Porchlight Music Theatre

New Faces Sing Broadway Now – Arts Club of Chicago – Nov. 12, 2024

Posted on by admin

It’s been four and a half years since I wrote about a Porchlight Music Theatre New Faces Sing Broadway Now event at the Arts Club. The world has taken quite a few turns since then, but one thing hasn’t changed. Once again, Artistic Director Michael Weber managed, I suspect on purpose, to pick people for the trivia contest who may have wandered into the wrong party, two of them admitting that someone else had filled out their entries, which, of course, makes it a lot more fun to watch, as audience aficionados squirm in their seats and admonish their neighbors when they anxiously start to shout out answers prematurely.

The other audience participation moments occur during the two sing-along songs, always my least favorite part of the evening, but intriguing this time as I wondered how people would handle the yodel in the song Popular, from Wicked. Fortunately, they didn’t even try to insert it, lest I find the need to insert my ever-ready ear plugs.

For the rest of the evening, the cast of 10 (plus host Adrian Aguilar, whom I singled out after the recent ICONS Gala), narrowed down from a pool of 700(!) according to Weber, showed off their skills in 18 tunes, most of which I’d never heard before, from a group of current Broadway shows, most of which I haven’t seen.

Apropos of a collection of “New Faces,” the hit of the evening probably was Lorenzo Shawn Parnell’s rousing rendition of Gotta Start Somewhere, from Back to the Future.

Chicago Live – Navy Pier – September 21, 2024

Posted on by admin

I heard that they moved the Sunday performances indoors because of the rain. I wished they had done that on Saturday because of the heat – 90 degrees and blazing sun less than 24 hours before the autumnal equinox. Don’t wait, buy your new winter getaway home in Chicago while they last.

Last year I saw a dozen different acts and planned to do much the same this time around. I wanted to see Black Ensemble Theater and Dee Alexander again and catch Second City, which I haven’t gone to in years, even though I can tell you, from personal experience, that comedy is hard and outdoor comedy in front of mobile audiences, near impossible.   

After enjoying the Porchlight Music Theatre presentation that highlighted their forthcoming 2024-25 season, I began my quest for shade, to reenergize, before my next selection. (Unlike Superman, I don’t get my strength from the sun, just my Vitamin D, and I’d already gotten my required dosage for the day, based upon the new portable body monitor I’m envisioning but haven’t yet invented.)  

Unfortunately, going inside the building that once upon a time (1945-1965) housed the University of Illinois Chicago campus (or as it was known at the time, no joke, Harvard on the rocks) brought no relief, as I was now subjected to overexposure, not to the sun, but rather to children, suburbanites and toxic aromas from fast food restaurants, more burden than anyone should have to bear. 

Same time next year.    

Broadway x 3 – July 31, August 6, August 12, 2024

Posted on by admin

Three different annual Broadway-related concerts, put on by three different groups, in the span of 13 days, and nothing unlucky about it.

The Grant Park Music Festival opened with Broadway Rocks!, which opened with the overture from Tommy. I would have been satisfied with that alone, but the orchestra and a trio of singers kept the energy going through another dozen selections, closing with Don’t Stop Believing (Rock of Ages).

Six days later Porchlight Music Theatre (PMT) wrapped up its Broadway in Your Backyard 12-concert summer series in Washington Square Park (I also saw them June 27 at Seneca Park), opening with, appropriately, Another Op’nin’, Another Show (Kiss Me Kate) (which sent me off into “what if” land, wondering about what the the reception would have been if Mel Brooks had titled the song from The Producers Another Op’nin’, Another Flop, instead of just Opening Night) and closing with Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (which was actually the opener in Hair). These things are important.

Then, another six days later, it was back to Millennium Park for Broadway in Chicago, put on by, wait for it, Broadway in Chicago, featuring songs from 16 shows coming to Chicago (starting today with Back to the Future). Some of the shows have been here before, like Come From Away, Les Miserables, Moulin Rouge and the pre-Broadway run of Tina, but the biggest hits of the night were a couple newcomers, Kimberly Akimbo and Titanique (produced by PMT), both of which brought waves of laughter and enthusiastic applause from an audience that packed the park from front to back.

Finally, I would be remiss if I omitted the fact that two songs were included in both otherwise divergent Millennium Park Concerts, the always crowd-pleasing Proud Mary (Tina) and the always crowd-engaged Sweet Caroline (A Beautiful Noise), which closed the last of the three nights.

Chicago Sings Broadway Pop II – House of Blues – April 15, 2024

Posted on by admin

I wasn’t even at the venue yet and already was having a good time as I walked past the post office and saw the long line of last-minute tax filers, of whom I joyously was not a member, nervously double-checking their precious cargo with only 45 minutes before closing to get their valued postmarks.

The annual Porchlight Music Theatre spring event once again hit all the right notes and was an even better experience than last year’s first exploration of Broadway Pop.

The food, which was excellent, was easier to obtain this year, set out on a buffet table so that we didn’t have to huddle near the door to the kitchen to intercept staff as they emerged with trays of appetizers that were voraciously attacked and emptied within seconds. It also allowed for something other than finger food, which sounds cannibalistic. As a side note (like almost everything I write), we ate off bamboo plates, a first for me, for the full panda experience.

The performances were, as always, first rate. I’ll mention a few. Billy Rude, whom I last saw in Pump Boys and Dinettes, once again put his rock ’n’ roll talents on display with a rousing rendition of Johnny B. Goode, currently featured in the stage musical version of Back to the Future.

Nik Kmiecik also broke out his axe in Pinball Wizard (Tommy), a turn that only lacked a Pete Townsend-like demolition at the end, problem due to budget constraints and the fact that he needed it again later to lead the audience in a participatory rendition of Sweet Caroline (A Beautiful Noise), as is the custom with this classic, perhaps more so than with any tune outside the Star Spangled Banner.

The dancers made me dream of what it must be like to be flexible, but, my one disappointment, which carries over from last year, was that there was no tapping. I recovered from that psychological trauma thanks to the great mood that pervaded the room.

The star of the night for many was Kelly Felthous, whose The History of Wrong Guys (Kinky Boots) put her singing and comedic talents on full display. She even threw in a dance split in the middle of the song for no discernible reason other than she could. Bonus points for that.

Anything Goes (Take 2) – Porchlight Music Theatre – February 16, 2024

Posted on by admin

I raved about Anything Goes when I saw it on opening night. It was even better the second time around, so I felt the need to expand upon my earlier praise.

Emma Ogea graced us with her beautiful voice again, and this time she seemed even more comfortable in her role as Hope Harcourt, settling in while she continues to attend Columbia College!

I am continually amazed (I’m apparently a little slow) at the new talent coming out of our local schools and performing like veterans. Among the rest of the cast, Logan Becker also is a student at Columbia and Rachael Dec just graduated Northwestern last year. Gabriel Solis has three other plays under his belt and probably hasn’t even started high school yet.

Among the more veteran performers, Luke Nowakowski (as Billy Crocker) impressed me even more than I already was with his vocal range.

Ciara Hickey was a treat and I now realize I saw them perform at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s 2022 It Came from Outer Space, which I loved.

Steve McDonagh (Moonface Martin) gets to ham it up big time, and does so very successfully.

Jackson Evans (Lord Evelyn Oakleigh) still gets to display some wild dance moves, but they tightened his choreography up a little to allow him to shine even more.

And last, but never least, there isn’t much I can say about Meghan Murphy that I haven’t said many times before, but I would suggest that she has taken what was already a star performance and upped her game even more, if that’s even possible, with what seemed like an increasing array of facial reactions and physical gestures that could be their own highlight film.

Meghan has been nominated six times for a Jeff Award, but never won. I ‘m guessing that this will be the seventh time and the charm.

Anything Goes – Porchlight Music Theatre – January 18, 2024

Posted on by admin

In Porchlight’s aptly-named production of Cole Porter’s hit-filled Anything Goes, it does.

Meghan Murphy (aka Big Red) doesn’t just enter a stage, she commands it, as is only right in a broad comedy. And her fans in the audience, which now is all of them, hooted and hollered in acknowledgement every time.

Original book writers, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse (and subsequent revisers Timothy Crouse and John Weidman) and lyricist Porter throw everything and then some against the wall, and most of it sticks. Am I the only one who thinks the character name Elisha (Eli) J. Whitney somehow relates to his constant consumption of alcohol, which I assumed to be gin.

In a bizarre way, related to his manipulation of the English language, Yale graduate Porter reminds me of Harvard graduate Tom Lehrer (who, coincidentally, had a roommate named Crouse – no kidding, no relation). And then throw in the fact that I last saw Jackson Evans, who plays Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, when he portrayed Princeton in Avenue Q in 2014, and you’ve got more ivy than the outfield walls at Wrigley.

Speaking of Evans, his limb-splaying comedic dance moves reminded me of Squidward’s dancing in The SpongeBob Square Pants Musical, only Evans only needed two legs, not ten.

And speaking of dancing, watching tap dancers strut their stuff on a big Broadway stage is one thing, but watching the same number of them fly across the compact Ruth Page space in a synchronized frenzy of fun is a whole different level of entertainment.

And then there are the beautiful singing voices of Luke Nowakowski (Billy Crocker) and Emma Ogea (Hope Harcourt), who, ridiculously, is still in college.

But back to Murphy, who held her pose and smile for so long every time the crowd gave her an extended ovation at the end of her songs that I thought her face would freeze in that position like that of Mr Sardonicus in the 1961 William Castle film.

If all that isn’t enough for you to run out and buy a ticket, one last thought, the band alone, nailing the memorable Porter tunes, is worth the price of admission.

Charles Troy: PORTER VS. SONDHEIM – Porchlight Music Theatre – December 4, 2023

Posted on by admin

I went in thinking it would be a knockout, Porter over Sondheim, in four rounds, out of the seven, but then I thought that the particular selection of competitive categories that musical theatre historian Troy used put Porter at a disadvantage, as if he were only allowed to punch with one hand.

The composers felt each other in the first round, Sondheim taunting and jabbing away with Comedy Tonight, and Porter dancing around the ring, or rather having Fred Astaire and George Murphy do it to the tune of Please Don’t Monkey with Broadway, in Broadway Melody of 1940, 25 years before Murphy was elected to the U.S. Senate.

And then the roundabout hook of Getting Married Today caught me off guard, comparing favorably to Porter’s They Couldn’t Compare to You, and causing me to award Sondheim the round.

It turned into an MMA fight when Porter floored Sondheim for an 8-count with I Get a Kick out of You.

Sondheim rose from the mat and decked Porter with Together Wherever We Go, but Sondheim was penalized by the referee for only being the lyricist on that song.

Then both fighters symbolically went down (Porter’s Down in the Depths and Sondheim’s Uptown-Downtown).

The next round was drawn from the start – Never, Never Be An Artist versus Finishing the Hat.

Finally, just when it looked like Sondheim might win the bout with America (even though, again, only the lyricist), he acknowledged that he hated what he had written (and told CBS News in 2020 that he was embarrassed by the lyrics he wrote for West Side Story, though acknowledging that the audiences might think differently), which left Porter standing over him, flag in hand ala George Foreman at the 1968 Summer Olympics, to the tune of I Still Love the Red, White and Blue.

Chicago Live – Navy Pier – September 23-24, 2023

Posted on by admin

Navy Pier, it’s not just for tourists. Well, maybe most of the time, but not at Chicago Live.

Important information I picked up.

From Theo Ubique Theatre – how they pronounce Ubique. Their presentation of Sondheim songs, including Not Getting Married Today, led me to watch again, online, the great rendition by Katie Finneran.

From the Filament Theatre two-person presentation of something (I don’t what, I was just passing by the stage when they caught my attention) that “It’s hard to balance on invisible legs.”

From the young lady at the Hot Tix booth with an acting degree who currently works as a carpenter at local theaters, that the Nacirema (Society), in the name of the current play at the Goodman, is American spelled backwards. Doh!

Also, it sounds like Hot Tix is considering a membership that would allow you to pick your seat, something I could get behind.

From the marvelous Lucy Darling, that she is going to be the emcee of the new Teatro ZinZanni show opening in October. Lucy did a standard empty bag trick, while insulting audience members in a way that would make Don Rickles proud. The contortionist, Ulzii Mergen, also appeared, being attractive, impressive and cringeworthy all at the same time.

Other stuff I saw.

Porchlight Music Theatre promoting its upcoming Cole Porter Festival, which, I am excited to say, will feature Meghan (Big Red) Murphy in the role of Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes. I have it on good information that playing this part has been on her bucket list. I liked Porchlight’s rendition of Now You Has Jazz better than Bing Crosby’s in High Society, though, I admit, having Louis Armstrong playing the trumpet did work in Crosby’s favor.

Lots of percussion – from third Coast Percussion and from a Chicago Philharmonic trio, whose sound was such that I kept waiting for dancers wearing big construction boots and carrying large trash cans to appear.

Dancers did appear for me at Culture Shock Chicago and Chicago Tap Theatre (as my readers know, you can never have enough tap).

Victor Garcia giving a master class on the use of the trumpet mute.

A DJ at a classic show tunes stage presenting a geographical music tour – I heard Kansas City (Oklahoma), Iowa Stubborn (Music Man), and Ohio (Wonderful Town).

Chronologically, the American Blues Theater’s road trip had me from the 50s opening Chuck Berry guitar riff of Johnny B. Goode (though sadly no duck-walking) and cemented my interest with the 60s CCR hit Down on the Corner (which was the song that sustained me while poring over the course catalog junior year of college looking for a new major). I’ll skip ahead to the 2000s to mention Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off because her appearance at the Bears game was apparently the biggest news in the NFL Sunday and thankfully overshadowed the high school team wearing their jerseys against Kansas City.

I love the Black Ensemble Theater but I have to say that I would have liked to hear the performance of Piece of My Heart emulate, not Janis Joplin, but rather the original Emma Franklin version.

Dee Alexander was new to me, but smooth as could be (with a great band behind her). I’ll watch for her in the future and be back at Chicago Live for more next year.

Porchlight ICONS: Celebrating Ben Vereen – Athenaeum Center – September 8, 2023

Posted on by admin

I skipped the reception, because so did honoree Ben Vereen. He couldn’t make it because he was stuck in Romania. I can’t tell you how many times that’s happened to me (and Dracula).

Vereen’s filming a miniseries there about the American Civil War (huh?). To his credit, despite the last minute cancellation, he found time to sing a song and provide a very engaging interview for a tape played during the night’s festivities, which also featured wonderful performances by event cochairs Felicia Fields and Kenny Ingram, along with a group of regular Porchlight performers and musicians.

If you’re wondering how Vereen can be filming during an actors’ strike, it’s because his is one of at least 281 productions (as of September 5) that are working under an interim agreement approved by the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) negotiators, which, according to them, is not a waiver, but rather a contract that includes all the terms of the last SAG-AFTRA counteroffer to the producers.

There are those who aren’t happy about these agreements. Some big names, such as Viola Davis and Sarah Silverman, have declined to work on these films.

Meanwhile, with the writers also on strike, the public is relegated to watching game and reality shows (would Dracula qualify?), reruns of The Nanny or news conferences with its star Fran Drescher, who is the current National President of SAG-AFTRA.

While a taped Vereen was entertaining, Drescher in person might have been even more interesting. She doesn’t have Vereen’s theatrical resume, but a Broadway (not Romanian) musical version of The Nanny, book cowritten by Drescher and lyrics by Rachel Bloom (yeah!) has been in the works for a few years.

Broadway in Your Backyard – Washington Square Park – August 8, 2023

Posted on by admin

This is what is it should be like every night of the summer (or year for that matter) – perfect weather, breathable air, terrific performers and a large, lively crowd that included friends strewn throughout the park. And let’s not forget the Venezuelan-inspired Latin American street food la Cocinita food truck, from which I tasted the arepas, plantains and churros.

It’s the second time and place this summer I’ve seen a production of the Porchlight Music Theatre’s neighborhood concert series, which over the years has never failed to please, and on this occasion was at its best.

It’s no secret that these are hard times for theaters (see the recent NY Times article), but that hasn’t stopped Porchlight from continuing to find ways to provide first-class entertainment.

Tonight’s presentation included Desiree Gonzalez, whom I recently saw in Pippin; Ciarra Stroud, whom I singled out for her performance nine months ago in The Apple Tree; Bryce Ancil, whom I’ve seen in another of Porchlight’s wonderful works, namely its New Faces Sing Broadway series; and Lorenzo Rush Jr., who is one of my favorite performers, and whom I’ve written about a number of times, most recently in Damn Yankees.

Last, but not least, a special shout out to Porchlight Artistic Director Michael Weber, whose spirited rendition of (Ya Got) Trouble from The Music Man was magnetic.