REVIEW: Porchlight's In The Heights Intimate and Excellent

ChiIL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

IN THE HEIGHTS 

NOW EXTENDED THROUGH OCTOBER 23 
AT STAGE 773

ALL PHOTOS BY GRETCHEN KELLEY

(full cast) The cast of In The Heights

Chicago's got Lin-Manuel Miranda on the brain... and rightfully so. His work is brilliant! Tickets to Porchlight Music Theatre's In The Heights are selling out fast, but still available, and they won't break the bank like a certain historical hip-hop hit opening imminently at The PrivateBank Theatre. Here at ChiIL Live Shows we had the pleasure of catching the press opening of Porchlight's In The Heights and we can attest that this production makes for an excellently entertaining night out. Highly recommended.

Amid all the Hamilton mania, Porchlight Music Theatre has launched a stellar choice for a season opener, the multi-Tony Award-winning In The Heights, with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda!

You won't even have to break out a sleeping bag and wait all night in line for tickets. We do suggest you book in advance though. Porchlight is a perennial favorite and many dates are sold out or filling fast!

Lin-Manuel Miranda

 (L to R) Michelle Lauto, Missy Aguilar, Lucia Godinez and Leah Davis as "Vanessa," "Daniela," "Nina Rosario," and "Carla”

The women ruled the neighborhood and the show! We're completely enamored with Isabel Quintero's Abuela Claudia and the power vocals and charisma of the female leads. Lucia Godinez (Nina Rosario) and Michelle Lauto (Vanessa) were particular standouts.

 Isabel Quintero as "Abuela Claudia"

We caught the Broadway touring cast of In The Heights when they played Chicago a few years back, and they had nothing on Porchlight. The intimate space at Stage 773 lends a personal feel to this production that's nearly impossible to emulate in a giant theatre. In The Heights, with it's focus on community, family and relationships amid grinding New York poverty is well suited for a smaller audience. The set design is fun, and makes great use of multilevel spaces.

Jack DeCesare as "Usnavi" dances with Ensemble member Elena Romanowski 

(L to R) Lucia Godinez and Keely Vasquez as "Nina Rosario" and "Camila Rosario"

Porchlight has gotten some flack for casting white Italian, Jack DeCesare, as Usnavi, who is supposed to be from the Dominican Republic, but we found his performance to be endearing. Many Chicago companies have long been open minded about casting the best actor for a part, regardless of skin color or racial background. Audiences accept and even expect a cast of many colors, even in "white" classics like A Christmas Carol and much of Shakespeare's body of works. Limiting roles to an exact ethnic match with a script is unrealistic and unnecessary. It's a valuable debate to have, but acting is just that... pretending to be someone else, and we thoroughly enjoyed Jack DeCesare's portrayal of Usnavi. 

 Jack DeCesare as "Usnavi" performs "Finale”

Porchlight's In The Heights features a diverse cast and celebrates the multicultural melting pot that is urban America. The tragedies, triumphs, love and loss of this community make for great theatre. The score is irresistible and Porchlight's energetic and enthusiastic production is a must see.

 Frankie Leo Bennett as "Sonny" performs "96,000" with the cast of In The Heights

Frankie Leo Bennett was a hoot as Sonny. He's quite the charmer with skills. 

Extended And Highly Recommended:

Porchlight Music Theatre and Artistic Director Michael Weber are proud to announce an extension of Porchlight’s 22^nd season opener, the multi-Tony Award-winning In The Heights, now playing through Sunday, Oct. 23, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. Directed and co-choreographed by Brenda Didier, co-choreographed by Chris Carter, music directed by Diana Lawrence and assistant directed by Adrian Abel Azevedo, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.

The regular performance times are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. with an added Thursday matinee, October 6 at 1:30 p.m. There are no 7:30 p.m. performances Thursday, Sept. 15 and Oct. 6 and no 4 p.m. performance Saturday, Sept. 17. Tickets for previews are $38 and for the regular run $43 - $51. Single tickets may be purchased at 773.327.5252 or at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org. 

Subscriptions to the entire Mainstage season or Porchlight’s series, Porchlight Revisits, are currently on sale as well as single tickets for the entire season.  Subscriptions are available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling 773.777.9884. Groups of ten or more may receive discounts on tickets purchased via Group Theater Tix at 312.423.6612 or grouptheatertix.com.

From the creator of the current Broadway juggernaut Hamilton, and winner of Tony Awards for “Best Musical” and “Best Original Score,” In The Heights tells the universal story of a tight-knit community in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood—a place where the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It’s a community on the brink of change, full of hopes and dreams, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind.

 Missy Aguilar as "Daniela" and the cast of In The Heights perform "Carnaval Del Barrio"

The Porchlight Music Theatre In The Heights acting company includes: Missy Aguilar as “Daniela;” Stephen Allen as “Benny;” Frankie Leo Bennett as “Sonny,” Leah Davis as “Carla;” Jordan DeBose as “Kevin Rosario;” Jack DeCesare as “Usnavi De La Vega;” Stan DeCwikel, Jr. as “El Piraguero;” Lucia Godinez as “Nina;” Kristopher Knighton as “Graffiti Pete;” Michelle Lauto as “Vanessa;” Isabel Quintero as “Abuela Claudia” and Keely Vasquez as “Camila Rosario” with Nicole Lambert, Cisco Lopez, Yando Lopez, Elena Romanowski, Travis Austin Wright and Demi Zaino in the ensemble. The artistic and production staff of In The Heights includes:

Brenda Didier, direction and co-choreography; Chris Carter, co-choreography; Diana Lawrence, music direction; Adrian Abel Azevedo, assistant direction/dramaturgy; Jose Clair, dramaturgy; Isabel Quintero, dialect coach; Diana Martinez, artistic advisor; Gregory Pinsoneault, scenic design; Kate Setzer Kamphausen, costume design; Denise Karczewski, lighting design, Robert Hornbostel, sound design; Mealah Heidenreich, properties design; Jessica Forella, stage management and Aaron Shapiro, production management. 

ABOUT LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, music and lyrics

Lin-Manuel Miranda is an American actor, composer, rapper and writer, best known for creating and starring in the Broadway musicals Hamilton and In The Heights. A MacArthur “Genius” award recipient, Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for the musical In The Heights, which earned him numerous accolades, including the 2008 Tony Award for “Best Original Score” and the 2009 Grammy for “Best Musical Theater Album.”  Miranda's performance in the show's lead role of “Usnavi” also earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for “Best Actor in a Musical” and the show won “Best Musical.” Miranda created the lead role of “Alexander Hamilton” in Hamilton, a musical for which he wrote the book, music and lyrics—and which earned the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2016 Grammy for “Best Musical Theater Album.” Miranda received the 2016 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award for his work in the role. Hamilton was nominated for a record-setting 16 Tony Awards of which it won 11, including “Best Musical.” Miranda also won the Tony Award for “Best Original Score” and “Best Book of a Musical” for Hamilton and earned a nomination for the Tony Award for “Best Actor in a Musical.” Miranda will next star in the Mary Poppins sequel Mary Poppins Returns, directed by Rob Marshall.

ABOUT QUIARA ALEGRÍA HUDES, Book

Quiara Alegría Hudes is the author of a trilogy of plays including Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue (a 2007 Pulitzer finalist); Water by the Spoonful (winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama); and The Happiest Song Plays Last, which premiered at The Goodman Theatre in April 2013 and is now playing Off-Broadway in New York. Hudes wrote the book for the Broadway musical In The Heights, which received the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical, a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical, and was a 2009 Pulitzer Prize finalist. In its original Off-Broadway incarnation In The Heights received the Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Musical. Hudes’ honors include a United States Artists Fontanals Fellowship, the Aetna New Voices Fellowship at Hartford Stage Company, a Joyce Foundation Award, a residency at New Dramatists, and a resolution from the City of Philadelphia. Hudes sits on the Dramatists Guild Council and serves on the board of Philadelphia Young Playwrights, which produced her first play in the tenth grade. She lives in New York with her husband, daughter and son.

ABOUT BRENDA DIDER, director and co- choreographer

Brenda Didier, recently named one of the “major musical theater forces” working in the Chicago area, is a multi-award-winning director/choreographer having received Joseph Jefferson Awards for both direction and choreography, After Dark Awards for choreography, the National Youth Theatre Award for choreography and the 2010 Broadway World Chicago Fan Favorite Award for choreography. Didier has collaborated with Porchlight Music Theatre on eleven productions, including the recently Jeff Award-nominated Dreamgirls, Ain't Misbehavin' (Jeff Award Best Production and Direction) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum as well as How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Pal Joey, Putting It Together, Ragtime and Once on this Island, all of which earned her Jeff nominations. Her additional credits include work with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Second City mainstage and etc., Mercury Theater Chicago, Cirque Shanghai, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, Bailiwick Chicago, BoHo Theatre, City Lit, Silk Road Rising, House of Blues, Leo Burnett Worldwide and many industrials and special events. Didier is the owner and director of the Lincolnshire Academy of Dance where her students have completed programs with American Ballet Theatre, the Joffrey Ballet Milwaukee Ballet, Boston Ballet, Ballet Austin, The Rock School, River North, Giordano and Hubbard Street summer intensives. She is most proud of her scholarship program, including the Matt Gunnels scholarship, to help struggling families keep their children in dance classes.

(L to R) Jordan DeBose and Lucia Godinez as "Kevin Rosario" and "Nina Rosario”

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE

Porchlight Music Theatre, now in its 22^nd season, is nationally recognized for developing innovative new works, reimagining classic productions and showcasing musical theatre’s noted veterans and rising stars. Porchlight elevates the genre in Chicago by providing intimate and powerful theatrical experiences for its growing and diverse audiences. With the vision of Artistic Director Michael Weber, Porchlight builds on its role as Chicago’s only Equity not-for-profit company exclusively specializing in music theatre. 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 new center for music theatre training in the areas of performance, writing and appreciation. The company’s many accolades include 15 Black Theatre Alliance nominations and two awards, as well as a total of 126 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations resulting in 35 Jeff Awards including three consecutive Best Production awards for Sondheim on Sondheim (2015), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (2014) and A Class Act (2013) as well as Sondheim on Sondheim being named one of the Chicago Tribune’s “Best Theatre of 2015.”

Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from the Actors’ Equity Foundation, the Arts Work Fund at the Chicago Community Trust, the Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Cooper’s: A Neighborhood Eatery, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation,  James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Prince Foundation, the National Association of Realtors, The Saints and the Service Club of Chicago. The season program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency.

Theatre Thursdays Offer World Premiere Productions And Exclusive Access to Artists.

League of Chicago Theatres Announces

Theatre Thursdays Series for 2016-2017 Season

Series Includes Carroll Gardens (16^th Street Theater), A Life Extra Ordinary (The Gift Theatre),

Cinderella at the Theater of Potatoes (The Hypocrites),

The Rip Nelson Holiday Spectacular (Hell in a Handbag Productions),

Mr. and Mrs. Pennyworth (Lookingglass Theatre Company),

The Wolf at the End of the Block (Teatro Vista), The Snare (Jackalope Theatre Company),

Linda Vista (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), and Relativity (Northlight Theatre)

The League of Chicago Theatres announces the Theatre Thursdays line-up for the 2016-2017 Chicago theatre season including world premiere productions of Carroll Gardens (16th Street Theater), A Life Extra Ordinary (The Gift Theatre), Cinderella at the Theater of Potatoes (The Hypocrites), The Rip Nelson Holiday Spectacular (Hell in a Handbag Productions), Mr. and Mrs. Pennyworth (Lookingglass Theatre Company), The Wolf at the End of the Block (Teatro Vista), The Snare (Jackalope Theatre Company), Linda Vista (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), and Relativity (Northlight Theatre).  Additional information for each event is available at http://bit.ly/theatrethursdays.

The Theatre Thursdays initiative, first launched in 2005, strengthens and diversifies the Chicago theatre community by encouraging Chicagoans to explore new venues and companies. Last season, the League revamped the program to focus on new work with twelve Theatre Thursday events, one per month. Each monthly event provides audiences with a world premiere production and an inside look at the creative process behind new works, including exclusive access to artists.

The 2016-2017 series includes:

Thursday, September 22

CARROLL GARDENS

Written by A. Zell Williams

Directed by Ann Filmer

16^th Street Theater at the Berwyn Cultural Center, 6420 16^th Street in Berwyn

Event begins at 6:30 pm, Show begins at 7:30 pm

Tickets $18 at http://boxoffice.printtixusa.com/16thstreet/eventcalendar with promo code: THRTHURS

Join 16th Street Theater for a world-premiere of A. Zell Williams's comedy, Carroll Gardens. Theatre Thursday guests are invited to a pre-show beer tasting courtesy of Oak Park's Kinslahger Brewing Company at 6:30pm. Stay after the show for a conversation with director Ann Filmer and the cast.

Davis and Robby were childhood friends. But that was a long time ago. Now Davis lives in Brooklyn which is a long way from Stockton, CA, in all ways. When Robby shows up unexpected on Davis' doorstep, Robby's brash nature sparks conflicts amongst Davis' new circle spurring debates of race and class and forcing Davis to question who he has remade himself to be and where his loyalty lies.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

A LIFE EXTRA ORDINARY

Written by Melissa Ross

Directed by John Gawlik

The Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee in Jefferson Park

Event details for this Theatre Thursday event will be announced closer to the date.

Annabel Anderson McCafferty is an expectant mother who vanishes from her small Ohio town on Christmas Eve. Both mystery and memory play, A Life Extra Ordinary untangles and re-assembles the moments that make a life.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

CINDERELLA AT THE THEATER OF POTATOES 

Written by Andra Velis Simon

Based on Cendrillon and other compositions by Pauline Viardot-Garcia

Directed by Sean Graney

The Hypocrites at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Wicker Park

Event details for this Theatre Thursday event will be announced closer to the date.

Adapted from Pauline Viardot-Garcia’s 1904 opera Cendrillon, and many of her other compositions, Andra Velis Simon’s musical-play is an elegantly irreverent exploration of the classic fairy tale. Here, Cinderella’s version of happily-ever-after does not include acceptance by the Prince. In the actor-as-orchestra style of The Hypocrites’ Gilbert & Sullivan opera work, Artistic Director Sean Graney directs this fun holiday-time show, perfect for the whole family. From the co-adapter of H.M.S. Pinafore and director of All Our Tragic.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

THE RIP NELSON HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR 

Written by David Cerda

Directed by Steve Love

Hell in a Handbag Productions at Mary’s Attic, 5400 N. Clark St. in Andersonville

Event details for this Theatre Thursday event will be announced closer to the date.

We close the year with an old friend and Handbag creation, Rip Nelson played by Handbag favorite, Ed Jones (think, the mutant love child of Paul Lynde, Rip Taylor and Charles Nelson Reilly) in The Rip Nelson Holiday Spectacular, a show that makes The Brady Bunch Variety Hour look like Citizen Kane.

It’s 1982 and a newly sober Rip (ensemble member Ed Jones) manages to land another TV special after the death of his arch-rival, Paul Lynde. Rip is determined to get his career back on track but can he handle the stress of a network television special and stay sober? Luckily he’s got help from a cavalcade of the hottest stars of 1982! Rip pulls every trick in the book to breathe some life in the dying variety series format and save his career but soon questions if his career is worth saving.

Thursday, January 26, 2017

MR. AND MRS. PENNYWORTH 

Written and Directed by Ensemble Member Doug Hara

Puppetry by Blair Thomas

Lookingglass Theatre Company, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Downtown Chicago

Event details for this Theatre Thursday event will be announced closer to the date.

Traveling storytellers Mr. and Mrs. Pennyworth captivate audiences with spell-binding tales. But one day, The Big Bad Wolf mysteriously dies before his story is complete. Fairytales disappear from the pages, characters are utterly forgotten, and Mr. and Mrs. Pennyworth must journey through the stories to restore order before they are lost forever.

Written and directed by Ensemble Member Doug Hara, this world-premiere weaves an exceptional story of adventure, love, and unexpected endings. Influenced by Neil Gaiman and other fantasy writers, Mr. and Mrs. Pennyworth is brought to life through the wondrous puppetry of Blair Thomas and reveals the transformational power of storytelling.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

THE WOLF AT THE END OF THE BLOCK 

Written by Ike Holter

Featuring Ensemble Members Sandra Márquez and Gabe Ruíz

Teatro Vista at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. in Lincoln Park

Event details for this Theatre Thursday event will be announced closer to the date.

Chicago. Fall. One night, a boarded up bar on the dark side of the block becomes a terrifying crime scene. In the following 48 hours, the neighborhood digs deep into escalating mystery, working against time to separate fact from fiction. But as the clock ticks down, the clues spiral into a razor sharp jigsaw, and what began as a simple mystery quickly twists into a personal, pointed and political thriller. The Wolf at The End of The Block is a full-length play with five characters, three of which are Latino. The play explores the issues of racial profiling, media manipulation and family relationships. Highly charged, Holter’s story is brutally raw, funny and deftly pierces universal truths.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

THE SNARE 

Written by Samantha Beach

Directed by Elana Boulos

Jackalope Theatre Company at the Broadway Armory, 5917 N. Broadway in Edgewater

Event details for this Theatre Thursday event will be announced closer to the date.

Ruth is your average eighth-grader, keeping busy with basketball, preparing for her school’s Civil War Day, and trying to be more like her babysitter. One night, in the quiet of her bedroom, Ruth hears the voice of the devil, telling her to take action. Unprepared, Ruth’s pastor mom and family struggle to walk a path between pragmatism and faith. In this world premiere play about good vs. evil, and growing up, the question is: who will you believe?

Thursday, April 13, 2017

LINDA VISTA 

A world premiere by ensemble member Tracy Letts

Featuring ensemble members Ian Barford and Tim Hopper

Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted in Lincoln Park

Event details for this Theatre Thursday event will be announced closer to the date.

Wheeler is 50. His marriage is over, his job is mundane, and the best years of his life appear to be behind him. A move from the cot in his ex-wife’s garage to his own apartment opens up new possibilities for love and sex—complicated, painful and hilarious. Full of opinions, yet short on self-examination, Wheeler is a modern misanthrope who must reconcile the man he has become with the man he wants to be.

Tracy Letts is a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright, actor and member of the Steppenwolf ensemble. His works include August: Osage County, Superior Donuts, The Man from Nebraska, Killer Joe and Bug, among others. He is also known for his portrayal of Andrew Lockhart in Showtime's Homeland and can be seen in The Big Short and HBO’s Divorce. His play Mary Page Marlowe premiered at Steppenwolf, in March 2016.

Thursday, May 11, 2017

RELATIVITY

Written by Mark St. Germain

Directed by BJ Jones

Featuring Mike Nussbaum

Northlight Theatre at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie

Event details for this Theatre Thursday event will be announced closer to the date.

In 1902 Albert and Mileva Einstein had a baby daughter. After 1904 she was never seen or spoken of again. Forty years later, a reporter interviews Einstein about this mysterious piece of his past, revealing shocking secrets about his family and his personal life. While the reporter questions Einstein on his theory of relativity and his decisions, she also poses a query of her own: to be a great man, does one first need to be a good man?

The author of Freud’s Last Session and Becoming Dr. Ruth showcases his signature blend of insight, intellect, humor and heart in this fictional account of a legendary figure.

Please note that Theatre Thursdays event information and dates are subject to change.  Theatre Thursday events for June, July and August will be announced later in the year.

The 2016-2017 Theatre Thursdays sponsors are the Chicago Reader and Chicago Splash.

       

About Chicago theatre

Chicago theatre is a leader in the U.S. with more than 250 theatres throughout Chicagoland, comprising a rich and varied community ranging from storefront, non-union theaters to the most renowned resident theatres in the country, including 5 that have been honored with Regional Tony Awards, and the largest touring Broadway organization in the nation. Chicago’s theatres serve 5 million audience members annually and have a combined budget of more than $250 million. Chicago produces and/or presents more world premieres annually than any other city in the nation. In the 2014-2015 season, Chicago theatre companies produced more than 100 world premiere productions and adaptations. Each year, Chicago theatres send new work to resident theatres across the country, to Broadway, and around the world.

About the League of Chicago Theatres

The League of Chicago Theatres is an alliance of theatres which leverages its collective strength to promote, support, and advocate for Chicago's theatre industry locally, nationally, and internationally. The League of Chicago Theatres Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the art of theatre in the Chicago area through audience development and support services for theatres and theatre professionals.

Additional information about Theatre Thursdays is available at http://bit.ly/theatrethursdays.

For a comprehensive list of Chicago theatre productions, visit the League of Chicago Theatres website, ChicagoPlays.com.  Half-price tickets are available at HotTix.org or at one of three downtown locations.

REVIEW: Stories With Branches Enlighten in I Do Today at Greenhouse Theater Center

THE GREENHOUSE THEATER CENTER 

PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF 

“I DO TODAY” 

Through OCT. 9th

Chicago natives, playwright Sarah Myers and Carin Silkaitis make a stellar story telling team, and this tale has branches and tangents galore. Sarah's family tree has roots and a lineage of Biblical proportions that fills an entire wall! She's delightfully full of contradictions, ordained to marry others, yet cynical about the marriage institution. She's a bisexual woman who has loved other women, yet marries men. Both of her parents are serial divorce/remarriage machines and she's lost track of all the step siblings, relatives never met. Sarah includes an assortment of lovers, crushes, imaginary friends, and religious figures to the mix. Add in the tangle of separating an inescapable Jewish heritage from an optional active Jewish faith, and you've got a unique take on not only Sarah's personal story, but that of modern families as well. 

All photos by Michael Brosilow

Carin does justice to this quirky script with the charisma and character necessary to carry a solo show. The personal is political with this production and I Do Today does an excellent job of highlighting the hypocrisy and hope of society's current marriage issues. I Do Today throws in current legal marriage contradictions, including quotes from "The Notorious RBG", Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and others. Our take away was, stop waiting around and embrace your own unique family past and future. Marry your best friend, someone who accepts the best and worst of you, through doubts, fears and good times. Ultimately this show highlights just how complicated and wonderful relationships, family, religion, sexuality, and the messy business of being human can be. Recommended. 

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Failed relationships, former lovers and half-eaten wedding cake clutters the mind of one Jewish woman determined to track the trajectory of love and loss in her life thus far. As the play builds a constantly confounding and quickly changing family tree of many marriages (and even more divorces), it poses questions about how modern marriage fits in with potentially outdated ideals. Bisexuality, Kabbalah and baby teeth dangle from the many branches of this thoughtful play, exploring how we might use our inheritances to reimagine what's possible.

Carin Silkaitis Stars In a One- Person Play Challenging Old Ideals of Love, Sexuality and Commitment

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we've caught all but 2 of the Solo Celebration Shows so far this season and highly recommend coming out to Greenhouse Theatre for this excellent series. The topics have run the gamut from heartfelt to hilarious and everything in between. All have brought something unique to the table. 

The World Premiere of “I Do Today” will run at the Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N. Lincoln Ave) through Oct. 9. Co-produced with The Other Theatre Company, written by Sarah Myers and starring Carin Silkaitis, “I Do Today” will be directed by Greenhouse’s Artistic Director Jacob Harvey, making his Chicago directorial debut.   

In “I Do Today,” Silkaitis portrays a Jewish woman determined to uproot a family tree grown wild with multiple marriages, dates and even more divorces. As she delves deeper into her own subconscious, she must grapple with her past, questioning how it has defined her and what it means in this moment. She quickly discovers that she must challenge the notions of love, sexuality and commitment in a world where modern marriage refuses to fit into old ideals.

“This innovative new play about one woman’s internal explorations allows all of us an opportunity to identify and assemble the pieces of ourselves that constitute who we are today and who we might be tomorrow,” said Harvey.  “Myers has crafted a theatrical puzzle that this ensemble of collaborators and I has been able to assemble in an unexpected and captivating evening of theater.”

The performance schedule for “I Do Today” is as follows: Thursday – Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.  and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. Performances continue through Oct. 9.

Flex passes to the Solo Celebration! series, which offers admissions to three plays for $99 or five plays for $164, are now on sale.  Single tickets, which range in price from $34 – 48 are also on sale.  Flex passes and tickets can be purchased by contacting the box office at 773-404-7336 or by visiting greenhousetheater.org.

Sarah Myers is a Chicago native currently living in Minneapolis. Her work has been produced and developed at the Wild Project (New York); the Side Project with The Other Theatre Company, The Women & Theater Conference (Chicago); FronteraFest, the Off Center, the Blue Theater, the David Mark Cohen New Works Festival (Austin); and Indiana Repertory Theater (Indianapolis), among others. Myers’ published plays include “The Realm” (Bonderman National Youth Playwriting Award), “God of the Gaps” (Pushcart Prize nominee), and “In and Out.” Myers is a former company member of Austin-based theater collective Rude Mechanicals, an associate member of Twin Cities-based Workhaus Collective, and an ongoing collaborator with Sod House Theater, a company that creates adaptations and new works with communities throughout Minnesota.

Carin Silkaitis is the founding Artistic Director of The Other Theatre Company where her credits include “The Realm and Other Letters,” “Others,” “Daughters of Ire” and “Barney the Elf.”  Notable television/film credits include: a co-staring role on “Chicago Fire,” nurse in “Unexpected” and Maggie in the short film “Blood and Water.” Silkaitis recently shot back-to-back commercials for the Arkansas Lottery, a recent spot for The Onion and a commercial for Progressive Insurance and Instant Care. Notable theater credits include Chloe in “Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” “Sons of the Prophet,” Queen Margaret in “Richard III,” Mama/Sherry/Vera in “Distracted” and Izzy in “Rabbit Hole” (Goodman Theatre).

Jacob Harvey is the Artistic Director of the Greenhouse Theater Center. Harvey is also a producer for Your Theatrics International, a full service entertainment production company, specializing in the production of theatrical events around the world. He was awarded the Bret C. Harte Director/Producer Fellowship for Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s 2013/14 Season; served as Associate Producer and Interim Director of Programming for the Drama Desk Award Winning New York Musical Theatre Festival; and served as the Co-Artistic Director of the Ovation Award-Nominated Mechanicals Theatre Group in Los Angeles. He was the co-producer of “Ladyhawks” (NYMF 2013 Best of Fest under the title Volleygirls); the associate producer of Ryan Scott Oliver’s “35MM: A Musical Exhibition” and the director of the Eberhardt and Collyer musical “Right Together, Left Together.”  Other directing credits include, “Mr. Marmalade” (The Theatricians), “The Shape of Things” (Silver Bell Productions), the world premiere of “The Many Selves of Mia Scott” (Carrie Hamilton Theater) and assistant director of the world premiere of Marcus Gardley’s “The House The Will Not Stand” (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). 

About The Other Theatre Company

The Other Theatre Company is dedicated to telling the stories of individuals or groups who are “othered” by systems of oppression. Othering individuals or groups sustains power and privilege and is an "us" vs. "them" mentality often centered around race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, identity, class, religion, and ability. The Other Theatre Company is committed to telling these stories in the hope that we can lessen the amount of discrimination and oppression in our world. 

An Illinois non-profit, TOTC was founded in 2014 in Chicago, Illinois with their first festival titled “Others: A 24 Hour Play Festival.”  Since then, their season has expanded to include three shows a year, including their annual production of “Barney the Elf” (a musical parody of the film Elf starring Will Ferrell). 

About Solo Celebration! 

 “I Do Today” is one of 12 plays featured in Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!,” which includes ten full productions, two limited engagements and other special events running June 2016 through February 2017. Among the other directors connected to solo series are Goodman Theatre Producer and Artistic Collective Member Steve Scott, Writer’s Theatre Resident Director Kimberly Senior, Directors Lab Chicago Artistic Director Elizabeth Margolius and Remy Bumppo Artistic Associate Linda Gillum. Some of the performers confirmed to star in solo works include Jeff Award-winners Kate Buddeke, Gene Weygandt, Linda Reiter acclaimed British actor Simon Slater, Will Allan and Carin Silkaitis. Most productions will be produced in their entirety by Greenhouse, while other plays will be stated with co-producers including Sideshow Theatre Company and The Other Theatre Company. Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” is co-produced by Forum Productions and underwritten by the Wendy and William Spatz Charitable Foundation.

About the Greenhouse Theater Center. 

The Greenhouse Theater Center is a nonprofit performance venue located at 2257 N Lincoln Ave, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Our complex offers two newly remodeled 190-seat main stage spaces, two 60-seat studio theaters, an in-house rehearsal room, and Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre book store.

Our mission at the Greenhouse is first and foremost to grow local theatre. We strive to cultivate a fertile environment for local artists, from individual renters to our bevy of resident companies, to develop and produce their work. In 2014 alone, The Greenhouse Theater Center provided space for almost 1,000 ticketed performances, serving more than 54,000 patrons. Among these events were at least 30 productions by our resident companies, including the celebrated American Blues Theater and Remy Bumpo Theatre Company. Through our Trellis Program, we offer the community affordable access to our work by housing Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre bookstore, located on the second floor of our complex, as well as offering a free reading series each Tuesday night where local artists workshop their latest scripts. Additionally, we also continue to play an active role in cultivating and nurturing our community through continued partnerships with the League of Chicago Theaters and local Chambers of Commerce.

As of 2016, the Greenhouse Theater Center embraced the true spirit of growth and launched its producing entity. With the announcement of our 8 month long Solo Celebration Series, helmed by Artistic Director Jacob Harvey, we will produce 12 solo plays from June 2016 to February 2017. Through this inaugural effort, we hope to expand the solo play cannon while also cultivating a larger conversation about the possibilities of the one-person play.

With new ideas always incubating, the Greenhouse Theater Center is flourishing.

Come grow with us!

OPENING: Fantasy Island For Dummies at THE TRAP DOOR THEATRE

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar

THE TRAP DOOR THEATRE presents.....

Fantasy Island For Dummies

(too near, too near)

Written by Ruth Margraff 

Directed by Kate Hendrickson

A new theatre work inspired by an episode of the iconic television series about the pleasures and perils of wish fulfillment. Devised in a collaborative exploration with TrapDoor Theater actors, the piece is written by Ruth Margraff and directed by Kate Hendrickson, with original music composed by Nikos Brisco. In 1980 a “Fantasy Island” episode about a ventriloquist and her devious dummy inspires a voyage into suppressed identities, ancient Babylonian sex goddesses and a “perfect wife” struggling with her defiant side.

Ruth Margraff (Playwright) Ruth Margraff has been called a leader in America's avant garde for her “audaciously original" (Moscow Times) use of language as poetic and vocal art to provide “layer after layer of richly textured emotion...and imminent danger” (Dallas Morning News). Best known in Chicago for her critically acclaimed ANGER/FLY with Trap Door and Kate Hendrickson in 2012; in NYC for writing six critically acclaimed martial arts operas with the late composer Fred Ho for the Apollo, Guggenheim Museum, Brooklyn Academy of Music and several national tours; for her Night Wind from Afghanistan for the play SEVEN, touring the world since 2008, introduced in 2010 by Hillary Clinton with Meryl Streep at the Broadway Hudson Theater; and for touring with her Café Antarsia Ensemble's projects such as PREVIOUSLY BLUE (Dah Teatar, Serbia; 7Stages, Atlanta; Coe College/ Marquis Series, Dows Theatre, Iowa; Links Hall, Chicago Fringe Festival). She has received awards from Rockefeller, McKnight, Jerome, NEA, TCG, TMUNY, NYSCA, IAC, and Fulbright foundations. She’s a member of Theater Without Borders, LPTW and Red Tape Theater, a New Dramatist and Playwrights’ Center alumnae, a Chicago Dramatist playwright emeritus, and is Professor and Chair of the Writing Program at the School of the Art Institute of

Chicago. www.ruthmargraff.com

Kate Hendrickson (Director) Kate Hendrickson is a resident director at Trap Door Theatre where her particular focus is on premiering new plays by radical American playwrights. She has developed and sustained long-term collaborative relationships with several playwrights, steering multiple world premiere productions to critical and popular success. Together with Margraff and the Trap Door ensemble Hendrickson created ANGER/FLY which was recognized in the Chicago Reader “Best Of” edition as part of a Trap Door season presenting the “best string of theatrical stunners.” Other Trap Door credits include Cookie Play, Chaste and Beholder (Jeff Award for Best New Work, After Dark Award for Best Original Music), by Ken Prestininzi. Chaste received "Best of the Year" nods in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Stage Review, and the Huffington Post. Kate also directed Midwest premieres of Prestininzi's AmeriKafka, Howard Zinn's Emma (After Dark Award for Best Ensemble), and 12 Ophelias by Caridad Svich.

Assistant Director/SM Kristin Davis/ Lighting Design Richard Norwood / Set Design AJ Tarzian/ Costume Design Rachel Sypniewski / Music Composer Pink Velvet/ Graphic Design Michal Janicki/ Sound Design Mike Mazzocca/ Movement Director Kasey Foster/ Makeup Design Zsófia Ötvös

When: 

Opens: Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 8PM Saturday, 

Closes: November 5, 2016 at 8PM 

Runs: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8PM

Admission: $20 on Thursdays and Fridays; $25 on Saturdays, Special two-for-one admission on Fridays

Where: TRAP DOOR THEATRE 1655 West Cortland Ave. Chicago, IL 60622

For Information/Reservations: 773-384-0494 To purchase online www.trapdoortheatre.com

SAVE THE DATES: Chick Flick the Musical Begins Previews 11/1

Tilted Windmills Theatricals

presents

the National Debut of

Chick Flick the Musical

this fall at The Royal George Theatre Cabaret in Chicago

Here at ChiIL Live Shows we're excited to check out this national debut. We adored Landree Fleming (Sheila) as Kira in Xanadu (American Theater Company) and can't wait to see her in action again. This uniquely female-positive new musical is written and directed by women. Chick Flick the Musical begins previews November 1, and opens November 10 for an open run. 

Grab your friends and head out for an evening of humor, heart, and harmony as Chick Flick the Musical comes to The Royal George Theatre Cabaret, 1641 N. Halsted Street in Chicago. Written by newcomer Suzy Conn (Suffra-Jets, The Mercer Girls) and directed by Mary Catherine Burke, Chick Flick the Musical delivers an evening of heartfelt female friendship and empowerment wrapped in the iconic conventions of chick flicks. With a cast of four and a live band, this original, 90-minute, no-intermission musical is the perfect girls’ night out. Described in testimonials as “everything you loved about Friends mixed with everything you loved about Sex and the City,” Chick Flick the Musical shows us characters and friendships that are both inspirational and aspirational -- audiences feel like they are watching themselves and their friends on stage.

So join BFFs Karen, Dawn, Sheila, and Meg as they get together to take the weight of daily life off their shoulders by watching a chick flick and playing their favorite drinking game. As the festivities proceed and the beverages flow, they each divulge how their lives haven’t quite turned out the way they had hoped. When they view themselves with the same kindness, humor, and reverence that their friends do, they learn how to make real life better than the movies. Proving that “friendship is the best medicine” the four friends reignite the dreams that have dwindled over the years. Whether you’re a fan of romantic comedies or teary sisterhood dramas, you’ll recognize the delicious tidbits of life advice that chick flicks offer these four friends on their transformative journey of empowerment. 

“You need that group of friends who will pull you back from the edge when you are about to jump off a cliff, and help you up the mountain when you’re too afraid to climb,” says writer Suzy Conn. “Movie quotes, makeover montages, and meet cutes have created a shared language and experience among women, and Chick Flick the Musical celebrates this phenomenon.”

The quartet of Chicago-based cast members includes Landree Fleming as “Sheila,” Marya Grandy as “Dawn,” Sophie Grimm as “Meg,” and Rebecca Prescott as “Karen.”

The original, catchy, and upbeat pop score is brought to life by music supervisor Geraldine Anello with choreography by Tiffany Green. Vocal arrangements and orchestrations are by Frank Galgano and Matt Castle. This show is designed to make audiences feel like they are truly in Karen’s living room, going through the characters’ journey with them, with scenic design by Edward K. Ross, costume design by Hunter Kaczorowski, and lighting design by Jeff Croiter and Charles Cooper.

Chick Flick the Musical has been in development for four years and is produced by Tilted Windmills Theatricals. Managing Partner David Carpenter shares, “We are excited to be premiering in Chicagoland because it’s a real theater town with great local talent and audiences that embrace new work, and it gives us the opportunity to reach as many women as possible who identify with the challenges of day-to-day life.”

An initial block of tickets is currently on sale to the general public as of September 5 for performances through January 29, available through Ticketmaster.com (312.988.9000). More information can be found at www.ChickFlicktheMusical.com or on our social media channels- Facebook www.facebook.com/ChickFlicktheMusical, Instagram at chickflickthemusical, and Twitter @chickflickmusic. 

  

About the Cast

Landree Fleming (Sheila) is thrilled to be in Chick Flick the Musical! She was recently seen as Kira in Xanadu (American Theater Company). She’s worked with Paramount Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Marriott Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre, Griffin Theatre, Theatre at the Center, Circle Theatre, and Adventure Stage Chicago. She's a member of comedy group Off Off Broadzway. Catch her stand-up or tune in to her podcast Deep Dish. She’s represented by Gray Talent.

Marya Grandy (Dawn) most recently appeared in the Marriott Theatre’s production of Sister Act, and this fall she will be playing Smitty in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, also at the Marriott. Other Chicago credits include The Secret Garden at Court Theatre, Madame Thenardier in Les Miserables at the Paramount Theatre, Hildy in On the Town (Jeff Nomination—Actress in a Supporting Role), the title role in Juno at TimeLine Theatre, Roz in 9 To 5, and A Grand Night for Singing at the Mercury Theater (Jeff Nomination). Broadway and New York productions: the 2012 Off-Broadway revival of Maltby & Shire’s Closer Than Ever, Les Misérables (2006 Revival), Damn Yankees, Bells Are Ringing (City Center Encores!), The Great American Trailer Park Musical (Drama Desk Nomination), and The Water Coolers (co-author). Marya has performed regionally in Fanny Brice: America’s Funny Girl (World Premiere, directed by David H. Bell), Pump Boys & Dinettes, Follies, Take Flight, Gypsy, Beehive, Smokey Joe’s Café, The Honky Tonk Angels, Working, and The Water Coolers (Jeff Nomination). Television/film credits: “Rescue Me”, “Conviction”, “Law & Order”, “Law & Order: SVU”, “Denis Leary’s Merry F***ing Christmas”, and “Love Streams.” Recordings include the Original Cast Recording of The Great American Trailer Park Musical, The Manhattan Transfer’s Bodies and Souls, and Superwoman, by her own band, Five Floor Monica. Marya received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University, and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity.

Sophie Grimm (Meg) joins Chick Flick the Musical as a lover of girl power and times with friends in her home! You’ve seen her in Chicagoland area theaters including The Paramount, Marriott Lincolnshire, Drury Lane, and Chicago Shakespeare, as well as in nightclub, cabaret, and religious settings. She can’t wait to showcase comedy, friendship, and musical theatre with her hilariously talented co-stars where characters and audience alike can let it ALL hang out! www.sophiegrimm.com

Rebecca Prescott (Karen) is a Chicago-based actress. Credits: Broadway: How the Grinch Stole Christmas; Select Regional: Utah Shakespeare Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival; Chicago: Morticia in The Addams Family, Mercury Theatre; Dina Beach/(us) Ethel/ (us) for I Love Lucy Live on Stage, Broadway Playhouse; credits at Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Drury Lane, Northlight Theatre, and Eclipse Theatre. Rebecca is a company member of Eclipse Theatre. Currently, Rebecca is working with her husband on the workshop of his original musical revue, The Squeeze.

About the Creative Team

Suzy Conn (Book/Music/Lyrics) is a musical theatre composer, lyricist, and librettist interested in telling the stories of women throughout history. Her shows have been performed across the United States and in Canada. Chick Flick the Musical tells a contemporary story of female friendship. Suffra-Jets (first performed at NYMF as Plane Crazy) tells the story of the emergence of the modern women’s movement set against the backdrop of the swinging ’60s Jet Age. The Mercer Girls tells the story of how women civilized the Pacific Northwest. Suzy is currently working on Cocktail Nuts (the story of cocktail waitresses in the ‘70s); Comicon the Musical (a contemporary story of self-discovery); and a ’50s Christmas musical that tells the empowering story of an under-appreciated female elf. TYA shows include The Tale of Pigling Bland; Field Trip: Journey to Mount St Helens; Larry Gets Lost in Seattle; Daisy the Firecow; Save As...; and The Last Shot. Suzy has taught musical theatre writing in the Seattle area for the Village Theatre’s Kidstage program, and served as the writing mentor for three years for their Company Originals program. Suzy spent the ‘90s in Nashville writing country songs and leading workshops for the Nashville Songwriters Association (NSAI).

Mary Catherine Burke (Director) Her work has been hailed as “the next Off-Broadway hit” by The New York Times, “Extraordinary” by The New Jersey Star and “Incisive” by The Dallas Morning News. As a director, she has developed Austentatious at The New York Musical Theatre Festival and Music City, USA with five #1 Country Billboard hits, House of Baseball at EST, The Flea, nominated for two New York Innovative Awards; Diving Normal at The Fringe, winner of the Best Ensemble Award, published, On Island at 59E59. She also served as the Director of Programming at the New York Musical Theatre Festival and the Artistic Director of Millbrook Playhouse. She assistant directed for Arthur Penn on the Tony Award-winning Fortune’s Fool. She is currently a SDC member.

Tiffany Green (Choreographer) is thrilled to be part of Chick Flick the Musical. Her directing and choreography credits include: The Buddy Holly Story, Nuncrackers, The Oresteia, and Hairspray. In addition to her theatrical credits, Tiffany is a recognized Director and Creative Producer for companies such as Airbnb, Laureate Universities, Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Bloomberg LP, and NBC News. She can be seen as Bunny Wiles on Marvel’s “Jessica Jones” (Netflix). Other film and television performance credits include: “The Family,” “Hairspray,” “Rescue Me,” “College Road Trip,” “The Underlings.” Recent theatre performance credits include: Les Miz: Mme. Thenardier (St. Louis Muny), Shrek: Mama Ogre/Humpty Dumpty (St. Louis Muny), Green Gables: Mrs. Walter Pringle (Hangar Theatre). For more on Tiffany: xoxotgreen.com | @xoxoTGreen

Geraldine Anello (Music Supervisor) Born and raised in France, Geraldine Anello is a NYC-based music director, pianist, and conductor. Her Broadway credits include playing in the pit at On the Town and School of Rock, rehearsals at Matilda, Neverland, and An American in Paris. Her Off-Broadway credits include piano/conductor sub at The Fantasticks, piano at Trip of Love and rehearsal pianist for Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812. As a music director, she did the New York premiere of Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money (nominated for an Off-Broadway Alliance Award) at the Atlantic Theatre Company, with original music by Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier. With a passion for new works, she has also been music director and associate music director on multiple readings, including Len Moors’ Petrified, By Wing and By Wheel directed by Jayne Atkinson from “House of Cards,” and most recently of The Names We Gave Him at New York City’s Public Theater. Recently, she was also the associate music director of How the Grinch Stole Christmas at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry; and the music director of the world premiere of Head Over Heels at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. MM: WMU; DMA: Boston University.

Edward K. Ross (Scenic Designer) is a scenic designer for theatre, fashion shows, live events, and installation art. He has previously designed for Bloomsberg Theatre Ensemble, Jobsite, Book It, Surflight Theatre Company, Millbrook Playhouse, University of Scranton, Cornish College of the Arts and Bleecker Street Theatre. He currently designs events for Refinery29, including Refinery29Rooms installation and upfront launch events. He has worked with Omega, Victoria Beckham, Margiela, Diesel, Kith, Thom Browne and many other designers through his time as the Technical Director and Partner at Eyesight.

Hunter Kaczorowski (Costume Designer) Hunter is a New York City-based designer.  New York credits include: Stet (Abingdon Theater, dir. Tony Speciale), HAM (Ars Nova, dir. Billy Porter), Before Your Very Eyes (Gob Squad at the Public Theater), Sense of An Ending (Kef Productions at 59E59), several productions with Astoria Performing Arts Center, HERE Arts Center, Dixon Place, Joyce Soho, The New School for Drama, Lee Strasberg Institute, Vital Children's Theater, and The Gallery Players. Regional: The Fix (Signature Theater, dir. Eric Schaeffer), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Design for Living, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Berkshire Theater Festival), A Streetcar Named Desire (Yale Rep), AfterLife and Josephine (Urban Arias DC, dir. Alan Paul), Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Barrington Stage), as well as Millbrook Playhouse, Red House Theater, Kitchen Theater Company, Luna Stage Company, The Yale Baroque Opera Project and Muhlenberg College.  MFA, Yale School of Drama. www.Huntersk.com

Jeff Croiter (Co-Lighting Designer) Broadway: Something Rotten, Penn &Teller, Peter and the Starcatcher (Tony Award), Disaster, Newsies, Mothers and Sons, A Time to Kill, Soul Doctor, Jekyll and Hyde, The Anarchist, The Performers, The Pee-wee Herman Show, Next Fall, Kiki and Herb. Other NYC: Head of Passes; Parade; A Month in the Country; Fly By Night; Last Five Years; Much Ado About Nothing; King Lear; Loves Labors Lost; Old Jews Telling Jokes; Silence; Love, Loss, and What I Wore; By the Way, Meet Vera Stark; Rapture Blister Burn; A Lie of the Mind; Ordinary Days; Family Guys Sings; The Voysey Inheritance; The Internationalist; Jacques Brel; Almost Maine; The Dazzle; Jennifer Muller The Works. Jeff is the lighting designer for Penn & Teller in Las Vegas.

Charles Cooper (Co-Lighting Designer) Recent: Bye Bye Birdie, Hairspray, Curtains, and Sleeping Beauty (Drury Lane), Woody Sez and Gutenberg! The Musical (Milwaukee Rep); A Wrinkle In Time (First Stage Children’s Theatre); Grapes of Wrath and Good for Otto (The Gift Theatre); Murder Ballad (Jeff Award, Outstanding Lighting Design), Carrie, and Mahal (Bailiwick Chicago);  Old Jews Telling Jokes (Chicago Company); The Clean House and Creditors (Remy Bumppo); The Rose Tattoo, Mill Fire (Jeff Nomination) and Orpheus Descending (Shattered Globe); Love, Loss, and What I Wore (Asolo Rep, Philadelphia Theatre Co, San Jose Rep, Broadway in Chicago,1st National Tour, Second National Tour); Do The Hustle, and Old Glory (Writers’ Theatre); Of Mice and Men and First Look Repertory of New Work (Steppenwolf Theatre); Around the World in 80 Days (Indiana Repertory Theatre); Eclipsed, and She Stoops to Conquer (Northlight Theatre). 16 productions for TimeLine Theatre (Associate Artist), and six seasons for Peninsula Players in Door County. Charles has received seven Jeff nominations for outstanding lighting design. He Lives in Oak Park with his wife Angela, and children Ethan and Gavin. Member: United Scenic Artists. Cooperportfolio.com.

Frank Galgano and Matt Castle (Vocal Arrangements and Orchestrations) Off-Broadway: Into the Woods (Roundabout/Old Globe/McCarter) Once Upon A Mattress (Transport Group) and Found (Atlantic Theater). Regional: A Little Princess (Sacramento Theatre Company), Litter (ACT), A Dog Story (Waterfront Playhouse) and several children’s musicals for Kennedy Center, Theatreworks/USA, George Street Playhouse & Pioneer Drama Service. Concerts and Specialty Numbers: Kristin Chenoweth, Deborah Voigt, Randy Newman, Carole King, William Finn, Adam Gwon, Debra Monk, Chris Mann, Ektor Rivera, Aloe Blacc. UPCOMING: A Dog Story (Off-Broadway) and Donner Party (Sacramento Theatre Company).

Tilted Windmill Theatricals (Producer) is a producing partnership between David Carpenter and John Arthur Pinckard. The company specializes in the development of new work for the American theater and is currently focused on producing artistically and commercially successful entertainment for under-served markets across North America. David Carpenter’s Broadway career has taken him from industry powerhouse Dodgers Theatricals (Jersey Boys, Matilda), to DreamWorks Theatricals, and most recently to Dede Harris Productions, where he supervised creative development, finances, and day-to-day operations for a 6 Time Tony-Award winning producer. John Arthur Pinckard’s producing career began over a decade ago with the cult festival hit Silence! the Musical. Soon he won the prestigious T. Edward Hambleton Fellowship for Creative Producers from Hal Prince, the 21-time Tony Award winning producer and director whose 60 years of hits range from Fiddler on the Roof to Phantom of the Opera. John’s work as an independent producer has garnered him four Tony Award nominations and two wins, for Clybourne Park and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder.