Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre launched its 31st season with the ICONS GALA: Celebrating Leslie Uggams, Sunday, Sept. 14 at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago at Water Tower Place, 160 E. Pearson St. The more than 135 guests of Porchlight’s deluxe brunch special event, directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber, music directed by Linda Madonia and co-hosted by Weber and Broadway veteran Kenny Ingram, raised more than $200,000 that supported Porchlight’s mission of celebrating the past, present and future of music theatre through its artistic, educational and community programming. Attendees saw multi-award winner Leslie Uggams, in-person, accept the 2025 ICON Award and join WGN’s Paul Lisnek in a one-on-one interview. In addition, the festive afternoon included performances highlighting Ms. Uggams’ incredible career and the presentation of the 2025 Luminary Award for Exemplary Leadership and Support of Music Theatre to philanthropists Brenda and James Grusecki. For more information on Porchlight Music Theatre, go to PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.
The brunch special event began with Board Chair Brandon John Harrington and Board Co-Treasurer Sue Suchy welcoming the guests. Harrington while greeting attendees said, “This afternoon we’ll honor two extraordinary and long-time champions of the arts, education and, of course, Porchlight, Brenda and Jim Grusecki. And as if that isn’t enough, we’ll also recognize and celebrate the spectacular career of our 2025 ICON, Broadway, film, recording and television star Leslie Uggams.” Suchy added before introducing Artistic Director Michael Weber, “Today we will reflect on this past season with gratitude, as we look forward to Porchlight’s exciting future and the new season to come.”
Weber set the stage for what would be an unforgettable afternoon and thanked all for their attendance while reflecting on the past year, “Porchlight is bouncing back steadily and strongly with a vision, plan and exciting new team members charting a course for our 25-26 season and for many years to come.”
Throughout the ICONS Gala, co-hosts Weber and Broadway’s Kenny Ingram shared stories of Ms. Uggams 70 year career followed by performances from Chicago’s leading music theater stars that paid tribute to the 2025 ICON recipient. The first musical tribute by Juwon Tyrel Perry, Ava Stovall, Bethany Thomas, Aerie Williams was “Show Tune” from the Broadway musical Jerry’s Girls.
Interim Executive Director Jenna Deja began the presentation of The Luminary Award for Exemplary Leadership and Support of Music Theatre to longtime supporters Brenda and James Grusecki. In her introduction she remarked, “This honor recognizes the Grusecki’s philanthropic leadership and their unique talent for inspiring others to take action and give. Brenda and Jim’s impact on the Chicago community is vast as they have provided resources in the areas of education, housing and social services, and the performing arts, especially theatre.” Deja then welcomed the Gruseckis to the stage.
Accepting the Luminary Award, Jim Grusecki joked with the audience, “I wish I could sing and thank you so much for the award.” and continued, “We are thrilled to receive it and to celebrate Porchlight Music Theatre which is so important in our community and to the city of Chicago.” Brenda Grusecki continued, “I look around and think this is just great. A room full of musical theatre lovers and there's nothing better than that except being in the theatre when the curtain rises and the overture starts.” She spoke of their love of Chicago theatre highlighting Shattered Globe, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company and Goodman and, of course, Porchlight Music Theatre. She shared her emotions of seeing specific Porchlight productions and concluded with a touching story about introducing her granddaughter, Amaline, to theatre and how the child’s reaction speaks to so much more. “Imagine if that [theatre] vanished. We can never let that happen. And that is why, that is the reason we support Porchlight and the beauty and empathy that it brings to the world and the way it lifts our sagging spirits. Jim and I thank all the dedicated, enormously creative artists, designers and innovative leaders without whose passion, commitment and courage our lives would be dust.”
Porchlight Board Member Tamara Sims and Porchlight’s Young Professional’s Vice Chair Gia Wunar spoke for a moment to thank the day’s sponsors, table hosts and volunteers, as well as the dedicated board of directors, Porchlight Young Professionals, tireless members of the Gala committee, and thoroughly amazing staff team. In addition, they also added a special note of gratitude to Brenda and James Grusecki, for their pivotal support as season sponsor.
The performers returned to the stage to share songs from Ms. Uggams Broadway, music and TV career including the theme from her groundbreaking TV show, “Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” a selection from her Tony Award winning Broadway debut, Hallelujah Baby, and others.
Porchlight Board Member and Young Professionals Vice Chair Nate Groonwald then shared how he first saw a Porchlight production as a college student at Roosevelt University, he soon joined the company as an intern and then a full-time staff member and is now a member of the Board of Directors. Groonwald in his touching testimonial said, “Professional theatres across our country continue to weather financial challenges. Inflation, uncertainty, and a shift in funding priorities from institutional and government agencies has caused waves that ripple far beyond larger theatre companies, oftentimes hitting the smaller theatres, Porchlight included, harder than expected. However, for the past thirty years, Porchlight has introduced us all to new and exciting performers, taught us about the art and craft of creating stories that elevate the human experience, and, simply put, has entertained us while still asking us "Why?" And concluded with,“Porchlight has made a significant impact on my life, and I invite you to join me this afternoon in ensuring that Porchlight thrives for another thirty years.”
The next performance was from Tony Nominee Felicia P. Fields singing “Take Me for a Buggy Ride” from Blues in The Night, a show for which both Ms. Fields and Ms. Uggams received accolades.
Development Director Pam Klier and frequent Porchlight collaborator and Jeff Award-winner Lorenzo Rush Jr spoke to the audience to get them ready for Patrick Desmond. Desmond hosted the paddle raise portion of the event and also shared his heartwarming story of his own love of theatre inspired by his children.
From “Roots” to Mame to Anything Goes to Call Me Madam and Thoroughly Modern Millie, the final slate of performances continued to delight audiences with songs from Ms. Uggams’s life on stage and television.
Weber returned to the stage to introduce Ms. Uggams and present her with the 2025 ICON Award. Accepting the award she began with, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This is um…I don't have words. I'm so honored and wow, I did a lot of stuff and am still going.” She then shared her familial inspiration for her career, reflected on her friendships with Carol Channing, Chita Rivera and what theatre means to her. And before joining WGN’s Paul Lisnek for an intimate one-on-one interview she said, ”I thank you so much for what you're doing. Not only are you a wonderful audience, you're a generous audience. I mean, because it's very important to give to your community, create great theater, discover new talent. I just love you all. And, I love, I love the theater.”
She then joined Lisnek for a 20-minute conversation spanning her life from her early inspirations to her recent roles starring in the “Deadpool” franchise and “The Gilded Age” and everything in between. The interview began with Lisnek asking how she felt seeing the video tributes, performances and hearing Weber and Ingram share her life. She responded by saying she was touched by it all, especially the images from her childhood adding, “Wasn’t I cute!” The conversation delighted the audience with its intimate nature and Lisnek asking about little known facts upon which Ms. Uggams shed light. For example, while most know she won the Tony award for Hallelujah Baby, many did not know that the role was originally to be played by the legendary Lena Horne. In addition, stories that were shared included mentions of her early years at the Apollo Theatre, her youth with Louis Armstrong, Dinah Washington’s card games and life lessons, her audition in an Atlantic City club for Jule Styne, Adolph Green and Betty Comden for her Tony award-winning Broadway debut and the launch of her TV program, the first TV variety show ever hosted by an African American woman, that included guests that were considered “not mainstream and even risky,” like Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone and The Temptations. She also shared with Lisnek the beginning of her 60 year marriage to Grahame Pratt. Ms. Uggams said that they were married was years before interracial marriage was legalized in the United States and they did deal with societal pressures, yet their love endures to today. The interview also included how Ms. Uggams and Sandy Duncan, were friends, and were both in “Roots.” She mentioned how their friendship grew stronger as Duncan would be ostracized by some for her portrayal of a villainous character in the legendary television miniseries. Before the interview concluded, Ms. Uggams reflected fondly on the film “American Fiction” with Jeffrey Wright and her new fans that came from her recent “Deadpool” role with Ryan Reynolds.
The ICONS Gala concluded with Weber, once again, thanking the audience for attending and for their continued support throughout the 2025 - 2026 season.
ABOUT LESLIE UGGAMS, 2025 ICON AWARD RECIPIENT
Leslie Uggams is a Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress and singer whose career has brought her from Harlem (The Apollo Theater) to Broadway (Hallelujah, Baby!), the big screen (“Deadpool,” “American Fiction”) to television (“Empire,” “The Leslie Uggams Show”). Perhaps best known for her stirring portrayal of “Kizzy” in the landmark TV mini-series “Alex Haley’s Roots” (Critics Choice Award, Emmy and Golden Globe nominations), Ms. Uggams has performed to critical and popular acclaim ever since her early professional appearances at the age of nine at the famed Apollo Theater in New York City. There she opened for such musical
legends as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington. Now, after seven decades on stage and screen, she is a legend in her own right. She is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Apollo and holds Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from the University of Connecticut and the University of Michigan. She has been honored with membership in the Theater Hall of Fame; the American Artist Award by Arena State; the Broadway League’s inaugural Juneteenth Legacy Award; the York Theatre’s Oscar Hammerstein Award and Theatre World’s John Willis Lifetime Achievement Award.
On Broadway, Ms. Uggams made her stunning musical theater debut starring in Hallelujah, Baby! earning both Tony and Theater World awards. Since then, she has starred on Broadway in Blues in the Night, Her First Roman with Richard Kiley, Jerry’s Girls, Anything Goes at the Lincoln Center Theatre (also the first national tour), King Headley II with Brian Stokes Mitchell (Tony Award nomination), Thoroughly Modern Millie and On Golden Pond opposite James Earl Jones. Most recently she appeared in Jelly’s Last Jam at City Center Encores. Off-Broadway, she has won Audelco Awards for The Old Settler, Keb Mo’s blues musical Thunder Knocking on the Door and First Breeze of Summer at the acclaimed Signature Theater. Favorite regional productions include Gypsy, Mame, A Little Night Music, The Rink, Into the Woods, Master Class, Call Me Madam, Blue, Hello, Dolly! and the national tour of Guys and Dolls.
In addition, Ms. Uggams has toured nationally, performing to sold-out audiences, with her autobiographical one-woman musical Uptown/Downtown (LA Drama Critics Circle Award, NAACP Theatre Award, IRNE Award, Broadway World People’s Choice Award) which chronicles her extraordinary career in stories and song. From New York to Boston and Los Angeles, critics have raved, calling her “dazzling,” “indefatigable,” and “delectable!” Ms. Uggams also made theater history by becoming the first African American actress to portray the iconic character of “Mama Rose” in Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s acclaimed
production of Gypsy. She also starred in the Encores! presentation of Pipe Dream at New York City Center; and in the world premiere of Stormy Weather: The Lena Horne Story (Ovation nomination) at the Pasadena Playhouse in California, where she broke the all-time house attendance record.
Her recent feature length films are “Deadpool and Wolverine,” “American Fiction,” Dotty & Soul” and “Nanny.” Streaming and television series include “Fallout,” “Extrapolations,” “The Bite,” “New Amsterdam” and “Empire.” She is set to appear in Season 3 of “The Gilded Age” on HBO. She also has voiced characters for the Netflix animated series “My Dad, the Bounty Hunter,” the Disney animated series “Minnie’s Bow-Tunes” and “The Family Guy.” Other prominent film and TV appearances include “Skyjacked;” “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks;” “Nurse Jackie;” “The Good Wife;” “Memphis Beat” and “NYC 22”. Her still vibrant television career, which began at the age of six portraying Ethel Waters’ niece on the TV series “Beulah,” spans decades. As a teenager she famously won a $12,500 college scholarship on “Name That Tune” and as a regular on “Sing Along with Mitch” she was the first African American performer to be featured on a weekly national primetime television series. Other early guest appearances included “Your Show of Shows,” “The Milton Berle Show,” “The Arthur Godfrey Show” and “The Ed Sullivan Show.” In 1970, she hosted her own primetime variety series, “The Leslie Uggams Show.” Later starring roles included her award-winning portrayal in “Alex Haley’s Roots,” the miniseries “Backstairs at the White House,” the ABC-TV movie “Sizzle,” the HBO special “Christmas at Radio City Music Hall” and her Emmy-winning duties as co-host of the NBC-TV series “Fantasy.”
While a student at Julliard School in New York, Ms. Uggams released the first of 10 solo albums she was to record for Columbia Records. Later she signed with Atlantic Records. Her newest CDs are “Leslie Uggams: Uptown/Downtown;” “On My Way to You: The Songs of Marilyn and Alan Bergman” and “Wishing You a Happy New Year” with the Curtis McKonly Orchestra. She can also be heard on the cast album of “Pipe Dream.”
In concert, Ms. Uggams toured with Peter Nero and Mel Torme; performed at the Hollywood Bowl in “Jerry Herman’s Broadway” and
appeared as a guest soloist with numerous symphony orchestras across the country, including The National Symphony Orchestra, The Cincinnati Pops, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and The Rhode Island Symphony. In addition, she performed before 300,000 people during the “Memorial Day Concert” on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol which was also broadcast live by PBS to millions of viewers nationwide. June 1 is now considered “Leslie Uggams Day” from that performance.
For more information, please visit her online at LeslieUggams.com, Facebook.com/LeslieUggams, YouTube.com/SmagguProductions and on Instagram @LeslieUggams1.
ABOUT BRENDA AND JAMES GRUSECKI, 2025 LUMINARY AWARD FOR EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT OF MUSIC THEATRE RECIPIENTS
Brenda and James Grusecki enjoy, champion and support the many cultural opportunities that Chicago offers. Together they administer the James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation that funds education, the arts and housing and social services. Brenda Grusecki is a lifelong learner and advocate for the humanities. She chaired the English Division of Oak Park and River Forest High School, instructed and supervised student teachers at Northwestern University and Dominican University and taught the gifted program at Northwestern. In addition to her passion for teaching English, three non-profit board positions (out of several) have been especially close to her heart:: the Thrive Counseling Center of Oak Park and River Forest, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company and the American Writers Museum. James Grusecki is Chairman Emeritus of one of the largest privately owned commercial and industrial real estate development and construction companies in the Midwest, Northern Builders, Inc. Currently, he is an advisory board member of Roosevelt University’s Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate, a director of the First National Bank of Brookfield, a governing member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a trustee of Theatre Aspen. Two quotations have guided the professional and philanthropic work of the Gruseckis, the first from E.M. Forester, “Only connect” and the second, as the pandemic descended, from Yo-Yo Ma, “How do we do everything possible to rebuild the world we really want to live in?”
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
Porchlight Music Theatre, entering its 31st 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 49 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 which continues this summer.
Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from Actors’ Equity Foundation; Arlen and Elaine Cohen Rubin Charitable Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City; Bayless Family Foundation; Bukiety Floral; Chicago Free for All; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation; Hearty Boys; Mesirow Financial; Carol Oppenheim & Jerome Lamet Charitable Fund; the Pritzker Traubert Foundation; Ryan and Spaeth, Inc.; Daniel and Genevieve Ratner Foundation; The Saints; Dr. Scholl Foundation; Service Club of Chicago, The Shubert Foundation and Uvae Kitchen & Wine Bar
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; Crowdstrike; Google and The Saints.
2025 ICON Award Recipient Leslie Uggams at the 2025 ICONS Gala, Sept. 14, at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago at Water Tower Place. Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Larson Photography
2025 ICON Award Recipient Leslie Uggams and Porchlight Board Member and Co-Host of the gala Kenny Ingram at the 2025 ICONS Gala, Sept. 14, at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago at Water Tower Place. Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Larson Photography
Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director and Co-Host of the gala Michael Weber, 2025 Luminary Award Recipient Brenda Grusecki, 2025 ICON Award Recipient Leslie Uggams, 2025 Luminary Award Recipient James Grusecki and Porchlight Music Theatre Interim Executive Director Jenna Deja at the 2025 ICONS Gala, Sept. 14, at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago at Water Tower Place. Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Larson Photography
(L to R) 2025 Luminary Award Recipient Brenda Grusecki, 2025 Luminary Award Recipient James Grusecki and Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director and Co-Host Michael Weber at the 2025 ICONS Gala, Sept. 14, at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago at Water Tower Place. Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Larson Photography
(L to R) Ava Stovall, Aerie Williams, Juwon Tyrel Perry and Bethany Thomas at the 2025 ICONS Gala, Sept. 14, at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago at Water Tower Place. Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Larson Photography
Felicia P. Fields at the 2025 ICONS Gala, Sept. 14, at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago at Water Tower Place. Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Larson Photography
The audience at the 2025 ICONS Gala, Sept. 14, at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago at Water Tower Place. Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Larson Photography
(L to R) WGN’s Paul Lisnek and 2025 ICON Award Recipient Leslie Uggams at the 2025 ICONS Gala, Sept. 14, at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago at Water Tower Place. Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Larson Photography
MORE FROM PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE:
Off The Porch: Making Marilyn Miller - An Immersive Musical
Fall 2025
Book and lyrics by David H. Bell
Music by Ira Antelis
Porchlight’s new work developmental series, Off the Porch, hosts Making Marilyn Miller - An Immersive Experience. Making Marilyn Miller follows the audition process for a modern musical based on the life of the great music theatre icon of the 1920s. Three women are the finalists for this role of a lifetime and in the audition process, they explore the complex, contradictory, meteoric success of one of the theatre's first superstars.
Marilyn Miller starred in her first Ziegfeld Follies in 1918 when she was only 22 years old. She became the highest paid performer on Broadway and Hollywood and was the embodiment of the "modern flapper" and a symbol of the Jazz Age.
Porchlight Sings the Season
Monday, Dec. 8 and Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Directed by Brenda Didier and Michael Weber
Music Directed by David Fiorello
Rhapsody Theater, 1328 W. Morse Ave.
Single tickets go on sale Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 12 p.m.
Porchlight Sings the Season celebrates the holidays with music from Broadway and Hollywood with Porchlight luminaries performing songs from Mame, Meet Me in St. Louis, Holiday Inn and others. This premiere offers a musical respite from the holiday stress with an unforgettable evening of festive entertainment, a salute to Chicago holidays past, warm cookies, sing-alongs, an ugly Christmas sweater contest and more.
The Irish … and How They Got That Way
January 31 - March 15, 2026
By Frank McCourt
Original Musical Arrangements by Rusty McGee
Directed by David Girolmo
Music Directed by David Fiorello
Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St.
Single tickets go on sale Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 12 p.m.
The uplifting story of an American immigrant journey, The Irish … and How They Got That Way is an irreverent history of Ireland through the tumultuous 20th and 21st centuries seen through the eyes of Pulitzer Prize winning author, Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes, ‘Tis, Teacher Man) whose razor sharp wit, coupled with his trademark satirical irony and boundless love for the Irish People are all underscored by humor, heartache and a glorious score that spans 100+ years from “Danny Boy,” “Galway Bay” and “The Rare Old Times” to “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ra” and U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I Am Looking For.”
Porchlight In Concert: Follies
Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 26, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Goldman
Directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber
Music Directed by Linda Madonia
Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave.
Single tickets go on sale Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 12 p.m.
Porchlight In Concert debuted in 2024 with sold out performances of Sunday in the Park with George and this season returns to the Studebaker for a limited engagement of another Stephen Sondheim classic, Follies. Winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Score, Follies shares the reunion of the legendary "Weismann Follies" company on the eve of their crumbling theater's demolition, to reminisce about their past and confront their futures with a rich score that celebrates show music of the 20s - 40s. Considered to be one of the landmark American musicals, Follies includes the celebrated Sondheim standards "Broadway Baby," "I'm Still Here," "Losing My Mind" and more.
Chicago Sings Broadway’s British Invasion
Spring 2026
Porchlight’s annual concert fundraiser highlights Great Britain’s contributions to the biggest hits of Broadway. Chicago music theatre’s leading performers add their signature style to the musical favorites that premiered “across the pond” in this one-night-only event. From early West End successes like Me and My Girl, Oliver! and Stop the World - I Want to Get Off, to the “rock operas,” Jesus Christ Superstar, Chess and Evita, blockbusters including Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon and Les Misérables and recent favorites Mamma Mia!, Six, Operation Mincemeat and more.
Broadway in your Backyard
Summer 2026
Porchlight's free, outdoor summer concert series marks its sixth edition in 2026 at parks throughout Chicago. The 60-minute, family-friendly, outdoor performance includes some of the best loved show tunes from Broadway and Hollywood with sing-alongs, a raffle for valuable prizes and more.
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
Porchlight Music Theatre, entering its 31st 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 49 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 which continues this summer.
Due to popular demand, award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre has added a second New Faces Sing Broadway 1960 performance. The New Faces Sing Broadway 1960 updated schedule is now Tuesday, Sept. 30 and Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m., at The Rhapsody Theater, 1328 W. Morse Ave. The host for the 10th anniversary performances of the series is Johanna McKenzie Miller and New Faces Sing Broadway 1960 is directed by Frankie Leo Bennett and music directed by Micky York. Tickets are reserved seating and are on sale now for $65 at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling The Rhapsody Theater box office, 888.495.9001.