Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce its latest virtual offering, the holiday return of The Ruffians’ Burning Bluebeard. Written by Jay Torrence and directed by Halena Kays, Burning Bluebeard is available for streaming Friday, Dec. 4 - Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. Streaming begins Friday, Dec. 4 at 12 p.m. CST with $15 - $50 tickets available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org. Links are available for viewing 72 hours after purchase. The running time for Burning Bluebeard is 100 minutes and this streamed performance was filmed during the 2019 run at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street.
Burning Bluebeard, now in its ninth year, was created and performed by the critically acclaimed theatre troupe The Ruffians. A magical story is told with music, clowning, tumbling, acrobatics and dance, Burning Bluebeard is a physical-performance phenomena inspired by the true story of Chicago’s former Iroquois Theatre and the unforgettable events that resulted in tragedy for 600 theatergoers at Christmastime in 1903.
Each performance is a vaudevillian musical delight with a story that excavates the poetic and poignant remains of a piece of Chicago’s rich history and leaves the audience with an unforgettable experience.
This performance of Burning Bluebeard includes the 2019 cast: Pamela Chermansky (Fancy Clown); Anthony Courser (Henry Gilfoil); Jay Torrence (Robert Murray); Leah Urzendowski (Nellie Reed); Ryan Walters (Eddie Foy) with Crosby Sandoval (Faerie Queen).
The Burning Bluebeard production team includes Maggie Fullilove-Nugent (lighting design); Robert Hornbostel (associate sound design); Jeffrey D. Kmiec (set design); Bill Morey (costume coordination); Mike Tutaj (original sound design); Leah Urzendowski (choreography); Ariel Etana Triunfo (additional 2019 choreography); Sam Moryoussef (production manager); Justine Palmisano (stage manager) and Alex Rhyan (production and operations director).
The following artists significantly contributed to this performance and the play’s creation with The Neo-Futurists in 2011: Lizzie Bracken (set design, costume design, prop design), Dan Broberg (set design), Maggie Fullilove-Nugent (lighting design), Leah Urzendowski (choreography) and Mike Tutaj (sound design).
ABOUT JAY TORRENCE, Playwright and “Robert Murray”
Jay Torrence is a Ruffian and the playwright who created Burning Bluebeard, Roustabout! The Great Circus Trainwreck and Ivywild. As a former Neo-Futurist artistic director and ensemble member, Torrence worked over a decade writing, directing and performing hundreds of short plays that debuted in Chicago and toured throughout the nation. Other theater credits include: 500 Clown, Theater Oobleck, Akvavit Theatre, The Actor’s Gymnasium, Theater on the Lake, The Hypocrites, Redmoon Theater, Woolly Mammoth, Geva, Shakespeare Theatre Company (DC), The New Victory Theater (NY), The Actors Theatre of Louisville and Edmonton Actors Theatre. Internationally, this is the 13th production of Burning Bluebeard.
ABOUT HALENA KAYS, Director
Halena Kays is a theater director, deviser and performer. She most recently served as the artistic director of The Hypocrites, where she both performed and directed. She is the co-founder and former artistic director of Barrel of Monkeys, where she created and directed the majority of their public performances. She is a founding member of the artistic collaborative, The Ruffians, and directs their recurring hit production of Burning Bluebeard, as well as their other experiments in live performance events. She is a UT-Austin and Northwestern graduate, former member of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care unit, past co-artistic curator for Theater on the Lake and assistant professor at Northwestern University.
Kays is an artistic associate with the Neo-Futurists where she directed Pop/Waits, 44 Plays for 44 Presidents, Burning Bluebeard, co-created and directed Daredevils and Daredevils Hamlet and the sight specific extravaganza, Fake Lake. Some interesting Chicago directing credits include: Endgame, Ivywild, Six Characters in Search of an Author at The Hypocrites; The Magic Play at The Goodman, Lord of the Flies at Steppenwolf; On Clover Road at American Blues Theater; Feast (part of a collaborative directing effort) with The Albany Park Theatre Project at The Goodman. Regionally, Halena has directed The Magic Play at The Olney Theater Center, The Actor’s Theater of Louisville, Portland Center Stage and Syracuse Stage, Love Song with The Nashville Story Garden and Secretary for Nashville Rep’s Ingram New Works Festival.
Kays has been nominated for a Jefferson Citation for Best Supporting Actress and Best Direction, named one of the top 50 “players” in Chicago theater by NewCity, is a recipient of the prestigious 3Arts award and received a signed letter from Mr. Rogers saying she was “special” in 1978. She is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreography Society.
ABOUT THE RUFFIANS
The Ruffians are an artistic collective of theater makers (clowns, daredevils, acrobats, dancers, writers, performers, designers, directors). The Ruffians have all honed their craft working over a decade in Chicago’s various and thriving experimental, clown and storefront theater communities. A Ruffians objective is to make beautiful things with rough edges. A Ruffians motto: Breathe. Dare. Live.
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
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 city’s Gold Coast and to neighborhoods across the city. Porchlight has built a national reputation for boldly reimaging 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 26th season, its 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, and we love our ongoing collaboration with Chicago Youth Centers. We annually award 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 42 Jeff awards, as well as 33 Black Theatre Alliance (BTA) nominations and 12 BTA awards. This past season, Porchlight Music Theatre “graduated” to the Large Theatre tier of the Joseph Jefferson Equity Awards, stiffening our competition for the Jeff committee’s recognition. We await the virtual award ceremony and how Porchlight fared with our eight nominations in both technical and artistic categories, most notably Best Musical/Revue and Best Ensemble noms for Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies.
Through the global pandemic, Porchlight has 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 has announced a full fall schedule of all-new ticketed virtual programs including Broadway by the Decade, New Faces Sing Broadway 1987, as well as collaborations with LA Theater Works, and much more coming in the new year.
Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce its latest virtual offering, the holiday return of The Ruffians’ Burning Bluebeard. Written by Jay Torrence and directed by Halena Kays, Burning Bluebeard is available for streaming Friday, Dec. 4 - Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. Streaming begins Friday, Dec. 4 at 12 p.m. CST with $15 - $50 tickets available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org. Links are available for viewing 72 hours after purchase. The running time for Burning Bluebeard is 100 minutes and this streamed performance was filmed during the 2019 run at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street.
# # #
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, 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, Daniel and Genevieve Ratner Foundation, The Saints, Dr. Scholl Foundation, the Stuart Family Foundation, the 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.
LISTINGS INFORMATION:
Porchlight Music Theatre presents
The Ruffians’ Burning Bluebeard
Written by Jay Torrence
Directed by Halena Kays
Dec. 4, 2020 - Jan 3, 2021
Running time: 100 minutes, no intermission
Tickets are $15 - $50 all links are available for viewing for 72 hours after purchase
Streaming available at: PorchlightMusicTheatre.org
ADDITIONAL PORCHLIGHT VIRTUAL OFFERINGS
Working
In collaboration with L.A. Theatre Works
Available for streaming: Extended through December 6
By Studs Terkel
Adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso
Songs by Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz and James Taylor
Director: Scott Shwartz
Original Music by Dave Ossman, on piano, and John Harvey, on percussion
Cast: Eileen Barnett, Orson Bean, Harry Groener, Kaitlin Hopkins, Michael Kostroff, Kenna Ramsey, Vickilyn Reynolds, Vincent Tumeo and B.J. Ward with the chorus including James Donato, Leilani Hays, Melissa Justin, Steve Kirwan, Linda Langford, Steve Lanter, Lynsey Shmukler Jones, Michael Shutt and Jodie Verdu
Original Music: Dave Ossman, on piano, and John Harvey, on percussion
Ticket Price: FREE
In a special arrangement with L.A. Theatre Works, Porchlight will host the first revised and updated version of this 1970s cult classic based on the legendary book by Studs Terkel. With a cast of twenty Working is a rousing musical for anyone who has ever punched a clock, a cow or a supervisor—or wanted to.
This is the original radio broadcast recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles in March 1999.
New Faces Sing Broadway 1987
Available for viewing: Now available for streaming through November 29
Director: Christopher Pazdernik
Music Director: David Fiorello
Host: Larry Adams
Cast: Anna Marie Abbate, Isabella Andrews, Ciera Dawn, Taylor DiTola,
Timothy Foszcz, Cameron Goode, Garrett Griffin, Parker Guidry, Devon Hayakawa and Kelan Smith
Production Team: Christopher Pazdernik (director); David Fiorello (music director/accompanist); Alex Rhyan (director of production); CastleLight Productions (video, editing and audio services) and Michael Weber (artistic director)
Ticket Price: $25-$50
Filmed on-site at Chicago’s historic Studebaker Theatre, the popular New Faces Sing Broadway cabaret series returns, virtually, this fall with host Larry Adams and a line up of up-and-coming performers from Chicago’s music theatre scene. New Faces Sing Broadway 1987 is an entire Broadway season in 90 minutes and includes hit songs from Les Miserables, Into the Woods, Me and My Girl and other musicals from the 1987 Broadway season.
Zoot Suit
In collaboration with L.A. Theatre Works
Available for streaming: November 27 - December 20
Debuts: Friday, Nov. 27 at 12 p.m. Central
By Luis Valdez
Incidental Music by Daniel Valdez and Lalo Guerrero
Director: Luis Valdez
Music Director: Daniel Valdez
Cast: Marco Rodriguez, Kinan Valdez, Daniel Valdez, Alma Martinez, Primavera Flor-Valdez, Lakin Valdez, Gregory Itzin, Xochiquetzal Candelaria, Estrella Esparza, Ruben C. Gonzalez, Raul Cardona, Daniel Chacón, Katrina Valdez, Seth Millwood, Spencer Garrett and Al Ruscio
Ticket Price: FREE
Streaming Link Available: Friday, Nov. 27 at 12 p.m. CDT
In a special arrangement with L.A. Theatre Works, playwright Luis Valdez masterfully uses the Sleepy Lagoon murder case and the unrest in Los Angeles following 12 Latino youths being unjustly convicted by a biased judge to examine the zoot suit culture of the 40s. Passionate and provocative, Zoot Suit pulses with the beat of big band music and traditional Latin songs.
This is the original radio broadcast recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles in July 2001.
Hershey Felder Presents A Paris Love Story - Live from Florence
Available for streaming: November 22 - 29
Starring Heshey Felder as Claude Debussy
Directors: Stefano Decarli and Hershey Felder
Based on the stage plays directed by Trevor Hay
Production Team: Hershey Felder (production design); DeCarli Live Film Company (film production and live editing); Erik Carstensen (live broadcast and sound design production); Meghan Maiya (historical and biographical research); Isabelle Gerbe (costumes and hair) and Pierre Gerbe (scenic construction).
Ticket Price: $55 per household
Streaming Link Available: Friday, Nov. 20 CDT
A Paris Love Story is a very personal journey through the beloved city of Paris through the music of Claude Debussy, portrayed and performed by Hershey Felder, (“Clair de Lune,” Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune…) and how this music shaped a whole new world of color in sound. This new world of “musical impressionism” gave us the beginnings of what we have come to know as “Movie Music.”
The broadcast will also be available for latecomers to purchase through the week of “on demand” access. Viewing access for all ends Sunday, Nov. 29 at 11:59 p.m. CST.
This fall, Porchlight continues to offer free programming via its social media channels including Youtube.com. The continuing online Porchlight programming is:
Sondheim @ 90 Roundtable with host Artistic Director Michael Weber
Every other Saturday at 7 p.m. CST
FREE
Stephen Sondheim’s storied career is discussed show by show every other Saturday at 7 p.m. CST with special guests from the worlds of Chicago’s theater scene, Broadway and national music theatre presenters.
Dates TBA
The fall season launches with Weber talking with Deanna Dunagan (Tony Award-winning actor for August: Osage County, who appeared in the world premiere of Bounce at the Goodman, directed by Hal Prince), Chris Jones (Chicago Tribune chief theater critic and culture columnist, New York Daily News Broadway and WBBM-TV critic) and Michael Mahler (Jeff Award-winning actor, music director, composer/lyricist whose credits include creating additional lyrics for the Broadway revival of Miss Saigon as well as music direction for Road Show at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre) about Sondheim’s Road Show. Previously titled Bounce and before that Wise Guys and Gold!, Road Show, with music and lyrics by Sondheim and book by John Weidman has a fascinating history, a complex evolution and has never appeared on the Great White Way but had productions in Chicago, Washington D.C. and off-Broadway.
Porchlight presents some complementary content, with a cocktail: I’ll Drink to That. A new episode of this series hosted by Porchlight Board Member and Hearty Boy Steve McDonagh debuts each Friday before a Sondheim episode. McDonagh, in his own original way, shares a cocktail recipe, pairing it with that week’s Sondheim @ 90 Roundtable with host Michael Weber's episode.
Movie Musical Monday
Every Monday at 7 p.m. CST
FREE
Each week a noteworthy host and special guest join in a ZOOM conversation about a musical movie with musical and movie fans. It’s like a book club for movies where attendees are asked to watch the movie before the chat and come prepared for an hour of conversation, fun facts and more.
Monday, Nov. 16: Mame with host Melissa Young and special guest Honey West
Monday, Nov. 23: West Side Story with host Nik Kmiecik and special guest Johanna McKenzie Miller
WPMT PRESENTS: Classic Musicals from the Golden Age of Radio
Every Tuesday at 1 p.m. CST
FREE
Debuting this past summer and continuing into fall is Porchlight’s WPMT PRESENTS: Classic Musicals from the Golden Age of Radio. Artistic Director Michael Weber introduces musicals from the early to mid 20th century as they were heard on network radio programs such as The Lux Radio Theatre and The Theatre Guild on the Air, often featuring members of the original Broadway casts. A bonus feature to some of the series’ episodes are special guests joining Weber in conversation about that day’s broadcast. Past guests have included Mitchell J. Fain (discussing Strike Up the Band) and Christie Chiles Twillie (discussing Carmen Jones).
Tuesday, Nov 10: WPMT PRESENTS: The Student Prince
Tuesday, Nov 17: WPMT PRESENTS: Allegro with Special Guest Anika Chapin, artistic associate and resident dramaturg at Goodspeed Musicals in conversation about the original Broadway production of Allegro.
Tuesday, Nov 24: WPMT PRESENTS: Holiday Inn
Tuesday, Dec 1: WPMT PRESENTS: Maytime
Tuesday, Dec 8: WPMT PRESENTS: The Lemon Drop Kid
Tuesday, Dec 15: WPMT PRESENTS: Babes in Toyland
Tuesday, Dec 22: WPMT PRESENTS: Meet Me in St. Louis with Special Guest Angela Ingersoll, Jeff Award-winner, for her performance as “Judy Garland” in the Chicago premiere of End of the Rainbow.
Tuesday, Dec 29: WPMT PRESENTS: On Your Toes
PORCHLIGHT BY REQUEST
via Facebook, debut times vary
With more than fifty performances now available for viewing, fans of music theatre and others may request a show tune with a dedication and, in a "Command Performance," a favorite Porchlight artist customizes and performs this song especially for them. Past Porchlight By Request videos have been dedicated to family members, front line responders, teachers and others.
Porchlight may change any of the above information for productions, artists, etc, due to new updates from the CDC or local government regarding up-to-date COVID-19 precautions and instructions.
PMT_BURNINGBLUEBEARD_1 - Jay Torrence as Robert Murray in BURNING BLUEBEARD from THE RUFFIANS, presented virtually in 2020, by PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE. Photo by Michael Courier
PMT_BURNINGBLUEBEARD_2 - Pamela Chermansky as Fancy Clown in BURNING BLUEBEARD from THE RUFFIANS, presented virtually in 2020, by PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE. Photo by Michael Courier
PMT_BURNINGBLUEBEARD_3 - (L to R) Jay Torrence as Robert Murray; Anthony Courser as Henry Gilfoil; Leah Urzendowski as Nellie Reed; Ryan Walters as Eddie Foy and Crosby Sandoval as Faerie Queen in BURNING BLUEBEARD from THE RUFFIANS, presented virtually in 2020, by PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE. Photo by Michael Courier
PMT_BURNINGBLUEBEARD_4 - (L to R) Jay Torrence as Robert Murray; Anthony Courser as Henry Gilfoil; Pamela Chermansky as Fancy Clown; Leah Urzendowski as Nellie Reed; Ryan Walters as Eddie Foy and Crosby Sandoval as Faerie Queen in BURNING BLUEBEARD from THE RUFFIANS, presented virtually in 2020, by PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE. Photo by Michael Courier
PMT_BURNINGBLUEBEARD_5 - (L to R) Jay Torrence as Robert Murray; Leah Urzendowski as Nellie Reed; Ryan Walters as Eddie Foy and Anthony Courser as Henry Gilfoil in BURNING BLUEBEARD from THE RUFFIANS, presented virtually in 2020, by PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE. Photo by Michael Courier
PMT_BURNINGBLUEBEARD_6 - (L to R) Jay Torrence as Robert Murray; Ryan Walters as Eddie Foy and Anthony Courser as Henry Gilfoil in BURNING BLUEBEARD from THE RUFFIANS, presented virtually in 2020, by PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE. Photo by Michael Courier
PMT_BURNINGBLUEBEARD_7 - Front row: Anthony Courser as Henry Gilfoil Back row: (L to R) Leah Urzendowski as Nellie Reed; Jay Torrence as Robert Murray and Pamela Chermansky as Fancy Clown in BURNING BLUEBEARD from THE RUFFIANS, presented virtually in 2020, by PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE. Photo by Michael Courier