Porchlight Music Theatre announces the next production in its 25th Anniversary season: the New Faces Sing Broadway series. New Faces Sing Broadway 1956, hosted by Angela Ingersoll, directed by Brianna Borger and music directed by Chuck Larkin, returns to Evanston at SPACE, 1245 Chicago Ave.
Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. and to The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario Street, Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Single tickets to New Faces Sing Broadway 1956 are $37 at SPACE. Single tickets at The Arts Club include a pre-performance cocktail hour starting at 6:30 p.m. and are $60 each. Single tickets or series subscriptions are available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office, 773.777.9884.
Porchlight Music Theatre’s New Faces Sing Broadway series takes audiences on a musical journey from start to finish of a Broadway season. Peppered with photos and films of the era in an exciting multimedia presentation, trivia games with prizes, sing-alongs and more, a celebrity host introduces the audience to the next generation of Chicago music theatre artists while serving as a guide to the stars, songs and stories of a past season on the Great White Way. New Faces Sing Broadway 1956 includes hits and some hidden gems from the 1956 Broadway shows including songs from My Fair Lady, The Most Happy Fella, Bells Are Ringing and others!
The cast of Porchlight Music Theatre’s New Faces Sing Broadway 1956 includes: Bryce Ancil (recently in Spring Awakening with Blank Theatre), Ben Barker (who appeared in Into the Woods at Writers Theatre), Grace Bobber (seen in Pinkalicious at Marriott), Lydie Burke (last in Junie B. Jones at Marriott Theatre), Justine Cameron (currently in Newsies at Paramount), Carl Herzog (seen in Bridges of Madison County with Theo Ubique), Juan Gonzalez Machain (recently in My Manana Comes at Teatro Vista), Jennifer Ledesma (recently seen in Grand Hotel with Kokandy), Eunice (Yoo-Mi) Park ( soon to be seen in Baked! The Musical at the Chicago Music Theater Festival) and Ken Singleton (now in Newsies at Paramount).
The New Faces Sing Broadway 1956 production team includes: Brianna Borger, director; Chuck Larkin, music director; Sean Michael Mohler, stage manager and at The Arts Club of Chicago: Warren “Levon” Jackson, sound board.
ABOUT ANGELA INGERSOLL, host
Angela Ingersoll headlines concert stages nationwide with her Emmy Award-nominated performance “Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland,” as seen on PBS. Her concert work earns continual accolades, with critics dubbing her "the heiress apparent to the Garland legacy” (Splash Magazine). Ingersoll is also known for her stunning portrayal of Judy Garland in the play End of the Rainbow (Chicago—Porchlight Music Theatre, Jeff Award for Best Actress in a Play; Los Angeles—La Mirada Theatre and Laguna Playhouse; St Louis—Max & Louie Productions). Ingersoll is the recipient of an Emmy Award nomination; a Jeff Award; three Jeff Award nominations; a Broadway World Award; Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year in Theatre, "Top Performances of the Year" honors from Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times; a St Louis Theater Circle Award nomination; four Ostrander Awards and two Ostrander Award nominations. Attracting the attention of Garland’s family, Ingersoll partnered with Garland’s son onstage for Joey Luft and Angela Ingersoll Celebrate Judy Garland.
Other theatre credits include How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Hedy LaRue, Jeff Award nomination) at Marriott Theatre; Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice) at Notre Dame Shakespeare; Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits (Titania/Katharine), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Mistress Quickly), Macbeth (Witch), Richard III (Lady Anne), The Comedy of Errors (Luciana) all at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; The Great Gatsby (Myrtle) at Indiana Repertory Theatre; The Game’s Afoot (Daria) and The 39 Steps (Annabella/Pamela/Margaret) both at Drury Lane Theatre; The Mistress Cycle (Anais Nin, Jeff Award nomination) at Apple Tree/ Auditorium Theatre; Carousel (Julie) at Madison Rep; South Pacific (Nellie) at Light Opera Works; The Secret Garden (Martha, Jeff Award nomination) at Porchlight Music Theatre; Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Belle, Ostrander Award), Jekyll and Hyde (Lucy, Ostrander Award), Macbeth (Lady Macbeth, Ostrander Award), Bat Boy: The Musical (Shelley, Ostrander Award), Man of La Mancha (Aldonza, Ostrander Award nomination), Ragtime (Evelyn Nesbit, Ostrander Award nomination), Nine (Carla), Of Mice and Men (Curly's Wife), The Philadelphia Story (Tracy Lord), The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy) at the Playhouse on the Square; and work with Steppenwolf, The Second City (Chicago/Hollywood) and Goodman Theatre. Other television credits include “Chicago PD” (NBC).
ABOUT BRIANNA BORGER, DIRECTOR
Brianna Borger is making her directorial debut with Porchlight Music Theatre’s New Faces Sing Broadway 1956, where she previously earned a Jeff Nomination for her performance as “Anna” in The King & I and appeared as the “Baker's Wife” in Into the Woods. Chicagoland credits include Parade, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Twelfth Night (Writers Theatre); Southern Gothic (original cast, world premiere, Windy City Playhouse); The Christmas Schooner, The Bardy Bunch (Mercury Theatre); Billy Elliot, Bye Bye Birdie (Drury Lane) and The Three Musketeers (world premiere, Chicago Shakespeare Theater). Borger’s regional credits are The Full Monty (Peninsula Players); Always... Patsy Cline (The Armory); Beauty & the Beast (Northern Stage); Assassins, Love's Labours Lost (Alaska Shakespeare Festival). She has toured with The King & I (Broadway Asia). She also teaches musical theatre voice and audition technique for students and professionals.
ABOUT CHUCK LARKIN, MUSIC DIRECTOR
Chuck Larkin is returning to Porchlight Music Theatre after Far From Heaven. Other Chicago theatre credits include Northlight Theatre. Larkin served as associate conductor for Jersey Boys (Chicago and National Tour) and as musical director for three seasons of American Folklore Theatre in Door County, Wisconsin. Composing credits include the award-winning River’s End with playwright/lyricist Cheryl Coons (Marin Theatre Company, NAMT, NYMF, and ASCAP’s Harold Arlen Award), and as featured songwriter with Michael Feinstein’s “Now & Then” at Carnegie Hall.
ABOUT 2019 YEAR OF CHICAGO THEATRE
Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to be part of the 2019 Year of Chicago Theatre, presented by the City of Chicago and the League of Chicago Theatres. To truly fall in love with Chicago, you must go to our theatres. This is where the city bares its fearless soul. Home to a community of creators, risk-takers and big hearts, Chicago theatre is a hotbed for exciting new work and hundreds of world premieres every year. From Broadway musicals to storefront plays and improv, there’s always a seat waiting for you at one of our 200+ theatres.
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 Artist In-Residence. Central to the Ruth Page Center for the Arts’ programming is the Artists In-Residence 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
As the home for music theatre in Chicago now in its 25th season, Porchlight Music Theatre is nationally recognized for reimagining classic productions, developing new works and showcasing musical theatre’s noted Chicago veterans and rising stars. Porchlight elevates the genre by providing intimate and powerful theatrical experiences of music theatre through the lens of the “Chicago Style.” The 2017–2018 year marked a milestone for Porchlight as the company became an Artist In-Residence at the historic Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago’s Gold Coast. Porchlight’s rich history includes the staging of more than 70 productions with 15 Chicago premieres and five world premieres. Through Porchlight’s “Off the Porch” new works program, the musicals of the next generation are developed and given a first audience. The School at Porchlight is Chicago’s center for music theatre training in the areas of performance, writing and appreciation including the launch of a youth summer “Make Your Own Musical” Camp in 2017. The company’s many accolades include 30 Black Theatre Alliance nominations and 12 awards, as well as a total of 167 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations resulting in 42 Jeff Awards including five consecutive Best Production awards for The Scottsboro Boys (2017), Dreamgirls (2016), Sondheim on Sondheim (2015), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (2014) and A Class Act (2013).
Porchlight Music Theatre announces the next production in its 25th Anniversary season: the New Faces Sing Broadway series. New Faces Sing Broadway 1956, hosted by Angela Ingersoll, directed by Brianna Borger and music directed by Chuck Larkin; returns to Evanston at SPACE, 1245 Chicago Ave. Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. and to The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario Street, Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Single tickets to New Faces Sing Broadway 1956 are $37 at SPACE. Single tickets at The Arts Club include a pre-performance cocktail hour starting at 6:30 p.m. and are $60 each. Single tickets or series subscription are available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office, 773.777.9884.
The 2019 – 2020 25th Anniversary Season is dedicated to the memory of long-time Board Member George K. “Kim” Sargent.
The New Faces Sing Broadway series is generously sponsored by Elaine Cohen and Arlen Rubin.
Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from the Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation, Actors’ Equity Foundation, Allstate, Bayless Family Foundation, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Chapman | Spingola, Attorneys at Law, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Elegant Event Lighting, Elevate Energy, James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation, Harris Family Foundation, Hearty Boys, Hopsmith, A.L. and Jennie L. Luria Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Prince Foundation, the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, Daniel and Genevieve Ratner Foundation, The Saints, the Stuart Family Foundation, the Topfer Family Foundation, and Walton Street Kitchen. 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.