Lillian Castillo News

Check out a song from the new musical, Ride the Cyclone, 'What the World Needs' Check out the cast in action below!

Check out a song from the new musical, Ride the Cyclone, 'This Song Is Awesome' Check out the cast in action below!

Check out a song from the new musical, Ride the Cyclone, 'Waiting for the Drop' Check out the cast in action below!

ACT and The 5th Avenue Theatre's current joint production, 'Ride the Cyclone', now playing at ACT, is one of those quirky little musicals that on the surface should not work. I didn't really know what to expect going in but based on what it is, it's problematic at best. Fortunately for us the brilliant writing team of Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond have done it in such a way that it definitely does work and then some. Allow me to explain.

Ride the Cylcone, this season's dark and hilarious co-production between The 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT - A Contemporary Theatre, is now in preview performances and has its official opening night this Thursday, March 22 at ACT - A Contemporary Theatre. The award-winning director and choreographer Rachel Rockwell has continued to refine and explore the world of Ride the Cyclone with its writers Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond, returning to direct after working on its two previous U.S. productions in Chicago and Off Broadway. This co-production, which is the eighth collaboration between The 5th and ACT, will showcase new developments to the script and score. At least one third of the script has been newly created for this production, which is in addition to countless small but crucial tweaks and refinements. These new developments have continued to define and shape the world that the Saint Cassian High School Chamber Choir inhabits onstage.

The 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT - A Contemporary Theatre present the West Coast premiere of the dark and hilarious new musical Ride the Cyclone

Complete casting has been announced for the West Coast premiere of the dark and hilarious new musical Ride the Cyclone, the 2017/18 co-production between The 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT A Contemporary Theatre.

Chicago theatre talent comes together for Unidos: Puerto Rico Benefit Concert. This one-night-only charity event will be held at 8:00pm on Monday October 30, 2017 at Uptown Underground, 4707 N Broadway St in Chicago. All proceeds will help aid hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico through the Hispanic Federation.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) Artistic Director Barbara Gaines stages Shakespeare's raucous comedy The Taming of the Shrew with a powerhouse, all-woman cast-setting up a witty and thought-provoking debate on politics, power, and love. Framed as a performance by a band of Suffragettes with additional dialogue by Second City's Ron West, The Taming of the Shrew launches Chicago Shakespeare's 2017/18 Season in the Courtyard Theater, September 16-November 12, 2017.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) Artistic Director Barbara Gaines stages Shakespeare's raucous comedy The Taming of the Shrew with a powerhouse, all-woman cast-setting up a witty and thought-provoking debate on politics, power, and love. Framed as a performance by a band of Suffragettes with additional dialogue by Second City's Ron West, The Taming of the Shrew launches Chicago Shakespeare's 2017/18 Season in the Courtyard Theater, September 16-November 12, 2017.

"At the Table", Michael Perlman's drama of scintillating conversation between diverse friends during a weekend in the country, took home the most honors on Monday, June 5, during the 44th Annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards ceremony recognizing excellence in non-union Chicago theatre. 

Set against the lavish backdrop of a 1930s Hungarian perfume shop, the Tony Award-winning musical comedy gem, SHE LOVES ME, continues The Marriott Theatre's 2017 Season, running April 26 through June 18, 2017 with a press opening on Wednesday, May 3 at 8 p.m. at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire.

???????Set against the lavish backdrop of a 1930s Hungarian perfume shop, the Tony Award-winning musical comedy gem, SHE LOVES ME, continues The Marriott Theatre's 2017 Season, running April 26 through June 18, 2017 with a press opening on Wednesday, May 3 at 8 p.m. at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. Based on Miklos Laszlo's play, Parfumerie, which then became the inspiration for the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan box office hit, You've Got Mail, SHE LOVES ME features a soaring score by Tony Award-winning composers Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof), and book by Joe Masteroff (Cabaret). With musical direction by Matt Deitchman, Marriott Theatre Lead Artistic Director and Jeff Award-winner Aaron Thielen directs and choreographs this euphoric comedy.

BroadwayWorld has a first look at the Marriott Theatre production of SHE LOVES ME! Set against the lavish backdrop of a 1930s Hungarian perfume shop, the Tony Award-winning musical comedy gem, SHE LOVES ME, continues The Marriott Theatre's 2017 Season, running April 26 through June 18, 2017 with a press opening on Wednesday, May 3 at 8 p.m. at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire.

The Jeff Awards announced, via a special video presentation, a total of 127 nominations in 26 categories for the 44th Annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards for productions that opened between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2017.  Hosting the video presentation were Alexis Roston and Lillian Castillo, who will be this year's Mistresses of Ceremonies at the Awards event on June 5 at The Athenaeum.

???????Set against the lavish backdrop of a 1930s Hungarian perfume shop, the Tony Award-winning musical comedy gem, SHE LOVES ME, continues The Marriott Theatre's 2017 Season, running April 26 through June 18, 2017 with a press opening on Wednesday, May 3 at 8 p.m. at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire.

The global phenomenon seen by over 60 million people all around the world and one of Broadway's longest running hits, MAMMA MIA!, kicks off Marriott Theatre's 2017 Season, running February 8 through April 2, 2017 with a press opening on February 15 at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire.

Firebrand Theatre, the first musical theatre company committed to employing and empowering women by expanding opportunities on and off the stage, is pleased to announce its inaugural season, featuring two fully-produced musicals. Firebrand's 2017-18 season kicks off this fall with the Chicago premiere of LIZZIE, a rock musical based on the true-life story of accused axe-murdereress Lizzie Borden. Directed by Victoria Bussert with music direction by Andra Velis-Simon, LIZZIE feature music by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt, lyrics by Cheslik-deMeyer and Tim Maner and book by Tim Maner.

The global phenomenon seen by over 60 million people all around the world and one of Broadway's longest running hits, MAMMA MIA!, kicks off Marriott Theatre's 2017 Season, running February 8 through April 2, 2017 with a press opening on February 15 at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire.

The New York City premiere of MCC Theater's new musical Ride the Cyclone, the third musical in MCC's now-iconic 30-year history of producing new works for the American theater, began previews on November 9, 2016 at the Lucille Lortel Theater and opened just last night November 30.