Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce its 32nd season launching in September at The Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., with the 11th anniversary edition of Porchlight’s signature concert series New Faces Sing Broadway with New Faces Sing Broadway 1976, Tuesday, Sept. 14 and 15; followed by Chicago Live at Navy Pier, a Broadway in your Backyard performance, Saturday, Sept. 19 at 12:30 p.m.; the ICONS Gala, Sunday, Sept. 27; autumn 2026 continues on the mainstage with the musical hit Little Shop of Horrors, November 4 - December 13. The new year starts with a co-production with Theater Wit and the Chicago premiere of the “Best Musical” Tony Award-nominated musical Dead Outlaw, February 10 - March 21, 2027; followed by the world premiere of a new musical play Shake It Away: The Ann Miller Story, April 2 - April 25, 2027; the return of its annual fundraising concert with the latest edition, Chicago Sings the Windy City, Monday, May 17, 2027 and concludes with Porchlight’s signature free, outdoor summer concert series, Broadway in Your Backyard.
The 2026 - 2027 Subscription Series includes Little Shop of Horrors, Dead Outlaw, Shake It Away: The Ann Miller Story and exclusive pre-sale access to tickets to New Faces Sing Broadway 1976 before the general public. Subscribe early and save! Subscriptions purchased before July 17 are $185 (inclusive of fees), with prices increasing to $197 starting July 18 and may be purchased at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.
Porchlight Music Theatre’s 32nd season includes, chronologically:
NEW FACES SING BROADWAY 1976
Monday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Directed by Lorenzo Rush Jr.
Richard Christiansen Theater, at The Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave.
Porchlight's signature series showcases Chicago music theatre's top up-and-coming artists celebrating an entire Broadway season in 90 minutes with songs of that era, games and even sing-a-longs. In honor of the country's semiquincentennial birthday celebrations, Porchlight shares the 1976 Broadway season that included Chicago, A Chorus Line, Pacific Overtures, Bubbling Brown Sugar and others.
CHICAGO LIVE AT NAVY PIER
September 19 at 12:30 p.m.
Directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber
Music Directed by Linda Madonia
Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave.
FREE
Porchlight Music Theatre presents its popular Broadway in your Backyard program of family-friendly showtunes as it joins more than 110 artists and organizations for Navy Pier’s the annual celebration of Chicago’s vibrant arts and cultural community.
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
November 4 - December 13
Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman
Music by Alan Menken
Based on the film by Roger Corman, Screenplay by Charles Griffith
Originally Produced by the WPA Theatre (Kyle Renick, Producing Director), Originally Produced at the Orpheum Theatre, New York City by the WPA Theatre, David Geffen, Cameron Mackintosh and the Shubert Organization
Directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber
Začek McVay Mainstage at The Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave.
For more than four decades, this Tony Award-winning musical has delighted millions of fans around the world with the funny and frightening story of the shy shop assistant, his coworker crush and a mysterious, and carnivorous, plant. Written by the powerhouse team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (Disney's The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast and Aladdin), Little Shop takes audiences on a wild trip where love and world domination meet at a Skid Row floral shop.
CHICAGO PREMIERE
DEAD OUTLAW
February 10 - March 21, 2027
Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek & Erik Della Penna
Book by Itamar Moses
Conceived by David Yazbek
Directed by Jeremy Wechsler
Choreographed by Brenda Didier
Co-Production with Theater Wit
Začek McVay Mainstage Theater at The Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave.
The 2025 Tony Award-nominated for Best Musical and winner of three Best Musical awards (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and New York Drama Critics’ Circle), Dead Outlaw is a wickedly irreverent tale based on the true story of bumbling bandit Elmer McCurdy. This musical comedy spanning more than a century delves into themes of fame and its repercussions as McCurdy’s mummified body becomes a traveling curiosity across America and beyond. Entertainment Weekly calls the Tony Award-nominated new musical ,“a truly one-of-a-kind production, complete with a whole lot of laughs and a surprising amount of heart. It needs to be seen to be believed!”
WORLD PREMIERE
SHAKE IT AWAY: THE ANN MILLER STORY
April 2 - April 25, 2027
Written and Performed by Kayla Boye
Directed by Michael Weber
Music Directed by Linda Madonia
Choreographed by Tammy Mader
Richard Christiansen Theater, at The Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave.
Nurtured as part of Porchlight's Off the Porch new works initiative and following festival development at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Hollywood Fringe and Off-Broadway, this heartwarming and humorous new musical play is set on a soundstage at the infamous 1970 MGM Studios auction. There, dancer, singer and actress Ann Miller revisits the Golden Age of Hollywood and discovers her second act as a Broadway star while filmdom’s treasures — including the legendary “ruby slippers,” the “Cotton Blossom” show boat, Clark Gable’s “lucky trench coat” and more — are sold off to the highest bidder. Featuring selections from the Great American Songbook, this story of personal triumph confronts the impacts that arise when an entire industry is threatened by the never ending march of change.
CHICAGO SINGS THE WINDY CITY
Monday, May 17, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
Music Directed by David Fiorello
Začek McVay Mainstage at The Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave.
Porchlight's annual concert fundraiser this year celebrates the best loved Broadway and Hollywood musicals set in and around Chicago itself including The Blues Brothers, Chicago, Pal Joey, Robin and the 7 Hoods, Show Boat, Some Like it Hot, Raisin, Victor/Victoria and more.
BROADWAY IN YOUR BACKYARD
Summer 2027
Porchlight's free, outdoor summer concert series marks its sixth edition in 2026 at parks throughout Chicago. The 60-minute, family-friendly, outdoor performance includes some of the best loved show tunes from Broadway and Hollywood with sing-alongs, a raffle for valuable prizes and more.
Productions and other details for each are subject to change.
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
Porchlight Music Theatre, entering its 32nd 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 the theatre 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.
Dead Outlaw and Little Shop of Horrors are presented through special arrangement with Music Theater International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are supplied by MTI. MTIShows.com
Porchlight Music Theatre’s 32nd season is sponsored by Brenda & James Grusecki.
Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from Actors’ Equity Foundation; Arlen and Elaine Cohen Rubin Charitable Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City; Bayless Family Foundation; Chicago Free for All; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation; Hearty Boys; Mesirow Financial; Carol Oppenheim & Jerome Lamet Charitable Fund; the Pritzker Traubert Foundation; Ryan and Spaeth, Inc.; Daniel and Genevieve Ratner Foundation; The Saints; Dr. Scholl Foundation; Service Club of Chicago, The Shubert Foundation and Uvae Kitchen & Wine Bar
The season program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency.
Porchlight Music Theatre wishes to thank members of the Matching Gift Corporate Program including Allstate; BDO; Comcast; Crowdstrike; Google and The Saints.
Top row: (L toR) Lorenzo Rush Jr, Jeremy Wechsler, Brenda Dider
Bottom row: (L to R) Kayla Boye, Linda Madonia and Tammy Mader
MORE FROM PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
Chicago Sings Broadway’s British Invasion
Spring 2026
Porchlight’s annual concert fundraiser highlights Great Britain’s contributions to the biggest hits of Broadway. Chicago music theatre’s leading performers add their signature style to the musical favorites that premiered “across the pond” in this one-night-only event. From early West End successes like Me and My Girl, Oliver! and Stop the World - I Want to Get Off, to the “rock operas,” Jesus Christ Superstar, Chess and Evita, blockbusters including Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon and Les Misérables and recent favorites Mamma Mia!, Six, Operation Mincemeat and more.
Broadway in your Backyard
Summer 2026
Porchlight's free, outdoor summer concert series marks its sixth edition in 2026 at parks throughout Chicago. The 60-minute, family-friendly, outdoor performance includes some of the best loved show tunes from Broadway and Hollywood with sing-alongs, a raffle for valuable prizes and more.