Paul W. Thompson, a contributor to BroadwayWorld.com since 2007, is a Chicago-based singer, actor, musical director, pianist, vocal coach, composer and commentator. His career as a performer, teacher and writer is centered at Paul W. Thompson Music, located in Chicago’s historic Fine Arts Building, where he teaches the great songs of Broadway to the next generation of musical theater performers. A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Paul was raised in a family of professional musicians and teachers, steeped in classical, gospel, country, pop, sacred and show music. Dubbed a “thin, winsome lad” at the age of 13 by a critic for the Nashville Banner, he earned two degrees in musical theater (a B.F.A. with Honors from Baylor University and an M.M. from the University of Miami, Florida), plus an M.B.A. with Distinction from DePaul University. Paul’s memberships include Actors’ Equity Association, the American Guild of Musical Artists, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (proud voter for the Grammy Awards!), the National Association of Teachers of Singing and New York’s Drama League.
Moving easily between the worlds of classical music, religious music, classic pop and musical theater, Paul has appeared onstage or in the orchestra pit in concerts, musicals, operettas and operas in 30 states and in Europe, in a career spanning more than 35 years. His Chicagoland stage credits include “Forever Plaid” at the Royal George Theater and twenty mainstage productions at Light Opera Works. Paul joined the Chicago Symphony Chorus in 1995 (he was Tenor I Section Leader for four years and sings on two Grammy-winning recordings), and is one of Chicago’s foremost liturgical singers, marking 20 years as a member of the choir at St. James Cathedral (Episcopal) in 2011.He has composed and arranged a number of anthems, hymns and songs for worship and concert use, and collaborates on the creation of new works of musical theater. Paul can be found on Monday nights watching showtune videos at the world-famous Sidetrack nightclub, the inspiration for his weekly column, “The Showtune Mosh Pit.” His proudest achievement is that he has seen the original Broadway production of every Tony Award-winning Best Musical since “Cats.” No, really. Since “Cats!”
It's not a typo folks! This is not a review of anybody's production of "Sunset Boulevard," despite the vision mistakes of ALL of my friends when they asked me in writing where I was going.
Last weekend was the official opening of a hardworking production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic musical play, "The King and I," at Stage 773 courtesy of Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago.
April 7, 2011 - Munster, IN - Theatre at the Center, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana, one of Chicagoland's leading regional theatres, announces today the appointment of Richard Friedman as General Manager.
Two musicals which first firmly planted their roots in Chicago around 15 years ago achieved great acclaim on Broadway and elsewhere, and yet have never been far from our stages or our consciousness in Chicago.
The revised version of the 1970s musical "Working," that montage of monologues with the Frankenstein score that is usually called "the blue collar 'A Chorus Line'" (though it isn't), opened on Wednesday night in the town that originally birthed it, full of life and emotion and enough Chicago grit, g