Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the dates and cast for its Broadway in your Backyard summer concert series, directed by Michael Weber+ and music directed by Justin Akira Kono+. Nik Kmiecik+, Michelle Lauto*, Lorenzo Rush Jr+ and Bethany Thomas* perform this 90 minute performance of Broadway songs celebrating family, friends, community and inspiration. Broadway in your Backyard is suitable for all ages and many of the events are free and open to the public. For more information go to PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.
The 2021 Broadway in your Backyard tour dates and locations include:
Washington Square Park, 901 N. Clark St., Chicago
- FREE and open to the public
- Sunday, July 18 at 4 p.m.
- Rain date: Sunday, July 25 at 4 p.m.
Welles Park, 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave., Chicago
- FREE and open to the public
- Tuesday, Aug. 3 at 6:30 p.m.
- Rain date: Wednesday, Aug 4 at 6:30 p.m.
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie
Includes video accompaniment and expanded band as part of the “Out Back Summer Sessions”
- $35 - 45 - Minimum 2 tickets, maximum of 6 per seating
- Saturday, Aug. 7 at 8 p.m.
- Rain date: Sunday, Aug. 8 at 8 p.m.
Chicago Youth Center - Sidney Epstein Youth Center, 3415 W. 13th Pl., Chicago
- FREE and open to the public
- Saturday, August 28 at 12 p.m.
Chicago Youth Center - Crown
- Private Event for Chicago Youth Centers
- Saturday, Sept. 11 at 12 p.m.
Performances, performers and dates subject to change.
ABOUT NIK KMIECIK+
Nik Kmiecik has performed in Porchlight Revisits Call Me Madam, Porchlight Revisits Minnie’s Boys, Porchlight Revisits Can-Can and is a New Face from New Faces Sing Broadway 1939. Also in Chicago, Kmiecik has performed in Paramount Theatre’s Once, Writers Theatre’s Twelfth Night, Drury Lane’s A Christmas Carol, Chicago Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, SS! Macbeth, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Henry V, Chicago Children’s The Hundred Dresses, Hello Again at Theo Ubique and at Filament Theatre Pinocchio and Edward Tulane.
ABOUT MICHELLE LAUTO*
Michelle Lauto performed in Porchlight’s Chicago Sings Rock & Roll Broadway, Sunset Boulevard, In The Heights, Porchlight Revisits 1776 and was in New Faces Sing Broadway. Also in Chicago, Lauto performed in Grease, Oklahoma!, Ragtime and Seussical at Marriott Theatre and Hair at Mercury Theater. Lauto received a 2017 Jeff Award nomination for her work in Spamilton at the Royal George.
ABOUT LORENZO RUSH JR+
For Porchlight, Lorenzo Rush Jr performed in the critically acclaimed Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies and at PorchlightPalooza, Porchlight Music Theatre’s 2021 virtual gala. Other Porchlight credits include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Memphis and Ain’t Misbehavin'. Other credits include Little Shop of Horrors at Drury Lane Theater; Jesus Christ Superstar at Paramount Theater and Five Guys Named Moe at Court Theater. Rush graduated with his BFA in musical theater from Western Illinois University and he is a proud member of AEA and represented by Gray Talent Group.
ABOUT BETHANY THOMAS*
Bethany Thomas performed this spring in Porchlight’s Chicago Sings Rock & Roll Broadway. Additional Porchlight credits include Marry Me A Little, Into The Woods, Once On This Island, Nine, Ragtime, In Trousersand Children of Eden. Thomas has also appeared at Writers Theater, Goodman Theater, Court Theater, Chicago Shakespeare, Marriott Lincolnshire, Milwaukee Rep and Second City, with The Fly Honeys, The Paper Machete, The Neo Futurists, Steppenwolf, WBEZ and the Hideout. A 3Arts Awardee in music, Thomas tours and records with Jon Langford, and recently released the critically-acclaimed solo album “BT/She/Her,” and another with collaborator Tawny Newsome entitled “Material Flats.” Thomas’ music may be found on Apple Music, Bandcamp, Spotify and other streaming outlets.
ABOUT MICHAEL WEBER+, director
Michael Weber is the artistic director at Porchlight Music Theatre and most recently directed Sunset Boulevard and Gypsy for Porchlight Music Theatre as well as the Porchlight Revisits production of 1776 and Broadway by the Decade for PorchlightOnline. His productions of Gypsy, End of the Rainbow, Side Show, ...Forum, Sweeney Todd, Pal Joey and Assassins at Porchlight, Grand Hotel at Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place and She Loves Me at Theatre at the Center were each nominated for the Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production— Musical. Other directing credits include “Living the History-125 Years of the Auditorium Theatre” (starring Patti Lupone, John Mahoney and stars of Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and others), Fifth of July and Talley’s Folly at the Oak Park Festival Theatre, The Petrified Forest at Theatre at the Center, Beauty and the Beast at Marriott Theatre, Over the River and Through the Woods at Mercury Theater and Cirque du Symphony at Sears Center Arena. The recipient of two Joseph Jefferson Awards, he has written and directed 15 Joseph Jefferson Awards ceremonies. Weber’s regional acting credits include The Merry Widow and The Sound of Music at Lyric Opera, 42nd Street at Paramount, Annie Get Your Gun and Gypsy (both starring Patti LuPone) at Ravinia, Disney’s My Son Pinocchio at First Stage Milwaukee, Around the World in 80 Days at Cleveland Playhouse, The Winter’s Tale and Henry V at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Angel Street at First Folio Shakespeare and The Gifts of the Magi at Indiana Repertory. He served previously as artistic director of Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place (now The Broadway Playhouse) and Theatre at the Center. Weber is proud to serve as a pledge host with WTTW, Channel 11.
ABOUT JUSTIN AKIRA KONO+, music director
Justin Akira Kono is a drummer, percussionist, keyboardist and orchestrator of a musically wide range. He was last seen with Porchlight Music Theatre playing drums in Sophisticated Ladies and Chicago Sings Rock and Roll Broadway. Other recent playing credits include All Shook Up and Freaky Friday with Williams Street Rep, Legends of the 50s & 60s with Music Theater Works, Billy Elliot the Musical and Do Re Mi also with Porchlight and Kiss Me Kate with The Marriott Lincolnshire (upcoming). He is currently a music director at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Downers Grove and also plays with several Chicago-area bands including Piano Man: a Tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John, Blue Sky: a Tribute to ELO, Prairie Station and his very own J-Pop project: Kitsune Kono.
Pronoun key: +(he/him/his); *(she/her/hers); ^(they/them/theirs), =(any with respect)
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
Porchlight Music Theatre 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.”
Now in its 26th season, Porchlight's quarter-century production history includes more than 70 mainstage works with 15 Chicago premieres and five world premieres. Porchlight’s commitment to the past, present and future of music theatre led the company to develop the Porchlight Revisits and New Faces Sing Broadway program series, both quickly becoming audience favorites.
Porchlight's education and outreach programs serve schools, youth of all ages and skill levels and community organizations, most notably the ongoing collaboration with Chicago Youth Centers. 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 45 Jeff awards, as well as 33 Black Theatre Alliance (BTA) nominations and 12 BTA awards. In 2019, Porchlight graduated to the Large Theatre tier of the Equity Jeff Awards, and was honored with eight nominations in both technical and artistic categories and won three awards in its inaugural year in this tier, most notably Best Ensemble for Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies.
Through the global pandemic, Porchlight has 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. For the 2020-2021 season, Porchlight’s fall schedule included all-new ticketed virtual programs including Broadway by the Decade, New Faces Sing Broadway 1987, Chicago Sings Rock & Roll Broadway, New Faces Sing Broadway 1961 and the return of The Ruffians’ Burning Bluebeard as well as collaborations with Hershey Felder and L.A. Theatre Works. Porchlight continues to announce new premium and free live and virtual offerings in 2021.
Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the dates and cast for its Broadway in your Backyard summer concert series, directed by Michael Weber+ and music directed by Justin Akira Kono+. Nik Kmiecik+, Michelle Lauto*, Lorenzo Rush Jr+ and Bethany Thomas* perform this 90 minute performance of Broadway songs celebrating family, friends, community and inspiration. Broadway in your Backyard is available For more information on locations go to PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.
Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from Actors’ Equity Foundation; Allstate; Bayless Family Foundation; Michael Best & Friedrich LLP; Chapman | Spingola, LLP; Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation; Gen Ops Plus; Elegant Event Lighting; Glimpse Vision; James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation; Hearty Boys; A.L. and Jennie L. Luria Foundation; The MacArthur Fund for Culture, Equity, and the Arts at Prince; the Pritzker Traubert Foundation; Ryan and Spaeth, Inc.; Daniel and Genevieve Ratner Foundation; The Saints and Dr. Scholl Foundation.
The season program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency, and by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.
Porchlight Music Theatre wishes to thank members of the Matching Gift Corporate Program including abbvie; Allstate; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; Peoples Gas; Pepsico; Polk Bros Foundation and The Saints.
First row: (l to r): Nik Kmiecik+, Michelle Lauto*,
Second row: (l to r): Lorenzo Rush Jr+, Bethany Thomas*