Robert Ollis News

Pride Films and Plays' Chicago Premiere of YANK! A Romantic Must-See

YANK! A WWII LOVE STORY is the story of a midwestern boy who joins the Army during World War II, falls in love with another soldier and is introduced to the gay underground of the Armed Services through a journalist for the Army magazine YANK. David Zak is directing the musical, with Robert Ollis providing musical direction and Jenna Schoppe choreography.

2017 BroadwayWorld Chicago Awards Finalists Announced!

Casting for Pride Films and Plays' Chicago premiere of YANK! A WWII Love Story was announced today by David Zak, Executive Director of Pride Films and Plays.

The votes have been counted... Check out the fill list of winners for the 2017 BWW Regional Awards!

The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.

The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.

Casting for Pride Films and Plays' Chicago premiere of YANK! A WWII Love Story was announced today by David Zak, Executive Director of Pride Films and Plays.

Pride Films and Plays' annual fall benefit, Simply Sensational, will feature Broadway musical theater star NICK ADAMS, who originated the role of Adam/Felicia in PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT, in its American premiere on Broadway. Prior to PRISCILLA, Adams had major roles in the hit revivals of A CHORUS LINE, GUYS AND DOLLS, CHICAGO and LA CAGE AUX FOLLES and leads in productions at top U.S. regional theaters including Paper Mill Playhouse, Gateway Playhouse and North Shore Music Theater in the New York metro area, and Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. Adams has also been active in film and television work, with roles in the films SEX AND THE CITY 2, and AN ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK, and the TV series SMASH, AS THE WORLD TURNS, and THE GUIDING LIGHT. The festivities will take place in The Broadway, the 85-seat venue at Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago. A limited number of VIP tickets are available for the benefit at $75, and include reserved center-section seating for the 7:15 pm performance. General Admission tickets are $50 and include the performance and a post-show dessert reception.SELECT tickets are also available for a $1,000.00, which includes 2 VIP tickets and admission for two to a show rehearsal with Nick the night before the benefit.

Pride Films and Plays' Jeff -recommended Chicago Premiere of Douglas Carter Beane's Tony Award-nominated play THE NANCE - a hit among critics and audiences alike - will be extended beyond its originally announced closing of July 30, and will now play through Sunday, August 13, 2017.

The waning days of burlesque in New York City are the setting for Douglas Carter Beane's Tony Award-nominated The Nance, which will open to the press on Thursday, July 6 at The Broadway, Pride Arts Center. Beane's play tells the backstage story of a gay performer, Chauncey Miles, whose role in the burlesque show was to brazenly exploit gay stereotypes of the time in a most suggestive manner.  

Casting has been announced for Pride Films and Plays' Chicago Premiere of Douglas Carter Beane's Tony Award-nominated play The Nance.

Pride Films and Plays' 2017-18 season - its first full season in residence at the Pride Arts Center - will bring Chicago its first look at three plays that examine gay and lesbian lives in earlier decades of the 20th Century, according to Executive Director David Zak and Artistic Director Nelson Rodriguez.

 Pride Films and Plays will again host its annual Nominee Night cabaret showcasing many of the musical theater performers nominated in the Non-Equity Jeff Awards. The nominees were announced on April 24 and the awards will be presented June 5, 2017 at the Atheneaum Theatre. This year's cabaret will for the first time be performed in the Broadway, Pride Arts Center - the new home the company acquired in summer 2016. The theater is located at 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago. Audience members will have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets for a door prize drawing for $400.00 in airfare from Southwest Airlines.

Pride Films and Plays presents Boys Just Frocking Around, A Gay Burlesque. Legendary Honey West will host the evening, accompanied by Robert Ollis on the piano.

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.

Casting has been announced for Pride Films and Plays' Chicago Premiere of Douglas Carter Beane's Tony Award-nominated play The Nance.

Pride Films and Plays has announced the addition of Lauren Paris to the cast of its critically acclaimed and Jeff-recommended Chicago premiere of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.

Pride Films and Plays' production of the Tony Award-winning musical, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, the company's inaugural production in their two-stage Pride Arts Center, has added an extra four weeks of performances and will now close on Sunday, March 12 rather than the previously announced February 12.