Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce Chicago Sings Rock & Roll Broadway, premiering Saturday, March 20 at 7 p.m. CDT. The production will be available for streaming immediately following its premiere through Sunday, April 18. The annual Chicago Sings fundraising concert will be held digitally for the first time in 2021 and features songs from musicals with rock & roll themes, inspired by rock & roll legends and written by legendary rock & rollers.
Chicago Sings Rock & Roll Broadway is directed by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Weber with music direction by Jermaine Hill and Linda Madonia. Debuting Saturday, March 20 at 7 p.m. CDT, the concert will also include the presentation of the 2021 Guy Adkins Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Music Theatre to Felicia P. Fields. Tickets are $25 - $2500 and are available for purchase beginning Monday, March 1 at 12 p.m. CST at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.
From Bye, Bye Birdie to Dreamgirls to Rent to Jagged Little Pill and a variety of productions in between, this year’s Chicago Sings includes a great cast of musical talents gathered to celebrate Porchlight Music Theatre and two American creations - Broadway and Rock & Roll.
This virtual concert is Porchlight’s annual fundraiser with all proceeds from this special event going to Porchlight Music Theatre’s educational and artistic programming.
Scheduled to perform are Terrell Armstrong, Adia Bell, Chuckie Benson, Blu, Lydia Burke, Ariana Burks, Darilyn Burtley, Elisa Carlson, Satya Chávez, Pierce Cleaveland, Shantel Cribbs, Robin DaSilva, Andres Enriquez , Jillian-Giselle, Lucy Godínez, Allyson Graves, Maya Hlava, Donterrio Johnson, Christopher John Kelley, Heidi Kettenring, Nik Kmiecik, Michelle Lauto, Eric Lewis, Eben K Logan, Melanie Loren, Alejandro Medina, Andrew Mueller, Jarais Musgrove, Juwon Tyrel Perry, Billy Rude, Lorenzo Rush Jr, Laura Savage, Oliver Schilling, Aalon Smith, Sawyer Smith, Kyra Sorce, TJ Tapp, Tiffany T. Taylor, Cherise Thomas, Bethany Thomas and Ariel Etana Triunfo.
The production team includes Michael Weber (director), Jermaine Hill (music director, years 1960 - 1989), Linda Madonia (music director, years 1990 - present), Isaiah Silvia-Chandley (choreographer), Christopher Pazdernik (producing associate & company manger), Alex Rhyan (director of production), Denise Karzwewski (lighting designer), Rachel West (lighting supervisor), Eric Backus (audio engineer) and Orel Chollette (videographer).
The Chicago Sings Rock & Roll Broadway band includes: Jermaine Hill (conductor/keyboards), Linda Madonia (conductor/keyboard), Dave Saenger (guitar), Greg Strauss (trumpet), Kelsee Vandervall (cello) and Chuck Webb (bass) and Justin Kono (percussion).
*Performers and program may change without notice.
ABOUT MICHAEL WEBER, (director)
Michael Weber is Porchlight Music Theatre's artistic director and most recently directed Broadway by the Decade, Sunset Boulevard and Gypsy for Porchlight Music Theatre as well as the Porchlight Revisits production of 1776. His productions of Gypsy, End of the Rainbow, Side Show, ....Forum, Sweeney Todd, Pal Joey and Assassins at Porchlight, Grand Hotel at Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place and She Loves Me at Theatre at the Center were each nominated for the Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production - Musical. Other directing credits include Living the History-125 Years of the Auditorium Theatre (starring Patti Lupone, John Mahoney, and stars of Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and others), Fifth of July and Talley's Folly at the Oak Park Festival Theatre. The Petrified Forest at Theatre at the Center, Beauty and the Beast at Marriott Theatre. Over the River and Through the Woods at Mercury Theater, and Cirque du Symphony at Sears Center Arena. The recipient of two Joseph Jefferson Awards, he has written and directed fifteen Joseph Jefferson Awards ceremonies. Weber's regional acting credits include The Merry Widow and The Sound of Music at Lyric Opera, 42nd Street at Paramount, Annie Get Your Gun and Gypsy (both starring Patti LuPone) at Ravinia, Disney's My Son Pinocchio at First Stage Milwaukee, Around the World in 80 Days at Cleveland Playhouse. The Winter's Taleand Henry V at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Angel Street at First Folio Shakespeare, and The Gifts of the Magi at Indiana Repertory. He served previously as artistic director of Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place (now The Broadway Playhouse) and Theatre at the Center. Weber is proud to serve as a pledge host on WTTW, Channel 11.
ABOUT JERMAINE HILL, (music director for years 1960 - 1989)
Jermaine Hill is a Jeff Award-nominated music director, actor, singer and arranger. At Porchlight, he most recently was the music director for the award-winning Sophisticated Ladies in 2020, for which he received the Jeff Award for Music Direction. Previously, he also music directed Porchlight’s Memphis. Other credits include Too Heavy for Your Pocket (TimeLine Theatre), The Music Man (Goodman Theatre), The Total Bent (Haven Theatre), Nell Gwynn (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), and Ragtime (Griffin Theatre). He has performed with Haven Theatre, Erasing the Distance, Onion Labs and appeared in an episode of “Chicago Med.” He is an assistant professor of theatre and music director at Columbia College Chicago, an ensemble member of Griffin Theatre and a graduate of Ithaca College and the New England Conservatory of Music.
ABOUT LINDA MADONIA, (music director for years 1990 - present)
Linda Madonia has been musical directing in the Chicago area for more than 25 years including the 2019 critically-acclaimed production of Porchlight’s A Chorus Line. Other credits include Pirates of Penzance and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for Music Theater Works and Forbidden Broadway: SVU at The Royal George Theater. Other credits include Grand Hotel and Nunsensations at Drury Lane Water Tower Place and Gigi, She Loves Me and Me and My Girl at Theater at the Center. Madonia has also been the music director for Chicago’s Equity and non-union Joseph Jefferson Awards numerous times. She owns American Eagle Productions, an educational theatre that has presented 300 shows and workshops a year in Chicago area schools for the past 28 years.
ABOUT FELICIA P. FIELDS, 2021 GUY ADKINS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF MUSIC THEATRE RECIPIENT
Felicia P. Fields is an acclaimed and renowned actress, director and playwright. She has appeared in many productions around the world. On Broadway, Fields earned a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of “Sofia” in The Color Purple and also toured nationally with its first tour and starred in the first tour of Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Her role as “Sofia” also earned her a Theatre World Award, a Clarence Derwent Award, two Broadway.com awards, an NAACP nomination and a Denver Post Ovation Award. She was also a Drama League honoree. Regionally, Fields credits include the Goodman Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, Marriott Theatre DuSable Museum, Drury Lane, Alliance Theatre, Theatre at the Center and Apple Tree Theatre, among others. Fields has received a Black Theatre Alliance Award and nominations, many Jeff Award nominations and the award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in “Sophisticated Ladies.” Her television and film credits include “Sense 8,” “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago PD,” “The Knights of Prosperity,” “Save the Last Dance” and “Early Edition” and many commercials and voice-overs.
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
Porchlight Music Theatre 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 city’s Gold Coast and to neighborhoods across the city. Porchlight has built a national reputation for boldly reimaging 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.”
Now in our 26th season, our quarter-century production history includes more than 70 mainstage works with 15 Chicago premieres and five world premieres. Porchlight’s commitment to the past, present and future of music theatre led the company to develop the Porchlight Revisits and New Faces Sing Broadway program series, both quickly becoming audience favorites.
Porchlight's education and outreach programs serve schools, youth of all ages and skill levels, and community organizations, and we love our ongoing collaboration with Chicago Youth Centers. We annually award 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 45 Jeff awards, as well as 33 Black Theatre Alliance (BTA) nominations and 12 BTA awards. This past season, Porchlight Music Theatre “graduated” to the Large Theatre tier of the Joseph Jefferson Equity Awards, stiffening our competition for the Jeff committee’s recognition. Porchlight celebrated its eight nominations in both technical and artistic categories and awards for Jermaine Hill, music direction and Lorenzo Rush Jr, solo performance, most notably Best Ensemble for Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies.
Through the global pandemic, Porchlight has 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. For the 2020-2021 season, Porchlight’s fall schedule included all-new ticketed virtual programs including Broadway by the Decade, New Faces Sing Broadway 1987 and the return of The Ruffians’ Burning Bluebeard as well as collaborations with Hershey Felder and LA Theater Works. Porchlight will continue to announce new premium and free offerings in 2021.
Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce Chicago Sings Rock & Roll Broadway, debuting Saturday, March 20 at 7 p.m. CDT and streaming through Sunday, April 18. The annual Chicago Sings fundraising concert will be held digitally for the first time in 2021 and features songs from musicals with rock & roll themes, inspired by rock & roll legends and written by legendary rock & rollers. Chicago Sings Rock & Roll Broadway is directed by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Weber with music direction by Jermaine Hill and Linda Madonia. Debuting Saturday, March 20 at 7 p.m. CDT, the concert will also include the presentation of the 2021 Guy Adkins Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Music Theatre to Felicia P. Fields. Tickets are $25 - $2500 and are available for purchase beginning Monday, March 1 at 12 p.m. CDT at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.
Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from
Actors’ Equity Foundation; Allstate; Bayless Family Foundation; Michael Best & Friedrich LLP; Chapman | Spingola, Attorneys at Law; Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation; Gen Ops Plus; EFP Optical; Elegant Event Lighting; James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation; Hearty Boys; A.L. and Jennie L. Luria Foundation; The MacArthur Fund for Culture, Equity, and the Arts at Prince; the Pritzker Traubert Foundation; Ryan and Spaeth, Inc.; Daniel and Genevieve Ratner Foundation; The Saints; Dr. Scholl Foundation and the Topfer Family 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; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; Peoples Gas; Pepsico; Polk Bros Foundation and The Saints.