John Marshall News

Porchlight Music Theatre held PorchlightPalooza, a three-day virtual festival Friday, Aug. 21 - Sunday, Aug. 23,  in lieu of its cancelled March 23 ICONS GALA.

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced a new three-day celebration and fundraiser in honor of its 25th Anniversary, PorchlightPalooza, Friday, Aug. 21 - Sunday, Aug. 23, which will include performances from Chicago's best talents, an exclusive interview hosted by legendary newsman Bill Kurtis with the 2020 ICON Award recipient Joel Grey and more.

The Workshop Theater will present a benefit reading of Levy Lee Simon's brilliant and prescient play, directed by Thomas Coté, and featuring the original Workshop cast from our 2008 production

Quibi, Gunpowder & Sky's horror brand, ALTER, along with DIGA Studios and Executive Producer Sam Raimi will debut the first seven episodes of the horror anthology series, “50 States of Fright'' on April 13th.

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.

Blackfriars Repertory Theatre and the Storm Theatre present a new production of Buzz McLaughlin's Sister Calling My Name directed by Peter Dobbins (Ah, Wilderness!; The Rainmaker). Performances began on January 24 for a run through February 16 in the Black Box Theater at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street at the corner of Elizabeth Street, NYC). Opening night is set for January 30 and this marks the play's New York premiere.

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. 

Blackfriars Repertory Theatre and the Storm Theatre presents a new production of Buzz McLaughlin's Sister Calling My Name directed by Peter Dobbins (Ah, Wilderness!; The Rainmaker), it was announced today. Performances begin on January 24 for a run through February 16 in the Black Box Theater at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street at the corner of Elizabeth Street, NYC). Opening night is set for January 30 and this marks the play's New York premiere.

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.

'Oklahoma! Is and will always be my first love,' explained Brynna Horswell, who portrays Laurey in Charleston Light Opera Guild's (CLOG) upcoming production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic. 'It was the first musical I remember being exposed to as a very little girl. I grew up singing and dancing to those songs and dreamed that one day I'd be Shirley Jones with my own Gordon MacRae.'

Tickets for the new family-friendly holiday production, Eleanor's Very Merry Christmas Wish - The Musical, debuting at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, November 19 - December 29, 2019 are now on sale! Presented by Chicago-based DMT Entertainment, the 65-minute musical is an engaging tale of friendship, family, and the magic of the holiday season.

Quibi, Gunpowder & Sky's new horror brand, ALTER, that explores the human condition through warped perspectives, along with DIGA Studios and POD 3 announced today that Rachel Brosnahan, Travis Fimmel, Christina Ricci, Jacob Batalon, Ming-Na Wen, Taissa Farmiga, Asa Butterfield, John Marshall Jones and Ron Livingston will each star in an episode of the upcoming horror anthology series, “50 States of Fright.” The first season of “50 States of Fright” will explore stories based on urban legends from Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon and Washington taking viewers deeper into the horrors that lurk just beneath the surface of our country.

Three University of Michigan faculty members are part of a team that won an international design competition that will unite 12 cultural and educational institutions located in Detroit's Midtown and change the way visitors and Detroiters experience the area.

42nd Street is everything that theater should be; beautiful, touching, funny, impressive, and magical. It is why we go to the theater. There's no better way to spend two and a half hours than watching a group of extremely talented performers sing and dance their way through iconic songs and set pieces. Go to this show - you won't be disappointed.

42nd Street, the iconic Broadway masterpiece and winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1980, is tap-dancing its way onto the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center's Little Theater stage in Charleston, WV from April 26th, 2019 through May 11th, 2019 courtesy of the talented performers and crew of the Charleston Light Opera Guild.

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to extend the Tony and Pulitzer Prize- winning A Chorus Line through Friday, May 31 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Featuring music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, book by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante and is directed by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Associate Brenda Didier, Choreographed by Christopher Chase Carter and Music Directed by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Associate Linda Madonia.

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to extend the Tony and Pulitzer Prize- winning A Chorus Line through Friday, May 31 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Featuring music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, book by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante and is directed by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Associate Brenda Didier, Choreographed by Christopher Chase Carter and Music Directed by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Associate Linda Madonia. The regular run performance schedule is 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 added performance Wednesday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m.; added weekday matinees Thursday, May 9 and May 16 at 1:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 26 at 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 28 and Wednesday, May 29 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $39 - $66 and are available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office, 773.777.9884.

Porchlight Music Theatre, is proud to announce the conclusion of its Mainstage 2018 - 2019 season with the Tony and Pulitzer Prize- winning A Chorus Line, April 10 - May 26 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Featuring music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, book by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante and is directed by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Associate Brenda Didier, Choreographed by Chris Carter and Music Directed by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Associate Linda Madonia.