Donterrio Johnson News

With the conclusion of the 2019-2020 Chicago non-Equity theater season, the Jeff Awards announced the nominees for the 47th annual awards for theater excellence that include 120 theater artists across 21 categories.

Porchlight Music Theatre's 25th Anniversary Mainstage season continues with Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, January 24 a?" March 6, 2020 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. Featuring music by Duke Ellington, concept by Donald McKayle, direction and choreography by Brenda Didier and Florence Walker Harris, and music direction by Jermaine Hill.

DUKE ELLINGTON'S SOPHISTICATED LADIES is a classic Porchlight show: an ebullient musical revue showcasing both the esteemed song catalog of Duke Ellington and also the formidable talents of some of the city's finest musical theater performers.

Porchlight Music Theatre's 25th Anniversary Mainstage season continues with Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, January 24 – March 6, 2020 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. Featuring music by Duke Ellington, concept by Donald McKayle, direction and choreography by Brenda Didier and Florence Walker Harris, and music direction by Jermaine Hill. 

Porchlight Music Theatre's 25th Anniversary Mainstage season continues with Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, January 24 - March 6, 2020 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. Featuring music by Duke Ellington, concept by Donald McKayle, direction and choreography by Brenda Didier and Florence Walker Harris, and music direction by Jermaine Hill.

What happens to toys after they've been cast out? AMERICA'S BEST OUTCAST TOY - AN ODDBALL HOLIDAY REALITY MUSICAL, penned by composer Cindy O'Connor and bookwriter/lyricist Larry Todd Cousineau imagines what later happened to some outcast toys rescued by a certain famous reindeer. After becoming huge celebrities in America, they are re-united to compete in a series of challenges where they must sing, model, design fashion, outwit/outplay/outlast and bake cakes, and of course, dance for their lives, all to prove that they are AMERICA'S BEST or FAVORITE, or LEAST OBJECTIONABLE, or something! The audience will actually determine the results with their votes, meaning every night can be a whole new show!

Porchlight Music Theatre presents The Ruffians' Burning Bluebeard, making its downtown debut at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street, December 13 - 27.

AMERICA'S BEST OUTCAST TOY by Cindy O'Connor and Larry Todd Cousineau, opened on December 3. Donterrio Johnson directs musical by the creators of ALL THAT HE WAS and FLIES!, to play through January 12, 2020.

Holiday classic meets reality show parody in PF&P's mix bag AMERICA'S BEST OUTCAST TOY

AMERICA'S BEST OUTCAST TOY by Cindy O'Connor and Larry Todd Cousineau, opens tonight (December 3).

Pride Films and Plays present their holiday production - AMERICA'S BEST OUTCAST TOY - AN ODDBALL HOLIDAY REALITY MUSICAL, penned by composer Cindy O'Connor and bookwriter/lyricist Larry Todd Cousineau.

Pride Films and Plays' annual fall benefit, SIMPLY SENSATIONAL, celebrates theater artists who have had a tremendous impact on all they work with.  This year's event will honor a beloved figure in the Chicago theater scene a?"Robert Ollis, musical director of many shows with Pride Films and Plays, Underscore Theatre Company, Bailiwick Repertory, Bailiwick Chicago, the Casting Auction Players and many other companies and events. Ollis will be the honoree as well as music director of the Company's annual fundraising concert, SIMPLY SENSATIONAL, on Monday, November 4 in The Broadway, Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway.

Pride Films and Plays' Jeff-recommended production of  A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, the Chicago area's first revival in over a decade of the heartwarming musical created by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, and Terrence McNally, has been extended for one additional week due to popular and critical demand. The musical will now close with the 2:30 pm matinee on Sunday, November 17.

Pride Films and Plays will stage the first Chicago production in more than a decade of A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, the heartwarming musical created by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, and Terrence McNally, the team that wrote RAGTIME and ANASTASIA. A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE is based on a 1994 film starring Albert Finney and features a gorgeous Irish-influenced score.

Full cast and crew have been announced for Pride Films and Plays' holiday production - AMERICA'S BEST OUTCAST TOY - AN ODDBALL HOLIDAY REALITY MUSICAL, penned by composer Cindy O'Connor and bookwriter/lyricist Larry Todd Cousineau. The new musical imagines what later happened to some outcast toys rescued by a certain famous reindeer.

Pride Films and Plays' annual fall benefit, SIMPLY SENSATIONAL, celebrates theater artists who have had a tremendous impact on all they work with.

Hundo4U Productions has announced its two-night engagement of Eric Bogosian's POUNDING NAILS IN THE FLOOR WITH MY FOREHEAD, a modern classic from New York's underground scene that will be making its Chicago premiere in this production. 

Pride Films and Plays Executive Director David Zak today announced the remaining productions in the company's 2019-20 season a?" an eclectic mix of LGBTQIA+ themed plays and musicals that will include world, US, and Chicago premieres as well as revivals.

Pride Films and Plays will stage the first Chicago production in more than a decade of A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, the heartwarming musical created by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, and Terrence McNally, the team that wrote RAGTIME and ANASTASIA. A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE is based on a 1994 film starring Albert Finney as a Dublin bus conductor and features a gorgeous Irish-influenced score. Donterrio Johnson, the Jeff award-winning actor who directed PFP's BUYER AND CELLAR earlier this year and is currently appearing in THE SPITFIRE GRILL with American Blues Theater, will direct. Music direction is by Robert Ollis, who most recently music directed SOUTHERN COMFORT for Pride Films and Plays and was a 2019 Jeff nominee for his music direction of HAYMARKET: A NEW FOLK MUSICAL. Ollis was Music Director for the 2008 production of A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, which earned five Jeff Award nominations for Bailiwick Repertory.

American Blues Theater announces casting for the Chicago revival of The Spitfire Grill, based on the film by Lee David Zlotoff, with book by James Valcq and Fred Alley, lyrics by Fred Alley and music by James Valeq. The Spitfire Grill, directed by Tammy Mader with music direction by Malcolm Ruhl, runs July 12 – August 17, 2019 at Stage 773, 1225 W Belmont Ave in Chicago.