This spring, Porchlight Music Theatre presents the winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Spring Awakening, at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N Dearborn St., April 23 - May 29, music by Duncan Sheik+, book and lyrics by Steven Sater+ and based on the 1891 German play Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind. Porchlight’s production is directed and choreographed by Brenda Didier* and music directed by Justin Akira Kono+.
Previews are Saturday, April 23 at 3 p.m., Sunday, April 24 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 27 at 7 p.m. and Thursday, April 28 at 1:30 p.m. with the press opening Thursday, April 28 at 7 p.m. The regular performance schedule is Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. with Thursday matinees May 5 at 10:30 a.m. and May 12 at 1:30 p.m. There are no Thursday evening performances May 5, 12 or 19, complete schedule at the end of this release. Tickets for Spring Awakening are now on sale for $25 - $74 and may be purchased through the Box Office by calling 773.777.9884 or by visiting PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.
Set against the backdrop of a repressive and provincial late 19th-century Germany, and based on Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play that was immediately banned due to its subject matter, Spring Awakening tells the timeless story of youthful self-discovery and budding sexuality as seen through the eyes of three teenagers. Haunting and provocative, this landmark American musical celebrates a journey from adolescence to adulthood with power, poignancy and passion.
The Cast for Spring Awakening includes Ariana Burks*/^, (Martha); McKinley Carter*, (The Adult Women); Jack DeCesare+, (Melchior); Isis Elizabeth*, (ensemble / US Anna & Thea); Desiree Gonzalez*, (ensemble / US Wendla & Ilse); Ryan Hamman+/^, (ensemble / US Otto & Ernst); Maya Lou Hlava*, (Wendla); Quinn Kelch+, (Moritz); Maddy Kelly*, (Thea); John Marshall Jr.+, (Hanschen); Drew Mitchell+, (ensemble / US Melchior & Georg); Michael Joseph Mitchell+, (The Adult Men); Juwon Tyrel Perry+, (Georg / US Hanschen), Kevin James Sievert+, (Otto / US Moritz); Kelan M. Smith+, (Ernst); Sydney Monet Swanson^/*, (Anna & US Martha); Tiffany T. Taylor*, (Ilse); Genevieve Thiers*, (US/The Adult Women) and Anthony Whitaker+, (US/The Adult Men.)
The Spring Awakening production team includes Brenda Didier*, (director/choreographer); Justin Akira Kono+, (music director); Lorenzo Rush, Jr.+, (assistant director); Alejandro Fonseca+, (associate choreographer); Kristina Fluty*, (intimacy director), Jonathan Berg-Einhorn+, (properties designer); Patrick Chan+, (lighting designer); Matthew R. Chase+, (sound designer); Bill Morey, USA+, (costume designer); Chris Rhoton+, USA+ (scenic designer), Johnnie Schleyer+, (scenic supervisor); Jamie Silverman*, (wardrobe supervisor); Jamie Davis+, (audio supervisor & engineer); Richard Strimer+, (production stage manager, AEA); Caitlin Body*, (assistant stage manager, AEA); Peyton Cooper+, (assistant stage manager); Andrea Enger=, (assistant stage manager); Rachel West*, (lighting supervisor); Frankie Leo Bennett+, (producing artistic associate); Alex Rhyan+ (production & operations director) and Michael Weber+, (artistic director).
ABOUT BRENDA DIDIER* (Director/Choreographer)
Brenda Didier returns to Porchlight where she co-directed and co-choreographed the award-winning Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies with Florence Walker Harris. Also, at Porchlight, Didier directed A Chorus Line and directed and choreographed Billy Elliot, The Musical, In The Heights and Dreamgirls among others. Didier is a multiple Jeff Award recipient in both direction and choreography, and the recipient of After Dark Awards, BroadwayWorld awards and the National Youth Theatre award. She is the proud owner and artistic director of the Lincolnshire Academy of Dance, celebrating its 24th season. Other credits include work at the Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Second City, Marriott Theatre, The Paramount, Theatre at the Center, BoHo, Mercury Theatre Chicago, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, Stage Left, Six Flags Great America, Busch Gardens Virginia, Cirque Shanghai at Navy Pier, T-Mobile’s national commercial “Home for the Holidays,” The Kenny Rogers Christmas Tour and the University of Illinois, University of Wisconsin and Carthage College.
ABOUT JUSTIN AKIRA KONO+ (Music Director/Conductor)
Justin Akira Kono’s credits with Porchlight include Broadway in your Backyard, Sophisticated Ladies, Chicago Sings: Rock and Roll Broadway, Billy Elliot the Musical and Porchlight Revisits Do Re Mi. In Chicagoland, he has worked with All Shook Up and Freaky Friday (Williams Street Rep), Legends of the 50s & 60s (Chicago Music Theater Works) and Kiss Me Kate (Marriott Lincolnshire). A drummer, percussionist, keyboardist and orchestrator of a musically wide range, he is currently the music director at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Downers Grove. He 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.
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE AS RUTH PAGE ARTIST IN-RESIDENCE
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.”
Now in its 27th 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 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 recently launched its first summer performance schedule in 2021 that included a sold-out performance of New Faces Sing Broadway 1979 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, the premiere of its outdoor music series Broadway in your Backyard, performed throughout Chicagoland this summer and special appearances at Sundays on State and Navy Pier’s Chicago Live Again.
This spring, Porchlight Music Theatre presents the winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Spring Awakening, at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N Dearborn St., April 23 - May 29, music by Duncan Sheik+, book and lyrics by Steven Sater+ and based on the 1891 German play Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind. Porchlight’s production is directed and choreographed by Brenda Didier* and music directed by Justin Akira Kono+. Previews are Saturday, April 23 at 3 p.m., Sunday, April 24 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 27 at 7 p.m. and Thursday, April 28 at 1:30 p.m. with the press opening Thursday, April 28 at 7 p.m. The regular performance schedule is Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. with Thursday matinees May 5 at 10:30 a.m. and May 12 at 1:30 p.m. There are no Thursday evening performances May 5, 12 or 19, complete schedule at the end of this release. Tickets for Spring Awakening are now on sale for $25 - $74 and may be purchased through the Box Office by calling 773.777.9884 or by visiting PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.
Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from Actors’ Equity Foundation; Allstate; 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.
LISTINGS INFORMATION:
Porchlight Music Theatre
Spring Awakening
Based on the 1891 German play Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind
Music by Duncan Sheik+
Book and Lyrics by Steven Sater+
Directed and Choreographed by Brenda Didier*
Music Directed by Justin Akira Kono+
April 23 - May 29, 2022,
The Ruth Page Center for the Arts
1016 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago
Saturday, Apr. 23 at 3 p.m. (Preview)
Sunday, Apr. 24 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. (Preview)
Wednesday, Apr. 27 at 7 p.m. (Preview)
Thursday, Apr. 28 at 1:30 p.m. (Preview)
Thursday, Apr. 28 at 7 p.m (Press Opening)
Performance Schedule :
Saturday, Apr. 30 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 1 at 2 p.m.
Thursday, May 5 at 10:30 a.m.
Friday, May 6 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 7 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 8 at 2 p.m.
Thursday, May 12 at 1:30 p.m.
Friday, May 13 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 14 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 15 at 2 p.m.
Friday, May 20 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 21 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 22 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 26 at 7 p.m.
Friday, May 27 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 28 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 29 at 2 p.m.
Ticket Price: $25 – 74
Website: PorchlightMusicTheatre.org
Pronoun Key: + (he/him/his); * (she/her/hers); ^ (they, them, theirs). = (any with respect)
The cast of Spring Awakening: First row: (L to R) Ariana Burks, McKinley Carter, Jack DeCesare, Isis Elizabeth, Desiree Gonzalez, Ryan Hamman Second row: (L to R) Maya Lou Hlava, Quinn Kelch, Maddy Kelly, John Marshall Jr., Drew Mitchell, Michael Joseph Mitchell Third row: Juwon Tyrel Perry, Kevin James Sievert, Kelan M. Smith, Sydney Monet Swanson, Tiffany T. Taylor, Genevieve Thiers, Anthony Whitaker