Displaying items by tag: Michael Weber

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the return of its free summer concert series Broadway in your Backyard, July 6 - September 19, sponsored by Chicago Free For All Fund. Broadway in your Backyard is directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber, music directed by Linda Madonia and starring Tafadzwa Diener, Nik Kmiecik, Juwon Tyrel Perry and Bethany Thomas. For more information go to PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.

Now in its sixth year, this free to the public summer series has become one of Porchlight’s most popular offerings with thousands of people enjoying Porchlight favorite artists performing hits and beloved songs from the Broadway and Hollywood musical song books including Hello, Dolly!, Mary Poppins, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Toy Story, The Wiz and others. 

The 2026 Broadway in your Backyard season is 

Monday, July 6 at 6:30 p.m.

Northcenter Town Square,  4100 N. Damen Ave.

This appearance also includes a performance from students of The Chicago Academy for the Arts. 

Tuesday, July 7 at 6:30 p.m.

Welles Park,  2333 W. Sunnyside Ave.

This appearance also includes a performance from students of The Chicago Academy for the Arts. Additionally, audiences may join Porchlight’s Education as they host a “Kids’ Day” at Welles Park with activities and treats for children, while supplies last. 

Monday, July 13 at 6:30 p.m.

Berger Park,Waterfront Cafe, 6205 N. Sheridan Rd.

This appearance also includes a performance from PMTeens, Porchlight’s teen performers enrolled in its summer education programming.

Tuesday, July 14 at 6:30 p.m.

Washington Square Park, 901 N. Clark St. 

This appearance also includes a performance from PMTeens, Porchlight’s teen performers enrolled in its summer education programming and Porchlight Young Professionals Associate Board hosting a “Picnic With PYP” at the performance. “Picnic With PYP,” additional details to be announced. 

Navy Pier, STAGE TBD, 600 E. Grand Ave.

Saturday, Sept. 19 at 12:30 p.m.

Porchlight Music Theatre presents its popular Broadway in your Backyard program of family-friendly showtunes as it joins more than 110 artists and organizations for Navy Pier’s the annual celebration of Chicago’s vibrant arts and cultural community. 

Performance dates and venues are subject to change.

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE

Porchlight Music Theatre, in its 31st season, is the award-winning center for music theatre in Chicago. Through live performance, youth education and community outreach, we impact thousands of lives each season, bringing the magic of musicals to our theatre home at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts in the Gold Coast and to neighborhoods across the city. Porchlight has built a national reputation for boldly reimagining classic musicals, supporting new works and young performers, and showcasing Chicago’s most notable music theatre artists, all through the intimate and powerful theatrical lens of the “Chicago Style.” 

Porchlight's history over three decades includes more than 70 mainstage works with 15 Chicago premieres and five world premieres. 

Porchlight's education and outreach programs serve schools, youth of all ages and skill levels and community organizations. Porchlight annually awards dozens of full scholarships and hundreds of free tickets to ensure accessibility and real engagement with this uniquely American art form. 

The company’s many honors include 178 Joseph Jefferson Award (Jeff) nominations and 50 Jeff awards, as well as 44 Black Theatre Alliance (BTA) nominations and 15 BTA awards. In 2019, Porchlight graduated to the Large Theatre tier of the Equity Jeff Awards and has been honored with seven awards in this tier to date including Best Ensemble for Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies (2019) and Best Production-Revue for Blues in the Night (2022). 

Through the global pandemic, Porchlight emerged as one of Chicago’s leaders in virtual programming, quickly launching a host of free offerings like Sondheim @ 90 Roundtables, Movie Musical Mondays, Porchlight by Request: Command Performances and WPMT: Classic Musicals from the Golden Age of Radio. In 2021, Porchlight launched its annual summer series, Broadway in your Backyard, performing at parks and venues throughout the city. 

To those familiar with Cole Porter’s 1930s musical, you may recognize the opening notes as the live orchestra begins to play the title number. Reno Sweeney (played with dazzle by Meghan Murphy) bounds on stage, and the Opening Night crowd erupts in cheers. Sweeney takes in the applause and adoration as she starts to sing:

“Times have changed
And we’ve often rewound the clock.
Since the puritans got a shock.
When they landed on Plymouth Rock.”

As Murphy’s belt swells and rings through the theater, this audience only cheered harder. This is the 11 o’clock number, and the artistic team does not disappoint. As the ensemble joins Murphy on stage, Choreographer Tammy Mader pulls all the stops. Tappers, ballroom dance, and everything in between. Lighting Designer G. “Max” Maxin IV fills the space with color that is only heightened by the exquisite costume design full of sparkle. Looking around at the audience, it was clear that I was not the only one bouncing along in my seat. Before Murphy even hits the final lyrics, the crowd was on their feet, eager to reward this show-stopping number with everything that they had.

Directed by Michael Weber, Anything Goes follows Billy Crocker (Luke Nowakowski), a man hopelessly in love with Hope Harcourt (Emma Ogea). The one problem? She is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Jackson Evans), and her mother is eager to see that this wedding takes place. Billy sets out as a stowaway onboard the ocean liner S.S. American – desperate to win the love of his life. Ultimately, if he wants to succeed, he finds that his only hope is to trust his alliances with nightclub singer Reno Sweeney (Meghan Murphy) and two wanted criminals - Moonface Martin (Steve McDonagh) and Erma (Tafadzwa Diener).

With music and lyrics by Cole Porter, the score features famous hits including: It’s De-Lovely, Friendship, and of course, Anything Goes. Full of love triangles, mistaken identities, and missed opportunities, you might just find yourself on the edge of your seat – eager to see what twist or turn might come next.

The die-hard fans of the classic musical know Cole Porter hits audiences with one larger-than-life number after another. Weber and his team fill the small stage to the brim with impressive designs and jaw-dropping choreography. Especially when combined with the stellar vocalists, those numbers ranging from You’re the Top to Blow, Gabriel, Blow certainly stand out. However, if you’re anything like this writer, you might also find that the intimate, smaller numbers truly hit the heart of the show.

It’s De-Lovely comes towards the end of Act I. Hope is discouraged, knowing deep down that she loves Billy, but her mother will never let her end the engagement. Alone on the ship deck, Billy finds her, and the two begin to sway and sing.

“The night is young, the skies are clear
So if you want to go walking, dear,
It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely.”

The lights dim to a deep blue, creating the feel of moonlight. As the song continues, the two become lost in each other, and start to dance. Other couples join and dance alongside them, but for Billy and Hope, it’s clear that the world only exists between the two of them. To put it simply, Ogea and Nowakowski enchant the Opening Night audience with their sweet duet. As the ending note plays and Billy dips Hope in a final pose, an audible sigh could be heard from the crowd. 

Inspiring vocalists and a jaunty score make Anything Goes a night of fun. If you’re a classical musical fan, then this is the show for you. If you have yet to experience a production of Cole Porter’s classic, Porchlight Music Theatre certainly offers an exciting introduction as we hit the show’s 90^th anniversary.

RECOMMENDED

Running through February 25, 2024 at Ruth Page Center for the Arts – 1016 N. Dearborn St. 773-777-9884

*Extended through March 10th!

Few shows this fall have been as highly anticipated as Porchlight Music Theatre’s production of ‘Sunset Boulevard’. Porchlight artistic director Michael Weber directs Chicago stage superstar Hollis Reznik in this vibrant revival. Aaron Benham conducts a full orchestra that really showcases the sweeping Andrew Lloyd Webber score. 

‘Sunset Boulevard’ is the 1993 musical adaptation of the Billy Wilder noir classic. In it, struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis (Billy Rude) stumbles into the Sunset Blvd mansion of reclusive former Hollywood starlet Norma Desmond (Hollis Reznik). She persuades him to help her fix up a script she’s written. Things get weird when Norma has the wrong idea about their friendship. 

There’s as much tabloid drama surrounding the development of this musical as there is on the stage. Many consider Norma Desmond to be Glenn Close’s definitive Broadway role. She reprised her role on Broadway last year in the high-grossing revival, but it was written for Patti LuPone who had originated the part in West End. 

First and foremost, this is Hollis Reznik’s show and her Norma Desmond isn’t going to let you forget it. Reznik is at her best when playing deranged older women, having appeared as Little Edie in ‘Grey Gardens’ at Northlight, and Judy Garland in ‘End of the Rainbow’ at the Milwaukee Rep. Seeing her fill shoes tailored for the likes of Glenn Close and Patti LuPone shows that Reznik is capable of more than just reinterpreting other people’s work. With her powerful voice and electrifying acting choices, Reznik makes this her own. The result is haunting and disturbing. Though Reznik herself is a successful actress, something about her performance as a faded star seems urgent. It’s as if to say perhaps this isn’t just a story about the Hollywood machine, but rather a parable about the way the workforce discards people once they’re no longer useful. 

That said, this is Hollis Reznik featuring the rest of the cast. Some notable standouts from Billy Rude as Joe Gillis and Michelle Lauto as Betty Schaefer rise to meet the high standard set by Reznik, but sadly the rest of the cast fades into the orchestra. While the beautiful score was provided by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the book and lyrics were penned by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. The dialogue and lyrics aren’t great, and many original critics in the 1990s were quick to point that out. The somewhat shallow lyrics are often repeated throughout the songs as a means to fill out the book, which is hard for any actor to make dynamic. This show does not endure because of the book, but instead for the performances and the central conflict between Norma and Joe. 

Those with an affinity for ‘Sunset Boulevard’ or missed Glenn Close on Broadway last year will be delighted by Porchlight’s faithful production. With an extension of the run announced before the opening, Porchlight proves that Hollis Reznik packs houses as the headliner. A Broadway tour can book a star to play Norma, but director Michael Weber shows us that our local Chicago theaters can do just as well if not better than any corporate-flavored national tour. 

Through December 8th at Porchlight Music Theatre at Ruth Page Center for the Arts. 1016 N Dearborn St. 773-777-9884