Paul Lisnek News

Don't miss the live immersive staged reading of WHITE CITY: AN AUDIBLE EXHIBITION ON H.H. HOLMES, MURDERER this weekend only at the Coach House of Glessner House. Experience the chilling thriller on October 6 and 7 in the South Loop.

A Theater in the Dark’s original audio play THE WHITE CITY: AN AUDIBLE EXHIBITION ON H.H. HOLMES, MURDERER, which premiered online in March 2023, will be presented in a live, immersive staged reading with members of the original cast, for two nights only in the Coach House of historic Glessner House.

Learn about the exciting announcement of honorary co-chairs, Broadway veterans Felicia P. Fields and Kenny Ingram, and the talented cast for Porchlight's production of PORCHLIGHT ICONS: CELEBRATING BEN VEREEN. Don't miss this star-studded celebration of a legendary performer.

Here’s some excerpts from my conversation with Porchlight Music Theatre Executive Director Jeannie Lukow about what audiences can expect from this year’s ICONS event, what’s coming up next season for Porchlight, and her hopes for the company’s future.

Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre announces Porchlight ICONS: Celebrating Ben Vereen, Friday, Sept. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the Athenaeum Center, 2936 N. Southport Ave.

Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre announced last night at Chicago Sings Broadway Pop that the 2023 ICONS Gala, Porchlight’s signature fundraising event, will be held Friday, Sept. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago at Water Tower Place, 160 E. Pearson St.

Porchlight Music Theatre was joined by nearly 200 people to launch its 28th season, honor the 2022 ICON Award recipient, one of Broadway’s foremost singing and dancing leading ladies, Tony Award winner Donna McKechnie,  present The Luminary Award to Dan Ratner and The Genevieve and Daniel Ratner Foundation and raise funds for its artistic and educational programs. Check out photos!

The National Tour of Jagged Little Pill is now underway! The tour opened in Las Vegas on September 6. Read all of the reviews for Jagged Little Pill on tour.

Cortney Hall and Matthew Rodrigues of “Chicago Today” on NBC5 will be hosting Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre fundraising event, the ICONS Gala. The ICONS Gala, chaired by Joe Higgins and Scott Hoesman, will be Friday, Sept. 23 at 5:30 p.m. at The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago.

Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre has announced this year’s recipient of the ICON Award is one of Broadway’s foremost singing and dancing leading ladies, Tony Award winner Donna McKechnie.

Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre celebrated 26 years as the center for music theatre in Chicago, honored actor, singer, dancer Chita Rivera with The ICON Award, Rick and Deann Bayless and the Bayless Family Foundation with the Luminary Award and Latino business and civic leaders as 2021 Scene Changers at its 2021 ICONS Gala.

​​​​​​​Call Me Elizabeth will stream as part of the 2021 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Written by Kayla Boye and directed by Erin Kraft, the one-woman show examines Elizabeth Taylor's early life, career and loves as she grapples with the culture of celebrity and her place as Hollywood's brightest star.

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced its schedule for fall 2020, offering a variety of free and pay-to-view options for virtual experiences.

Be a queen of the dance floor this spring at About Face Theatre's annual gala and Chicago's hottest party: WONKA BALL: Disco Inferno on Friday, April 12, 2019 at 8 pm (VIP cocktail reception and awards ceremony at 7 pm) at Venue West, 221 N. Paulina St. in Chicago.

Porchlight Music Theatre announces the 2018 - 2019 New Faces Sing Broadway series: New Faces Sing Broadway 1964, with host WGN's Paul Lisnek, November 19 and 20; New Faces Sing Broadway 1941, February 26 - 28 and New Faces Sing Broadway NOW, April 29 and 30.

Porchlight Music Theatre welcomed a sold out crowd at the 13th Annual Chicago Sings concert fundraiser; Chicago Sings The MGM Musicals, held Monday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m., at Second City's UP Comedy Club, 230 W. North Ave, direction by Keely Vasquez, music direction by Porchlight Artistic Associate Beckie Menzie, stage management by Jake Allen Miller and sound design Robert Hornbostel. Monday's event was the company's most successful Chicago Sings to date. Sales from this one-night-only performance benefit Porchlight Music Theatre's youth educational and community outreach programming raising more than $54,000.

Hershey Felder PRESENTS the Midwest Premiere of Our Great Tchaikovsky, a new play-with-music featuring the compositions of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Directed by Trevor Hay with a book and performance by Hershey Felder. Following critically acclaimed and record breaking productions at San Diego Rep, Hartford Stage, Los Angeles' Wallis Annenberg, Theatreworks Silicon Valley and London's West End, Felder's newest work takes on Russia's most celebrated and perhaps most mysterious composer, Tchaikovsky. A time-bending story of culture and politics that explores the mystery around some of the greatest music ever composed, Our Great Tchaikovsky will begin April 11 and close May 13.

About Face Theatre is pleased to present its annual gala and Chicago's hottest party: WONKA BALL at Saturday Night Live: The Experience! on Friday, May 11, 2018 at 8 pm (VIP Cocktail Reception at 7 pm) at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, 360 N. State St. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.aboutfacetheatre.com or by calling (773) 784-8565. Discounted early bird ticket specials are available through Wednesday, April 11, 2018.

Michael Weber, artistic director of Porchlight Music Theatre, is proud to announce Porchlight Music Theatre's 24th season that includes the 2018 - 2019 Mainstage, Porchlight Revisits and New Faces Sing Broadway seasons. Porchlight's Mainstage and Porchlight Revisits return to the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street.

Porchlight Music Theatre annouces that its 2017 ICONS Gala celebrating the career of Broadway legend Hal Prince held Sunday, April 30 in the Atlantic Ballroom at the Radisson Blu Aqua Chicago, 221 N. Columbus Drive, broke its records for number of attendees and funds raised, making it the most succesful gala in the organization's 22-year history. The Gala, with honorary chair Paul Lisnek, included special guest Lonny Price and performances from Chicago's leading talents celebrating the career of Hal Prince, the presentation of the 2017 Guy Adkins Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Music Theatre in Chicago to Rachel Rockwell and silent and live auctions. Proceeds from the event and its accompanying auctions benefit Porchlight's educational programs and productions.