Bernadette Peters to Return to Chicago for the First Time in 10 Years with the Boston Pops

Three-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters makes her Auditorium Theatre debut, and her first Chicago appearance in over 10 years, on March 31 when she joins the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra for a special, one-night-only performance.

"I am thrilled to welcome Bernadette Peters to Chicago for the first time in many years to perform with the Boston Pops," says Tania Castroverde Moskalenko, Auditorium Theatre CEO. "We can't wait for this American icon to grace our historic stage with her renowned voice."

In the first half of the program the Pops, led by conductor Keith Lockhart, will give the world premiere of a reconstruction of Paul Whiteman's jazzy version of Gershwin's An American in Paris, in addition to a rarely-heard original orchestration of Rhapsody in Blue. The second half of the program will feature Peters singing a variety of Broadway hits and American classics.

"We're ecstatic to make our return to the historic Auditorium Theatre to pay tribute to George Gershwin and perform with Bernadette Peters," says Lockhart. "Very few singers have the ability to inhabit a song the way Bernadette does, and we're excited to work with her in Chicago."

The Boston Pops, an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1885. Affectionately known as "America's Orchestra," the Boston Pops is the most recorded and arguably the most beloved orchestra in the country, beginning with the establishment of the modern-era Pops by Arthur Fiedler and continuing through the innovations introduced by John Williams and the new-millennium Pops spearheaded by conductor Keith Lockhart, who has led more than 1,500 Boston Pops concerts since 1995. In response to the ever-diversifying trends in music, Lockhart has taken the Pops in new directions, creating programs that reach out to a broader and younger audience by presenting artists (both established performers and rising stars) from virtually every corner of the entertainment world, all the while maintaining the Pops' appeal to its core audience.

Bernadette Peters is a three-time Tony Award-winning actor and singer known for her Broadway performances in Gypsy, Annie Get Your Gun, Into the Woods, and Sunday in the Park with George, among many others. She has also appeared on television shows including Smash and Ugly Betty, and she currently stars on Amazon's Golden Globe-winning show Mozart in the Jungle. She also appears on the CBS series The Good Fight, a spin-off of The Good Wife, which premiered on February 19, 2017.

The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra with Bernadette Peters is set for Friday, March 31 at 7:30PM. Tickets start at $35, and are available online at AuditoriumTheatre.org, by phone at 312.341.2300, or in person at the Auditorium Theatre Box Office (50 E Congress Parkway). Discounts available for groups of 10+.

The Auditorium Theatre, located at 50 E Congress Pkwy in Chicago, is an Illinois, not-for-profit organization committed to presenting the finest in international, cultural, community and educational programming to Chicago, and to the continued restoration and preservation of the National Historic Landmark.

The Auditorium Theatre 2016-17 Season is made possible in part with support from the MacArthur Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council and the Palmer House Hilton. For more information about programming, volunteer and donor opportunities or theatre tours, call 312.341.2310 or visit AuditoriumTheatre.org. For a complete listing of events at the Auditorium Theatre, click here.

Pictured: Boston Pops and Bernadette Peters, photo by Winslow Townson.