1776 1969 - Articles Page 2.6

Porchlight Music Theatre continues its "lost" musicals in staged concert series with Porchlight Revisits Can-Can, music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Abe Burrows with direction by Adrian Abel Azevedo, musical direction by Linda Madonia and choreography by Shanna VanDerwerker.  Porchlight Revisits Can-Can is presented for three performances-only Wednesday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, March 7 at 2 p.m. and  7:30 p.m. at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Two-show discounted subscriptions and single tickets for $37 are available at porchlightmusictheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office at 773.777.9884.

1776 is a show that appreciates in value and import when viewed in the context of its time. It opened on Broadway in 1969 when Richard Nixon was president, the controversial war in Vietnam raged on, and civil unrest was the domestic order of the day. With that backdrop, it's popularity was unexpected, yet it ran for 1,217 performances and won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Seems like an ideal time for a remount of the story of our Founding Fathers, and the New Repertory Theatre production has found a formula to make it fresh, exhilarating, and inclusive.

Porchlight Music Theatre begins its sixth season of Chicago's "lost" musicals in staged concert series with Porchlight Revisits 1776, music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and book by Peter Stone with direction by Artistic Director Michael Weber, musical direction by Jeremy Ramey and musical staging by Michelle Lauto. Porchlight Revisits 1776 is presented for only three performances Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 15 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Tickets for 1776 are available now for $37, subscriptions to the three performance series including 1776, Can-Can, March 6 and 7, 2019 and Minnie's Boys, May 22 and 23, 2019 are $90/per person and available at porchlightmusictheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office at 773.777.9884.

Porchlight Music Theatre begins its sixth season of Chicago's "lost" musicals in staged concert series with Porchlight Revisits 1776, music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and book by Peter Stone with direction by Artistic Director Michael Weber, musical direction by Jeremy Ramey and musical staging by Michelle Lauto.

REPRISE 2.0 (led by Producing Artistic Director Marcia Seligson), in association with the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's Department of Theater (UCLA TFT) chaired by Brian Kite, presents its inaugural production of Sweet Charity.  Directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall with musical direction by Gerald Sternbach, the classic Broadway hit plays through July 1 at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. Take a look at photos from the show's opening night below!

The 72nd Annual Tony Awards are this Sunday June 10th at 8/9c hosted by Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles. It's the biggest award show of the Broadway season and it closes out a long awards season for Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals and plays. We can't help but wonder what chances this year's Best Musical and Best Play nominees have of taking home the ultimate prize...

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will pay homage to the glittering world of Hollywood musicals with Mad About Musicals!, a special month of programming celebrating timeless movie musicals such as The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain and Cabaret. TCM is once again partnering with Ball State University and Canvas to offer a free online multimedia course tied to this programming special about the history of the musical genre and its evolution with cultural and technological shifts. Enrollment is open until June 17 and fans can sign up for the course at musicals.tcm.com.

Single tickets are now on sale for the inaugural REPRISE 2.0 production of Sweet Charity. Directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, the classic Broadway hit plays from June 20 to July 1 at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. REPRISE 2.0 is led by producing artistic director Marcia Seligson.

Continuing the momentum created with the current season launch of its Music Knows No Borders series, Executive Director Thor Steingraber unveils the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts' 2018-19 Season, which features four world premieres, two American premieres, several of the world's greatest orchestras, innovative jazz programs, two tributes to Hollywood legends, Broadway classics plus artists from 18 different nations who will appear on stage at The Soraya next season.  New Subscription Series tickets will go on sale May 1, 2018.

Michael Weber, artistic director of Porchlight Music Theatre, is proud to announce Porchlight Music Theatre's 24th season that includes the 2018 - 2019 Mainstage, Porchlight Revisits and New Faces Sing Broadway seasons. Porchlight's Mainstage and Porchlight Revisits return to the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street.

Bric Presents REENACTMENT, a group exhibition examining and agitating the aesthetics and politics of historical reenactment in contemporary art (January 18-February 25). In traditional reenactments, events like the American Revolution and Civil War are embodied by amateur performers using storytelling and props, all too often approaching history as unchangeable and absolute.

ShawChicago Presents JEEVES IN BLOOM, a Margaret Raether comedy based on the English classic works of P. G. Wodehouse. This production takes place Feb. 3 - 26 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60610.

BRIC presents Reenactment, a group exhibition examining and agitating the aesthetics and politics of historical reenactment in contemporary art (January 18-February 25). In traditional reenactments, events like the American Revolution and Civil War are embodied by amateur performers using storytelling and props, all too often approaching history as unchangeable and absolute.

Two upcoming staged readings will be held at the Omaha Community Playhouse as part of the 2017-2018 Alternative Programming series. 1776 will be held on Monday, July 17 and Cry-Baby will be held on Monday, July 31, both at 7:30 p.m. in OCP's Howard Drew Theatre. The showings are free and open to the public with the opportunity for donation. No tickets or reservations are necessary.

The 71st Annual Tony Awards are this Sunday June 11th at 8/9c hosted by Kevin Spacey. It's the biggest award show of the Broadway season and it closes out a long awards season for Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals and plays. We can't help but wonder what chances this year's Best Musical and Best Play nominees have of taking home the ultimate prize...

On Tuesday, May 23rd the Theater People podcast welcomes Tony winner and Broadway legend Betty Buckley. For the episode, Buckley shares hilarious and fascinating stories from her nearly five decades as a Broadway and West End star. She also shares cuts from her new album STORY SONGS.

In May, June & July the NPR Program "Broadway to Main Street" hosted by Laurence Maslon which airs Sundays at 3PM on NY/Long Island NPR-member station WPPB/88.3FM will feature interviews with Tony Award-nominee & Sweeney Todd star Carolee Carmello (May 28); a retrospective of The 1967 Tony Awards (June 4); a 2017 Tony Awards Special on Tonys Sunday (6/11) with recordings of all the top nominees for Best Musical and the best musical performer nominees including Bette Midler, Josh Groban, Ben Platt and more; a centennial tribute to Ella Fitzgerald (6/18); a Hello, Dolly! themed show (6/25) with musical selections from Carol Channing, Pearl Bailey, Ethel Merman, as well as selections from the new Bette Midler recording; and for a special July 4 holiday weekend show with original 1776 star William Daniels (July 3).

The Omaha Community Playhouse is announcing its Alternative Programming series for the 2017-18 season. Alternative Programming includes a series of staged readings, special events and play development collaborations. All events are held at OCP.

Porchlight Music Theatre and Artistic Director Michael Weber are proud to announce the latest performance in its 2016 - 2017 season of Chicago's hit musical revue series, New Faces Sing Broadway 1969, hosted by E. Faye Butler, co-directed by Adrian Abel Azevedo and Michael Weber with music direction by David Fiorello, is Monday, March 14at Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave in Skokie and Tuesday, March 15 at the Uptown Underground, 4707 N. Broadway at 7:30 p.m.  In tribute to the original New Faces series that ran on Broadway and on film from 1934 - 1968, Porchlight Music Theatre last year created this Chicago musical revue series, New Faces Sing Broadway, as a showcase for the best emerging music talent now performing on Chicago stages. Each edition is a journey from the start to the finish of a entire musical season on Broadway, peppered with photos and films of the era in an exciting multimedia presentation with a favorite Chicago theatre veteran hosting and introducing the next generation of music theatre artists while acting as your guide through a past season on the Great White Way. Seating is general admission; tickets are $22, with no drink minimum and are available at porchlightmusictheatre.org. 

The 'play that changed American theater forever' (New York Times) comes to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater for the first time ever this spring.

The critically acclaimed, award-winning Spreckels Theatre Company presents '1776,' the Tony Award winning musical which brings history to life as it recalls America's contentious Founding Fathers and their determination to do the right thing for a fledgling nation.

Porchlight Music Theatre and Artistic Director Michael Weber are proud to announce the second performance in its 2016 - 2017 season of Chicago's hit musical revue series, New Faces Sing Broadway 2001, hosted by Keely Vasquez, is Monday, Jan. 23 at Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave in Skokie and Tuesday, Jan. 24 at the Uptown Underground, 4707 N. Broadway at 7:30 p.m.  In tribute to the original New Faces series that ran on Broadway and on film from 1934 - 1968, Porchlight Music Theatre last year created this Chicago musical revue series, New Faces Sing Broadway, as a showcase for the best emerging musical talent now performing on Chicago stages. 

Broadway's Betty Buckley stars in M. Night Shyamalan's new drama SPLIT. The film also stars Haley Lu Richardson, James McAvoy and Jessica Sula.

They say that hindsight is 20/20, and in the case of Broadway, time has certainly illuminated some of the injustices of Tonys past. True, sometimes it takes years for art to truly be understood and appreciated, but theatre fans are well aware that it doesn't necessarily take that long to recognize some of the Tony voters' biggest mistakes. Next week marks six months from the 2017 Tony Awards, and to celebrate the half-way point, we're taking a closer look at some of those outright 'Huh?' winners of the past.

Before there was Hamilton, there was 1776. This award-winning musical opens the Legacy's eleventh season running now through October 23rd. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!