Steppenwolf's Lookout Series and Mark Cortale present AUDRA McDONALD IN CONCERT

Record-breaking six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald will perform at Steppenwolf as a part of the LookOut Series on Monday, May 22 for one night only. McDonald will be joined on stage by host and pianist Seth Rudetsky, who this past November starred in the five-star London premiere of his Broadway musical, Disaster!

The performance, produced by Mark Cortale, will also include a special guest appearance by McDonald's husband, Will Swenson, the Tony nominated star of Hair and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The format of the evening will be a seamless mix of intimate behind-the-scenes stories from one of Broadway's biggest stars-prompted by Seth Rudetsky's probing, funny, revealing questions-and Audra McDonald singing some of the biggest hits from her musical theatre repertoire.

This spontaneous evening of hilarity and show-stopping songs takes place Monday, May 22 at 6:30pm (doors open at 6pm) in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N Halsted. Tickets for Audra McDonald in Concert go on sale Friday, March 10 at 11am through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org. A pre-sale to current Steppenwolf members and subscribers begins today at 11am.

Tickets are $79-$99, with an additional limited number of $150 VIP seats for sale in the main center of the house. Students may purchase $15 student rush tickets an hour before the show, availability abiding. Anytime Steppenwolf Black Card Members may use their credits for seats in the Balcony. ASL Interpretation and Open Captioning will be available for this performance; visitsteppenwolf.org/access for more information.

Audra McDonald holds the record for more Tony Best Performance wins than any other actor in history, and is the only person to win all four acting categories. She became a three-time Tony Award winner by the age of 28 for her performances in Carousel,Master Class, and Ragtime, placing her alongside Shirley Booth, Gwen Verdon and Zero Mostel by accomplishing this feat within five years. She won her fourth in 2004 for her role in A Raisin in the Sun, a role she reprised for a 2008 television adaptation, earning her a second Emmy Award nomination. On June 10, 2012, McDonald scored her fifth Tony Award win for her portrayal of Bess in Broadway's The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess thus tying a record held by Angela Lansbury and Julie Harris for most Tony Awards won by an actor. This past June she made history by winning her sixth Tony Award for her role as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. She also maintains her ties to classical repertoire with an active concert and recording career, performing song cycles and operas as well as concerts throughout the US. Her many television appearances include four seasons as Naomi Bennett in Private Practice, as well as Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order: SVU, Having Our Say,Mister Sterling, The Bedford Diaries, Kidnapped, the TV remake of the musical Annie, and HBO's Wit with Emma Thompson and more recently as a cast member of The Good Wife. In December 2013 Audra won critical acclaim for her performance as the Mother Abbess in NBC's live telecast of The Sound of Music with Carrie Underwood. Her film roles include Cradle Will Rock,Object of My Affection, It Runs in the Family, Best Thief in the World and Seven Servants. Ms. McDonald just returned to the Broadway stage this spring and summer of 2016 with director George C. Wolfe and dancer/choreographer Savion Glover in the musical Shuffle Along, Or, The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, a new retelling of an original musical by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award. Audra McDonald married Will Swenson in 2012, and this past October they became new parents to a baby girl.

Will Swenson received a Tony nomination for the revival of Hair and has also appeared on Broadway in Lestat, 110 in the Shade,Brooklyn and most recently in the hit musical comedy Disaster! Off-Broadway, he played the role of Stacee Jaxx in the musicalRock of Ages (but didn't perform the role on Broadway because he was offered the starring role of Berger in the Broadway revival of Hair). He has been seen as Sir Sagramore in Camelot at Lincoln Center and as Chris in the second national tour ofMiss Saigon. He has a long relationship with the musical Hair, first played the role of Berger in the Off-Broadway 40th Anniversary Concert of Hair opposite Karen Olivo. Next, in 2008, Swenson was again cast as Berger in The Public Theater's revival of the show in Central Park. He then went on to reprise the role when the production moved to Broadway in March 2009, for which he received critical acclaim and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. Not finished yet - he played the role of Berger again in the West End revival of Hair which began performances in spring of 2010. Swenson also appeared as in the guest cameo slot for the extension performance of Katie Thompson's R.R.R.E.D.: A Secret Musical, in the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival. He also starred in the North American company of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. In October 2013, Swenson was cast as Inspector Javert in the 2014 Broadway revival of LES MISERABLES, which opened in March 2014 at New York's Imperial Theatre, where the musical had previously run for 13 years.

Seth Rudetsky is the afternoon host on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio's "On Broadway" as well as the host of Seth Speaks on Sirius/XM Stars. As a pianist, Seth has played for more than a dozen Broadway shows including Ragtime, LES MISERABLES and The Phantom of the Opera. He was the Artistic Producer/Music Director for the first five annual Actors Fund Fall Concerts including Dreamgirls with Audra McDonald (recorded on Nonesuch Records) and Hair with Jennifer Hudson (recorded on Ghostlight Records, Grammy Nomination). In 2007 he made his Broadway acting debut playing Sheldon (singing "Magic to Do" in a devastating unitard) in The Ritz directed by Joe Mantello for The Roundabout Theater. As an author, he penned the non-fiction Q Guide to Broadway, the novel Broadway Nights and the recently published My Awesome/Awful Popularity Plan (Random House). Seth played himself on Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, was the vocal coach on MTV's Legally Blondereality show and starred opposite Sutton Foster in They're Playing Our Song for the Actors Fund. He co-wrote and starred in Disaster! (which the New York Times called a "triumph") this past season on Broadway. Disaster! also premiered to rave reviews in London's West End in November. Seth writes a weekly column on Playbill.com and tours the country with this Broadway concert series and performing his one-man showDeconstructing Broadway. For more information visit www.sethrudetsky.com.

The LookOut Series is Steppenwolf's multi-genre performance series presenting work from a diverse array of artists, emerging and establishing alike. Tickets to LookOut programming in March and April are currently on sale. To purchase tickets or for more info, visit steppenwolf.org or 312-335-1650. Prices vary for each show. LookOut is presented year-round and announced on an ongoing basis. steppenwolf.org/lookout.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation's premier ensemble theater-redefining the landscape of acting and performance. Formed by a collective of actors in 1976, the ensemble has grown to 48 members who represent 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 programing 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. Steppenwolf's own Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks serves coffee, cocktails and a menu curated in partnership with the Boka Restaurant Group day and night. 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.