Stephen Schellhardt News

The Fulton Theatre in Lancaster, PA will present WEST SIDE STORY as the final production of its 2025-2026 season, featuring Paula Gaudier as Maria and Manuel Santos as Bernardo.

Florida Repertory Theatre will present The Play That Goes Wrong in the Historic Arcade Theatre February 13 through March 1, with discounted previews February 10 through 12.

Paramount Theatre has released new video highlights showcasing highlights from its upcoming production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, including footage from the ensemble’s staging of “Snow,' 'The Best Things Happen When You're Dancing,' and the finale performance of “White Christmas.” 

An aptly titled song from one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th Century, Irving Berlin. The holiday offering at Aurora’s Paramount Theatre is Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. Jeff Award-winning director Stephen Schellhardt has created a musical that will stay with you long after the last note is played and the last bow taken.

Paramount Theatre will continue its 14th Broadway Series with Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, running November 12, 2025 through January 11, 2026. Opening night is Friday, November 21 at 7 p.m.

Paramount Theatre in Aurora will stage Irving Berlin’s White Christmas from November 12, 2025, to January 11, 2026, with opening night on Friday, November 21 at 7 p.m.

The 57th Jeff Awards for Equity theater excellence were recently announced. Among the big winners this year were “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812” (Writers Theatre), Court Theatre, Shattered Globe Theatre, and more!

xNostalgia, pageantry and spectacle come to life in Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, the most iconic holiday musical of all time, next in Paramount’s 14th Broadway Series.

The Joseph Jefferson Awards will celebrate the 57th Anniversary of its Equity Theater Awards on Monday, September 29. Check out the full list of nominations here!

Chicago Sings 30 Years of Porchlight was held on Monday, May 12 at the House of Blues Chicago. Learn more about the company and see photos from the event here!

The Beautiful City Project has announced the cast of PURE IMAGINATION, a delicious evening of delectable treats - both musically and culinarily. Learn more about the performance here!

Porchlight Music Theatre has revealed the young performers and dancers who will be joining its previously unveiled slate of Porchlight favorites and special guests at its annual fundraising concert. Learn more!

The newest production at the Copley Theatre in Aurora is The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. It’s the story of “12” year olds competing in a spelling bee. Under the direction of Jeff Award-winning Stephen Schellhardt and a set designed by Lauren M. Nichols showcasing a gymnasium, this group of actors brings forth the anxieties, awkwardness, innocence, doubt, fear and ultimately joy of this age group.

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced the cast for its annual fundraising concert celebrating Porchlight’s 30th anniversary, Chicago Sings 30 Years of Porchlight.

Paramount has revealed the lineup for their 2025-26 Broadway and BOLD series, including the Chicago premieres of Come From Away and Dear Evan Hansen. Learn more here!

Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron’s FUN HOME is a musical journey in sketches through the memories of Alison Bechdel. Based on the graphic memoir of the same name — and so called because the Bechdel family business was a funeral home — Porchlight director Stephen Schellhardt’s production brings each scene sharply to life. 

Porchlight Music Theatre is presenting Tony Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-nominated musical Fun Home at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. Check out opening night photos here!

Porchlight Music Theatre is presenting the Tony Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-nominated musical Fun Home, now playing through March 2, at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. Check out photos here!

FALSETTOS, originally written as two-one act musicals set in 1979 and 1981, respectively, feels simultaneously dated and prescient. In this co-production from Court Theatre and TimeLine Theatre Company, director Nick Bowling leads a first-rate ensemble that preserves the musical as a period piece but also makes it feel utterly alive. Lauren Nichols’s set design evokes a 1970s retro roller rink and Theresa Ham’s costume designs also use extremely ‘70s colors (and each character wears a signature color). But many of the show’s central themes hit now as ahead of their time and eerily relevant. In particular, the musical’s reverence for Jewish culture and tradition and its unabashed embrace of queer love are especially moving at a time when anti-Semitism and homophobia seem tragically on the rise in America.

Court Theatre and TimeLine Theatre Company will present William Finn and James Lapine’s Falsettos, a tribute to family and its many forms; a playful interrogation of faith and identity; and a celebration of the beauty, complexity, and necessity of love.