PrideArts Will Present Cabaret Nights in May and June

PrideArts Artistic Director Jay Espano (he/him/his) today announced a series of four Monday night cabaret performances by Chicago area musical theater and cabaret artists at the Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway. Performances will be May 9 and 16, and June 13 and 20. Each performance will be preceded by a reprise screening of one of three short LGBTQIA films that were audience favorites in past PrideArts film festivals, along with THE WASHING MACHINE (LA LAVADORA), a six-and-a half minute film from Spain written and directed by Diane Malherbe.

The cabaret series, themed "Songs That Kept Me Sane When the World Met the Pandemic," will launch on Monday, May 9 with Carl Herzog (he/him/his), a Jeff Award nominee in 2019 for Theo Ubique's THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, accompanied on the piano by Bryan McCaffrey. Herzog appeared with PrideArts last summer in THE THINGS I COULD NEVER TELL STEVEN as the father of the titular Steven. He will sing a mix of folk, spiritual, jazz, plus some original songs, cabaret standards and songs from THE THINGS I COULD NEVER TELL STEVEN. Herzog's May 9 show will follow an "opening act" of a screening of THE WASHING MACHINE and the short film EAT THE RAINBOW, a 20-minute musical comedy film about a man with a "different" appearance (he's purple) who moves into a conservative suburban neighborhood and finds an unlikely ally. EAT THE RAINBOW was directed by Brian Benson and written by Brian Benson and H.P. Mendoza.

Second in the series, on Monday May 16, will be Joe Lewis (he/him/his, below) and Korinne Yonan (she/her/hers, below) performing a set they call "A 21St Century Romance: the Love Story Between Fag and Hag." The duo will sing musical theater love duets that also applies to best friends who have no chance of dating each other, like "First Impressions" from FIRST DATE," You Shine" from CARRIE, and "Wishing for The Normal" from SOHO CINDERS. Bryan McCaffrey will be their accompanist. Lewis and Yonan's performance will be preceded by a screening of PERFECT FIRST DATE, an 11-minute film written and directed by Kyle Hamlin, and THE WASHING MACHINE.

After a two-week hiatus, the series will return on Monday, June 13 with Scott Gryder (he/him/his), accompanied by Nick Sula (he/him/his), performing "Gryder and Sula Celebrate Kander and Ebb." Scott Gryder has previously been seen at PrideArts for his Jeff Award-winning solo performance of BUYER AND CELLAR, and in last December's CHRISTMAS KAROL: A HOLIDAY INTERVENTION CABARET). Their show will open with reprise screenings of EAT THE RAINBOW, and THE WASHING MACHINE.

The series will conclude on Monday, June 20 with a cabaret performance by Kyra Leigh (she/her/hers), seen most recently at PrideArts in last summer's THE THINGS I COULD NEVER TELL STEVEN. Leigh has also appeared with PrideArts in SOUTHERN COMFORT. On other stages, Leigh has played Sister Mary Hubert in NUNSENSE and has performed her cabaret show at Davenport's, Trans Voices Cabaret - Chicago, Rhinofest, and Labyrinth Arts. She will perform an eclectic set of songs ranging from pop to rock to TV/film music. Opening the evening will be screenings of THE WASHING MACHINE and GOD'S DAUGHTER DANCES, a 25-minute film from Korea about a transgender dancer who is called for a military draft physical. GOD'S DAUGHTER DANCES was an audience favorite from last summer's PrideArts film festival.

Tickets to each cabaret performance are $20.00 and will be available soon at www.pridearts.org.