BROADWAY IN CHICAGO Concert To Feature BILLY ELLIOT, SHREK Casts & More

Broadway In Chicago, in partnership with the City of Chicago, is pleased to present the annual BROADWAY IN CHICAGO CONCERT AT TASTE OF CHICAGO, a fantastic, FREE event on Monday, June 28 at 6:00 p.m. at the Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park (235 S. Columbus Drive). The BROADWAY IN CHICAGO CONCERT AT TASTE, features some of Broadway's hottest shows during the city's legendary Taste of Chicago festival and continues the celebration of Broadway In Chicago's 10 Year Anniversary.

This year's concert includes an extraordinary lineup of special performances by the Chicago casts of Billy Elliot the Musical and Million Dollar Quartet, as well as previews of the upcoming Shrek the Musical, Rock of Ages, TRACES and HAIR. Disney's The Lion King and Wicked, both returning to Chicago later this year, will also perform selections at the concert. Audiences will also catch an exclusive first look at Not Wanted On The Voyage, the American Music Theatre Project's newest undertaking, performing this summer at Northwestern University. Nowhere else in the world is this kind of entertainment available for free to an audience of over 10,000.

The concert is produced in partnership with the City of Chicago and hosted by ABC7's Janet Davies. For more information about the BROADWAY IN CHICAGO CONCERT AT TASTE, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

For ticket information for these featured shows or any of Broadway In Chicago's upcoming performances, call (800) 775-2000 or visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL
Now playing
Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre (24 W. Randolph St.)
Winner of ten 2009 Tony® Awards including BEST MUSICAL, BILLY ELLIOT delighted critics when it opened in Chicago in April 2010. Time Magazine's "BEST MUSICAL OF THE DECADE" is a joyous, exciting and feel-good celebration of one boy following his heart and making his dreams come true. Called "THE MOST INSPIRING SHOW I'VE SEEN IN YEARS" (Ben Brantley, The New York Times), this "LONG ANTICIPATED Elton John MUSICAL IS IMPOSSIBLE TO RESIST" (Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune). Based on the international smash-hit film, BILLY ELLIOT is brought to life by the Tony-winning creative team -director Stephen Daldry, choreographer Peter Darling and writer Lee Hall - along with music legend Elton John, who has written what the New York Post calls "HIS BEST SCORE YET!" Full of life, laughter, astonishing dancing and unforgettable music, this uplifting experience will stay with you forever.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
Now playing
Apollo Theater (2540 N. Lincoln Ave.)
MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is the new smash-hit musical inspired by the famed recording session that brought together rock 'n' roll icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the first and only time. On December 4, 1956, these four young musicians gathered at Sun Records in Memphis for what would be one of the greatest jam sessions ever. MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET brings that legendary night to life, featuring a score of rock hits including "Blue Suede Shoes," "Fever," "That's All Right," "Sixteen Tons," "Great Balls of Fire," "Walk the Line," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Who Do You Love?," "Matchbox," "Folsom Prison Blues," "Hound Dog" and more. For more information, visit www.milliondollarquartetlive.com or call the Apollo Theatre Box Office at (773)-935-6100.

SHREK THE MUSICAL
July 13 - September 5, 2010
Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W. Randolph St.)
SHREK THE MUSICAL, based on the Oscar®-winning DreamWorks film that started it all, brings the hilarious story of everyone's favorite ogre to life on the Broadway stage. In a faraway kingdom turned upside down, things get ugly when an unseemly ogre - not a handsome prince - shows up to rescue a feisty princess. Throw in a donkey who won't shut up, a villain with a SHORT temper, a cookie with an attitude and over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you've got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there's one on hand...and his name is Shrek. Featuring a terrific score of 19 all-new songs, big laughs, great dancing and breathtaking scenery, The New York Times proclaims SHREK THE MUSICAL is "TRUE HAPPINESS!" SHREK THE MUSICAL is part romance, part twisted fairy tale and all irreverent fun for everyone!

ROCK OF AGES
September 21 - October 3, 2010
Bank of America Theatre (18 W. Monroe St.)
The newest Broadway smash hit launches the First National Tour right here in Chicago! In 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl met a big city rocker and in LA's most famous rock club, they fell in love to the greatest songs of the 80s. It's five time 2009 Tony Award® nominee ROCK OF AGES, a hilarious arena rock love story told through the hits of iconic rockers JOURNEY, Night Ranger, STYX, REO SPEEDWAGON, PAT BENATAR, ASIA, WHITESNAKE and many more. Don't miss the premiere of this awesomely good time about dreaming big, playing loud and partying on!

DISNEY'S THE LION KING
September 29 - November 27, 2010
Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W. Randolph St.)
The wait is over! After 5 long years, DISNEY'S THE LION KING is finally returning to Chicago for a limited engagement. Experience the phenomenon as it once again leaps onto the Cadillac Palace Theatre stage. Marvel at the breathtaking spectacle of animals brought to life by award-winning director Julie Taymor, whose visual images for this show you'll remember forever. Thrill to the pulsating rhythms of the African Pridelands and an unforgettable score including Elton John and Tim Rice's Oscar®-winning song "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" and "Circle of Life." Let your imagination run wild at the Tony® Award-winning Broadway sensation Newsweek calls "a landmark event in entertainment."

TRACES
Begins October 26, 2010
Broadway Playhouse (175 E. Chestnut St.)
7 Fingers is an astonishingly talented French Canadian company that has pioneered a whole new brand of theatrical entertainment, and their smash-hit production, TRACES, will launch its U.S. tour in Chicago this fall. Combining awe-inspiring acrobatic training with infectious urban energy, seven performers deliver dazzling, gravity-defying displays of skill that produce "one of the most creative and inspiring pieces of entertainment I've ever witnessed" (Edinburgh's The Sun)-balancing on each other's heads, tumbling through hoops and leaping spectacularly up giant poles without using their hands. More than just a display of acrobatic brilliance, the audience is gradually drawn into the performers' real life stories and, by the final, dramatic climax of the show, on the edge of their seats, willing them to pull off the seemingly impossible. "Mesmeric, spontaneous and unpretentious," (London's Metro), this thrill-a-minute show will leave you begging for more.

WICKED
December 1, 2010 - January 23, 2011
Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W. Randolph St.)
Entertainment Weekly calls WICKED "the best musical of the decade." WICKED, the longest-running Broadway musical in Chicago theatre history, is returning to Chicago. Winner of 35 major awards, including a Grammy and three Tony® Awards, WICKED is Broadway's biggest blockbuster, a cultural phenomenon and was just named "the defining musical of the decade" by The New York Times. Long before that girl from Kansas arrives in Munchkinland, two girls meet in the land of Oz. One-born with emerald green skin-is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. How these two grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good makes for "the most ‘Popular' piece of Chicago theatre in a generation" (Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune).

HAIR
March 8-20, 2011
With a score including such enduring musical numbers as "Let the Sun Shine In," Aquarius," "Hair" and "Good Morning Starshine" and recipient of the 2009 Tony® Award for Best Musical Revival, HAIR depicts the birth of a cultural movement in the 60's and 70's that changed America forever. The musical follows a group of hopeful, free-spirited young people who advocate a lifestyle of pacifism and free-love in a society riddled with intolerance and brutality during the Vietnam War. As they explore sexual identity, challenge racism, experiment with drugs and burn draft cards, the show resonates with an irresistible message of hope more than 40 years after it first opened on Broadway.

NOT WANTED ON THE VOYAGE
July 16 - August 8, 2010
Ethel M. Barber Theatre (30 Arts Circle Dr., Evanston)
Produced by the American Music Theatre Project at Northwestern University, NOT WANTED ON THE VOYAGE is a provocative new musical about an ordinary family faced with extraordinary circumstances. Secrets lie just beneath the surface in this darkly funny, modern re-imagining of the Great Flood - the first time the world ended. Dynamic Broadway writers Neil Bartram and Brian Hill have teamed up with award-winning director Amanda Dehnert to create an epic production, complete with rain, fire, magic and a soaring, eclectic score. For more information, visit www.NotWantedOnTheVoyage.com.

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