Full cast and creative team have been announced for PrideArts’ US premiere of the sexy, irreverent and adult British panto SLEEPING WITH BEAUTY, by playwright Tom Whalley. Following PrideArts’ 2022 production of Whalley’s JACK OFF THE BEANSTALK, the company is returning to Whalley’s catalog of ribald takes on the British theatrical genre of panto with his SLEEPING WITH BEAUTY. This fairy tale for adults 18+ has titillated audiences all across the United Kingdom. Like JACK OFF THE BEANSTALK, SLEEPING WITH BEAUTY will include songs, dances and audience participation along with a nonstop barrage of some of the most clever and shameless puns imaginable. Bryan McCaffrey, who directed last year’s JACK OFF THE BEANSTALK for PrideArts, returns to direct.
SLEEPING WITH BEAUTY will open on to the press on Monday, November 20, 2023, following previews November 16-19; and play Wednesdays through Sundays to December 17, 2023. Performances will be at the Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago. Tickets to SLEEPING WITH BEAUTY are priced at $35 for regular performances November 20-December 17 and $25 for previews November 16-19. Seniors and students will receive a $5 discount for all performances. Tickets are on sale at www.pridearts.org or by phone 773-857-0222.
McCaffrey’s cast will include Emma Robie as the eventual sleeping beauty Princess A’Whora. Her nemesis, the wicked fairy Malefic*nt, will be played by Korinne Yonan. Neill Kelly will play A’Whora’s mother, the Queen. Muddles, the court jester who pines for the princess, will be played by Jeremy Cox; while the handsome Prince Albert who sweeps her away will be played by Joe Lewis. Danelle Jean is the resident Fairy, who comments on the action. Understudies and swings are Tyler Meyer (u/s Albert), Joey Pretty (u/s Queen), Autumn Tehlander (u/s Witch), Bryan Fowler (u/s Muddles), Mari Duckler (u/s A’Whora), Anna Seibert (u/s Fairy), and Peter Moeller (u/s Go-Go).
The production team will include, in addition to McCaffrey as stage director, Anna Wegener (Music Director), Kristine Burdi (Choreographer), Victoria Jablonski (Costume Designer), Brett Baleskie (Scenic Designer), Val Gardner (Sound Designer), Emma Ferguson (Props Designer), Isabel Gable (Sound Engineer), Santana Ross (Stage Manager), and Elijah McTiernan (Assistant Stage Manager).
Exhibition of the art of George Berlin in the lobby
In continuing PrideArts’ practice of featuring the work of Chicago-based visual artists, an exhibition of works by George Berlin will be displayed in the Pride Arts Center theater lobby during the run of SLEEPING WITH BEAUTY. Berlin describes himself as an “immersive experience artist” as well as an illustrator and painter and has created installations of animated projections all over the world. He may be best known to Chicago area residents for his “Art on theMart” projections on the 2.5 acre south wall of the Merchandise Mart, but he has wowed millions with his heartwarming musical projections in such far-flung locations as Taiwan; Sydney, Australia; Berlin, Germany; and Romania as well as many cities in the United States. Join the adventure at www.georgeberlin.com.
"Frida Kahlo: Timeless" at Art on theMart.
LISTING INFORMATION
SLEEPING WITH BEAUTY
By Tom Whalley
US PREMIERE
Directed by Bryan McCaffrey
Music Direction by Anna Wegener
Choreography by Kristine Burdi
November 16–December 17, 2023
Recommended for adults 18+
Previews Thursday, November 16 through Saturday, November 18 at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, November 19 at 3:00 pm
Press Opening Monday, November 20 at 7:30 pm
Regular run November 20–December 17, 2023. No shows November 22 – 24.
Curtain times Wednesdays–Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm
Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago
Tickets $35 for regular performances, $25 for previews. Seniors and students receive a $5 discount off all performance prices. Tickets and more information at www.pridearts.org. or 773-857-0222.
In this adult pantomime by Tom Whalley, author of last season’s JACK OFF THE BEANSTALK, Princess A’whora has finally come of age, though a terrible curse from the wicked fairy Carab*tch means one prick in her hand and she’ll perish! With the help of the fabulously thorny Fairy Hanny, will the Queen and Muddles get in a spin? Or will the scantily clad Prince Albert have to get his chopper out? Recommended for ages 18+
BIOS
Bryan McCaffrey (Director). Bryan returns to PrideArts, where he directed Tom Whalley’s JACK OFF THE BEANSTALK in 2022 and was Music Director for A CHRISTMAS KAROL: A HOLIDAY INTERVENTION in 2021. In 2022, Bryan also directed productions of PARADE and GUYS AND DOLLS for Theatre Nebula. He has additionally served as Music Director for Kokandy Productions’ SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL, Theatre Nebula’s production of SOMETHING ROTTEN, and for Porchlight Music Theatre’s PASSING STRANGE.
Tom Whalley (Playwright) is the author of nearly 20 “pantomimes” in the British tradition. The majority of the scripts are contemporary takes on traditional fairy tales, but suitable for general audiences, while others, like JACK OFF THE BEANSTALK, SLEEPING WITH BEAUTY, and A-LAD-IN, are strictly for adult audiences.
Jay Españo (PrideArts Artistic Director). Born in Manila, The Philippines, he joined the prestigious Tanghalang Pilipino’s Actors Company in 1998, where he trained with acclaimed Filipino director Nonon Padilla. He acted in several commercials, television series and films. Notably, he was a regular cast member of Koko KwikKwak - a spin-off of Batibot (Philippine SESAME STREET). He toured The Philippines with that show’s mascots, performing for kids throughout the country. In 2000, Jay was one of many Filipino actors who were cast in the Action Theater Singapore’s hit musical CHANG AND ENG, who toured Asia for several years.
Since moving to the Chicago area, Jay has worked with storefront theater companies such as Silk Road Rising, Prologue, Ghostlight, Halcyon, and PrideArts. Most recently, he directed GAY CARD for PrideArts and City Lit Theater’s world premiere musical AZTEC HUMAN SACRIFICE. He has played the role of the King in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I with various theater companies in the US and in Canada.
ABOUT PRIDEARTS
PrideArts tells queer stories on a variety of platforms, including both live and virtual performances. Since its founding in 2010, PrideArts has had several chapters, including operating as an itinerant theater for their first six seasons, and as the developer and primary tenant in the Pride Arts Center from 2016 to the present.
The company produces full seasons of plays and musicals, as well as events including cabaret, and more. The company has earned 39 Jeff Awards and nominations, and six nominations in the 2019 ALTA Awards from the Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists of Chicago. Programming has reflected the diversity of queer communities by including work made by and illuminating the experiences of women, gay men, transgender people, and BIPOC.
PrideArts is supported by Illinois Arts Council, a State Agency; City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), Alphawood Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Arts Work Fund, Driehaus Foundation, and The Saints.
PrideArts is a member of Buena Park Neighborhood Association, Uptown United, Northalsted Merchants Association, League of Chicago Theaters, Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce of Illinois, Lakeview East Merchants Association.
For more information and to donate, visit www.pridearts.org or call 1.773 857 0222.