John Horan News

Porchlight Music Theatre will present the exotic musical Pacific Overtures at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 West Belmont. This touching and witty musical tells the story of the painful westernization of Japan through the eyes of two friends. Pacific Overtures begins previews on March 15 with a Press Opening on March 18 at 7:30 p.m. and runs through May 2, 2009. A ground-breaking musical, Pacific Overtures examines the transformation of Japan beginning when U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry brought four black ships into 'a land of changeless order.' Many of the events and characters portrayed in the show- Japan's self-imposed isolation from the world, the fisherman Manjiro, the Tokugawa shogunate, the Meiji revolution and its consequences - are as familiar to an Japanese schoolchild as George Washington and the Revolutionary war are to Americans. This rarely produced show mixes elements of traditional Japanese theatre with the Broadway musical. The original 1976 production was nominated for a whopping ten Tony Awards including best musical, book and score.

Porchlight Music Theatre will present the exotic musical Pacific Overtures at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 West Belmont. This touching and witty musical tells the story of the painful westernization of Japan through the eyes of two friends. Pacific Overtures begins previews on March 15 with a Press Opening on March 18 at 7:30pm and runs through May 2, 2009. A ground-breaking musical, Pacific Overtures examines the transformation of Japan beginning when U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry brought four black ships into 'a land of changeless order.' Many of the events and characters portrayed in the show- Japan's self-imposed isolation from the world, the fisherman Manjiro, the Tokugawa shogunate, the Meiji revolution and its consequences - are as familiar to an Japanese schoolchild as George Washington and the Revolutionary war are to Americans. This rarely produced show mixes elements of traditional Japanese theatre with the Broadway musical. The original 1976 production was nominated for a whopping ten Tony Awards including best musical, book and score. With a book by John Weidman (Assassins), Pacific Overtures features music and lyrics by Broadway legend, Stephen Sondheim. Many of the songs in the show rank among the most admired compositions in Broadway history. Sondheim himself recognizes 'Someone in a Tree' and 'A Bowler Hat' as personal favorites.

'Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde', which opened September 25th at the Northlight Theatre in suburban Chicago, is a beautifully mounted production and well worth two hours of your time. The two level set by Collete Pollard is minimalist but combined with John Horan's lighting amply support the excellent staging. Add the well placed music and period costumes and you have a beautifully crafted production that captures the mood of the storyline and the era in which the story is set.

Northlight Theatre opens its 2008-2009 Season with the Chicago Premiere of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, in a fresh adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Jessica Thebus. The production runs September 17-October 26, 2008, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie.

Today, the Jefferson Awards announced the 150 nominations in 35 categories for Chicago Equity theatrical productions which opened between August 1, 2007 and July 31, 2008. Beginning with this season, the Jeff Awards is acknowledging the work of Large and Midsize theatres in separate categories for productions and technical elements.

Northlight Theatre opens its 2008-2009 Season with the Chicago Premiere of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, in a fresh adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Jessica Thebus. The production runs September 17-October 26, 2008, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie.