Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana to Perform with Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus

The acclaimed Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus with Broadway stars Laura Osnes (currently Bandstand on Broadway) and Santino Fontana (the voice of Hans in Disney's Frozen), along with conductor Ted Sperling, will take audiences through the ups and downs of romance, with music from Frozen, Cinderella, and classic and contemporary shows including West Side Story, Follies, Oklahoma and more.

Open rehearsal is Friday, July 21 at 11 AM, and performances are 6:30 PM and Saturday, July 22 at 7:30 PM at Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park.

True love, crushes, bitter breakups and eternal amour are all fair game in this warm and witty concert that traces the path of romance through unforgettable Broadway classics. Created by Ted Sperling, the Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning music director/conductor/pianist, it's a story of two people and the ups and downs of romance. Joining him for the weekend, away from her star turn in Bandstand on Broadway is two-time Tony Award-nominee, Laura Osnes, who Chicago audiences will remember as Julie Jordan in Lyric Opera's moving production of Carousel in 2015, along with Santino Fontana (the voice of Hans in Disney's Frozen). The Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus help tell the lovers' story, capturing the audiences hearts with music by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein and Lerner and Loewe.

Patrons can order One Night Membership Passes for reserved seats by calling 312.742.7647 or going online to gpmf.org. For every Festival concert there are seats that are free and open to the public in Millennium Park's Seating Bowl and on the Great Lawn, available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Laura Osnes
Currently starring on Broadway in the new musical Bandstand (Drama Desk, Drama League nominations). Other Broadway: Cinderella in Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella (Drama Desk Award; Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, Astaire nominations), Bonnie Parker in Bonnie and Clyde (Tony nomination), after creating the role at Asolo Repertory Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse (San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award), Hope Harcourt in the Tony Award winning revival of Anything Goes (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Astaire nominations), Nellie Forbush in Lincoln Center Theater's production of South Pacific, and Sandy in the most recent revival of Grease. Other New York/Regional: Crazy For You (Manhattan Concert Productions), The Blueprint Specials, The Threepenny Opera (Drama Desk nomination); City Center Encores! productions of The Band Wagon, Randy Newman's Faust, and Pipe Dream; The Sound of Music (Carnegie Hall), Carousel (Chicago Lyric Opera). TV: "Elementary" (CBS), "The Miraculous Year" (HBO pilot), Sondheim: The Birthday Concert, HBO's documentary Six By Sondheim, and the Kennedy Center Honors salutes to Barbara Cook (2011) and Dustin Hoffman (2012). Concerts and cabarets include performing with Michael Feinstein, the New York Philharmonic, The New York Pops, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Boston Pops, The San Francisco Symphony, The National Symphony Orchestra, as well as appearing in such venues as Carnegie Hall, The Café Carlyle, 54 Below, Lincoln Center, The Smith Center in Las Vegas, and MN Orchestra Hall. Laura has two solo albums, Dream A Little Dream: Live at The Café Carlyle and If I Tell You: The Songs of Maury Yeston.

Santino Fontana

With his rich voice, dynamic versatility, and charisma, Santino Fontana is one of Broadway's favorite leading men. A Tony Award nominated actor, Santino began his career at 18 when he won the renowned Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. As an interpreter of the American Songbook he has sung with orchestras, big bands, and smaller ensembles including the New York Philharmonic, NY Pops, Collegiate Chorale, Westchester Philharmonic, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Sesame Street Muppets, Phoenix Symphony, and at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, NJPAC, and the Bravo Festival at Vail. Film and television fans will recognize him as the voice of the villainous Prince Hans in Disney's Frozen, as well as the singing barman, Greg, in the CW series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Broadway credits include Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, The Importance of Being Earnest, Brighton Beach Memoirs (Drama Desk Award), Billy Elliot, and Sunday in the Park with George.

Ted Sperling

Red Eye of Love, Striking 12 (Off B-way); She Loves Me (Caramoor); The Pirates of Penzance, See What I Wanna See (Public Theater); Song of Norway, The Mikado, Knickerbocker Holiday (Collegiate Chorale). Musical Director: The King and I, South Pacific, The Light in the Piazza (Tony Award), The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Floyd Collins, A Man of No Importance, A New Brain, My Favorite Year. Actor: Titanic. Artistic Director of MasterVoices, Principal Conductor of the Westchester Philharmonic, consultant to The Public Theater, Creative Director of the 24-Hour Musicals.

GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL

For more than 80 years, the Grant Park Music Festival has been Chicago's summer musical sensation, demonstrating that classical music, performed by a world-class orchestra and chorus can have a transformative impact on the city. Showcased in the city's most spectacular setting, the Festival continues to be the summer gathering place for all of Chicago. The Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park is the official home of the Grant Park Music Festival, with free seats available for every concert. The 2017 season runs June 14-August 19 with concerts on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.

The Grant Park Music Festival gratefully acknowledges the generous support from its 2017 sponsors: BMO Harris Bank, Season Sponsor; AbelsonTaylor, Presenting Sponsor of "American Accents;" Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park, Official Hotel; Macy's, Official Picnic Sponsor; and ComEd, Concert Sponsor; with additional support from the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Walter E. Heller Foundation and Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation.

Photo Credit: Kevin B. Winebold