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Hadestown resumed performances on September 2, 2021, as one of the first musicals to reopen on Broadway.

The North American touring production of Hadestown stars Drama Desk Award® nominee Nicholas Barasch as Orpheus, Morgan Siobhan Green as Eurydice, Tony Award winner Levi Kreis as Hermes, Kimberly Marable as Persephone, and Olivier Award® nominee Kevyn Morrow as Hades. The Fates are played by Belén Moyano, Bex Odorisio, and Shea Renne. The Workers Chorus features Lindsey Hailes, Chibueze Ihuoma, Will Mann, Sydney Parra, and Jamari Johnson Williams. The swings for the touring production include Kimberly Immanuel, Alex Lugo, Eddie Noel Rodríguez, and Nathan Salstone.

Following two intertwining love stories — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — Hadestown invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers, and singers, Hadestown delivers a deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience.

Welcome to the intriguing and beautiful world of “your next musical theater obsession.” Vogue

The creative team features Tony Award® winner Rachel Hauck (set design); four-time Tony Award® nominee Michael Krass (costume design); two-time Tony Award® winner Bradley King (lighting design); Tony Award® winners Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz (sound design); Chita Rivera Award® winner and three-time Bessie Award® winner David Neumann (choreography); Liam Robinson (music supervision and vocal arrangements); Tony Award® winners Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose (arrangements and orchestrations); Ken Cerniglia (dramaturgy); and Stewart/Whitley (casting).

Hadestown electrified audiences with its 2016 world premiere at New York Theatre Workshop, which is the longest-running show in that celebrated theater’s 40-year history. The production then received its Canadian premiere at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre in 2017 and then a 2018 sold-out engagement at the London’s National Theatre. Hadestown was developed with funding from the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center and was further developed by The Ground Floor at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Hadestown was co-conceived by Ben t. Matchstick.

The Grammy® winning Hadestown Original Broadway Cast Recording is now available at Hadestown.com/music. The album is produced by David Lai, Sickafoose, and Mitchell on Sing It Again Records.

BIOGRAPHIES

ANAÏS MITCHELL (Music, Lyrics & Book) is a Tony and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter whose recordings include the original studio album of Hadestown (2010), Young Man in America (2012), Bonny Light Horseman (2019, as Bonny Light Horseman) and Anaïs Mitchell (2022). She was named to the TIME100 list of the Most Influential People in the World in 2020 and her first book Working on a Song–The Lyrics of Hadestown was published by Plume/Penguin the same year. She headlines shows worldwide and her music has featured regularly on “Best-Of” lists including NPR, The Guardian and The Wall Street Journal. Hadestown is Anaïs’ first musical.

RACHEL CHAVKIN (Director) is a Tony Award-winning director, writer and artistic director of Brooklyn-based collective, the TEAM. Hadestown (NYTW, National Theatre, London) has been one of her greatest joys. Tony and Lortel nominations and Drama Desk Award for Dave Malloy’s Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (Broadway, Ars Nova, A.R.T.). London: Mission Drift (National Theatre), American Clock (Old Vic). Select New York and regional: Marco Ramirez’s The Royale (LCT; Obie Award, Drama Desk and Lortel nominations), Malloy’s Preludes (LCT3), Bess Wohl’s Small Mouth Sounds (Ars Nova and national tour), Carson Kreitzer’s and Matt Gould’s Lempicka (Williamstown Theatre Festival), The Royal Family (Guthrie Theatre) and multiple collaborations with Taylor Mac. Her first film, Remind Me, was an official selection of the Venice and Beverly Hills Film Festivals. 2017 Smithsonian Award for Ingenuity. Proud NYTW Usual Suspect and Member SDC.

DAVID NEUMANN (Choreographer). Film: I Am Legend, Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach). Choreography: An Octoroon and Futurity (Soho Rep); Antipodes (Signature Theatre); Underground Railroad Game (Ars Nova); Hagoromo and Home (BAM); The Antipodes (Signature Theatre). Collaborator and performer: Laurie Anderson, Big Dance Theater, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Doug Elkins. Director: The Object Lesson (NYTW, BAM). Artistic director, Advanced Beginner Group (P.S.122, NY Live Arts, The Kitchen, Symphony Space, Abrons Art Center, The Chocolate Factory, The Whitney, Walker Art Center, MASS MoCA). Recipient of 2020 Obie Award, 2019 Chita Rivera Award, three Bessie Awards for dance/performance, Tony nominee for Hadestown, Lucille Lortel and Helen Hayes Award nominee.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday at 7:30 pm

Saturdays at 2 & 8 pm

Sundays at 2 pm

There will be a performance on Sunday, March 6, at 7:30 pm, and on Wednesday, March 9 at 2 pm.

 

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO

Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 21 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country.  A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining more than 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago’s Loop including the Cadillac Palace Theatre, CIBC Theatre, James M. Nederlander Theatre, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place and presenting Broadway shows at the Auditorium Theatre.

 

COVID-19 Protocol:  Broadway In Chicago audience members are required to wear a mask, a provide vaccination card, and photo I.D. and valid ticket upon entry to the theatre.  For exemptions or if you are unable to be vaccinated (including children) must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test along with a photo ID and valid ticket. For further information and specifics related to vaccines and tests visit www.broadwayinchicago.com/covid19

 

All Broadway In Chicago schedules, productions, and protocols for attendance will continue to be reviewed as further guidance and recommendations are provided by the CDC, Illinois State, and Chicago Departments of Health. 

For more information about the show, visit www.hadestown.com/tour.

OPENING: A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER AT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE JANUARY 25 – MARCH 10, 2019

PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE PRESENTS THE 2014 TONY-AWARD WINNING BEST MUSICAL 

A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER 

STARRING JEFF AWARD-WINNER MATT CROWLE

JANUARY 25 – MARCH 10, 2019

Crowle Plays Eight Members of The D’Ysquith Family in this Tour de Force Musical about One Man’s Unbridled Journey to Inherit his Family’s Fortune Featuring Music by Stephen Lutvak, Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, and a Tony Award-winning Book by Robert L. Freedman with Direction and Choreography by Stephen Schellhardt 

and Music Direction by Andra Velis Simon.

Porchlight Music Theatre’s Mainstage 2018 – 2019 season continues with 2014 Tony Award-winning Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, January 25 – March 10, 2019 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder stars Matt Crowle and features Music by Stephen Lutvak, Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, and a Tony Award-winning Book by Robert L. Freedman, is directed and choreographed by Stephen Schellhardt and music directed by Andra Velis Simon. 

I'll be ChiILin' with Chi, IL's Porchlight Music Theatre the first weekend in February, so check back soon for my full review. 

Previews are Friday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Jan. 27 at 2 p.m.; Monday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. Opening Night is Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. (January 27, March 3 and March 10) and 6 p.m. (February 3, February 10, February 24 and March 10) with weekday matinee performances Thursday, Feb. 21 and Feb. 28 at 1:30 p.m. Please note: There are no performances Sunday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m.; Thursday, Jan, 31, Thursday, Feb. 28 and Thursday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m.; full schedule is included at the end of the release. Tickets are $39 - $66 and are available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office, 773.777.9884.

Based on the 1907 novel “Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal” by Roy Horniman and the source for the 1949 British film “Kind Hearts and Coronets” starring Alec Guinness, The New York Times said A Gentleman’s Guide is “Among the most inspired and entertaining new musicals." This tour de force musical comedy tells the uproarious story of Monty Navarro, an heir to a family fortune who sets out to jump the line of succession by eliminating the eight pesky relatives who stand in his way. All the while, Monty has to juggle his mistress (she’s after more than just love), his fiancée (she’s his cousin but who’s keeping track?), and the constant threat of landing behind bars! Of course, it will all be worth it if he can slay his way to his inheritance…and be done in time for tea. 

The cast of Porchlight Music Theatre’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder includes: Matt Crowle, “The D’Ysquith Family;” Andrés Enriquez, “Monty Navarro;” Caron Buinis, “Miss Shingle;” Emily Goldberg, “Sibella Hallward;” Ann Delaney, “Phoebe D’Ysquith;” Sharriese Hamilton, “Eugenia;” Ryan Dooley, “Magistrate;” Billy Dwyer, “Copley;” Megan Elk, “Tour Guide;” Rachel Klippel, “Barley;” Phoebe Moore, female swing and Adam Ross Brody, male swing.

The A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder production team includes Stephen Schellhardt, director and choreographer; Andra Velis Simon, music director, Aubrey Adams, assistant director/choreographer; Robert Hornbostel, sound designer; Jeff Hendry, costume designer; Denise Karczewski, lighting designer; Anthony Churchill, projection designer; Angie Miller, scenic designers; Kevin Barthel, wig designer; Mealah Heidenreich, props designer; Noah Watkins, assistant to the director; Linda Madonia, musician contractor; Mary Zanger, stage manager; Cody Westgaard, production manager and Bek Lambrecht; technical director.

ABOUT MATT CROWLE, “The D’Ysquith Family” 
Matt Crowle is a proud Porchlight Music Theatre artistic associate. Crowle gratefully returns to Porchlight where his credits include his recent Jeff-nominated turn as “Charley Kringas” in Merrily We Roll Along and” Hysterium” (Jeff Award) in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. Other Chicago theatre highlights include The Santaland Diaries at Goodman Theatre; The Producers (Leo Bloom) at Mercury Theater Chicago; Mary Poppins (Bert) at Paramount; Singin’ In The Rain (Cosmo Brown), Spamalot (Patsy), Bye Bye Birdie (Albert Peterson), and South Pacific (Luther Billis, Jeff Award) at Drury Lane Oakbrook. Broadway/National Tour: Monty Python’s Spamalot and Doctor Dolittle starring Tommy Tune. He earned his BFA in Music Theatre under the guidance and mentorship of the late great Dr. Bruce Kirle. 

ABOUT ANDRÉS ENRIQUEZ, “Monty Navarro”
Andrés Enriquez returns to Porchlight where he was previously seen in Merrily We Roll Along, In The Heights and New Faces Sing Broadway 1939.  He is an ensemble member at both Barrel of Monkeys Productions and Lifeline Theatre, where he is also the casting director. Enriquez is also proud to have worked at several Chicagoland theaters including Remy Bumppo, The Hypocrites, Fox Valley Repertory, Theater at the Center, 16th Street Theater and Lifeline Theater. 

ABOUT STEPHEN SCHELLHARDT, director and choreographer
Stephen Schellhardt has been acting, directing, choreographing, producing, casting and teaching professionally for over a decade. He has acted in numerous Equity productions in Chicago-area and regional theatres, receiving three Equity Jeff Award nominations and a Barrymore Award for acting, as well as a Non-Equity Jeff Award nomination for his directorial work on Urinetown, and his choreographic work on Dogfight at BoHo Theatre, where he was recently appointed artistic director. 

In Chicago, Schellenhardt has worked with the Marriott Theater, Writers Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre, Mercury Theater Chicago, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, About Face Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Chicago’s Lyric Opera, The Goodman Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, BoHo Theatre and the Ravinia Festival. National Tours include Altar Boyz. International credits include Jane Austen’s Persuasion at The Royal Winchester Theatre in England and the Shanklin Theatre on The Isle of Wight (Chamber Opera Chicago).  He has directed/choreographed at About Face Theatre, Writers Theatre, Timberlake Playhouse, The Summer Theatre of New Canaan, Ars Nova in New York City, The Casino Club, Northwestern University, and BoHo Theatre. 

He is a founding member of the Chicago Artists Chorale, co-director for The Children’s Theatre of Winnetka, casting associate at About Face Theatre and most recently served as the associate producer and casting director for Writers Theatre in Glencoe. 

Currently, Schellenhardt spends most of his time in Evanston where he is a full-time lecturer of musical theatre at Northwestern University and director of the annual Waa Mu Show. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s Drama School and a proud member of the Actors Equity Association. 

ABOUT ANDRA VELIS SIMON, music director
Andra Velis Simon is thrilled to return to Porchlight Music Theatre, where she music directed the Porchlight Revisits productions of They’re Playing Our Song and On a Clear Day. She is the resident music director for Firebrand Theatre, where she just completed their run of Caroline, or Change.  She also music directed Firebrand’s inaugural production of LIZZIE, as well as 9 to 5 The Musical.  Currently, Velis Simon is serving as vocal director for Steppenwolf Theatre Company's La Ruta by Isaac Gomez.  Her work as a music director, adapter, arranger, pianist and vocal coach has been seen regionally at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, A.R.T. in Cambridge, Brooklyn Academy of Music, NYU’s Skirball Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Pasadena Playhouse and Berkeley Rep. In Chicago, she has worked with The Goodman Theatre, The Hypocrites, Theater Wit, Chicago Children’s Theatre, and many others. From 2008-2016,Velis Simon served as the staff music director for the Theatre Department at Columbia College Chicago, where she continues to teach musical theatre performance.   

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 Chicago’s home for music theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre continues its 24th season and its second as an Artist In-Residence at the historic Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago’s Gold Coast. 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.” 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 a youth summer “Make Your Own Musical” camp and a Saturday morning youth program. The company’s many accolades include 28 Black Theatre Alliance nominations and seven awards, as well as a total of 151 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).

Mr. Crowle’s performance is sponsored by Anne and Greg Taubeneck

Porchlight Music Theatre is supported by generous contributions from the Actors’ Equity Foundation, Bayless Family Foundation, Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation, Chapman | Spingola, Attorneys at Law, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Elegant Events Lighting, James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation, Hopsmith Tavern, the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Prince Foundation, the Morgan Stanley Foundation, The Saints, Top Nosh Hospitality and the Topfer Family 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. 

OPENING: A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER at PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE JANUARY 25 – MARCH 10, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE PRESENTS 
THE 2014 TONY-AWARD WINNING BEST MUSICAL 

A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER 

STARRING JEFF AWARD-WINNER MATT CROWLE

JANUARY 25 – MARCH 10, 2019

Crowle Plays Eight Members of The D’Ysquith Family in this Tour de Force Musical about One Man’s Unbridled Journey to Inherit his Family’s Fortune Featuring Music by Stephen Lutvak, Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, and a Tony Award-winning Book by Robert L. Freedman with Direction and Choreography by Stephen Schellhardt 

and Music Direction by Andra Velis Simon.

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we're elated about Porchlight Music Theatre’s next production. Tony Award winner, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, is a favorite of ours, and with Jeff Award winning Matt Crowle in the lead, this production is sure to be a hit. 

Porchlight Music Theatre’s Mainstage 2018 – 2019 season continues with 2014 Tony Award-winning Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, January 25 – March 10, 2019 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. 

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder stars Matt Crowle and features Music by Stephen Lutvak, Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, and a Tony Award-winning Book by Robert L. Freedman, is directed and choreographed by Stephen Schellhardt and music directed by Andra Velis Simon. 

Previews are Friday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Jan. 27 at 2 p.m.; Monday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. Opening Night is Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. (January 27, March 3 and March 10) and 6 p.m. (February 3, February 10, February 24 and March 10) with weekday matinee performances Thursday, Feb. 21 and Feb. 28 at 1:30 p.m. 

Please note: There are no performances Sunday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m.; Thursday, Jan, 31, Thursday, Feb. 28 and Thursday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m.; full schedule is included at the end of the release. 

Tickets are $39 - $66 and are available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office, 773.777.9884.

Based on the 1907 novel “Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal” by Roy Horniman and the source for the 1949 British film “Kind Hearts and Coronets” starring Alec Guinness, The New York Times said A Gentleman’s Guide is “Among the most inspired and entertaining new musicals." This tour de force musical comedy tells the uproarious story of Monty Navarro, an heir to a family fortune who sets out to jump the line of succession by eliminating the eight pesky relatives who stand in his way. All the while, Monty has to juggle his mistress (she’s after more than just love), his fiancée (she’s his cousin but who’s keeping track?), and the constant threat of landing behind bars! Of course, it will all be worth it if he can slay his way to his inheritance…and be done in time for tea. 

The cast of Porchlight Music Theatre’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder includes: Matt Crowle, “The D’Ysquith Family;” Andrés Enriquez, “Monty Navarro;” Caron Buinis, “Miss Shingle;” Emily Goldberg, “Sibella Hallward;” Ann Delaney, “Phoebe D’Ysquith;” Sharriese Hamilton, “Eugenia;” Ryan Dooley, “Magistrate;” Billy Dawson, “Copley;” Megan Elk, “Tour Guide;” Rachel Klippel, “Barley;” Phoebe Moore, female swing and Adam Ross Brody, male swing.

The A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder production team includes Stephen Schellhardt, director and choreographer; Andra Velis Simon, music director, Aubrey Adams, assistant director/choreographer; Robert Hornbostel, sound designer; Jeff Hendry, costume designer; Denise Karczewski, lighting designer; Anthony Churchill, projection designer; Angie Miller, scenic designers; Kevin Barthel, wig designer; Mealah Heidenreich, props designer; Noah Watkins, assistant to the director; Linda Madonia, musician contractor; Mary Zanger, stage manager; Cody Westgaard, production manager and Bek Lambrecht; technical director.

ABOUT MATT CROWLE, “The D’Ysquith Family” 

Matt Crowle is a proud Porchlight Music Theatre artistic associate. Crowle gratefully returns to Porchlight where his credits include his recent Jeff-nominated turn as “Charley Kringas” in Merrily We Roll Along and” Hysterium” (Jeff Award) in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. Other Chicago theatre highlights include The Santaland Diaries at Goodman Theatre; The Producers (Leo Bloom) at Mercury Theater Chicago; Mary Poppins (Bert) at Paramount; Singin’ In The Rain (Cosmo Brown), Spamalot (Patsy), Bye Bye Birdie (Albert Peterson), and South Pacific (Luther Billis, Jeff Award) at Drury Lane Oakbrook. Broadway/National Tour: Monty Python’s Spamalot and Doctor Dolittle starring Tommy Tune. He earned his BFA in Music Theatre under the guidance and mentorship of the late great Dr. Bruce Kirle. 

ABOUT ANDRÉS ENRIQUEZ, “Monty Navarro”

Andrés Enriquez returns to Porchlight where he was previously seen in Merrily We Roll Along, In The Heights and New Faces Sing Broadway 1939.  He is an ensemble member at both Barrel of Monkeys Productions and Lifeline Theatre, where he is also the casting director. Enriquez is also proud to have worked at several Chicagoland theaters including Remy Bumppo, The Hypocrites, Fox Valley Repertory, Theater at the Center, 16th Street Theater and Lifeline Theater. 

ABOUT STEPHEN SCHELLHARDT, director and choreographer

Stephen Schellhardt has been acting, directing, choreographing, producing, casting and teaching professionally for over a decade. He has acted in numerous Equity productions in Chicago-area and regional theatres, receiving three Equity Jeff Award nominations and a Barrymore Award for acting, as well as a Non-Equity Jeff Award nomination for his directorial work on Urinetown, and his choreographic work on Dogfight at BoHo Theatre, where he was recently appointed artistic director. 

In Chicago, Schellenhardt has worked with the Marriott Theater, Writers Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre, Mercury Theater Chicago, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, About Face Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Chicago’s Lyric Opera, The Goodman Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, BoHo Theatre and the Ravinia Festival. National Tours include Altar Boyz. International credits include Jane Austen’s Persuasion at The Royal Winchester Theatre in England and the Shanklin Theatre on The Isle of Wight (Chamber Opera Chicago).  He has directed/choreographed at About Face Theatre, Writers Theatre, Timberlake Playhouse, The Summer Theatre of New Canaan, Ars Nova in New York City, The Casino Club, Northwestern University, and BoHo Theatre. 

He is a founding member of the Chicago Artists Chorale, co-director for The Children’s Theatre of Winnetka, casting associate at About Face Theatre and most recently served as the associate producer and casting director for Writers Theatre in Glencoe. 

Currently, Schellenhardt spends most of his time in Evanston where he is a full-time lecturer of musical theatre at Northwestern University and director of the annual Waa Mu Show. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s Drama School and a proud member of the Actors Equity Association. 

ABOUT ANDRA VELIS SIMON, music director

Andra Velis Simon is thrilled to return to Porchlight Music Theatre, where she music directed the Porchlight Revisits productions of They’re Playing Our Song and On a Clear Day. She is the resident music director for Firebrand Theatre, where she just completed their run of Caroline, or Change.  She also music directed Firebrand’s inaugural production of LIZZIE, as well as 9 to 5 The Musical.  Currently, Velis Simon is serving as vocal director for Steppenwolf Theatre Company's La Ruta by Isaac Gomez.  Her work as a music director, adapter, arranger, pianist and vocal coach has been seen regionally at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, A.R.T. in Cambridge, Brooklyn Academy of Music, NYU’s Skirball Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Pasadena Playhouse and Berkeley Rep. In Chicago, she has worked with The Goodman Theatre, The Hypocrites, Theater Wit, Chicago Children’s Theatre, and many others. From 2008-2016,Velis Simon served as the staff music director for the Theatre Department at Columbia College Chicago, where she continues to teach musical theatre performance.   

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 Chicago’s home for music theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre continues its 24th season and its second as an Artist In-Residence at the historic Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago’s Gold Coast. 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.” 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 a youth summer “Make Your Own Musical” camp and a Saturday morning youth program. The company’s many accolades include 28 Black Theatre Alliance nominations and seven awards, as well as a total of 151 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).

Mr. Crowle’s performance is sponsored by Anne and Greg Taubeneck

Porchlight Music Theatre is supported by generous contributions from the Actors’ Equity Foundation, Bayless Family Foundation, Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation, Chapman | Spingola, Attorneys at Law, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Elegant Events Lighting, James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation, Hopsmith Tavern, the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Prince Foundation, the Morgan Stanley Foundation, The Saints, Top Nosh Hospitality and the Topfer Family 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. 

OPENING: TimeLine Theatre Company's Master Class Starring Janet Ulrich Brooks as Maria Callas Through December 9, 2018

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

JANET ULRICH BROOKS STARS AS LEGENDARY

OPERA DIVA MARIA CALLAS

TIMELINE PRESENTS TERRENCE McNALLY’S 

MASTER CLASS, 

DIRECTED BY

NICK BOWLING WITH MUSIC DIRECTOR DOUG PECK,

“Is this a story that we need to continue to tell? With

Janet Ulrich Brooks in the role, under Nick Bowling’s heartfelt and purposeful direction, the answer is a resounding yes.”

-New City 

OCTOBER 19 – DECEMBER 9, 2018 AT STAGE 773

TimeLine Theatre Company announces members of the cast and creative team for Master Class, Terrence McNally’s Tony Award-winning play about the formidable opera star Maria Callas, inspired by a series of classes she taught at Julliard in the 1970s. I'll be out to catch the show November 4th, so check back shortly after for my full review.

"A magnetic, mercurial performance

by Janet Ulrich Brooks"

"Like opera itself, TimeLine’s staging is filled with huge emotions. There’s ecstasy and agony in “Master Class,”

both writ huge, like the art form Callas dominated."

-Chicago Sun-Times 

TimeLine Company Member Janet Ulrich Brooks (she/her) stars as the legendary opera diva Maria Callas. Brooks is a six-time Jeff Award nominee for her roles at TimeLine including 33 Variations, A Walk in the Woods, and All My Sons. She most recently played to critical acclaim last season as Queen Elizabeth II in TimeLine’s extended run of Peter Morgan’s The Audience.

TimeLine’s Master Class will also feature Eric Anthony Lopez (he/him), a past American Idol contestant with credits on Broadway and London’s West End, as Tenor/Tony; Molly Hernandez (she/her), named one of the Chicago Tribune Theater Loop’s “Hot New Faces of Chicago Theatre” in 2017, as First Soprano/Sophie; and Keirsten Hodgens (she/her), who recently wowed audiences in Ragtime at Marriott Theatre, as Second Soprano/ Sharon. Also appearing will be Stephen Boyer (he/him) as Manny and Raymond Hutchison (he/him) as Stagehand.

TimeLine Associate Artistic Director Nick Bowling (he/him), who also directed The Audience, will stage McNally’s glorious, raw, and bittersweet look at one of opera’s most iconic talents. Bowling is a seven-time Jeff Award recipient for Outstanding Direction, including for TimeLine’s memorable productions of The History Boys, The Normal Heart, and Fiorello!

TimeLine’s Master Class will be music directed by six-time Jeff Award recipient Doug Peck (he/him), who previously music directed Fiorello! and Juno at TimeLine. Peck’s extensive credits include work at Chicago’s Court, Goodman, and Chicago Shakespeare theaters, and regional theaters across the United States.

The production team includes Arnel Sancianco (Scenic Designer, he/him); Sally Dolembo (Costume Designer, she/her); Jessica Neill (Lighting Designer, she/her); TimeLine Associate Artist Andrew Hansen (Sound Designer and Composer, he/him); Katie Cordts (Wig and Hair Designer, she/her); Vivian Knouse (Properties Designer, she/her); TimeLine Associate Artist Eva Breneman (Dialect Designer, she/her); Lucas Garcia (Co-Dramaturg, they/them); Maren Robinson (Co-Dramaturg, she/her); and Luci Kersting (Stage Manager, she/her).

Performances run through December 9 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Avenue in Chicago, TimeLine’s alternate location for one production each season. For tickets and information, visit timelinetheatre.com or call the Stage 773 Box Office at (773) 327-5252.

Playwright Terrence McNally (from left), director Nick Bowling, and cast members Janet Ulrich Brooks, Eric Anthony Lopez, Molly Hernandez, and Keirsten Hodgens. 

Maria Callas

MORE ABOUT MASTER CLASS

Witness a master class conducted by legendary opera diva Maria Callas. Glamorous and demanding, Callas critiques and regales a new crop of opera’s finest. Both frustrated and amazed by the students thrust before her, she escapes into recollections of the glories and failures of her past, remembering her rise as one of opera’s biggest underdogs. This authentic and musically rich Master Class presents a portrait of a fading star who refuses to be anything but unapologetically herself.

Master Class debuted in 1995 at the Philadelphia Theatre Company, followed by productions at the Mark Taper Forum and the Kennedy Center. It premiered on Broadway under the direction of Leonard Foglia at the John Golden Theatre on November 15, 1995 and closed on June 29, 1997 after 598 performances and 12 previews. The play won the 1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play, the 1996 Tony Award for Best Play, plus Tony Awards for original cast members Zoe Caldwell (as Callas) and Audra McDonald (as Sharon) for Actress and Featured Actress, respectively. Since its Broadway debut, such luminaries as Patti LuPone, Faye Dunaway, Dixie Carter, and Tyne Daly have all essayed the coveted lead diva role in Master Class, and there have been countless tours and international and regional productions since.


MASTER CLASS PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE/EVENTS

Previews of Master Class are Friday, October 19 and Saturday October 20 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, October 21 at 2 p.m.; and Tuesday October 23 and Wednesday, October 24 at
8 p.m.

Regular performances continue through December 9: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. (except no performance on Thanksgiving, November 22); Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. (except no performance October 27 at 4 p.m.); and Sundays at 2 p.m. There is an added 4 p.m. performance on Friday, November 23.


DISCUSSION & ACCESSIBILITY EVENTS:

—    Post-Show Discussions: A brief, informal post-show discussion hosted by a TimeLine Company Member and featuring a production dramaturg and members of the cast on Thursday, November 1; Sunday, November 4; Thursday, November 15; Thursday, November 29; and Wednesday, December 5.

—    Pre-Show Discussions: Starting one hour before these performances, a 30-minute introductory conversation hosted by a TimeLine Company Member and the production dramaturg on Wednesday, November 7, and Sunday, November 11.

—    Company Member Discussion: A post-show discussion with the collaborative team of artists who choose TimeLine’s programming and guide the company’s mission on Sunday, November 18.

—    Captioned Performance: An open-captioned performance with a text display of words and sounds heard during the performance on Saturday, November 10 at 4 p.m.

—    Sunday Scholars Panel Discussion: A one-hour post-show discussion featuring experts on the themes and issues of the play on Sunday, December 2.

All discussions are free and open to the public. For further details about all planned discussions and events, visit timelinetheatre.com.


BUYING TICKETS

The best way to secure seats to Master Class is to purchase a 2018-19 TimeLine Theatre FlexPass Subscription, on sale now, offering four amazing shows, starting at only $88.

Preview tickets are $27.50. Single tickets to regular performances are $42.50 (Wednesday through Friday), $51.50 (Saturday evenings) and $56.50 (Saturday and Sunday matinees). Student discount is 35% off regular price with valid ID. TimeLine is also a member of TCG’s Blue Star Theatre Program and is offering $27.50 tickets to U.S. military personnel, veterans, first responders, and their spouses and family.

Discounted rates for groups of 10 or more are available. Ticket buyers age 18-35 may join TimeLine’s free MyLine program to obtain access to discounted tickets, special events and more. Visit timelinetheatre.com/discounts for more about Blue Star, MyLine and other available discounts.

For more information, visit timelinetheatre.com or call the Stage 773 Box Office at (773) 327-5252.


LOCATION/TRANSPORTATION/PARKING/ACCESSIBILITY
                 
Master Class will take place at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Stage 773 is located one-half block west of the corner of Belmont and Racine and immediately east of Theater Wit in Chicago’s Lakeview East neighborhood. The theater is accessible via the CTA El stop at Belmont (Red/Brown/Purple lines). CTA bus #77-Belmont stops at Racine. Valet parking is available for $12 and there is also limited free and metered street parking nearby. Visit timelinetheatre.com for complete directions and parking information. Stage 773 is accessible for people with disabilities.


BIOGRAPHIES


Terrence McNally (Playwright) is a recipient of the Dramatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lucille Lortel Lifetime Achievement Award. He has won four Tony Awards, for his plays Master Class and Love! Valour! Compassion! and his musical books for Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime. The Kennedy Center recently produced three of his plays under the title Terrence McNally’s Nights at the Opera: Master Class, The Lisbon Traviata, and the world premiere of Golden Age. He has written a number of TV scripts, including Andre’s Mother, for which he won an Emmy Award. He has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1996, he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. He recently wrote the book for the Tony Award-nominated musical, The Visit, which opened on Broadway in the spring of 2015 with music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb. He wrote the libretto for the opera Great Scott as well as Dead Man Walking, both with music by Jake Heggie. His play It’s Only a Play opened on Broadway in the fall of 2014. He is the writer of the book for the musical Anastasia, which is currently playing on Broadway. His newest play, Fire and Air, premiered at Classic Stage Company in the winter of 2018. Other plays include Tony Award-nominated Best Play Mothers and Sons; And Away We Go; Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Corpus Christi; The Ritz; Some Men; A Perfect Ganesh; and Deuce.

 
Nick Bowling (Director, he/him) was the founding Artistic Director and is now Associate Artistic Director and a Company Member of TimeLine Theatre. He is the recipient of seven Jeff Awards for Outstanding Direction (The History Boys, The Normal Heart, Fiorello!, This Happy Breed and The Crucible at TimeLine, Sondheim on Sondheim at Porchlight Music Theatre, and Another Part of the Forest at Eclipse Theatre) and also received Jeff Award nominations for Blood and Gifts, The Farnsworth Invention, Hauptmann and The Lion in Winter at TimeLine; Closer Than Ever at Porchlight Music Theatre; City of Angels, The King and I and Man of La Mancha at Marriott Theatre. Other recent credits at TimeLine include The Audience, A Disappearing Number, The Last Wife, Danny Casolaro Died for You and Juno. Other Chicago credits include Marriott’s The Bridges of Madison County, Paramount's A Christmas Story, Northwestern University’s Cabaret, Porchlight’s A Catered Affair, Writers Theatre's Bach at Leipzig and Shattered Globe Theatre's Time of the Cuckoo and Frozen Assets. 
Doug Peck (Music Director) is one of Chicago’s leading music directors, having received six Joseph Jefferson Awards (The Jungle Book; Porgy and Bess; Caroline, or Change; Carousel; Fiorello!; and Man of La Mancha) and two After Dark Awards (Guys and Dolls, Hello, Again), as well as the Sarah Siddons Award and the Siddons Award and the Guy Adkins Award, for his music direction and orchestrations in Chicago and across the country. Other favorite projects include Dreamgirls; Animal Crackers; Shenandoah; Candide; Fiddler on the Roof; Hair; Cabaret; Oh, Coward!; James Joyce’s The Dead; A Catered Affair; Grey Gardens; and Raisin. Peck’s work has been heard in Chicago at Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Writers Theatre, TimeLine Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, Porchlight Music Theatre, and the Ravinia Festival. Regional credits include work at the Huntington Theatre Company, the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Long Wharf Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, and Peninsula Players Theatre, among others. Peck can be heard on the recordings Bright Young People: The Songs of Noël Coward, Foiled Again Live, and Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein. For the Chicago Humanities Festival, he was part of presenting Assassins and Follies in concert, as well as the original concert evenings Birds Do It, Bees Do It and A Night At The Oscars, a chronological survey of every single song that has won the Academy Award. Peck is a graduate of Northwestern University and also trained at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. He is a creative partner with the Goodman, an artistic associate with Porchlight Music Theatre, and a faculty member of the National High School Institute of the Arts. Additional projects include Juno at TimeLine Theatre, the world premiere musical Days Like Today at Writers Theatre, and Carousel at the Glimmerglass Opera.

 
Janet Ulrich Brooks (Maria Callas) is a TimeLine Company Member, and Master Class marks her 12th production with the company. She most recently appeared at TimeLine as Queen Elizabeth II in the extended hit The Audience last season, and in Bakersfield Mist with Mike Nussbaum in 2016. She received Jeff Award nominations for her work at TimeLine in 33 Variations, A Walk in the Woods, All My Sons, Not Enough Air, When She Danced and Weekend. Other recent credits include The Lady with all the Answers at Theatre at the Center, Plantation at Lookingglass Theatre, 2666 and Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike at the Goodman Theatre (Equity Jeff Award nomination, Actress in a Principal role – Play), and Women Laughing Alone with Salad at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, D.C. (Helen Hayes Award nomination, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play). Other credits include the remount of TimeLine’s To Master the Art (Chicago Commercial Collective and Broadway in Chicago at the Broadway Playhouse); A True History of the Johnstown Flood, Teddy Ferrara, and The Seagull (Goodman); Native Gardens and Failure: A Love Story (Victory Gardens); South of Settling (Steppenwolf); Ten Chimneys (Northlight); and portraying Golda Meir in Golda’s Balcony (Pegasus Players, Non-Equity Jeff Award, Outstanding Solo Performance). Brooks’ television credits include the Netflix series Sense8, Chicago Fire, Boss, Underemployed, and The Playboy Club. Film credits include Divergent, Conviction, Polishbar, One Small Hitch, The Middle Distance, I Heart Shakey, and Recursive Pictures’ short film For a Good Time. Brooks was the first recipient of the Ed See Outstanding Theatre Alumnus Award from the University of Central Missouri. She is a proud member of AEA and SAG/AFTRA and is represented by Gray Talent Group.



MORE ABOUT TIMELINE’S 2018-19 SEASON

In addition to Master Class at Stage 773, TimeLine’s Theatre’s 2018-19, four-show subscription season includes three more shows at the company’s home base,
615 W. Wellington in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood: 

—    A Shayna Maidel by Barbara Lebow, directed by Vanessa Stalling, a poignant story about two sisters reunited after years of separation brought on by the rise of the Nazis; now extended by popular demand through December 2, 2018.

—    The Chicago premiere of Cardboard Piano by Hansol Jung, a powerful story of faith, love, and the human capacity for forgiveness set amidst violent conflict in northern Uganda, directed by TimeLine Company Member Mechelle Moe, January 9 – March 17, 2019.

—    The Chicago premiere of Too Heavy for Your Pocket by Jiréh Breon Holder, a hopeful and moving story taking place at the height of the Civil Rights Movement that explores family, responsibility, and the personal sacrifices that enable progress, directed by TimeLine Company Member Ron OJ Parson, April 24 – June 29, 2019.

Save on tickets to TimeLine’s 2018-19 season with a FlexPass Subscription. Four tiers, priced from $88 to $204, are now on sale. For more information and to purchase a FlexPass, call (773) 281-8463 x6 or visit timelinetheatre.com.

PLUS, TIMELINE PARTNERS WITH FIREBRAND THEATRE’S FALL PRODUCTION OF CAROLINE, OR CHANGE:

In addition to its 2018-19 four-show subscription series, TimeLine Theatre is excited to be partnering with Firebrand Theatre—Chicago’s new musical theatre company committed to employing and empowering women—on Firebrand’s upcoming fall production of the Tony Award-nominated musical Caroline, or Change, featuring music by Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home)