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Porchlight Announces Cast and Creative Team for the Launch of its 28th Season - RENT, Oct 29 - Nov 27

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Tue, 08/23/2022 - 4:12pm by laughingcat

Porchlight Music Theatre presents the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, RENT, music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson, at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., October 29 - November 27. Porchlight’s production is directed by Adrian Abel Azevedo+, music directed by Michael McBride+ and choreographed by Laura Savage*.

Previews are Saturday, Oct. 29 at 3:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 3 at 1:30 p.m. with the press opening on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3:30 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. with weekday matinees Thursday, Nov. 10 at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m. and Friday, Nov. 25 at 3:30 p.m. There are Post-Show Discussions scheduled Friday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m and Sunday, Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m. and Open Caption performances Saturday Nov. 19 and Saturday Nov. 26 at 3:30 p.m. Subscriptions to Porchlight’s 28th season are now on sale and may be purchased through the Box Office by calling 773.777.9884 or by visiting PorchlightMusicTheatre.org. Single tickets for RENT start at $25 and are now on sale.

Over the last 25 years, RENT, a Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical based loosely on the 1896 Italian opera La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini, has become a cultural phenomenon with millions of fans around the world. Porchlight’s production celebrates this legacy and adds a new page to the story of a year in the life of a diverse group of artists struggling to survive and create in Lower Manhattan’s East Village under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. In the thriving days of bohemian Alphabet City at the end of the millennium, these friends are determined to follow their dreams without selling out.

The cast for RENT includes Bridget Adams-King* (ensemble/Maureen US); Wesly Anthony Clergé+ (swing/Collins US); Naphtali Curry+ (ensemble/Benny US); Leah Davis* (ensemble/Joanne US); Caitlin Dobbins* (swing); Lucy Godínez* (Maureen Johnson); Nick Johnson+ (swing/US Angel); Chris Khoshaba+ (ensemble); Nik Kmiecik+ (ensemble/US Mark); Teressa LaGamba* (Joanne Jefferson); Eric Lewis+ (Tom Collins); David Moreland+ (Mark Cohen); Alix Rhode* (Mimi Marquez); Abraham Shaw+ (Benjamin “Benny” Coffin III); Josh Pablo Szabo+/^ (Angel Dumott Schunard); TJ Tapp* (dance captain/ensemble); Brennan Urbi^/+ (ensemble/US Roger) and Shraga D. Wasserman^ (Roger Davis).

The cast of Porchlight Music Theatre's RENT. 

The RENT production team includes Adrian Abel Azevedo+ (director); Michael McBride+ (music director/conductor); Laura Savage* (choreographer); Ann Davis* (scenic designer); Gregory Graham+ (costume designer); Maggie Fullilove-Nugent* (lighting designer); Josiah Croegaert+ (associate lighting designer); Matthew R. Chase+ (sound designer); Rowan Doe^ (properties designer); Kirsten Baity^ (intimacy designer); Deborah Blumenthal* (dramaturg); Marcus Carroll+ (production stage manager); Frankie Leo Bennett+ (producing artistic associate); Alex Rhyan+ (production & operations director) and Michael Weber+ (artistic director). 

ABOUT ADRIAN ABEL AZEVEDO+, director

Adrian Abel Azevedo is a freelance director, producer and teaching artist in the Chicago area, originally from Southern California. He has worked in this community for over 10 years and is an Artistic Associate with Kokandy Productions where he most recently directed the Chicago premiere of Cruel Intentions. An alumni of Columbia College Chicago, he has directed, produced and taught for Chicagoland theatre companies including Goodman Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Steep Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Kokandy Productions, Teatro Vista and Music Theater Works. He recently directed the regional premiere of Zorro the Musical at Music Theater Works.

ABOUT MICHAEL MCBRIDE+, music director/conductor

Michael McBride is a Jeff Award-winning music director, internationally-performed composer, performer and educator. Credits include Big Fish (Boho Theatre, Jeff Award); Billy Elliot (Music Theatre Works); Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Robber Bridegroom, Jesus Christ Superstar, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Pippin, What a Wonderful World (workshop), Man of La Mancha, Mamma Mia!, Into The Woods, The Little Mermaid (Timber Lake Playhouse); The Boys and the Nuns (composer & MD), Fun Home, Violet, Cabaret, Tintypes, She Loves Me, Spring Awakening, Hot Mikado, Urinetown, Into the Woods (Loyola University Chicago); PorchlightPalooza, Broadway by the Decade (Porchlight Music Theatre); The Christmas Foundling (composer & MD; Pride Arts Center); Footloose (Wallace Bowl); The Drake Hotel holiday programming and The Cabaret Project in Chicago, St. Louis and Lake Geneva. He is proud to be music director at A Church 4 Me MCC in Chicago. He has been a guest artist at Northwestern University and is also the Area Supervisor of Music Theory, Aural Skills and Music History at North Park University.

ABOUT LAURA SAVAGE*, choreographer

Laura Savage recently choreographed and starred in Porchlight’s Chicago Sings Stephen Sondheim and its 2021 ICONS Gala honoring Chita Rivera. She also appeared in Porchlight productions A Chorus Line, Pal Joey and Porchlight Revisits Call Me Madam. Savage is a Jeff-nominated actress and has appeared in more than 35 Chicago productions. She has choreographed Cruel Intentions at Kokandy Productions and Zorro at Music Theatre Works and has associate choreographed and dance captained at such venues as Marriott Theatre, Paramount Theatre and Drury Lane Theatre. Savage also appeared on and choreographed for Fox’s hit show “Empire”.

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE AS A RUTH PAGE IN-RESIDENCE ORGANIZATION

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to be a member of the vibrant Ruth Page Center for the Arts community and an In-Resident Organization. Central to the Ruth Page Center for the Arts’ programming is this program, which is designed to serve organizations looking for a home base while they grow or expand their artistic and organizational capabilities. The Center is committed to nurturing and assisting dance and other performing artists, allowing for exchange and collaborative relationships to develop within the artistic community. The Ruth Page Center for the Arts is a destination for quality performing arts, accessible to a wide community regardless of race, gender, age, education or disability. An incubator of artistic energy and excellence, the Ruth Page Center for the Arts carries forward the vision of its founder, legendary dance icon Ruth Page, to be a platform for developing great artists and connecting them with audiences and community.

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.” 

Porchlight's history over the last 27 years 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 44 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 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. Porchlight launched its annual summer series in 2021, Broadway in your Backyard, performing at parks and venues throughout the city. 

Porchlight Music Theatre presents the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, RENT, music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson and based loosely on the 1896 Italian opera La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini, at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., October 29 - November 27. Porchlight’s production is directed by Adrian Abel Azevedo+, music directed by Dr. Michael McBride+ and choreographed by Laura Savage*. Previews are Saturday, Oct. 29 at 3:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 3 at 1:30p.m. with the press opening is Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3:30 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. with weekdays matinees Thursday, Nov. 10 at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m. and Friday, Nov. 25 at 3:30 p.m. There are Post-Show Discussions scheduled Friday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m and Sunday, Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m. and Open Caption performances Saturday Nov. 19 and Saturday Nov. 26 at 3:30 p.m. Subscriptions to Porchlight’s 28th season are now on sale and may be purchased through the Box Office by calling 773.777.9884 or by visiting PorchlightMusicTheatre.org. Single tickets for RENT start at $25 and are on sale now. 

Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from Actors’ Equity Foundation; Allstate; Michael Best & Friedrich 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. 

LISTINGS INFORMATION:

Porchlight Music Theatre presents

RENT

Based loosely on the 1896 Italian opera La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini

Music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson

Directed by Adrian Abel Azevedo+

Music Directed by Dr. Michael McBride+

Choreographed by Laura Savage*

October 29 - November 27, 2022

The Ruth Page Center for the Arts

1016 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago

Performance Schedule:

  • Saturday, Oct. 29 at 3:30 p.m. (Preview)
  • Sunday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. (Previews)
  • Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. (Preview)
  • Thursday, Nov. 3 at 1:30 p.m. (Preview)
  • Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m (Press Opening)
  • Friday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m.
  • Saturday, Nov. 5 at 3:30 p.m. 
  • Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m.
  • Thursday, Nov. 10 at 10:30 a.m. (Student Matinee) and 7:30p.m.
  • Friday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. (Post-Show Discussion)
  • Saturday, Nov. 12 at 3:30 and 8 p.m.
  • Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m
  • Thursday, Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m. (Post-Show Discussion)
  • Friday, Nov. 18 at 8 p.m.
  • Saturday, Nov. 19 at 3:30 p.m. (Open Caption) and 8 p.m.
  • Sunday, Nov. 20 at 2 p.m.

THANKSGIVING AND CLOSING WEEKEND

  • Friday, Nov. 25 at 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
  • Saturday, Nov. 26 at 3:30 p.m. (Open Caption) and 8 p.m.
  • Sunday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m.

Tickets start at $25

Website: PorchlightMusicTheatre.org

 

 

 

 

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