Jessie Mueller, Andre DeShields & More Set for Chicago Humanities Festival's A NIGHT AT THE TONYS Tonight

The Chicago Humanities Festival (CHF) presents A Night at the Tonys, this year's William and Greta Wiley Flory Concert, an annual cabaret performance, taking place tonight, Nov. 3, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. at Francis W. Parker School (2233 North Clark Street) as part of the 25th Anniversary Fall Festival: Journeys (running Oct. 25-Nov. 9).

Created by Rob Lindley and Doug Peck, A Night at the Tonys will take audiences on a chronological journey featuring a song from each Tony Award-winning "Best Musical" production since 1949. The production will feature two-time Tony Award-nominees André DeShields (Ain't Misbehavin'; The Wiz; The Full Monty) and Ernestine Jackson (Raisin; Guys and Dolls; Hello Dolly!), Broadway alum Karen Mason (Sunset Boulevard; Mamma Mia!), and Tony Award-winner Jessie Mueller (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical; On a Clear Day You Can See Forever), as well as some of Chicago's top performers. Tickets are SOLD OUT, but patrons can be added to the waitlist by calling the CHF Box Office at (312) 494-9509.

A Night at the Tonys is the fifth CHF collaboration with Jeff Award-winning actor/director/writer Rob Lindley and Jeff Award-winning music director Doug Peck. Previous Flory Concerts include Follies, A Night at the Oscars, Assassins, and last year's Birds Do It, Bees Do It.... The Nov. 3 all-star cabaret revue will explore musicals from Kiss Me, Kate;to Avenue Q and South Pacific;In the Heights. The concert will include songs from classic composers like Leonard Bernstein, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Stephen Sondheim, to more contemporary composers like Mel Brooks, Elton John, and Duncan Sheik.

The cabaret will feature two-time Tony Award-nominees André DeShields (Ain't Misbehavin'; The Wiz; The Full Monty) and Ernestine Jackson (Raisin; Guys and Dolls; Hello Dolly!), Broadway alum Karen Mason (Sunset Boulevard; Mamma Mia!), and Tony Award-winner Jessie Mueller (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical; On a Clear Day You Can See Forever). Chicago-based performers include: Adrian Aguilar, Allison Bazarko, Devin DeSantis, Rebecca Finnegan, James Earl Jones II, Tammy Mader, Beckie Menzie, Tom Michael, Christine Mild, Meghan Murphy, Andrea Prestinario, Emily Rogers, Anne Sheridan Smith, Travis Taylor, and Bethany Thomas.

Rob Lindley's directing credits include: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill (Porchlight Music Theatre), and the Off-Broadway musical parody 50 Shades!: The Musical. As an actor, Lindley has been seen in James Joyce's The Dead, Angels in America: Parts 1 & 2, Caroline or Change, and Carousel (Court Theatre); Bach at Liepzing, Oh Coward! (Writers' Theatre); Urinetown (Mercury Theatre); The Most Happy Fella (Ravinia Festival); and A New Brain, Sweeney Todd, and Closer Than Ever (Porchlight Music Theatre). Lindley won a Jeff Award for his performance in Oh Coward! and his cabaret trio Foiled Again has won an After Dark Award for Outstanding Cabaret Performance. Foiled Again is releasing their first studio album this winter called Blanket of Winter and Lindley will return to Court Theatre this spring for their production of The Secret Garden.

Doug Peck is the winner of six Joseph Jefferson Awards (The Jungle Book; Porgy and Bess; Caroline, or Change; Carousel; Fiorello!; and Man of La Mancha) and two After Dark Awards (Guys and Dolls; Hello, Again), as well as the Sarah Siddons Award and the Guy Adkins Award for his music direction and orchestrations in Chicago and across the country. Peck is a graduate of Northwestern University and also trained at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. He is a creative partner with the Goodman, an artistic associate with Porchlight Music Theatre, and a faculty member of the National High School Institute of the Arts. Peck recently conducted Carousel at the Glimmerglass Opera and travels next to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for Guys and Dolls.

A Night at the Tonys orchestra features: Drummer Sarah Allen, Bassist Larry Kohut, and Music Director/Pianist Doug Peck. The artistic team includes: Lighting Designer Michael Stanfill, Projection Designer Jon Runnfeldt, and Musical Staging by Tammy Mader.

Event Information:

A Night at the Tonys | The William and Greta Wiley Flory Concert

TONIGHT, Nov. 3, 2014 | 7:30-10 p.m. | SOLD OUT

Francis W. Parker School, Diane and David B Heller Auditorium | 2233 N Clark St

Tickets to A Night at the Tonys are $35, with discounted tickets for CHF Members and students/teachers. Tickets are SOLD OUT, but patrons can be added to the waitlist by calling the CHF Box Office at (312) 494-9509 Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. To become a member, visit supportchf.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.