Porchlight Music Theatre’s Porchlight Young Professionals are proud to announce the return of its popular fundraiser, Broadway Open Mic, a live karaoke special event, Friday, March 7 at 7 p.m. at Bramble Arts Loft, 5545 N. Clark St. Broadway Open Mic features Alex Newkirk on piano and is hosted by Producing & Casting Associate Frankie Leo Bennett.
(L to R) Alex Newkirk on piano and Frankie Leo Bennett hosts the return of Broadway Open Mic
Tickets are $35, (which includes entry to the event and one song ticket) or $30 (for entry to the event). All tickets include complimentary beverages and snacks, sponsored by The Hearty Boys and Uvae Kitchen and Wine Bar and Revolution Brewing. Guests may also pay $5 to sing a song or to nominate a friend to sing or donate $10 to get out of singing when nominated. All funds raised support Porchlight Music Theatre's 30th season, including the highly recommended production of Fun Home, now playing through March 2; the Chicago premiere of Titanique, produced in association with Broadway In Chicago, and Chicago Sings 30 Years of Porchlight, Monday, May 12 at the House of Blues Chicago. Tickets on sale at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.
“Porchlight Young Professionals are excited to partner with Bramble Arts Loft for the return of our hit special fundraising event, Broadway Open Mic,” said Porchlight Young Professionals Chair Nate Groonwald. “Last year’s Broadway Open Mic sold out and we expect the same this March. It’s a fun night for friends to gather for great drinks from Uvae and Revolution Brewing, delicious treats from The Hearty Boys and, of course, to sing out while supporting Porchlight.”
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
The Porchlight Young Professionals (PYP) is an ensemble of young professionals who share a passion for advancing music theatre in Chicago as well as the innovative and transformative art happening at Porchlight.
The PYP inspires the next generation of Porchlight’s theatre patrons and serves as ambassadors through fundraising, event planning and committee involvement.
The Porchlight Young Professionals current membership include Nate Groonwald, chair; Adam Zaucha, vice chair; Rosie Schultz, secretary; Lisa Villani-Gale, fundraising chair; Lynn Barlow, Lanie Bayless, Claire Berman, Kellie Buffington, August Compton, Cody Czmyr, Madeline Davis, Ben Jossi, Meggie Keiser, Jonah Levi-Paesky, Annie Mitran-Brennan, Kathryn Rosenbaum, Becca Sheehan, Yessenia Sosa, Emily Werner and Gia Wunar.
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
Porchlight Music Theatre, entering its 30th 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 nearly 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.
The 30th Anniversary Season is sponsored By Elaine Cohen & Arlen Rubin and Brenda & Jim Grusecki.
Porchlight Young Professions’ Broadway Open Mic is sponsored by Kathryn Rosenbaum, Lisa & Alex Villani-Gale and Nate Groonwald.
Broadway Open Mic’s catering sponsor is The Hearty Boys and the beverage sponsors are Uvae Kitchen and Wine Bar and Revolution Brewing.
Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from Actors’ Equity Foundation; Allstate; Arlen and Elaine Cohen Rubin Charitable Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City; Comcast/Xfinity; Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation; Free for All; Glimpse Vision; James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation; Hearty Boys; Uvae; the Pritzker Traubert Foundation; Ryan and Spaeth, Inc.; Daniel and Genevieve Ratner Foundation; Revolution Brewing; The Saints; Dr. Scholl Foundation; Service Club of Chicago and The Shubert Foundation.
The season program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency.
Porchlight Music Theatre wishes to thank members of the Matching Gift Corporate Program including Allstate; BDO; Comcast; Google; Jackson National Life Insurance and The Saints.