SAVE THE DATES: BROADWAY IN CHICAGO ANNOUNCES NEXT SEASON ON SALE 3/28/18

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar:

BROADWAY IN CHICAGO ANNOUNCES 
NEXT SEASON TO FEATURE

TONY® AND GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING BEST MUSICAL DEAR EVAN HANSEN,

PRE-BROADWAY WORLD PREMIERE OF THE NEW COMEDY MUSICAL, TOOTSIE,

TONY®-WINNING BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL HELLO, DOLLY! STARRING

BROADWAY LEGEND BETTY BUCKLEY,

ROALD DAHL’S CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY,

MISS SAIGON and THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG

OFF-SEASON SPECIALS WILL INCLUDE 

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

AND BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND, THE BOOK OF MORMON

On Sale to the General Public Wednesday, March 28

Here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows, we've been promoting and reviewing Broadway In Chicago shows since 2010. We're eager to catch this new season too. It's packed with award winning productions, another Pre-Broadway World Premiere, old favorites, and new shows. Tickets are on sale March 28th. Check it out.

Broadway In Chicago is delighted to announce its upcoming season line-up which features six time 2017 Tony and 2018 Grammy Award winning Best Musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN, the Pre-Broadway World Premiere of the new comedy musical, TOOTSIE, the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Revival HELLO, DOLLY! starring Broadway legend Betty Buckley, ROALD DAHL’S CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, MISS SAIGON and THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG.

Off-season specials will include: FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and, back by popular demand, THE BOOK OF MORMON returns to Chicago.

The upcoming season will go on sale to the public on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, and the six-show packages begin at $144. Current subscribers can renew now by visiting BroadwayInChicago.com or calling 312-977-1717.

Subscriber benefits include savings of up to 48% off ticket prices, discounts on parking and suite service, invitations to Broadway In Chicago exclusive events, exchange privileges based on availability and more. The Broadway In Chicago line-up, including performance dates and venues, is as follows:

TOOTSIE
Pre-Broadway World Premiere!
Sept. 11 – Oct. 14, 2018
Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph
The world premiere comedy musical, TOOTSIE, tells the story of a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until an audacious, desperate stunt lands him the role of a lifetime. TOOTSIE will star Tony Award nominee SANTINO FONTANA as struggling actor Michael Dorsey.  Santino is well known to TV and film audiences for his role as Greg on “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and for providing the voice to the villainous ‘Prince Hans’ in the blockbuster animated film, Frozen. TOOTSIE features an original score by Tony Award nominee David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), a book by Robert Horn (13; Dame Edna, Back with a Vengeance), choreography by Tony Award nominee Denis Jones (Holiday Inn, Honeymoon in Vegas), and musical direction by Andrea Grody (The Band’s Visit).  TOOTSIE will be directed by eight-time Tony Award nominee and Olivier Award winner Scott Ellis (She Loves Me, On the Twentieth Century). 




ROALD DAHL’S CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
Oct. 2 – Oct. 21, 2018            
Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph  
Roald Dahl's amazing tale is now Chicago’s golden ticket! It's the perfect recipe for a delectable treat: songs from the original film, including "Pure Imagination," "The Candy Man," and "I've Got a Golden Ticket," alongside a toe-tapping and ear-tickling new score from the songwriters of Hairspray. Get ready for Oompa-Loompas, incredible inventions, the great glass elevator, and more, more, more at this everlasting showstopper! Entertainment Weekly raves “Broadway’s Big Treat” and NPR exclaims “You’ll have a ball!”



HELLO, DOLLY!
Oct. 23 – Nov. 17, 2018         
Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph
Tony Award-winning Broadway legend Betty Buckley stars in HELLO, DOLLY! – the universally acclaimed smash that NPR calls “the best show of the year!”  Winner of four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival, director Jerry Zaks’ “gorgeous” new production (Vogue) is “making people crazy happy!” (The Washington Post).  Breaking box office records week after week and receiving thunderous raves on Broadway, this HELLO, DOLLY! pays tribute to the original work of legendary director/choreographer Gower Champion – hailed both then and now as one of the greatest stagings in musical theater history.  Rolling Stone calls it “a must-see event. A musical comedy dream. If you’re lucky enough to score a ticket, you’ll be seeing something historic. Wow, wow, wow, indeed!”


MISS SAIGON                                   
Nov. 13 – Dec. 8, 2018
Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph           
Experience the acclaimed new production of the legendary musical MISS SAIGON, from the creators of Les Misérables. In the last days of the Vietnam War, 17-year-old Kim is forced to work in a bar run by a notorious character known as the Engineer. There she meets and falls in love with an American G.I. named Chris but they are torn apart by the fall of Saigon. For three years, Kim goes on an epic journey of survival to find her way back to Chris, who has no idea he's fathered a son.  This new production features stunning spectacle and a sensational cast of 42 performing the soaring score featuring Broadway hits including “The Heat is On in Saigon,” “The Movie in My Mind,” and “Last Night of the World.”  The New Yorker raves “A DYNAMITE BROADWAY REVIVAL.”


THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG                        
Dec. 4 – Dec. 16, 2018
Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph                      
What would happen if Sherlock Holmes and Monty Python had an illegitimate Broadway baby?  You’d get THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, Broadway & London’s award-winning smash comedy!  Called “A GUT-BUSTING HIT” (The New York Times) and “THE FUNNIEST PLAY BROADWAY HAS EVER SEEN” (HuffPost), this classic murder mystery is chock-full of mishaps and madcap mania delivering “A RIOTOUS EXPLOSION OF COMEDY” (Daily Beast).  Welcome to opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), it’s “TONS OF FUN FOR ALL AGES” (HuffPost) and “COMIC GOLD” (Variety) – sure to bring down the house!




DEAR EVAN HANSEN        
Feb. 12 – March 10, 2019        
Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph     
WINNER OF SIX 2017 TONY AWARDS® INCLUDING BEST MUSICAL AND THE 2018 GRAMMY AWARD FOR BEST MUSICAL THEATRE ALBUM!
A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, a life he never dreamed he could have.  Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he’s always wanted: a chance to finally fit in.  DEAR EVAN HANSEN is the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it.  The Washington Post says DEAR EVAN HANSEN is “ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE SHOWS IN MUSICAL THEATER HISTORY.”  Rolling Stone calls DEAR EVAN HANSEN, “a game-changer that hits you like a shot in the heart” and NBC News says the musical is “an inspiring anthem resonating on Broadway and beyond.”   The Original Broadway Cast Recording of DEAR EVAN HANSEN, produced by Atlantic Records, made an extraordinary debut on the Billboard 200 when released and entered the chart at #8 – the highest charting debut position for an original cast album since 1961—before winning the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.


OFF-SEASON SPECIALS WILL INCLUDE:

THE BOOK OF MORMON
Nov. 20 – Dec. 2, 2018          
Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph
The New York Times calls it, “The best musical of the century.” The Washington Post says, “It is the kind of evening that restores your faith in musicals.” And Entertainment Weekly says, “Grade A: the funniest musical of all time.”  Jimmy Fallon of The Tonight Show calls it “Genius. Brilliant. Phenomenal.” It’s THE BOOK OF MORMON, the nine-time Tony Award®-winning BEST MUSICAL.  This outrageous musical comedy follows the misadventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word. Now with standing room only productions in Australia, London, on Broadway, and across North America, THE BOOK OF MORMON has truly become an international sensation. Contains explicit language.


FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Dec. 18, 2018 – Jan. 6, 2019
Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph
“An entirely fresh, funny, and gorgeous new production. A REASON FOR CELEBRATION!” – New York Magazine.  Rich with musical hits you know and love, including "Tradition," "Sunrise, Sunset;' "If I Were A Rich Man;' "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" and "To Life (L'Chaim!)," FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is the heartwarming story of fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, and life, love and laughter.  Tony®-winning director Bartlett Sher and the team behind South Pacific, The King and I and 2017 Tony-winning Best Play Oslo, bring a fresh and authentic vision to this beloved theatrical masterpiece from Tony winner Joseph Stein and Pulitzer Prize winners Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick.  Featuring a talented cast, lavish orchestra and stunning movement and dance from Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter, based on the original staging by Jerome Robbins, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF will introduce a new generation to the uplifting celebration that raises its cup to joy! To love! To life!



ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 18 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 well up 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, Oriental Theatre, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place and presenting Broadway shows at The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. 

For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.   Facebook @BroadwayInChicago ● Twitter @broadwaychicago ● Instagram @broadwayinchicago ● #broadwayinchicago

OPENING: CHICAGO DEBUT OF FEMINIST COMEDY WOMEN LAUGHING ALONE WITH SALAD AT THEATER WIT THROUGH APRIL 29

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar:

STOCK PHOTO CLICHÉ TURNED INTERNET MEME TURNED FEMINIST COMEDY 

WOMEN LAUGHING ALONE WITH SALAD 

MAKES ITS CHICAGO DEBUT MARCH 9-APRIL 29 AT THEATER WIT

ChiIL Mama will be out for the press opening on March 20th. I can't wait to catch what's sure to be a humorous, feminist look at the absurd ideals women face in media and in life. And in other great news, not only does this show promise to serve up big laughs, it comes with an immediate side of economic justice!

Single tickets to Women Laughing Alone with Salad are $12-$70.

However, tickets for women to all regular performances will be discounted to match the 79% wage gap between men and women in Illinois.

To illustrate, at the $24 ticket level, male-identifying patrons pay full price, while female-identifying patrons pay only $18.95, corrected for the 79% wage gap.

Theater Wit is tossing up a crisp Chicago premiere of Women Laughing Alone with Salad, Sheila Callaghan’s satirical comedy based on the meta-feminist Internet meme of the same name.

Don’t miss this four-person, satirical, subversive tour-de-force about friendship, salad, sex, bodies, yoga, salad, men, envy, women, pharmaceuticals, diets, salad, uppers and salad. 



Previews of Women Laughing Alone with Salad are March 9-18: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m.

Performances run through April 29: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at
3 p.m.

Theater Wit is located at 1229 N. Belmont in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Another great way to secure seats is to sign up for a Theater Wit Membership, an “all the theater you can eat” deal that lets you see as many plays as you want in any of Wit’s three spaces for a low monthly fee of $29/$22 for students, along with many member perks.

To purchase single tickets, a Membership, or to inquire about Flex Passes, visit TheaterWit.org or call 773.975.8150.



More about Women Laughing Alone with Salad

You’ve seen them a hundred times before. Stock photos of attractive women, sitting alone, enjoying a salad so hilarious they can’t help but explode with laughter and delight.

The proliferation of this absurd cliché caught the attention of the Internet in 2011 after Edith Zimmerman posted the first collection on the feminist blog The Hairpin. Titled “Women Laughing Alone With Salad,” it featured 18 photos illustrating this trend with no accompanying text.

Zimmerman’s post spurred a number of hilarious memes parodying this stereotypical portrayal of women in media, including a tumblr page.

And this play, a fierce, funny, feminist look at the maniacal gauntlet of gender relations and the relentless pursuit of insane ideals. Our heroines are trapped on a treadmill of dysfunctional relationships, warped body image and ludicrous pornography, carving their way through a suffocating, tangled mess. With pointed jabs and razor wit, Women Laughing Alone with Salad disembowels the cosmetic myth of pre-packaged feminine empowerment.

When it debuted at Washington D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre in 2015, playwright Sheila Callaghan, also a writer/producer on the hit Showtime comedy Shameless, told the Washington Post, “Nobody likes salad that much. And the notion that you’re supposed to feel that way – salad will never be that kind of satisfying. No matter how creative you get with salad, it’s still (expletive) lettuce and vegetables, right?”

DC Theatre Scene subsequently hailed Women Laughing Alone with Salad a “fresh, funny play…the poster child for what feminist theatre should be: a great night out on the town watching a slam bam comedy which is also a serious conversation about the society we oh-so-currently live in.”

Salad Days @ Theater Wit:
Behind the scenes of Women Laughing Alone with Salad



Here in Chicago, Devon de Mayo (pictured above) makes her Theater Wit directorial debut with Women Laughing Alone with Salad, fresh from staging the world premiere of The Burn by Philip Dawkins for Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Audiences. Other recent projects include Harvey at Court Theatre, You On the Moors Now by Jaclyn Backhaus for The Hypocrites, the world premiere of Sycamore at Raven Theatre and Don't Look Back/Must Look Back at Pivot Arts.

Wit’s Women Laughing Alone with Salad stars Echaka Agba, Japhet Balaban, Jennifer Engstrom and Daniella Pereira.

Echaka Agba (Meredith/Bruce) was named to the Chicago Tribune’s “Hot New Faces of Chicago Theater, Class of 2017”), and singled out in the 2017 Time Out Chicago Theater Awards for featured performance and breakout performance in Broken Nose Theatre’s At the Table, which also won her the Jeff Award for Best Supporting Actress. Other credits are Short Shakes! Romeo and Juliet at Chicago Shakespeare, United Flight 232, Jeff Award winner for Best Ensemble at House Theatre, and The Crucible and Between Riverside and Crazy at Steppenwolf.

Japhet Balaban (Guy/Alice) was also named to the Chicago Tribune’s “Hot New Faces of Chicago Theater, Class of 2017”), drawing particular attention for his work in Ideation (Jackalope Theatre). Other credits are You on the Moors Now (The Hypocrites), Posh (Steep Theatre), Never The Sinner (Victory Gardens), Balm in Gilead (Griffin Theatre) and Look Back in Anger (Redtwist).

Jennifer Engstrom (Sandy/Guy) is a veteran of regional and Chicago stages and an A Red Orchid Theatre ensemble member, where she performed in The Fastest Clock in The Universe, Eric LaRue, Fatboy, The Hothouse, 3C and The Mutilated (Jeff nomination for Outstanding Actress).

Daniella Pereira (Tori/Joe) was most recently seen in Letters Home (Griffin Theatre), The Taming of the Shrew (Oak Park Festival Theatre) and Cymbeline (Strawdog Theatre Company).



Sheila Callaghan's plays have been produced and developed with Soho Rep, Playwright's Horizons, Yale Rep, South Coast Rep, Clubbed Thumb, The LARK, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, New Georges, The Flea, Woolly Mammoth, Boston Court and Rattlestick Playwright's Theatre. She received the Princess Grace Award for emerging artists, a Jerome Fellowship from Playwright's Center in Minneapolis, a MacDowell Residency, a Cherry Lane Mentorship Fellowship, the Susan Smith Blackburn Award and the Whiting Award. Her plays have been produced internationally in New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Germany, Portugal and the Czech Republic. These include Scab, Crawl Fade to White, Crumble, We Are Not These Hands, Dead City, Lascivious Something, Kate Crackernuts, That Pretty Pretty; Or, The Rape Play, Fever/Dream, Everything You Touch, Roadkill Confidential, Elevada and Bed. She is published with Playscripts.com and Samuel French, and several of her collections are published with Counterpoint Press. She has taught playwriting at Columbia University, The University of Rochester, The College of New Jersey, Florida State University and Spalding University. She is an affiliated artist with Clubbed Thumb, a member of the Obie winning playwright's organization 13P and an alumni of New Dramatists. In 2010, Callaghan was profiled by Marie Claire as one of "18 Successful Women Who Are Changing the World." She was also named one of Variety’s "10 Screenwriters to Watch" of 2010. Callaghan is a writer/producer on the hit Showtime comedy Shameless and a founder of the feminist activist group The Kilroys. She was nominated for a 2016 Golden Globe for her work on Hulu’s Casual and a 2017 WGA Award for her Shameless episode “I Am A Storm.”

Designers for Women Laughing Alone with Salad are Arnel Sancianco (set), Mieka van der Ploeg (costumes), Heather Gilbert (lights), Shain Longbehn (sound), Joe Burke (projections) Jesse Gaffney (props), Rachel Flesher (intimacy) and Clare Cooney (casting).


About Theater Wit
Theater Wit, Chicago’s “smart art” theater, is a major hub of the Chicago neighborhood theater scene, where audiences enjoy a smorgasbord of excellent productions in three, 99-seat spaces, see a parade of talented artists and mingle with audiences from all over Chicago.

“A thrilling addition to Chicago’s roster of theaters” (Chicago Tribune) and “a terrific place to see a show” (New City), Theater Wit is now in its eighth season at its home at
1229 N. Belmont Ave., in the heart of the new Belmont Theatre District in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. In 2014, Theater Wit was awarded the National Theatre Award by the American Theatre Wing for strengthening the quality, diversity and dynamism of American theater.

The company’s most recent hits include The Antelope Party by Eric John Meyer, This Way Outta Santaland by Mitchell Fain, 10 Out of 12 and Mr. Burns, a post-electric play by Anne Washburn, Naperville by Mat Smart, The New Sincerity by Alena Smith, Bad Jews by Joshua Harmon, The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence and Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England by Madeleine George, and Completeness and The Four of Us by Itamar Moses.

Visit TheaterWit.org or call the Theater Wit box office, 773.975.8150, to purchase a Membership, inquire about Flex Pass options or to buy single tickets.

To receive an “artisanal selection of consonants and vowels from Theater Wit,” sign up at TheaterWit.org/mailing for exclusive updates, flash deals and behind-the-scenes production scoop every few weeks.

REVIEW: ROCKIN' RETRO FUN WITH PORCHLIGHT REVISITS THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG March 6-8th, 2018

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE’S PORCHLIGHT REVISITS,

“LOST” MUSICALS IN STAGED CONCERT SERIES, 

CONTINUES ITS FIFTH SEASON WITH 

THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG, 

STARRING SHARRIESE HAMILTON AND LORENZO RUSH JR.

AT THE RUTH PAGE CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 

MARCH 6 - 8

All Production Photos by Austin Packard

Review:

I just discovered a new favorite format for musical theatre... 

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we've been promoting Porchlight revisits shows for years, but I'd only ever seen their main stage productions. Now that I caught THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG, I'm hooked! 

Porchlight revisits shows are just a few nights, not off book, encamped on the main stage set, and utterly charming. They crackle with the improv energy of anything's possible. The pre-show history slide show, back story, and pop cultural placement of the piece is a hoot and a must see. They're Playing Our Song is retro relatable and too much fun. Earworm alert: The title tune is so catchy, your brain is likely to be "playing our song" on auto repeat for at least a few days after the last notes fade on stage. 



I've caught Lorenzo Rush Jr in Five Guys Named Moe (Court Theater) and Little Shop of Horrors (American Blues Theater), and Sharriese Hamilton in Rock of Ages (Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre); Wonderful Town (Goodman Theatre),Thaddeus and Slocum (Lookingglass Theatre) Pericles (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); and We Three Lizas (About Face Theatre), so it was quite fun to see them together. The rapport between Sharriese Hamilton and Lorenzo Rush Jr was truly a treat. Don't miss this. 

The Tony Award-nominated Musical Features Book by Neil Simon, Music by Marvin Hamlisch and Lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and the Production is Directed and Choreographed by Christopher Carter and Musical Direction by Andra Velis Simon 

Porchlight Music Theatre announced that Lorenzo Rush Jr has replaced James Earl Jones II in Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song, music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and book by Neil Simon, with direction and choreography by Christopher Carter and musical direction by Andra Velis Simon. Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing our Song is presented for three-nights-only Tuesday, March 6 through Thursday, March 8 at 7:15 p.m. and is performed on the set of Porchlight’s Merrily We Roll Along (previews begin January 26) at Porchlight’s new home, The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Tickets for They’re Playing Our Song are $35. All tickets include access to the popular pre-performance event, Behind the Show Backstory, a multimedia presentation, created and hosted by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Weber that discusses the evening’s production including the show’s creative history, juicy backstage gossip and the state of the art on Broadway that season. Single tickets to They’re Playing Our Song and subscriptions for the entire series are available at porchlightmusictheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office at 773.777.9884. 

Due to a scheduling conflict, James Earl Jones II is unable to perform in this production. Rush assumes the role of “Vernon Gersch” and joins Sharriese Hamilton in Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song, a romantic musical comedy about the affair (both professional and romantic) of a wisecracking composer and an aspiring, offbeat lyricist. Creatively, their relationship works great, but personal trials and tribulations lead them toward finding a new way to make harmonious music together in this laugh-a-minute romantic charmer. The show features musical hits “Fallin’,” “If He Really Knew Me” and “Just For Tonight.”

The cast of Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song includes: Sharriese Hamilton (Sonia Walsk), Lorenzo Rush Jr. (Vernon Gersch) and Anastasia Arnold, (voice of Sonia Walsk); Kiersten Frumkin, (voice of Sonia Walsk); Yando Lopez,  (voice of Vernon Gersch); Billy Rude, (voice of Vernon Gersch); Tyler Symone, (voice of Sonia Walsk) and Koray Tarhan, (voice of Vernon Gersch).

The production team includes Christopher Carter, director; Andra Velis Simon, music director; Lucia Lombardi, stage manager; Joaquin Gomez, assistant stage manager and Samantha Treible, wardrobe supervisor.

The musicians are Chel Hernandez, bass; Tony Scandora, drums and Page Kallop, guitar.

ABOUT CHRISTOPHER CARTER, director and choreographer
Christopher Carter is a graduate of Grand Valley State University with a liberal arts degree in dance. Carter has traveled all over performing/directing and choreographing. Some of his credits include Dreamgirls and In The Heights at Porchlight Music Theatre; as well as Sweeney Todd, Godspell, Secret Garden and Pirates Of Penzance (Grand Valley State University); Show Boat and Oklahoma (Lyric Opera Chicago); Show Boat (San Francisco and Houston Grand Opera); Hairspray (Drury Lane Oakbrook), Joseph… (Paramount Theater); Duke Ellington’s Queenie Pie (Chicago Opera Theater); Oliver, Carousel and Brigadoon (Light Opera Works); The Wiz, 42nd Street and Guys and Dolls (Theatre at the Center); Smokey Joe’s Café (Circle Theatre); The Wild Party (Actor’s Theater). Carter has been the choreographer for the Grand Rapids Civic’s SRT the past four years. Other credits include national tours, commercial, industrial and concert work. As a scholarship student of The Debbie Allen Dance Academy in California, he moved to Chicago in 2009 to expand his mind and resume.  

ABOUT ANDRA VELIS SIMON, music director

Andra Velis Simon returns to Porchlight, where she music directed last year’s Porchlight Revisits On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Most recently she was the music director for the Firebrand production Lizzie. Regional credits include: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, A.R.T. in Cambridge, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Skirball at NYU, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Berkeley Rep and Olney Theatre Center in Maryland. In Chicago, her credits include Chicago Children’s Theatre, Firebrand, The Goodman, The Hypocrites, Theater Wit and many others. Velis Simon is an adjunct faculty member at Columbia College Chicago, where she has taught musical theatre performance since 2008.

ABOUT SHARRIESE HAMILTON, “Sonia Walsk”

Sharriese Hamilton returns to Porchlight Revisits where she last starred in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. She hails from Okemos Michigan with a BA in Theatre from Michigan State University and has been seen at Porchlight Music Theatre in How To Succeed, Ain’t Misbehavin, Pal Joey and A Class Act. Her Chicago credits include Sleeping Beauty, Madagascar, The Velveteen Rabbit, Sister Act (Marriott Theatre); Rock of Ages, James and the Giant Peach (Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre); Wonderful Town (Goodman Theatre),Thaddeus and Slocum (Lookingglass Theatre) Pericles (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); The Wild Party, See What I What I Wanna See and Passing Strange (Bailiwick Chicago); All Shook Up (Theatre at the Center) Jesus Christ Superstar (Theo Ubique), and We Three Lizas (About Face Theatre). Regional credits include HAIR (McLeod Summer Playhouse) Spamalot, Working, The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee, and Buddy:The Buddy Holly Story (Timber Lake Playhouse).

ABOUT LORENZO RUSH JR., “Vernon Gersch”

Lorenzo Rush Jr returns to Porchlight Music Theatre where he appeared in Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Jeff Award Nomination) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He has also performed in Five Guys Named Moe (Court Theater) Jesus Christ Superstar (Paramount Theater), Dreamgirls, City of Angels (Marriott Theater), Little Shop of Horrors (American Blues Theater), and Parade (BoHo Theater). Rush’s TV/Film credits include: “Sirens” on USA Network. Rush received his BFA in Musical Theater at Western Illinois University.

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT REVISITS

Continuing to forge its role as “Chicago’s Music Theatre,” Porchlight launched the exciting new series Porchlight Revisits in 2013; especially created for the die-hard music theatre aficionado. Each season, Porchlight Music Theatre shares with audiences the rare opportunity to visit three musicals that opened on the Great White Way but have since gone “unsung.” The finest music theatre artists in Chicago dust off these neglected treasures and, with script in hand and minimal staging, escort audiences to a world of Broadway long past. Previous Porchlight Revisits productions include: (2016/17) The Rink, Little Me, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever; (2015/16) Chess, Applause, Babes in Arms; (2014/15) Bells Are Ringing, City of Angels, Mack & Mabel and (2013/14) Anyone Can Whistle, Golden Boy, Fade Out-Fade In.

Future Porchlight Revisits Final Performance in its 2017 – 2018 Series:

Do Re Mi 

May 22 – 24

Book by Garson Kanin

Music by Jule Styne

Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green

Direction and Choreography by Christopher Pazdernik

Music Direction by David Fiorello

Starring Nancy Voigts and Porchlight Artistic Director Michael Weber

Originally created for the comic style of the great Phil Silvers and Nancy Walker, this is the story of “Hubie Cram,” a minor-league conman endlessly scheming to win big who, at the urging of his long-suffering wife, “Kay,” decides to go (somewhat) straight by moving into the jukebox and music promotion business as he concocts his biggest score ever. Featuring the hits: “Make Someone Happy,” “Fireworks” and “I Know About Love.”

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE AS RUTH PAGE ARTIST IN-RESIDENCE

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to be a member of the vibrant Ruth Page Center for the Arts community and an Artist In-Residence. Central to the Ruth Page Center for the Arts’ programming is the Artists In-Residence program, which is designed to serve organizations looking for a home base while they grow or expand their artistic and organizational capabilities. The Center is committed to nurturing and assisting 

dance and other performing artists, allowing for exchange and collaborative relationships to develop within the artistic community. The Ruth Page Center for the Arts is a destination for quality performing arts, accessible to a wide community regardless of race, gender, age, education or disability. An incubator of artistic energy and excellence, the Ruth Page Center for the Arts carries forward the vision of its founder, legendary dance icon Ruth Page, to be a platform for developing great artists and connecting them with audiences and community.

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE

As the home for music theatre in Chicago now in its 23^rd season, Porchlight Music Theatre is nationally recognized for reimagining classic productions, developing new works and showcasing musical theatre’s noted Chicago veterans and rising stars. Porchlight elevates the genre by providing intimate and powerful theatrical experiences of music theatre through the lens of the “Chicago Style.” The 2017–2018 year marks a milestone for Porchlight as the company becomes an Artist In-Residence at the historic Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago’s Gold Coast. Porchlight’s rich history includes the staging of more than 60 productions with 15 Chicago premieres and five world premieres. Through Porchlight’s “Off the Porch” new works program, the musicals of the next generation are developed and given a first audience. The School at Porchlight is Chicago’s center for music theatre training in the areas of performance, writing and appreciation including the launch of a youth summer “Make Your Own Musical” Camp in 2017. The company’s many accolades include 22 Black Theatre Alliance nominations and seven awards, as well as a total of 139 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations resulting in 42 Jeff Awards including five consecutive Best Production awards for The Scottsboro Boys (2017), Dreamgirls (2016),Sondheim on Sondheim (2015), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (2014) and A Class Act (2013).

Porchlight Music Theatre continues its fifth season of Chicago’s “lost” musicals in staged concert series with Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song, starring Sharriese Hamilton and Lorenzo Rush Jr., music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and book by Neil Simon, with direction and choreography by Christopher Carter and musical direction by Andra Velis Simon. Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing our Song is presented for three-nights-only Tuesday, March 6 through Thursday, March 8 at 7:15 p.m. and is performed on the set of Porchlight’s Merrily We Roll Along (previews begin January 26) at Porchlight’s new home, The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Tickets for They’re Playing Our Song are $35. All tickets include access to the popular pre-performance event, Behind the Show Backstory, a multimedia presentation, created and hosted by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Weber that discusses the evening’s production including the show’s creative history, juicy backstage gossip and the state of the art on Broadway that season. Single tickets to They’re Playing Our Song and subscriptions for the entire series are available at porchlightmusictheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office at 773.777.9884.

Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from the  Bayless Family Foundation, Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation, Actors’ Equity Foundation, Chapman | Spingola, Attorneys at Law, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Prince Foundation, The Saints 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: World Premiere of The Doppelgänger (an international farce) at Steppenwolf April 5 – May 27, 2018

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Rehearsals Have Begun for Steppenwolf’s World Premiere of

The Doppelgänger (an international farce) 

By Matthew-Lee Erlbach 

Directed by Ensemble Member Tina Landau

April 5 – May 27, 2018

Ensemble Member Celeste M. Cooper Joins the 11-Person Cast Featuring Actor and Comedian Rainn Wilson from NBC’s The Office

A Side-Splitting Farce about First-World Greed and Backroom Deals

Rehearsals kicked off today for Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s highly anticipated world premiere comedy, The Doppelgänger (an international farce) written by Chicagoland native Matthew-Lee Erlbach (Showtime’s Masters of Sex, Off-Broadway’s Handbook for an American Revolutionary). Directed by ensemble member Tina Landau (SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical), this hilarious farce features an 11-member cast led by actor and comedian Rainn Wilson, well-known for his role as “Dwight Schrute” on NBC’s award-winning comedy The Office, in the role of Thomas Irdley/Jimmy Peterson. Steppenwolf’s newest ensemble member Celeste M. Cooper joins the cast of fellow ensemble members—Audrey Francis, Ora Jones, Sandra Marquez and James Vincent Meredith—alongside acclaimed actors Michael Accardo, Whit K. Lee, Andy Nagraj and Karen Rodriguez. Previously announced ensemble member Alana Arenas is no longer in the cast due to an unforeseen scheduling conflict.

In the dangerous back channels of international resource politics, a wealthy British businessman suffers an untimely accident just before a critical African copper deal is signed. So when his unwitting (and witless) American doppelgänger is thrust into negotiations to avert intercontinental disaster, chaos erupts, leaving us wondering: whose side are we supposed to be on...and who will save Africa?? The Doppelgänger (an international farce) is a hilarious, irreverent and timely look at the back-room deals that shape our world and the unlikely cast of characters who make them.

Previews begin April 5 (opening is Sunday, April 15) and runs through May 27, 2018 in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N Halsted St. Press performances are Sunday, April 15 at 6pm and Tuesday, April 17 at 7:30pm. Single tickets ($20 - $109) are available through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.



Rainn Wilson is an Emmy nominated and SAG award-winning actor with Chicagoland roots (he graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Ill.) who has found himself in a variety of comedic and theatrical roles throughout his career. His first breakthrough role came when he played assistant mortician “Arthur Martin” in HBO’s Six Feet Under, winning him and the cast a Screen Actors Guild Award for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.” Wilson is best known for playing the inimitable “Dwight Schrute” for nine seasons on NBC’s Emmy award-winning comedy The Office. Among Wilson’s film credits are the Netflix feature Shimmer Lake; Hesher, opposite Natalie Portman and Joseph Gordon-Levett; Super, with Kevin Bacon, Liv Tyler, and Ellen Page; and the acclaimed comedies Juno and Almost Famous, among others. Next up, Wilson co-stars in Warner Bros adventure feature The Meg opposite Jason Statham. Wilson has an MFA from NYU’s Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts, and spent 10 years doing theatre in New York before moving to Los Angeles. He was on Broadway in The Tempest with Patrick Stewart, and the Tony nominated London Assurance. Wilson worked off-Broadway at The Public Theater and Playwrights Horizons, and performed regularly at The Arena Stage, The Guthrie, and with the touring repertory theater The Acting Company. The comedy show he created, The New Bozena, had a successful Off-Broadway run at The Cherry Lane, and later played in Los Angeles at The Hudson Guild and The Tiffany. Most recently, Wilson performed the critically acclaimed one-person monologue Thom Pain (Based on Nothing) at The Geffen. He founded the YouTube channel Soul Pancake, which has 2.5 million subscribers. In 2015 he published his memoir, The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy.

Casting note: The role of Thomas/Jimmy will be played by Eric Slater, in place of Rainn Wilson, for the following performances: April 22, 7:30pm; April 24, 7:30pm; May 6, 3pm and 7:30pm; May 20, 3pm; May 22, 7:30pm.

Newly announced ensemble member Celeste M. Cooper (Rosie Guerekoyame) joins the cast after her acclaimed performance as “Imani” in Aziza Barnes’s BLKS this past December. The cast also features ensemble member Audrey Francis (Beatrix Geddes-Renwick) is currently on stage in You Got Older (through March 11); ensemble member Ora Jones (Lolade Másarágba) was most recently in Steppenwolf’s The Wheel and Three Sisters, and in last season’s Broadway revival of Les Liasons Dangereuses; ensemble member Sandra Marquez (Theresa Irdley) most recently in Mary Page Marlowe at Steppenwolf and directed Teatro Vista’s production of FADE at Victory Gardens; and ensemble member James Vincent Meredith (Michel Másarágba) most recently performed in Steppenwolf’s The Minutes. Michael Accardo (General Stanley Harcourt) was recently seen onstage in Drury Lane Theatre’s production of Chicago and onscreen in Shameless and Chicago P.D.; Whit K. Lee (Wen Xiaoping) was in Off-Broadway productions of Attack of the Evis Impersonators and Junie B. Jones’ Essential Guide to School and the Netflix series Orange is the New Black; Andy Nagraj (Prince Amir Abdullah) recently played Ed Knight/Isaac Jaggard in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts production of The Book of Will and was recently in Court Theatre’s production of Harvey as Duane Wilson; Dan Plehal (Body) Karen Rodriguez (Marina) was most recently seen on Steppenwolf’s stage in The Rembrandt and in the critically acclaimed one woman show The Way She Spoke at Greenhouse Theater Center.

About the Playwright
Matthew-Lee Erlbach is an actor/playwright from Chicago and NYC whose plays include his critically acclaimed solo play, Handbook for an American Revolutionary (Gym at Judson) and Eager to Lose, a Burlesque Farce in Rhyming Verse (Ars Nova). Other plays include Kevin Lamb, King George III, Revelations, A Neighbor in the Area, and Electronic Persons, which have been developed with The New Group, Vineyard, Ars Nova, MCC, Williamstown, NYTW, SPACE on Ryder Farm and the Orchard Project, among others. A recipient of the 2016 Humanitas Prize New Voices Award, Puffin Foundation Grant, and member of Ars Nova’s 2014/15 Play Group, he has written for Showtime's Masters of Sex as well as for Nickelodeon, MTV, WWE, and The Huffington Post. He is a graduate of the public school system from K-College, a team leader for Habitat for Humanity Global Villages program, and runs a writing program for The Midnight Mission.

About the Director
Tina Landau is a writer, director, and teacher whose work includes directing/conceiving SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical (currently on Broadway), Tarell McCraney’s Head of Passes (Steppenwolf, The Public and the Mark Taper Forum), WIG OUT! (Vineyard Theatre), and In the Red and Brown Water (The Public), Bill Irwin/David Shiner’s Old Hats and Chuck Mee’s Big Love and Iphigenia 2.0 (all Signature Theatre), Paula Vogel’s A Civil War Christmas (New York Theatre Workshop), and her musical Floyd Collins (also bookwriter/additional lyrics, Playwrights Horizons.) On Broadway, Landau has also directed Tracy Letts’s Superior Donuts and the revival of Bells Are Ringing. At Steppenwolf, where she is an ensemble member, directing credits include The Wheel, Hot L Baltimore, The Brother/Sister Plays, The Tempest, The Time of Your Life (also Seattle Rep, ACT), The Diary of Anne Frank, The Cherry Orchard, The Ballad of Little Jo, Berlin Circle, and her own play Space (also Mark Taper Forum, the Public.) Landau has co-authored The Viewpoints Book with Anne Bogart and has taught regularly at such schools as Yale, Columbia, Harvard, and Northwestern. Upcoming projects include a follow-up book with Bogart, Viewpoints on Viewpoints, and the premiere of the new musical Dave this spring at Arena Stage.

The Doppelgänger production team includes Todd Rosenthal (scenic design), Clint Ramos (costume design), Scott Zielinski (lighting design), Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (sound design). Additional credits include Malcolm Ewen (stage manager), Christine D. Freeburg (assistant stage manager), JC Clementz (casting director), Gigi Buffington (company vocal coach) and Jonathan Berry (artistic producer).

Tickets & Membership Info
Single tickets ($20-$109) are available through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), 312-335-1650, steppenwolf.org. Black Card Memberships are still available for the remainder of the 17/18 season. They are designed for audiences interested in extreme flexibility with six tickets for use any time for any production. Perks include easy and free exchanges, access to seats before the general public, savings on single ticket prices and bar and restaurant discounts for pre- and post-show socializing. Red Card memberships are available for theatergoers under 30.  To purchase a Flex Card Membership, visit Audience Services at 1650 N Halsted St, call 312-335-1650 or visit steppenwolf.org/memberships.

Remaining 2017/18 Season
Currently playing is the Chicago premiere of You Got Older by Clare Barron, directed by Jonathan Berry (January 25 – March 11) and Steppenwolf for Young Adults’ production of The Burn by Philip Dawkins, directed by Devon de Mayo (last performance March 10). Following The Doppelgänger (an international farce) is Guards at the Taj by Rajiv Joseph, a story about the search for beauty in desperate circumstances (May 31 – June 22, 2018) directed by ensemble member Amy Morton who returns to direct the cast from the acclaimed Off-Broadway production; and The Roommate, by Jen Silverman, directed by Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show, A Raisin In The Sun, Tracy Letts’s August: Osage County). In The Roommate, a comically mismatched pair of roommates leads to a surprising and touching friendship (June 21 – August 5, 2018).

Accessibility
Committed to making the Steppenwolf experience accessible to everyone, performances featuring American Sign Language Interpretation, Open Captioning and Audio Description are offered during the run of each play. Assistive listening devices and large-print programs are available for every performance, and the Downstairs and 1700 Theatres are each equipped with an induction hearing loop. All theaters feature wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, and Front Bar features a push-button entrance, all-gender restrooms and accessible counter and table spaces.

Visitor Information
Steppenwolf is located at 1650 N Halsted St near all forms of public transportation, bike racks and Divvy bike stands. The parking facility ($12 or $14, cash or card) is located just south of our theater at 1624 N Halsted. Valet parking service ($14 cash) is available directly in front of the main entrance at 1650 N Halsted St starting at 5pm on weeknights, 1pm on weekends and at 12 noon before Wednesday matinees. Limited street and lot parking are also available. For last minute questions and concerns, patrons can call the Steppenwolf Parking Hotline at 312.335.1774.

The Doppelgänger is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as United Airlines and PwC. United Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Steppenwolf and ComEd is the Official Lighting Sponsor for the 17/18 season.

Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks
Connected to the main lobby is Steppenwolf’s own Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks, offering a warm, creative space to grab a drink, have a bite, or meet up with friends and collaborators, day or night. Open Tuesdays – Sundays from 8am to midnight, Front Bar serves artisanal coffee and espresso is provided by La Colombe and food prepared by Goddess and Grocer. The menu focuses on fresh, accessible fare, featuring grab-and-go salads and sandwiches for lunch and adding shareable small plates and desserts for evening and post show service. www.front-bar.com

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation’s premier ensemble theater. Formed by a collective of actors in 1976, the ensemble represents a remarkable cross-section of actors, directors and playwrights. Thrilling and powerful productions from Balm in Gilead to August: Osage County—and accolades that include the National Medal of Arts and 12 Tony Awards—have made the theater legendary. Steppenwolf produces hundreds of performances and events annually in its three spaces: the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat 1700 Theatre. Artistic programming includes a seven-play season; a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season; Visiting Company engagements; and LookOut, a multi-genre performances series. Education initiatives include the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf for Young Adults, which engages 15,000 participants annually from Chicago’s diverse communities; the esteemed School at Steppenwolf; and Professional Leadership Programs for arts administration training. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Anna D. Shapiro is the Artistic Director and David Schmitz is the Executive Director. Eric Lefkofsky is Chair of Steppenwolf’s Board of Trustees. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.