Chicago Interviews - Page 2

By the time December hits (and oftentimes well before), it's impossible to browse theatre listings without running across half a dozen productions of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. But what makes it so long lasting? We reached out to companies across the US and more to find out just what makes ...

Chicago actor Christine Bunuan stars as Gigi in the national tour of MISS SAIGON, which plays at Broadway in Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre November 14 through December 8. Bunuan recently spoke to BroadwayWorld Chicago about bringing this epic love story on the road....

Playwright/actress Ann Noble, a well-known staple of the Los Angeles theatre scene, will next be exhibiting her acting talents in the joint world premiere of Jami Brandli's BLISS (OR EMILY POST IS DEAD!) opening at the Atwater Village Theatre November 3, 2018. We had the chance to catch Ann between ...

After performing in HELLO, DOLLY! on Broadway, Jess LeProtto currently stars as Barnaby Tucker in the first national tour of the Tony Award-winning revival. In advance of the tour's four-week engagement at Broadway in Chicago's Oriental Theatre, I spoke with Jess about taking this heart-warming, hil...

The Irish Times Best Actor nominee Shane O'Regan stars in PRIVATE PEACEFUL, Simon Reade's stage adaptation of the novel by Michael Morpurgo, the celebrated author of WAR HORSE. This story of World War One charts the life of a young soldier, Thomas 'Tommo' Peaceful, who faces the firing squad for cow...

DEAR EVAN HANSEN, the winner of six Tony Awards (including Best Musical) makes its second stop of its 23-city national tour at the Ahmanson Theatre with opening night set for October 19, 2018. I had the opportunity to sit down with two of the leads of DEAR EVAN HANSEN. I joined Ben Levi Ross (Evan H...

Chicago audiences will be able to experience the 2016 Tony Award-winning revival of THE COLOR PURPLE for the first time next week. But Carrie Compere, who plays the role of Sofia, is no stranger to the production. Compere first took on the role as an understudy and then a replacement during the prod...

I recently caught up with Erin Burniston, who plays the role of Elvis's girlfriend in HEARTBREAK HOTEL. Envisioned as the prequel to the long-running Chicago hit MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, HEARTBREAK HOTEL charts Elvis's rise to fame. Burniston chatted about the development process for this new musical...

Actor Jeremy Morse discussed what it's been like to perform Sara Bareille's songs for the past three years in WAITRESS from its pre-Broadway engagement to the current tour, highlights of tour life, and of course, pie....

Playwright Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize-winning DISGRACED will be preserved for wide audience accessibility in a series of live performance recordings by Susan Albert Loewenberg's L.A. Theatre Works April 19 through April 22, 2018. We had the chance to pick the mind of a very frequent collaborator o...

The latest artful collaboration of Stewart Copeland and Jonathan Moore, the co-world premiere of THE INVENTION OF MOREL, will be presented by the Long Beach Opera at the Beverly O'Neill Theater for three performances beginning March 17, 2018. Actor/director/playwright Jonathan Moore took a few momen...

I chatted with local Chicagoan Amaris Sanchez, who plays Little Gloria in the national tour of ON YOUR FEET! in advance of the show's arrival in Chicago....

...

Love Never Dies' Casey Lyons took some time on his day off to answer questions for BroadwayWorld before the tour hits Chicago February 14 through March 4, 2018....

Not only does actress Karen Ziemba have a career for the history books, but her work in 2017 alone has been jam-packed with credits most performers would trade their career for. Since making her Broadway debut in A CHORUS LINE in 1975, Ms. Ziemba has worked steadily on the stages of New York, starri...

Seth Glier's latest album is called BIRDS and is a true reflection of some difficult moments in Glier's life over the past two years including the loss of his brother, as well as watching all of the life-changing events occurring throughout the world. BWW sat down with Seth Glier to discuss with him...

The very unique, very outrageous, very out-spoken, and always very funny Margaret Cho has begun her new tour FRESH OFF THE BLOAT, with European dates following the U.S. stops. Named this year by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the '50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Times,' Margaret will be tackling cu...

For those of you who don't know who Bart Shatto is, you will soon. From the stages of Broadway, where he played the pivotal role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, to packed arenas on tour with the Gold/Platinum selling rock-symphonic band, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Bart has delighted audiences ...

Autumn Hurlbert is taking it back to the '90s (namely, 1595) in the role of Portia as part of the first national tour of SOMETHING ROTTEN! This new musical chronicles a fictitious rivalry between playwright brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom who, at the advice of a fortune teller, create the world's fir...

Following a Tony Award-winning Broadway run at Lincoln Center Theater in 2015 and 2016, Bartlett Sher's THE KING AND I is now hitting the road on a national tour and arrives in Chicago this month. In advance of the production's arrival, I spoke with cast member Manna Nichols. Nichols plays the ro...

BroadwayWorld Chicago brings you 10 on Tuesday, featuring artists in and around the city. This week's questionnaire participant - Mr. Derek Van Barham!...

This week's 10 ON TUESDAY participant - recent Jeff Award nominee for her duel roles in Underscore Theatre Company's Tonya and Nancy: The Rock Opera, Veronica Garza!...

10 on Tuesday with Christea Parent...

10 on Tuesday with Royen Kent...

Shortly before performances began for MY FAIR LADY at Lyric Opera, I had the opportunity to sit down with Lisa O'Hare (Eliza Doolittle) and Bryce Pinkham (Freddy Eynsford-Hill) for a conversation backstage at the opera house. O'Hare and Pinkham are no strangers to working together, as they both orig...

10 on Tuesday with Molly LeCaptain...

I recently had the chance to chat with Jess Spalis, a UK-based artist who is currently traveling across the United States with CIRCUS 1903—THE GOLDEN AGE OF CIRCUS. The circus will arrive in Chicago on March 21. In preparation for the upcoming engagement, Spalis discussed her work as part of a team ...

I recently had the chance to speak with Hannah Corneau, who is currently taking on the role of Yitzhak in the national tour of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH following a successful revival on Broadway during the 2014-2015 theater season. The tour arrives in Chicago on March 7, and Corneau reflected on he...

Patrick Rybarczyk, host of The Czyk In and Broadway World Chicago contributor, talks with Lane Anthony Flores and Rob Lindley both starring in About Face Theatre's production of Jon Marans' The Temperamentals. We discuss details about the Mattachine Society, the relevance of the show opening on inau...

The national tour of THE BODYGUARD-based on the eponymous film featuring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner-just launched a few weeks ago and plays a limited Broadway in Chicago run starting on January 31. For those unfamiliar, the musical focuses on Hollywood star Rachel Marron (Deborah Cox) and her...

I had the chance to speak with local actor Travis Turner at Steppenwolf's Front Bar just before he began previews for BOOTYCANDY at Windy City Playhouse, in which he plays the lead role of Sutter. Over the past year, Turner has performed in The Second City's LONGER! LOUDER! WAGNER! parody at Lyric O...

The National Theatre production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has captured the hearts of many across the globe. Based on Mark Haddon's popular novel, the Tony Award-winning play tells the story of young Christopher Boone, a student with an exceptional mind, struggling to relat...

Rusty trash cans and old shopping carts become music in the 'international percussion sensation', Stomp. Coming to Chicago this holiday season is a unique musical experience that's sweeping the globe. Performer Artis Olds returns to his 'stomping ground' for a limited engagement at the Broadway Play...

Neverland is no longer the 'second star to the right and straight on till morning.' Instead, it's tucked into Chicago's Loop district on West Randolph Street. Fresh off a run on the Great White Way, Finding Neverland comes to the Windy City to share the story of J.M. Barrie, the writer behind the be...

What would Charlie Brown say to a cold Chicago winter? Probably, 'good grief!'...

This fall, Broadway's beloved classic finds a home in Chicago. Annie, Sandy and the gang appear at the Cadillac Palace Theatre for Annie's acclaimed national tour. Gilgamesh Taggett, the production's original Oliver Warbucks, joins Broadway World for an exclusive interview on bringing this heartfelt...

We all know Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen--but they hardly compare to their red-nosed counterpart. The 'most famous reindeer of all' flies through Chicago this winter, and along with him comes a dose of incomparable holiday magic. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical brings this classic...

For two weeks only, the biggest musical of 2015 takes up residence in the Windy City. Fun Home, based on Alison Bechdel's acclaimed graphic novel, brings a woman's memories to life as she looks back on her relationship with her father. Joining Broadway World for an exclusive interview is stage and s...

'Winter is coming' a little early this year. Graeme of Thrones, West End's hilarious parody of George R.R. Martin's smash-hit series, arrives in Chicago for a run that's as short as the lives of many characters on Game of Thrones....

'Wouldn't you like to get away?'...