![](https://spotlightonlake.com/files/styles/medium/public/field/image/Porchligh-logot_96.jpg)
Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the return of its free summer concert series Broadway in your Backyard, now in its fourth year, June 6 - August 6, as part of Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks series, supported by the Mayor’s Office and Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and Free for All, Comcast and Xfinity. Broadway in your Backyard is co-directed by Frankie Leo Bennett and Michael Weber and music directed by Linda Madonia. This 60-minute concert includes Chicago performers singing favorite songs and hidden gems from the Broadway canon. Broadway in your Backyard is suitable for all ages and audiences are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets to enjoy the outdoor concerts. For more information go to PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.
![](https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffiles.constantcontact.com%2F35317e12701%2Fca244234-3538-4087-9e98-1f8027b87189.jpg&t=1716323436&ymreqid=9460eebd-9f1b-c0d3-1c13-d801e4011600&sig=ebGroKJiR4.sXqFfZrmmyw--~D)
Broadway in your Backyard 2024, as part of Night Out in the Parks, is FREE and open to the public. This summer’s schedule includes:
- Unity Playlot Park, 2636 N. Kimball Ave.
Thursday, June 6 at 6 p.m.
- Welles Park, 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave.
Tuesday, June 11 at 6:30 p.m.
Porchlight also hosts a “Kids Day” at Welles Park with activities and treats for children, while supplies last
- Washington Park, 5531 S. King Dr.
Thursday, June 13 at 6 p.m.
- Portage Park, 4100 N. Long Ave.
Tuesday, June 18 at 6 p.m.
- Skinner Park, 1331 W. Adams St.
Thursday, June 20 at 6 p.m.
- Munroe Park, 2617 W. 105th St.
Tuesday, June 25 at 6 p.m.
- Seneca Playlot Park, 220 E. Chicago Ave.
Thursday, June 27 at 6 p.m.
- Sherman Park, 1301 W. 52nd St.
Tuesday, July 2 at 6 p.m.
- Dvorak Park, 1119 W. Cullerton St.
Tuesday, July 9 at 6 p.m.
- Hale Park, 6258 W. 62nd St.
Thursday, July 11 at 6 p.m.
- Schreiber Playground Park, 1552 W. Schreiber Ave.
Tuesday, July 16 at 6 p.m.
- Washington Square Park, 901 N. Clark St.
Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 6 p.m.
ABOUT NIGHT OUT IN THE PARKS
Porchlight Music Theatre’s Broadway in your Backyard is presented as part of the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks series, supported by the Mayor’s Office and Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. For more than 10 years, the Night Out in the Parks program has presented cultural events year-round in neighborhood parks throughout the city. The Chicago Park District in partnership with over 100 local artists and organizations, present engaging events and performances that enhance quality of life across Chicago and amplify the artistic and cultural vibrancy in every neighborhood. Through multiple disciplines, which include theater, music, movies, dance, site-specific work, nature programs, and community festivals, the series aims to support Chicago-based artists, facilitate community-based partnerships and programs, cultivate civic engagement and ensure equity in access to the arts for all Chicagoans. For a complete list of Night Out in the Parks and other Chicago Park District events, please visit NightOutintheParks.com.
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
Porchlight Music Theatre, now in its 29th 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.
Broadway in your Backyard is part of Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks series, supported by the Mayor’s Office and Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events with lead sponsors Free For All, Comcast and Xfinity and, in part, by Unity Park Advisory Council and Trader Joe's.
Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from Allstate; Comcast/Xfinity; Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation; Glimpse Vision; James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation; Hearty Boys; A.L. and Jennie L. Luria Foundation; 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; Baxter; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; Peoples Gas; Pepsico; Polk Bros Foundation and The Saints.
![](https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffiles.constantcontact.com%2F35317e12701%2Fd6395efa-4e8b-47de-af9a-1532f18cea3c.jpg&t=1716323436&ymreqid=9460eebd-9f1b-c0d3-1c13-d801e4011600&sig=5jNs1PinNuZVnu6waG_23A--~D)
BROADWAY IN YOUR BACKYARD at Washington Square Park 2023. Photo courtesy of Porchlight Music Theatre
![](https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffiles.constantcontact.com%2F35317e12701%2F9e031f67-5dec-4ae1-ae65-d52ccf9eb316.jpg&t=1716323436&ymreqid=9460eebd-9f1b-c0d3-1c13-d801e4011600&sig=jCJz8_qW_eE_bC1y4n24LA--~D)
Lorenzo Rush Jr performs at BROADWAY IN YOUR BACKYARD 2023. Photo courtesy of Porchlight Music Theatre
![](https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffiles.constantcontact.com%2F35317e12701%2F0b5f4243-0dc7-4297-8eca-c2a879cf2f25.jpg&t=1716323436&ymreqid=9460eebd-9f1b-c0d3-1c13-d801e4011600&sig=foqdASVsZQ41Ym6AWj07UA--~D)
Ciarra Stroud performs at BROADWAY IN YOUR BACKYARD 2023. Photo courtesy of Porchlight Music Theatre
![](https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffiles.constantcontact.com%2F35317e12701%2Fc961f6a3-d94b-4336-996b-8d60d91240b9.jpg&t=1716323436&ymreqid=9460eebd-9f1b-c0d3-1c13-d801e4011600&sig=MTIYsxlY4UlCOnow4wIJLw--~D)
Bryce Ancil performs at BROADWAY IN YOUR BACKYARD 2023. Photo courtesy of Porchlight Music Theatre
![](https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffiles.constantcontact.com%2F35317e12701%2F0c99d599-d6ac-4495-aa22-f8b361c683ba.jpg&t=1716323436&ymreqid=9460eebd-9f1b-c0d3-1c13-d801e4011600&sig=Zy2.3tDM6Mcpm.RbJy5CIw--~D)
Adrian Aguilar performs at BROADWAY IN YOUR BACKYARD 2023. Photo courtesy of Porchlight Music Theatre
![](https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffiles.constantcontact.com%2F35317e12701%2Fb70c6890-1a6a-4a4b-904a-70dfbdc199a7.jpg&t=1716323436&ymreqid=9460eebd-9f1b-c0d3-1c13-d801e4011600&sig=2UIeWb1Qre1FUDxqmPTuWA--~D)
Artistic Director Michael Weber welcomes the Washington Square Park audience to BROADWAY IN YOUR BACKYARD 2023. Photo courtesy of Porchlight Music Theatre