Cast Announced for JERRY'S GIRLS Benefit Performance

Season of Concern, the emergency fund for Chicago theater artists, will present a one-night-only benefit performance of Jerry's Girls, with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, concepts by Larry Alford, Wayne Cilento, and Jerry Herman, direction by Ken-Matt Martin, and musical direction by Nigel D. Robinson. Jerry's Girls will be presented on Monday, June 27 at 7:30pm, at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue. The event includes a pre-show reception beginning at 6:30pm, and post-show dessert reception.

The all-Chicago cast includes Lydia Burke, Sandra Delgado, Donica Lynn, Mary Robin Roth and Missy Wise.

The Broadway hit Jerry's Girls features all the best songs for women from such immortal musicals as Mame, Hello Dolly! Milk and Honey, Mack and Mabel, and La Cage Aux Folles. Jerry's Girls was first presented on Broadway at the St. James Theatre in December of 1985. It was directed by Larry Alford and starred Dorothy Loudon, Chita Rivera and Leslie Uggams. The Season of Concern production promises to be a spectacular one-time-only experience!

Tickets

Tickets, priced at $50 for regular seating and $75 for VIP, are available at seasonofconcern.org. All tickets include reserved seats, a pre-show reception with a silent auction and cash bar in the theatre lobby starting at 6:30pm, as well as a dessert reception with the cast following the performance.

Proceeds will benefit Season of Concern, which provides financial assistance to Chicago area theater practitioners impacted by illness, injury or circumstances that prevent them from working. The vision of Season of Concern is a future where no member of the Chicagoland Theatre community struggles alone. For more information, visit https://seasonofconcern.org/.

Actor and Activist Donica Lynn comments, "Without Season of Concern in my corner, my passion and light may well have been snuffed out. Now they offer financial assistance regardless of the health of the grant recipient. If you have been out of work due to COVID-19, they can help,"

This event is sponsored by: Victory Gardens Theater, Goodman Theatre, Donald Flayton, Rhona and Julian Frazin, Judy Freeman, Richard Goodwin, Karen Hunt, Todd Logan, Robert Markey Randall Persuhn, Roche Schulfer and Mary Beth Fisher, Cathy Taylor Public Relations, Inc., and Darian "Doc" Wheeler. Actors' Equity Association, Entertainment Community Fund, Joseph and Nan Benincasa, Whirled Peas Foundation.

Jerry's Girls is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.

About the Artists

Lydia Burke was last seen on the Mercury Theater Chicago stage in Sister Act. Recent Chicago credits include The Sound of Music and Junie B Jones The Musical (Marriott Theatre), Ragtime and Billy Elliot (Music Theater Works), Groundhog Day and Kinky Boots (Paramount Theatre), the Danseuse in Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies (Porchlight Music Theatre), Roald Dahl's Matilda (Drury Lane Theatre) and Ghost: The Musical (Theatre at the Center).

Sandra Delgado is a Colombian American writer, actor and producer best known for her play La Havana Madrid, which enjoyed sold-out runs at Steppenwolf Theatre and Goodman Theatre, and most recently in a co-production with Teatro Vista and Collaboraction. La Havana Madrid, featured in the New York Times and CNN, received recognition as one of the best plays of 2017 by New City Chicago and Time Out Chicago, and the Time Out Audience Award for Best New Work, as well as an Alliance of Latinx Theatre Artists (ALTA) nominee for the Maria Irene Fornes New Play Award and ALTA Award winner for Best Production.

Donica Lynn is a mother, wife, grandmother, three-time brain tumor survivor, advocate for anyone who may feel unheard, underrated, or left behind, which is what draws her to being a Board Member of Season of Concern. Named Chicago Tribune's Person of the Year in Theatre, Donica has amassed multiple award nominations including winning two Joseph Jefferson Awards. This multi-hyphenated artist has been seen on stage at The Goodman Theater, Porchlight Music Theatre, Mercury Theater, Marriott, Drury Lane Oak Brook, Victory Gardens, Court Theatre just to name a few. Donica held audiences captivated with her acting and vocal abilities alongside Tony nominee Felicia P. Fields and Tony, Grammy and Emmy winner Andre De Shields.

Mary Robin Roth recently performed the role of Ursula Widdington in the North American premiere drama Ladies in Lavender at MBT in Michigan where she also has performed in The Spitfire Grill (Hannah), Arsenic and Old Lace (Abby) and Nunsense and Nunsense 2 (Sr. Robert Anne). Mason Street Warehouse: Cabaret (Fraulein Schneider), The Full Monty (Jeannette), Chicago (Mama Morton). Chicago credits: Hello, Dolly! (Dolly), Gypsy (Mama Rose), Mame (Mame and Vera), Shear Madness (Mrs. Shubert), Sister Act (Sr. Mary Lazarus) and Follies (Carlotta) where she was honored with a Jeff and After Dark Award. Tours: Evita, Sunset Blvd. Broadway: The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Senator Joe.

Missy Wise recent credits include Kinky Boots (Paramount Theater) Bright Star (Boho Theater Ensemble) Always...Patsy Cline (Firebrand Theater) Million Dollar Quartet (Clarence Brown Theater) Legally Blonde (Paramount Theatre) Sweeney Todd (Theo Ubique) Bonnie & Clyde (Kokandy Productions) Big Fish (BigNoise Theater), and 24 Words (Steppenwolf LookOut). Missy was the 2016 Winner of the NATS National Musical Theater Competition & 2020 Bronze Medalist of the American Traditions Competition. Missy is the proud recipient of two Joseph Jefferson Awards for her work in Bonnie & Clyde and Bright Star.

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