Displaying items by tag: Michael Weber

Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce Chicago theatre veteran and TV favorite Stephen Wallem joins the cast of the Porchlight in Concert production of Follies as “Buddy Plummer.” Wallem assumes the role previously announced to be played by Alexander Gemignani in the April limited engagement. Gemignani had a schedule conflict allowing Wallem, a Rockford, Illinois native, to return to Chicago where he began his professional career. He joins (in alphabetical order) Michelle Duffy (Broadway’s Leap of Faith, Drury Lane’s Sister Act) as “Phyllis Rogers Stone,” Angela Ingersoll (Jeff Award winner for Porchlight’s End of the Rainbow) as “Sally Plummer” and Anthony Rapp (Broadway’s Rent and If/Then) as “Benjamin Stone,” Saturday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 26 at 2 p.m. at the Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave. This staged concert performance features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman and is directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber and music directed by Linda Madonia. Single tickets are reserved seating and are on sale for $104.50 - $159.50 at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by phone with the Studebaker Theater box office at 312-753-3210. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave., 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Tuesday - Sunday. 

Additional Follies cast members include Anastasia Arnold (Young Sally); Dale Benson (Dmitri Weismann); John Cardone (Max Deems); John Concepcion (Roscoe); Teagan Earley (Young Phyllis);  Felicia P. Fields (Hattie Walker); James Harms (Theodore Whitman); Beck Hokanson (Kevin); Cecilia Iole (Young Heidi); Will Koski (Young Buddy); John Marshall Jr. (Young Ben); Susie McMonagle (Carlotta Campion); Lauren Miller (Heidi Schiller); Mary Robin Roth (Emily Whitman); Genevieve Thiers (Christine Donovan); Sybyl Walker (Solange LaFitte) and Honey West (Stella Deems). 

The creative/production team includes Brenda Didier (assistant director); Eric Watkins (lighting designer); Matthew R. Chase (sound designer); Liviu Pasare (projections designer); Bill Walters (production stage manager); Drew Donnelly (assistant stage manager) and Frank Rose (production supervisor).

Porchlight in Concert debuted in 2024 with sold out performances of Sunday in the Park with George. In spring 2026, Porchlight returns to the Studebaker for a limited engagement of another Stephen Sondheim classic, Follies. 

Winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Score, Follies is a dazzling and bittersweet exploration of love, loss and the passage of time. Set at the reunion of the legendary “Weismann Follies” company on the eve of their crumbling theater’s demolition, former showgirls reunite one last time, reliving their heyday and confronting the choices that shaped their lives. With iconic songs like “Broadway Baby” “I’m Still Here” and “Losing My Mind,” this Sondheim gem blends haunting nostalgia with a show-stopping score in a moving celebration of dreams and regrets.

PORCHLIGHT IN CONCERT FOLLIES SPECIAL EVENT

The Creation and History of Follies with Chris Pazdernik

March 28 - April 18, 2026

Classes offered virtually

Fee: $200

Register at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org

As part of Porchlight’s Hobbyist programming, Jeff Award-winner Christopher Pazdernik, with their “near encyclopedic knowledge of musicals” (NewCity), takes participants on a guided tour behind-the-scenes of all things Follies. This four-week class covers the creation of the show and its original production along with major revivals and concerts, including changes made for the London production, which have never again been authorized for use. Guaranteed to be a one-of-a-kind opportunity to do a deep dive into one of the most revered works in the music theatre canon.

ABOUT STEPHEN WALLEM, BUDDY PLUMMER 

Stephen Wallem is overjoyed to return to the Chicago stage after beginning his professional career here from 1986 to 2008. Born and raised in Rockford, Illinois, he is a SAG Award-nominated actor best known as “Thor Lundgren” on the Emmy-winning Showtime series “Nurse Jackie.” He also recurred as “Winston” on “The Resident” (Fox) and, currently, “Rudy Syndergaard” on “Law and Order: SVU” (NBC). Other TV credits include “Difficult People” (Hulu), “Divorce” (HBO) and “Horace and Pete.” Wallem made his feature film debut in the hit romantic comedy “Marry Me” starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. His relationship with Stephen Sondheim musicals began with the second national tour of Into the Woods (“Rapunzel’s Prince”), Sunday in the Park with George (New American Theater) and continued at the Ravinia Festival Sondheim Series, appearing with Patti LuPone, George Hearn, Michael Cerveris and Audra McDonald in A Little Night Music, Passion and Sunday in the Park with George. His most recent stage credit was as “The Beadle” in Sweeney Todd at The Muny, where he was previously seen as “Shrek”(Shrek the Musical), “Horton the Elephant” (Seussical) and “Cowardly Lion” (The Wizard of Oz). Other favorite Midwest credits include “Max Bialystock” in The Producers (Farmers Alley), “Buddy” in Elf (Wagon Wheel), and “Judas/Padre” in Court Theatre’s Man of La Mancha (After Dark

Award, Jeff Award). He is also a two-time winner of the After Dark Award for Outstanding Cabaret Artist and a Chicago Cabaret Professionals' National Honoree for 2014. He teamed up with Edie Falco for the original cabaret The Other Steve and Edie in NYC and spent 12 years and 2500 performances playing both “Jinx” and “Sparky” in multiple companies of Forever Plaid, including the first national tour and the long-running production at the dearly departed Royal George Cabaret Theatre.

ABOUT MICHELLE DUFFY, PHYLLIS ROGERS STONE

Michelle Duffy is delighted beyond words to have returned to her beloved Chicago (after a 30+ year hiatus!) and deeply thrilled to be a part of this concert singing one of her all-time favorite Sondheim scores. Other recent Chicagoland appearances: “Mother Superior” in Sister Act at Drury Lane Oakbrook and “Bonnie” and others in Come From Away at Paramount. Broadway: OBC of Leap of Faith (OBCast album); OQ-Broadway: Originated “Ms. Fleming/Veronica’s Mom” in Heathers the Musical (Original Cast Album). Other recent regional: “Irene Adler” and others in Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson, Apt. 2B at Arizona Theatre Company and “Mrs. Dashwood/Anne” in Sense and Sensibility at Northern Stage. She has appeared in principal roles in theatres across the country and around the world such as The Guthrie, ACT, The Old Globe, The Goodman, Milwaukee Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public and The Barbican in London to name a few, and as a guest star in many television shows; most recently “Dark Matter,” “Law and Order,” “Chicago PD” and “Succession.” 

ABOUT ANGELA INGERSOLL, SALLY DURANT PLUMMER 

Angela Ingersoll is an Emmy-nominated and multi-award-winning actress, singer, producer, director and writer. She received an Emmy Award nomination for the PBS broadcast of her national concert tour “Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland.” She also won acclaim starring as Judy Garland in several productions of “End of the Rainbow,” receiving Chicago's Jeff Award, a BroadwayWorld Award and Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year in Theatre. Also: How to Succeed in Business ... (“Hedy,” Jeff nomination), The Mistress Cycle (“Anais Nin,” Jeff nomination), The Secret Garden (“Martha,” Jeff nomination), South Pacific (“Nellie”), Carousel (“Julie”), Jekyll and Hyde (“Lucy,” Ostrander Award), Disney's Beauty and the Beast (“Belle,” Ostrander Award), Man of La Mancha (“Aldonza,” Ostrander nomination), Ragtime (“Evelyn Nesbit,” Ostrander nomination), Macbeth (“Lady Macbeth,” Ostrander Award), Much Ado About Nothing (“Beatrice”), Richard III (“Lady Anne”), The Wizard of Oz (“Dorothy”) and The Second City (Chicago and Hollywood). Other television: “Chicago PD.” Other concerts include her one-woman show “The 12 Dames of Christmas” and appearances alongside her husband, entertainer and producer Michael Ingersoll. Ingersoll is the artistic director of Artists Lounge Live, a Chicago-based production company presenting concerts nationwide. She writes and directs many of their offerings.

ABOUT ANTHONY RAPP, BENJAMIN STONE

Anthony Rapp is thrilled to return to live and work in the city of his birth. Chicago is also where he earned his Equity card 45 years ago, when he was nine years old. He has since appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in National Tours, at Regional Theatres and in films and on television. But his proudest work these days is as the father, with his husband Ken, of their two sons, Rai (aged 3) and Keony (aged 2).

ABOUT MICHAEL WEBER, director 

Michael Weber is a nationally recognized, award-winning director, producer, actor and educator. Previous Porchlight productions include Sunday in the Park with George, Anything Goes, Cabaret, Sunset Boulevard, Gypsy and Merrily We Roll Along. He recently directed the Off-Broadway and European premieres of both Shake it Away: The Ann Miller Story and Call Me Elizabeth, written by and starring Kayla Boye. Under his artistic leadership, Porchlight Music Theatre was awarded Chicago’s Jeff Award for “Best Production” six times. He previously served as artistic director for the inaugural season of Chicago’s Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place (now Broadway in Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse) and at Theatre at the Center in Munster, Indiana. The recipient of two Joseph Jefferson Awards, he has been nominated for nine awards and he wrote and directed 14 Joseph Jefferson Awards ceremonies (2006-2018). Weber’s regional acting credits include The Merry Widow (starring Renée Fleming) at Lyric Opera, Annie Get Your Gun and Gypsy (both starring Patti LuPone) at Ravinia Festival, The Winter’s Tale and Henry V at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and more. A board member of The League of Chicago Theatres, he is author of the play WAR of the WELLeS (about Orson Welles’ infamous radio broadcast) and he is a longtime pledge host for PBS station WTTW channel 11.

ABOUT LINDA MADONIA, music director

Linda Madonia is thrilled to be back at Porchlight where she recently music directed the ICONS Gala Celebrating Leslie Uggams and previously worked on Titanique, Broadway in your Backyard, Anything Goes, Cabaret and A Chorus Line. Other recent projects include Legally Blonde: The Musical, Shrek the Musical, Mamma Mia! and Camelot at Music Theater Works and Jersey Boys, Rock of Ages and Sister Act at Mercury Theater Chicago. Linda also serves as the contractor for the Chicago Federation of Musicians for Porchlight Music Theatre, Music Theater Works and Teatro Zinzanni. She is the vocal coach for the master’s degree program in music theatre pedagogy at Carthage College and owns American Eagle Productions, which has been at the forefront of theatre education in the Chicago area for the past 35 years.

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE

Porchlight Music Theatre, now in its 31st 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 which continues this summer.

To those familiar with Cole Porter’s 1930s musical, you may recognize the opening notes as the live orchestra begins to play the title number. Reno Sweeney (played with dazzle by Meghan Murphy) bounds on stage, and the Opening Night crowd erupts in cheers. Sweeney takes in the applause and adoration as she starts to sing:

“Times have changed
And we’ve often rewound the clock.
Since the puritans got a shock.
When they landed on Plymouth Rock.”

As Murphy’s belt swells and rings through the theater, this audience only cheered harder. This is the 11 o’clock number, and the artistic team does not disappoint. As the ensemble joins Murphy on stage, Choreographer Tammy Mader pulls all the stops. Tappers, ballroom dance, and everything in between. Lighting Designer G. “Max” Maxin IV fills the space with color that is only heightened by the exquisite costume design full of sparkle. Looking around at the audience, it was clear that I was not the only one bouncing along in my seat. Before Murphy even hits the final lyrics, the crowd was on their feet, eager to reward this show-stopping number with everything that they had.

Directed by Michael Weber, Anything Goes follows Billy Crocker (Luke Nowakowski), a man hopelessly in love with Hope Harcourt (Emma Ogea). The one problem? She is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Jackson Evans), and her mother is eager to see that this wedding takes place. Billy sets out as a stowaway onboard the ocean liner S.S. American – desperate to win the love of his life. Ultimately, if he wants to succeed, he finds that his only hope is to trust his alliances with nightclub singer Reno Sweeney (Meghan Murphy) and two wanted criminals - Moonface Martin (Steve McDonagh) and Erma (Tafadzwa Diener).

With music and lyrics by Cole Porter, the score features famous hits including: It’s De-Lovely, Friendship, and of course, Anything Goes. Full of love triangles, mistaken identities, and missed opportunities, you might just find yourself on the edge of your seat – eager to see what twist or turn might come next.

The die-hard fans of the classic musical know Cole Porter hits audiences with one larger-than-life number after another. Weber and his team fill the small stage to the brim with impressive designs and jaw-dropping choreography. Especially when combined with the stellar vocalists, those numbers ranging from You’re the Top to Blow, Gabriel, Blow certainly stand out. However, if you’re anything like this writer, you might also find that the intimate, smaller numbers truly hit the heart of the show.

It’s De-Lovely comes towards the end of Act I. Hope is discouraged, knowing deep down that she loves Billy, but her mother will never let her end the engagement. Alone on the ship deck, Billy finds her, and the two begin to sway and sing.

“The night is young, the skies are clear
So if you want to go walking, dear,
It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely.”

The lights dim to a deep blue, creating the feel of moonlight. As the song continues, the two become lost in each other, and start to dance. Other couples join and dance alongside them, but for Billy and Hope, it’s clear that the world only exists between the two of them. To put it simply, Ogea and Nowakowski enchant the Opening Night audience with their sweet duet. As the ending note plays and Billy dips Hope in a final pose, an audible sigh could be heard from the crowd. 

Inspiring vocalists and a jaunty score make Anything Goes a night of fun. If you’re a classical musical fan, then this is the show for you. If you have yet to experience a production of Cole Porter’s classic, Porchlight Music Theatre certainly offers an exciting introduction as we hit the show’s 90^th anniversary.

RECOMMENDED

Running through February 25, 2024 at Ruth Page Center for the Arts – 1016 N. Dearborn St. 773-777-9884

*Extended through March 10th!

Few shows this fall have been as highly anticipated as Porchlight Music Theatre’s production of ‘Sunset Boulevard’. Porchlight artistic director Michael Weber directs Chicago stage superstar Hollis Reznik in this vibrant revival. Aaron Benham conducts a full orchestra that really showcases the sweeping Andrew Lloyd Webber score. 

‘Sunset Boulevard’ is the 1993 musical adaptation of the Billy Wilder noir classic. In it, struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis (Billy Rude) stumbles into the Sunset Blvd mansion of reclusive former Hollywood starlet Norma Desmond (Hollis Reznik). She persuades him to help her fix up a script she’s written. Things get weird when Norma has the wrong idea about their friendship. 

There’s as much tabloid drama surrounding the development of this musical as there is on the stage. Many consider Norma Desmond to be Glenn Close’s definitive Broadway role. She reprised her role on Broadway last year in the high-grossing revival, but it was written for Patti LuPone who had originated the part in West End. 

First and foremost, this is Hollis Reznik’s show and her Norma Desmond isn’t going to let you forget it. Reznik is at her best when playing deranged older women, having appeared as Little Edie in ‘Grey Gardens’ at Northlight, and Judy Garland in ‘End of the Rainbow’ at the Milwaukee Rep. Seeing her fill shoes tailored for the likes of Glenn Close and Patti LuPone shows that Reznik is capable of more than just reinterpreting other people’s work. With her powerful voice and electrifying acting choices, Reznik makes this her own. The result is haunting and disturbing. Though Reznik herself is a successful actress, something about her performance as a faded star seems urgent. It’s as if to say perhaps this isn’t just a story about the Hollywood machine, but rather a parable about the way the workforce discards people once they’re no longer useful. 

That said, this is Hollis Reznik featuring the rest of the cast. Some notable standouts from Billy Rude as Joe Gillis and Michelle Lauto as Betty Schaefer rise to meet the high standard set by Reznik, but sadly the rest of the cast fades into the orchestra. While the beautiful score was provided by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the book and lyrics were penned by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. The dialogue and lyrics aren’t great, and many original critics in the 1990s were quick to point that out. The somewhat shallow lyrics are often repeated throughout the songs as a means to fill out the book, which is hard for any actor to make dynamic. This show does not endure because of the book, but instead for the performances and the central conflict between Norma and Joe. 

Those with an affinity for ‘Sunset Boulevard’ or missed Glenn Close on Broadway last year will be delighted by Porchlight’s faithful production. With an extension of the run announced before the opening, Porchlight proves that Hollis Reznik packs houses as the headliner. A Broadway tour can book a star to play Norma, but director Michael Weber shows us that our local Chicago theaters can do just as well if not better than any corporate-flavored national tour. 

Through December 8th at Porchlight Music Theatre at Ruth Page Center for the Arts. 1016 N Dearborn St. 773-777-9884