Porchlight Music Theatre, Chicago’s home for music theatre, is proud to announce its 28th season that includes the 2022 – 2023 Mainstage, Porchlight Revisits and New Faces Sing Broadway series. Mainstage and Porchlight Revisits performances take place at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street.
Subscription renewals are available Tuesday, April 12 - Sunday, May 1 with new subscriptions available starting Monday, May 2. The single ticket sale date will be announced at a later date. More information is available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by phone at 773.777.9884.
“Our 28th Mainstage season speaks to moments of courage, endurance and humanity in the face of life’s greatest challenges,” said Porchlight Artistic Director Michael Weber. “This series of productions: a Pulitzer Prize-winner; two that are “Best Musical” Tony Award-winners and the Chicago premiere of one of the most incredible new musicals seen recently off-Broadway, remind us there is no subject that is beyond the realm of the art of music theatre and that there is no story that cannot be enhanced when told through the forms of music, drama and dance.”
The following is a recap of all three series with detailed information in chronological order, including run, opening dates, etc.
The 2022 – 2023 Mainstage Season
RENT, the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that has become a cultural phenomenon with millions of fans around the world, October 29 - November 27.
Cabaret, a bold and provocative landmark musical that shines a spotlight on Berlin in the late 1920s and the colorful, gritty and hedonistic lives found there, January 14 - February 12, 2023.
Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, CHICAGO PREMIERE in association with Skylight Music Theatre, is the critically acclaimed new musical with a tongue-in-cheek script by Tony Award-winner Joe DiPietro, May 6 - June 1, 2023.
The 2022 – 2023 Porchlight Revisits Season
Porchlight Revisits celebrates the lost musical gems of Broadway and Off-Broadway and is your ticket to go behind the scenes with an introduction to the luminaries who created the greatest musicals of all time and an opportunity to discover a new ‘old’ favorite all in one big show. Chicago’s finest music theatre talent dust off these treasures and escort audiences to the world of Broadway’s past for a limited engagement. In addition to productions from days gone by, each Porchlight Revisits includes the Behind the Show Backstory, an entertaining and informative multimedia presentation, created and hosted by Artistic Director Michael Weber, introducing the evening’s production including the show’s creative history, juicy backstage stories and much more.
The ninth season of Porchlight Revisits includes:
The Apple Tree (1966)
Postponed from Porchlight’s 2021 - 22 season, The Apple Tree is from the songwriting team behind Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me. This witty, tuneful and charming musical is made up of three musical one-acts and was Tony nominated for Best Musical. Wednesday, Dec. 7 and Thursday, Dec. 8.
I am a Camera (1951)
This special event staged reading is a rare opportunity to experience the remarkable play that became the inspiration for the musical Cabaret. Never revived on Broadway and not seen in Chicago in decades, the title is a quotation taken from Christopher Isherwood’s “Goodbye to Berlin’s” first page: "I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking," Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023.
Two by Two (1970)
The legendary comedian Danny Kaye starred in the original 1970 Broadway run of Two by Two, the musical comedy based on Clifford Odets’ play The Flowering Peach, that tells the story of Noah, the flood and its aftermath with touches of modern themes including the environment and the differences from generation to generation, Wednesday, May 24 and Thursday, May 25, 2023.
The 2022 – 2023 New Faces Sing Broadway Season includes:
New Faces Sing Broadway 1951
Fall 2022
Featuring songs from Broadway shows including Guys and Dolls, The King & I, Paint Your Wagon, Call Me Madam and more.
New Faces Sing Broadway 1984
Winter 2023
Featuring hit songs from Broadway shows including La Cage Aux Folles, Sunday in the Park with George, Baby, The Rink and more.
New Faces Sing Broadway NOW (2023)
Spring 2023
Featuring songs from shows playing on Broadway right NOW.
Elaine Cohen and Arlen Rubin are the season sponsors of New Faces Sing Broadway.
Full production artistic leadership, actors and location will be released at a future date.
2022 – 2023 Special Events
ICONS Gala 2022
Friday, Sept. 23
The ICONS Gala returns Friday, Sept. 23 to The Ritz-Carlton Chicago with the presentation of the ICON Award, performances and more.
Porchlight Music Theatre’s 2022 – 2023 season includes, in chronological order:
MAINSTAGE
RENT
October 29 - November 27, 2022
Music, Lyrics & Book by Jonathan Larson
Over the last 25 years, this Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical 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.
New Faces Sing Broadway 1951
Fall 2022
Featuring songs from Broadway shows including Guys and Dolls, The King & I, Paint Your Wagon, Call Me Madam and more.
Porchlight Revisits The Apple Tree
Wednesday, Dec. 7 and Thursday, Dec. 8
Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Book by Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick with contributions from Jerome Coopersmith
The songwriting team behind Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me created this witty, tuneful and charming musical that was Tony nominated for Best Musical. Made up of three musical miniatures: "The Diary of Adam and Eve," a quirky, touching spin on the tale of the world's first couple, adapted from Mark Twain's short stories; "The Lady or the Tiger?," a 1960s rock and roll fable set in a mythical kingdom, which explores the fickleness of love; and "Passionella," based on Jules Feiffer's offbeat Cinderella-story about a chimney sweep who dreams of being a "glamorous movie star."
MAINSTAGE
Cabaret
January 14 - February 12, 2023
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the the 1951 play I Am a Camera by John Van Druten adapted from the 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
Bold and provocative, this landmark musical, winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, shines a spotlight on Berlin in the late 1920s and the colorful, gritty and hedonistic lives found there. Filled with iconic songs and electrifying dance, the story of American writer “Clifford Bradshaw’s” relationship with English cabaret performer “Sally Bowles” as the Nazi party is rising to power, is one you’ll never forget. Overseen by an ominous “Emcee” at the fabled Kit Kat Club, Cabaret is a cautionary tale that has renewed resonance in today’s political climate.
Porchlight Revisits I am a Camera
Wednesday, Feb 8, 2023 at 7 p.m.
Written by John Van Druten
Adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s 1939 novel “Goodbye to Berlin”
(A special presentation in association with our production of Cabaret
Premiering in 1951 starring Julie Harris as “Sally Bowles,” this special staged reading is a rare opportunity to experience the remarkable play that became the inspiration for the musical Cabaret. Never revived on Broadway and not seen in Chicago in decades, the title is a quotation taken from Christopher Isherwood’s novel’s first page: "I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking." Before Kander and Ebb. Before Bob Fosse. Before Liza Minnelli. Come see the play that started it all!
New Faces Sing Broadway 1984
Winter 2022
Featuring songs from La Cage Aux Folles, Sunday in the Park with George, Baby, The Rink and more.
MAINSTAGE
Ernest Shackleton Loves Me
In association with Skylight Music Theater
CHICAGO PREMIERE
May 6 - June 1, 2023
Music by Brendan Milburn
Lyrics by Valerie Vigoda
Book by Joe DiPietro
Ernest Schackleton’s ship, Endurance, was recently discovered in the icy waters off of Antarctica 100 years after it was crushed by ice and sank. In spring 2023, audiences may discover Shackelton on the Porchlight stage with Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, the critically acclaimed new musical with a tongue-in-cheek script by Tony Award-winner Joe DiPietro (Memphis). In this wildly inventive adventure, a sleep-deprived single mom and video game music composer is contacted across time by the famous polar explorer Ernest Shackleton. Inspired by her music, he shares his epic Antarctic journey with her in video and song. Together, they conquer the odds in a timeless love affair for the ages. Awarded 2017 Best New Musical by the Off Broadway Alliance.
Chicago Sings 2023
Spring 2023
The annual star-studded fundraising concert will return in spring 2023.
Porchlight Revisits Two By Two
May 24 & 25
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Martin Charnin
Book by Peter Stone
Based on the play The Flowering Peach by Clifford Odets
The legendary comedian Danny Kaye starred in the original 1970 Broadway run of Two by Two, the musical comedy based on Clifford Odets’ play The Flowering Peach, that tells the story of Noah, the flood and its aftermath with touches of modern themes including the environment and the differences from generation to generation. The first of two collaborations with Martin Charnin (the other being I Remember Mama,) this late career production by the legendary Richard Rodgers is, by turns, tuneful and hilarious.
New Faces Sing Broadway NOW (2023)
Spring/Summer 2023
Featuring songs from shows playing on Broadway right NOW.
Free Summer Concert Series
Broadway in Your Backyard
Summer 2023
Broadway in Your Backyard is a 60-minute musical revue featuring some of the best and most popular songs ever written for musical theatre with songs from productions like Hello, Dolly!, The Wiz, Dreamgirls and Hairspray. Four of Chicago’s professional music theatre performers and a live pianist bring these crowd-pleasing favorites to neighborhood parks across the city.
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE AS 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-Residence Organization. Central to The Ruth Page Center for the Arts’ programming is the 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
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 2021-2022 season, Porchlight’s fall schedule included programming of Pump Boys and Dinnetes, Blues in the Night, Spring Awakening, New Faces Sing Broadway 1947, New Faces Sing Broadway 1971 and New Faces Sing Broadway NOW. Porchlight recently launched its first summer performance schedule including the premiere of its outdoor music series Broadway in your Backyard, performing throughout Chicagoland this summer.
Porchlight Music Theatre is supported by generous contributions from Actors’ Equity Foundation, Bayless Family Foundation, Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation, Chapman | Spingola, Attorneys at Law, Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Elegant Events Lighting, James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation, Harris Family Foundation, Hopsmith, MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Prince Foundation, Daniel and Genevieve Ratner Foundation, The Saints, Stuart Family Foundation and Topfer Family 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.