Peyton Shaffer

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY - the heartfelt, intimate musical based on Robert James Waller's tender story of love, regrets and second chances - will play an additional two weeks to meet audience demand, according to Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre Artistic Director Fred Anzevino. The new closing date is now Sunday, May 5. Theo Ubique's production, which opened to the press on March 11, earned raves from critics and has been playing to near-capacity houses since its opening. Giving the production 3-1/2 Stars, the CHICAGO TRIBUNE's Chris Jones said leading actress Kelli Harrington 'shines in a Broadway-worthy performance.' Catey Sullivan, writing for the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, said 'the supporting cast is a delight' and called the show ' a genuinely moving story of loss, longing and sacrifice.' WTTW's Hedy Weiss said music director Jeremy Ramey has 'a genius for conjuring a symphonic sound with a five-piece ensemble.' The entire cast will continue with the production for the two-week extension.

The Bridges of Madison County - the heartfelt, intimate musical by Jason Robert Brown (Parade, Honeymoon in Vegas, The Last Five Years) and Marsha Norman (The Color Purple) based on Robert James Waller's tender story of love, regrets and second chances - will open to the press on Monday, March 11. Artistic Director Fred Anzevino will be stage director and Jeremy Ramey music director.  The musical, which won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Score, will be the second show of Theo Ubique's first season in its new home at 721 Howard Street in Evanston. The Bridges of Madison County will preview from March 8-10 and play Thursdays through Sundays through April 21, 2019.

Artistic Director Fred Anzevino announced today his full cast and production team for THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY - the heartfelt, intimate musical based on Robert James Waller's tender story of love, regrets and second chances. Anzevino will be stage director and Jeremy Ramey music director.  THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and book by Marsha Norman, won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Score. The second show of Theo Ubique's first season in its new home at 721 Howard Street in Evanston, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY will preview from March 8-10, open to the press on Monday, March 11 and play Thursdays through Sundays through April 21, 2019.

Fresh off an acclaimed 2015 world premiere at The Stratford Festival in Canada-where it was thrice-extended and completely sold-out-TimeLine Theatre presents the U.S. premiere of THE LAST WIFE, a feminist and fearless new play about the sixth wife of King Henry VIII that is a timely examination of politics, sex, and women's rights.

Fresh off an acclaimed 2015 world premiere at The Stratford Festival in Canada-where it was thrice-extended and completely sold-out-TimeLine Theatre presents the U.S. premiere of THE LAST WIFE, a feminist and fearless new play about the sixth wife of King Henry VIII that is a timely examination of politics, sex, and women's rights.

Porchlight Music Theatre's production of FAR FROM HEAVEN marks the musical's Chicago premiere--the show debuted Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 2013 and takes the titular 2002 Todd Haynes-directed film as its source material. And while this musical from composer-lyricist team Scott Frankel and Michael Korie was written three years ago, FAR FROM HEAVEN touches on issues of gender, sexuality, and race in 1957 suburban Connecticut that poignantly resonant with the present moment. At the center of the musical is Cathy Whittaker (the superb and stunning Summer Naomi Smart), a 1950s housewife and mother--decked out in Bill Morey's outstanding period-authentic dresses and residing in Grant Sabin's charming set. At the top of the show, she catches her husband, Frank (Brandon Springman) cheating on her--with a man. Stunned by this secret, Cathy is forced to confront the reality of what happens when her life cannot conform to the societal pressures and ideals coming at her from both the media and friends--a matter which is further complicated when she strikes up an unexpected friendship with her black gardener, Raymond Deagan (Evan Tyrone Martin).

Porchlight presents the critically acclaimed new musical based on the 2002 film hit starring Julianne Moore. In 1957 suburban Connecticut, Cathy Whitaker seems to be the picture-perfect wife and mother. But boiling beneath the surface, secret longings and forbidden desires cause her world to unravel, with incendiary consequences. Featuring a lush score from Tony Award-nominated (Grey Gardens and Finding Neverland) songwriters Frankel and Korie and a book by Tony Award-winner Greenberg (Take Me Out) that is both jazz-inflected and hauntingly lyrical, FAR FROM HEAVEN is a powerful story of romance, betrayal and intolerance, as a woman grapples with her identity in a society on the verge of upheaval.

Porchlight presents the critically acclaimed new musical based on the 2002 film hit starring Julianne Moore. In 1957 suburban Connecticut, Cathy Whitaker seems to be the picture-perfect wife and mother. But boiling beneath the surface, secret longings and forbidden desires cause her world to unravel, with incendiary consequences. Featuring a lush score from Tony Award-nominated (Grey Gardens and Finding Neverland) songwriters Frankel and Korie and a book by Tony Award-winner Greenberg (Take Me Out) that is both jazz-inflected and hauntingly lyrical, FAR FROM HEAVEN is a powerful story of romance, betrayal and intolerance, as a woman grapples with her identity in a society on the verge of upheaval. 

Porchlight Music Theatre and Artistic Director Michael Weber are proud to present the Chicago premiere of Far From Heaven, book by Richard Greenberg, music by Scott Frankel and lyrics by Michael Korie and starring multi-Jeff Award-winner Summer Naomi Smart with Brandon Springman and Evan Tyrone Martin. The production is directed by Porchlight Artistic Associate Rob Lindley, music directed by Chuck Larkin and choreographed by William Carlos Angulo, February 5 - March 13, 2016. Previews are Friday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. and Monday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. and opening night is Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. The regular performance times are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., with the exception of no performances February 11 or March 3 and an added performance Thursday, March 3 at 1:30 p.m. Single tickets may be purchased at porchlightmusictheatre.org or 773.327.5252. Groups of ten or more may receive discounts on tickets purchased via Group Theater Tix at 312.423.6612 or grouptheatertix.com.

Families, set your holiday entertainment dials for excitement, because Chicago musical theater powerhouse, the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, is turning one of the most iconic holiday movies ever made into a larger-than-life musical blockbuster, November 25-January 3.

BILLY ELLIOT celebrated a triumphant opening night at Drury Lane Theatre on Thursday, April 16. BroadwayWorld has photos from the festivities below!

Paramount's Aurora Theatre presents the eye-popping, song-and-dance-filled, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious production of Disney and Cameron Macintosh's Mary Poppins at the beautiful Paramount Theatre in downtown Aurora, now thru Jan. 1. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the show below!

Here's how to celebrate the holidays in the most delightful way: take the entire family to an absolutely eye-popping, song-and-dance-filled, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious production of Disney and Cameron Macintosh's Mary Poppins at the beautiful Paramount Theatre in downtown Aurora, now thru Jan. 1.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. 'The Grinch' opens, Fox Valley bookends Christmas, new shows 'A Christmas Memory' and 'Christmas On The Air,' 'It's A Wonderful Life' times three, plus 'Nutcracker,' 'Nut Cracking,' 'Mary Poppins' and the latest on 'Peter Pan Live!'

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Monday night's Jeff Awards at the Drury Lane, and 'Amazing Grace' at the BOAT! Plus 2014's other Broadway In Chicago shows, The Grinch at the Chicago Theatre, local productions of 'Parade,' 'Camelot' and 'Mary Poppins,' the new 'A Christmas Memory,' and the sold-out Humanities Festival tribute to the Tonys!

Here's how to celebrate the holidays in the most delightful way: take the entire family to an absolutely eye-popping, song-and-dance-filled, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious production of Disney and Cameron Macintosh's Mary Poppins at the beautiful Paramount Theatre in downtown Aurora.

In celebration of their 30th Anniversary, Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, presents the legendary musical LES MISERABLES, now running through June 8, 2014. Check out a first look below!

In celebration of their 30th Anniversary, Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, presents the legendary musical Les Miserables, which opened last night, Tuesday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m. and runs through June 8, 2014. Directed by multi-Jeff Award winner Rachel Rockwell (Ragtime, The Sound of Music, Sweeney Todd, and Oliver! at Drury Lane Theatre), the cast is led by Ivan Rutherford ("Jean Valjean" in over 2,000 performances of Les Miserables on Broadway, as well as in the 20th anniversary Broadway Revival and The National Tour ofLes Miserables, and Titanic on Broadway); Jeff Award-winner Quentin Earl Darrington as "Javert" (Ragtime on Broadway and at Drury Lane Theatre, Memphis: A New Musical on Broadway and The National Tours of The Lion King, The Color Purple, and Memphis: A New Musical); and Jennie Sophia as "Fantine" (The National Tour of The Lincoln Center's South Pacific and Oliver! and The Sound of Music at Drury Lane Theatre).

In celebration of their 30th Anniversary, Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, will present the legendary musical LES MISERABLES, opening tonight, April 8 at 7:30 p.m. and running through June 8, 2014.