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2017 Tony Award Nominations – Chicago Connections!

Posted on: May 22nd, 2017 by B.I. C.

The Tony Awards are always the most anticipated theatre event of the year, and we always love discovering if there are any nominees that have connections to Chicago to share in their excitement.  This year we have quite a few to celebrate!

One of these connections involve Laurie Metcalf, a veteran Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member, who was nominated for her portrayal of Nora Helmer in A Doll’s House, Part 2. The show, currently nominated for 8 Tony Awards, is playwright Lucas Hnath’s take on what happened to Nora Helmer, 20 years later from where Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House left off.

The musical War Paint, which premiered here in Chicago at the Goodman Theatre last July 2016, is also being showcased in the Tony Award nominations.  Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole, who originated the roles of Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, are both nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.  The show also features several Chicago actors in supporting roles, including Mary Ernster and David Girolmo.

Ben Platt, who is currently leading the company of Dear Evan Hansen, was nominated for Best Leading Actor in a Musical.  He’s no stranger to the Chicago theatre scene since you may remember him as Elder Cunningham in the First National Tour of the hit musical The Book of Mormon from December 2012 – October 2013 at the Bank of America Theatre (now known as The PrivateBank Theatre).

Kate Baldwin, a Northwestern University graduate who was last seen in Chicago as Sandra Bloom in the Chicago premiere of Big Fish at the Oriental Theatre April – May 2013, will be competing for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Irene Molloy in Hello, Dolly.

Stephanie J. Block, who is also nominated for Best Featured Actress in a musical for her work in Falsettos, has spent a good amount of time in Chicago herself.  She played Elphaba in the Chicago premiere of Wicked at the Oriental Theatre back in June 2005, which ended up running until January 2009.  She also played Grace O’Malley in The Pirate Queen at the Cadillac Palace Theatre October – November 2006.

Lynn Nottage, the playwright of Sweat, which is now nominated for Best Play, has also recently received this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama.  You may recognize her work from the play Ruined, which premiered at the Goodman Theater in 2007.  Nottage won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2009 for Ruined, making her the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice!

Come From Away, the new musical which has landed 7 Tony Award nominations, has nominees for Best Director of a Musical Christopher Ashley and Best Choreography Kelly Devine, who will also be a part of the Escape To Margaritaville creative team set to premiere here in Chicago at the Oriental Theatre beginning November 9, 2017!

Make sure to tune in to the 71st annual Tony Awards hosted by CBS on Sunday, June 11, 2017  beginning at  7 p.m. CT!

 

2017 Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards nominees announced!

Posted on: May 12th, 2017 by B.I. C. No Comments

Broadway In Chicago is pleased to announce the twenty-four students nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress, and nominees for Best Production, Best Direction and the Grosh Award for Best Scenic Design for the sixth annual Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards. The nominees (12 young actors and 12 young actresses), selected after evaluating 74 productions across the state of Illinois, have been invited to participate in the Awards program. Sponsored by Disney’s Aladdin and Grosh Backdrops & Drapery, the Illinois chapter of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards serves as an annual national celebration of outstanding achievement in musical theater performance by high school students.

Broadway In Chicago has crafted a workshop with theatre professionals, featuring Adam Jacobs, star of Disney’s Aladdin North American tour, who originated the title role in Aladdin on Broadway, along with his wife Kelly Jacobs, who previously performed in Chicago in the Mary Poppins North American tour.  The workshop for these twenty-four nominees will culminate in a performance on stage at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place.  During the day, nominees will audition for a panel of casting agents and theatre professionals who will choose the recipients of performance awards. A Best Actress and Best Actor winner from Illinois will be sent to New York City, on an all-expense paid trip, for a week-long theatre intensive of coaching and rehearsals with industry professionals in preparation for a one-night-only showcase on Broadway, where a panel of judges crowns the nation’s top performers.

An award for Best Direction will be presented to a director(s) from a participating school, an award for Best Production will be presented to a participating school, and the Grosh Award for Best Scenic Design will be presented to a participating school for achievement in outstanding scenic design.

For more information on both awards and complete rules and regulations, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com/about/IHSMTA/. For more information on National High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as The Jimmy Awards, visit www.jimmyawards.com.

LIST OF NOMINEES AND HIGH SCHOOLS

Corey Barlow, as Che in “Evita” at Cary-Grove High School

Dominic Cappuccilli, as Stine in  City of Angels at Mundelein High School

Benjamin Dow as Adam in “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” at Minooka Community High School

Frank Gomulka as Dennis in “All Shook Up” at Benet Academy

Darian Goulding as Javert in “Les Miserables” at Hampshire High School

Jack Hradecky as Adam in “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” at Hononegah Community High School

Erik Martenson as Tony in “West Side Story” at York Community High School

Brax Melvin as Prince Eric in “The Little Mermaid” at Frankfort Community High School

Nicholas Orth as Jekyll/Hyde in Jekyll & Hyde at Carl Sandburg High School

Zachary Pearson as Usnavi in “In The Heights” at Libertyville High School

Jordan Radis as Edward Bloom in “Big Fish” at  Adlai E. Stevenson High School

Justin Smusz as Chad in “All Shook Up” at Benet Academy

 

Madeleine Barbeau, as Natalie in “All Shook Up at Benet Academy

Lindsey Doody, as Laurey Williams in “Oklahoma!” at Lincoln-Way East High School

Natalie Doppelt as Wednesday Addams in “The Addams Family” at Deerfield High School

Haley Gustafson as Eva Peron in “Evita” at Cary-Grove High School

Carina Kanzler as Maria in “West Side Story” at York Community High School

Tatum Langley as Anita in “West Side Story” at York Community High School

Maddie Mazzella as Ariel in “The Little Mermaid” at Saint Ignatius College Prep

Carly Meyer as Hodel in “Fiddler on the Roof at Glenbrook North/South High Schools

Meaghan Rivera as Reno Sweeney in “Anything Goes” at Barrington High School

Edith “Gracie” Stockton as Hope Cladwell in “Urinetown” at Lake Forest High School

Sara Toth as Lucy Harris in Jekyll & Hyde at Carl Sandburg High School

Annie Yamamoto as Muzzy Van Hossmere in “Thoroughly Modern Millie” at William Fremd High School

 

NOMINEES FOR BEST PRODUCTION

Benet Academy’s production of All Shook Up

Carl Sandburg High School’s production of Jekyll and Hyde

Cary Grove High School’s production of Evita

Libertyville High School’s production of In the Heights

York Community High School’s production of West Side Story

NOMINEES FOR THE GROSH AWARD FOR BEST SCENIC DESIGN
Cary- Grove High School’s production of Evita

Coal City High School’s production of The Little Mermaid

Hinsdale South High School’s production of Hairspray

Lake Forest High School’s production of Urinetown

Libertyville High School’s production of In the Heights

NOMINEES FOR BEST DIRECTION

Cynthia Burrows, Adlai E. Stevenson High School- Big Fish

Lauren Condon & Brian Wand, Benet Academy- All Shook Up

Rob Boncosky, Cary-Grove High School- Evita

Andy Robinson, Chicago Academy For the Performing Arts – A Little Night Music

Kelly MacBlane & John Wanninger, Lake Forest High School- Urinetown

 

Broadway In Chicago to honor Martha Lavey by dimming marquee lights

Posted on: April 26th, 2017 by B.I. C. No Comments

DIMMING THE MARQUEE LIGHTS

A Broadway Tradition now adopted to honor those theatre luminaries around the country.

The tradition of dimming the lights of theatre marquees began slowly on Broadway in the 1950s. According to a 2013 article in The New York Post, house lights in all Broadway theaters were first dimmed in honor of Gertrude Lawrence, who died in September 1952 while she was starring in the Broadway musical “The King and I.” The second honoree, according to Time magazine, was Oscar Hammerstein II in 1960, and the third honoree, according to Playbill, was the actor Alfred Lunt in 1977. On Broadway there is a committee of the Broadway League, a trade association of Broadway theater owners and producers, who make the decisions as to who should get the honor. Today the tradition is much more common – some recent honorees were Ruby Dee, Robin Williams, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Eli Wallach and Marian Seldes.

Here in Chicago we now participate in this time-honored tradition – recently honored have been Bernie Yvon, Tony DeSantis and James M. Nederlander.

On Friday, April 28, at 7:00 p.m., the entire Chicago Theatre Community will participate in honoring the Chicago treasure, Martha Lavey, past Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, either by dimming their marquees or through a moment of silence.

Broadway In Chicago is proud to participate in this tradition and, together with the Goodman Theatre, will create a proper tribute in the Downtown Theatre District. If you care to witness this, it will be most impactful by standing on the Dearborn and Randolph Street at 7 p.m. on April 28.

Remembrance from Eileen LaCario, Vice President of Broadway In Chicago

Martha Lavey was a treasure of the Chicago theatre community. In an age where we are so desperate for true leadership, Martha Lavey was the living definition.

As you will read in so many of her remembrances, she embraced us all and inspired us to lead lives in our community – and beyond – that were far larger than what we thought possible. She is, and will always be, an illustration of how true leadership can make a difference. For decades she inspired me as a woman, as an administrator of artists and as a leader that went far beyond words I can describe. Martha honored every creative, every arts administrator and every theatre large or small – knowing that your struggles were her struggles and seeing every outlet for theatre as the potential to bring us all closer together.

I miss her today and mourn the loss of the potential that additional years with Martha would have given all of us. But there was a reason that she paid such close attention to all of us – we are the possibility of carrying on her legacy – her listening skills, her care for each and every one of us and her love for this community.

She expects us to carry on and in carrying on we will honor her name forever. Farewell to Chicago’s treasure, gone too soon.

 

Disney’s ALADDIN extends through September 10, 2017!

Posted on: March 23rd, 2017 by B.I. C. No Comments

Disney Theatrical Productions and Broadway In Chicago announced today that, due to popular demand, the eagerly-anticipated North American tour of Disney’s Aladdin will extend its stay in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W. Randolph Street) through September 10, 2017. More than 187,000 tickets for the newly-announced performances from July 5 to September 10, 2017 will go on sale Friday, April 7. The hit Broadway musical will begin performances on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. As previously announced, Adam Jacobs, who originated the title role in Aladdin on Broadway, will play the iconic role on tour.

In Chicago, tickets are available at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St., 18 W. Monroe St. and 175 E. Chestnut), the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (800) 775-2000, all Ticketmaster retail locations and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com. A select number of Premium Ticket Packages, which include a prime seat location, a commemorative souvenir program and an exclusive merchandise item, are also available for many performances. Group tickets for 15 or more are available by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710. For a complete performance schedule for Aladdin, please visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

 

WICKED is flying back to Chicago!

Posted on: January 17th, 2017 by B.I. C. No Comments

Broadway In Chicago is pleased to announce WICKED, Broadway’s biggest blockbuster and Chicago’s most popular musical, will return to Chicago’s Oriental Theatre (24 W Randolph) during the holiday season for a limited seven-week engagement Dec. 6, 2017- Jan. 21, 2018.

With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Godspell, Academy Award®-winner for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and book by Winnie Holzman (“My So Called Life,” “Once And Again” and “thirtysomething”), WICKED is directed by two-time Tony® Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Vagina Monologues) and features musical staging by Tony® Award winner Wayne Cilento (Aida, The Who’s Tommy, How To Succeed…). The musical is based on the best-selling 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire.

The Broadway sensation, WICKED, looks at what happened in the Land of Oz…but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another young woman, born with emerald-green skin, who is smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships…until the world decides to call one “good,” and the other one “wicked.”

With a thrilling score that includes the hits “Defying Gravity,” “Popular” and “For Good,” WICKED has been hailed by The New York Times as “the defining musical of the decade,” and by Time Magazine as “a magical Broadway musical with brains, heart, and courage.”

Winner of over 100 international awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards, WICKED has been performed in over 100 cities in 14 countries around the world (U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, The Philippines, Mexico, and Brazil) and has thus far been translated into six languages: Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, Korean, and Portuguese.

TICKET INFORMATION
Group tickets for 15 or more are now on sale by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710. Individual tickets for WICKED will go on sale at a later date.