Tommy Thurston News

BoHo Theatre closes out its 2019 season with BIG FISH, the imaginative and moving musical by Andrew Lippa and John August, directed by BoHo Theatre Artistic Director Stephen Schellhardt. BoHo brings its trademark attention to character and relationships to this intimately staged tale of a larger-than-life storyteller and his fraught relationship with his only son.

A preliminary list of performers for Pride Films and Plays annual NOMINEE NIGHT concert has been announced by PFP Artistic Associate Robert Ollis, presenting music director for the event. NOMINEE NIGHT, which showcases musical theater performers and productions nominated in the Non-Equity Jeff Awards, will be performed on Monday, May 13 at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted. The lineup, which is subject to change up until show time, will include performers who were cast members of the five productions nominated for "Production of a Musical" or who received individual performance nominations.

The Jeff Awards announced today via a special video, a total of 132 nominations in 22 categories for the 46th Annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards.

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY - the heartfelt, intimate musical based on Robert James Waller's tender story of love, regrets and second chances - will play an additional two weeks to meet audience demand, according to Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre Artistic Director Fred Anzevino. The new closing date is now Sunday, May 5. Theo Ubique's production, which opened to the press on March 11, earned raves from critics and has been playing to near-capacity houses since its opening. Giving the production 3-1/2 Stars, the CHICAGO TRIBUNE's Chris Jones said leading actress Kelli Harrington 'shines in a Broadway-worthy performance.' Catey Sullivan, writing for the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, said 'the supporting cast is a delight' and called the show ' a genuinely moving story of loss, longing and sacrifice.' WTTW's Hedy Weiss said music director Jeremy Ramey has 'a genius for conjuring a symphonic sound with a five-piece ensemble.' The entire cast will continue with the production for the two-week extension.

The Bridges of Madison County - the heartfelt, intimate musical by Jason Robert Brown (Parade, Honeymoon in Vegas, The Last Five Years) and Marsha Norman (The Color Purple) based on Robert James Waller's tender story of love, regrets and second chances - will open to the press on Monday, March 11. Artistic Director Fred Anzevino will be stage director and Jeremy Ramey music director.  The musical, which won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Score, will be the second show of Theo Ubique's first season in its new home at 721 Howard Street in Evanston. The Bridges of Madison County will preview from March 8-10 and play Thursdays through Sundays through April 21, 2019.

Artistic Director Fred Anzevino announced today his full cast and production team for THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY - the heartfelt, intimate musical based on Robert James Waller's tender story of love, regrets and second chances. Anzevino will be stage director and Jeremy Ramey music director.  THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and book by Marsha Norman, won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Score. The second show of Theo Ubique's first season in its new home at 721 Howard Street in Evanston, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY will preview from March 8-10, open to the press on Monday, March 11 and play Thursdays through Sundays through April 21, 2019.

BoHo Theatre's production of Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones's 110 IN THE SHADE makes the central, fierce, independent female character of Lizzie Curry take center stage. This is particularly true because Neala Barron's expert performance anchors every moment. Barron mines her character for the maximum amount of meaning and layers she can find: she makes us feel Lizzie's strong-willed, intelligent presence while also conveying a deep sense of longing to find a husband and start a family. 110 IN THE SHADE strikes a chord precisely because these two facets of Lizzie's character are not presented as irreconcilable: rather, Lizzie is simultaneously pragmatic and ambitious in her desires. With direction by outgoing Artistic Director Peter Marston Sullivan and music direction by Ellen Morris, Barron also thrives in each musical number backed by a 3-piece orchestra.

Black Button Eyes Productions concludes its 2018-19 season with the Chicago storefront premiere of EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL, a parody of Sam Raimi's classic Evil Dead horror films, with book and lyrics by George Reinblatt and music by Christopher Bond, Frank Cipolla, Melissa Morris and George Reinblatt. Directed by Producing Artistic Director Ed Rutherford with music direction by Oliver Townsend and choreography by Derek Van Barham, the spooky send-up will play January 11 - February 16, 2019 at Pride Arts Center (The Broadway), 4139 N. Broadway in Chicago.

Black Button Eyes Productions is pleased to announce casting for the Chicago storefront premiere of EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL, a parody of Sam Raimi's classic Evil Dead horror films, with book and lyrics by George Reinblatt and music by Christopher Bond, Frank Cipolla, Melissa Morris and George Reinblatt.

BoHo Theatre brings its 2018 season to a close with the classic musical romance 110 IN THE SHADE with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones (the songwriting team of THE FANTASTICKS and I DO! I DO!), and book by N. Richard Nash, based on his play THE RAINMAKER.

Jeremiah Alsop and Bradley Halverson have joined the cast of Pride Films and Plays' Chicago premiere of YANK! A WWII Love Story.  Halverson, whose recent credits include THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG with Brown Paper Box Company and HIGH FIDELITY with Refuge Theatre Project, is now playing Czechowski, the 'nice guy' of the platoon.  Alsop, a recent graduate of the Chicago College of Performing Arts, is playing India and is a member of the ensemble.

Pride Films and Plays' Chicago premiere of YANK! A WWII Love Story will be extended by four weeks due to audience demand. David Zak, Executive Director of Pride Films and Plays, announced the extension today. The hit off-Broadway musical, which opened to the press in Chicago on January 18, is the story of a midwestern boy who joins the Army during World War II, falls in love with another soldier in his squad and is later introduced to the gay underground of the Armed Services through a journalist for the Army magazine YANK. Zak directs the musical, with Robert Ollis providing musical direction and Jenna Schoppe choreography.

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.

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.

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.

Reviewing the comedy's 2015 Off-Broadway production by Primary Stages, THE NEW YORK TIMES called it a clever canap of a comedy...Mr. Payne is a deft and witty writer.' THE NEW YORKER said of it As hiding gets harder, pitch-perfect comedy ensues: slamming doors, strange disguises, preposterous excuses Eventually, the four must decide whether face-saving domestic lies are worth it, or whether ostracism beats living in fear. In our own era of surveillance and paranoia, their mid-century problems don't feel so far away.

Full casting was announced today for Pride Films and Plays' Chicago premiere of PERFECT ARRANGEMENT by Associate Artistic Director Derek Van Barham, who's directing the production. In Topher Payne's comedy, it's 1950, and new colors are being added to the Red Scare. Two U.S. State Department employees, Bob and Norma, have been tasked with identifying sexual deviants within their ranks. There's just one problem: Both Bob and Norma are gay, and have married each other's partners and moved next door to each other as a carefully constructed cover. Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the American gay rights movement, madcap classic sitcom-style laughs give way to provocative drama as two "All-American" couples are forced to stare down the closet door.

Big Noise Theatre Company, a division of Winnetka Theatre, opens the Spring show Big Fish, the Musical. Join us for an opening night reception this Friday, April 21st beginning at 7pm. Light refreshments will be provided while you mingle, and you'll have a chance to take pictures in front of our amazing, show-inspired backdrop in the lobby. It's a romantic adventure you don't want to miss!

Big Noise Theatre Company, a division of Winnetka Theatre, announces the Spring show of their 2017 season, Big Fish, the Musical. Based on the celebrated novel by Daniel Wallace and the acclaimed Tim Burton film, Big Fish centers on Edward Bloom, a traveling salesman who lives life to its fullest, and then some! Edward's incredible, larger-than-life stories thrill everyone around him - most of all, his devoted wife Sandra. But their son Will, about to have a child of his own, is determined to find the truth behind his father's epic tales. Overflowing with humor and heart, Big Fish is an extraordinary recent Broadway musical that's richer, funnier, and BIGGER than life itself!