Paradise Square at James M. Nederlander Theatre
Dates: 11/2/2021 - 12/5/2021
📍 Theatre: James M. Nederlander Theatre
24 W. Randolph St. Chicago, IL 60603
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: 3129771701
Tickets: $31.50 - $107.50
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New York City. 1863. The Civil War raged on. An extraordinary thing occurred amid the dangerous streets and crumbling tenement houses of the Five Points, the notorious 19th-century Lower Manhattan slum. Irish immigrants escaping the devastation of the Great Famine settled alongside free-born Black Americans and those who escaped slavery, arriving by means of the Underground Railroad. The Irish, relegated at that time to the lowest rung of Americas social status, received a sympathetic welcome from their Black neighbors (who enjoyed only slightly better treatment in the burgeoning industrial-era city). The two communities co-existed, intermarried, raised families, and shared their cultures in this unlikeliest of neighborhoods.The amalgamation between the communities took its most exuberant form with raucous dance contests on the floors of the neighborhood bars and dance halls. It is here in the Five Points where tap dancing was born, as Irish step dancing joyously competed with Black American Juba.But this racial equilibrium would come to a sharp and brutal end when President Lincolns need to institute the first Federal Draft to support the Union Army would incite the deadly NY Draft Riots of July 1863.Within this galvanizing story of racial harmony undone by a country at war with itself, we meet the denizens of a local saloon called Paradise Square: the indomitable Black woman who owns it; her Irish-Catholic sister-in-law and her Black minister husband; a conflicted newly arrived Irish immigrant; a fearless freedom seeker; an anti-abolitionist political boss, and a penniless songwriter trying to capture it all. They have conflicting notions of what it means to be an American while living through one of the most tumultuous eras in our countrys history.
Tony Awards and Nominations for Paradise Square
| Year | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Best Musical | Nominated |
News About Paradise Square at James M. Nederlander Theatre
VIDEO: First Look at the Pre-Broadway Run of PARADISE SQUARE in Chicago
December 02, 2021 Paradise Square began its pre-Broadway engagement on November 2, at Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre (24 West Randolph Street). The production will conclude it's run later this week on December 5th. Check out all new video of in action!
Review Roundup: Pre-Broadway Run of PARADISE SQUARE Opens in Chicago
November 18, 2021 Paradise Square began its pre-Broadway engagement on November 2, at Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre (24 West Randolph Street). The production plays five weeks only through December 5, 2021.
BWW Review: PARADISE SQUARE Pre-Broadway Production
November 18, 2021 PARADISE SQUARE takes the theme of the proverbial American melting pot deeply to heart. The musical centers on the lower Manhattan neighborhood of Five Points in the 1860s, where many white Irish immigrants and free Black Americans lived together. Though the show's narrator, Paradise Square saloon owner Nelly O'Brien, tells audiences that Five Points was notorious for being a slum, she also makes clear that the neighborhood's inhabitants enjoyed deep friendships and romantic relationships.
Photos: First Look at the Pre-Broadway Run of PARADISE SQUARE in Chicago
November 09, 2021 Paradise Square began its pre-Broadway engagement on November 2, at Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre. Get a first look at the cast in action in these all new production photos!
VIDEO: Chilina Kennedy and Joaquina Kalukango Sing 'Someone to Love' From PARADISE SQUARE
November 03, 2021 Paradise Square began its pre-Broadway engagement yesterday, November 2, at Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre (24 West Randolph Street). The production plays five weeks only through December 5, 2021. Check out the cast performing 'Someone to Love'.
VIDEO: Joaquina Kalukango, Chilina Kennedy & More Sing the Opening Number From PARADISE SQUARE
October 26, 2021 Experience the opening number for Paradise Square, A New Musical. Featuring Tony Award nominee Joaquina Kalukango (Slave Play), Chilina Kennedy (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Nathaniel Stampley (The Color Purple), Matt Bogart (Jersey Boys), Kevin Dennis (Assassins) and the ensemble, the show’s exuberant and emotional opening number can be viewed below!
VIDEO: Get A First Listen To 'I'd Be A Soldier' From PARADISE SQUARE
October 15, 2021 BroadwayWorld has a first listen to 'I'd Be A Soldier' from Paradise Square -which begins previews February 22, 2022 at Broadway's Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street), where it opens March 20, 2022.
Pre-Broadway PARADISE SQUARE, HADESTOWN, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, and More Announced For 2021 Broadway in Chicago Season
August 02, 2021 Additionally, the off-season specials will include The Play That Goes Wrong, Mystery Science Theater 300 Live, The Prom, Jersey Boys, Fiddler On The Roof, and Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical.
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA Sets Pre-Broadway Run in Chicago
June 29, 2021 Broadway In Chicago has announced the reopening of its theatres on October 5, 2021, including two pre-Broadways, PARADISE SQUARE and THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, four direct-from-Broadway productions Disney’s FROZEN, WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME, COME FROM AWAY, MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL and more.
Single Tickets for Pre-Broadway Premiere of PARADISE SQUARE to go on Sale June 8
June 03, 2021 Broadway In Chicago has announced single tickets for the Pre-Broadway Premiere of Paradise Square will go on sale on Tuesday, June 8. This bold and uncompromising new musical, which examines a remarkable yet virtually unknown moment in American history, will play a strictly limited engagement from November 2 - December 5, 2021.
PARADISE SQUARE, Produced by Garth H. Drabinsky, Will Have Pre-Broadway Engagement in Chicago This November
May 18, 2021 Broadway In Chicago will host the Pre-Broadway Premiere of Paradise Square. This new musical, which examines a remarkable yet virtually unknown moment in American history, will play a strictly limited engagement from November 2 - December 5, 2021, at Broadway In Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre.About the Theatre
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