Casting Announced For Campsongs Productions' HOUSE MUSICAL - COMING OF AGE IN THE AGE OF HOUSE

Campsongs Productions returns with the world premiere of House Musical - Coming of Age in the Age of House, with book by Marcus Waller, music by Scott Free (with Michael Foley) and lyrics by Scott Free and Marcus Waller. House Musical is directed by Dion Walton, and will run April 20th - April 30th, 2023 at the Center On Halsted's Hoover-Leppen Theatre, 3656 N Halsted in Chicago's Northalsted neighborhood.

Tickets go on sale March 6th at centeronhalsted.org. The preview performance is Thursday, April 20th at 7:30pm with a post-show discussion to follow. Opening night is Friday, April 21st at 7:30pm. Performances run Thursdays thru Sundays at 7:30pm, thru April 30th.

The cast includes Nehmiah Barker, Marcellus Burt, Reginald Hemphill, Edvetté Jones, Dion McNeal, Kenny Miller, Roman Mitchell, Chandler Paskett, Anthony Powell, Jessica Vann, and Camille Wiggins.

House Musical - Coming Of Age In The Age Of House tells the story of Dwayne (Dion McNeal) who finds the strength to come out of the closet by sneaking into The Warehouse club, where House Music was born. House Musical is a celebration of both the BIPOC LGBTQ+ experience in Chicago, and the explosion of a new musical genre called House Music. It captures the energy and excitement of that brief time when House Music was being born - when young Chicago musicians and DJs were creating raw, sample-based tracks, and those tracks were becoming hits in Europe, even though they were being ignored in the U.S. At the same time, it captures the beginnings of the emerging black LGBT community of Chicago, which brought people together through the shared personal struggles: standing up to bullying and homophobia, fighting discrimination within the greater LGBT community, and the bravery of battling HIV/AIDS when there were no treatments. Most of all, House Musical is story of love and acceptance, of hope, bravery, and pride.

The production team includes Dion Walton (Director), Scott Free (Musical Director), J'Sun Howard (Choreographer), Maurice Costello (Scenic Designer), Doug Herlihy (Lighting Designer), and Brian Kirst (Dramaturg).

About the Artists

Marcus Waller(writer) is a born and bred Chicagoan who has a passion for spoken word performing. He has performed his pieces at various venues throughout the Chicagoland area. Most recently one of his works was chosen to be performed at The Goodman Theatre GeNarrations stage. An early outspoken advocate for HIV representation for communities of color, Waller has worked at BEHIV and Regional Care in Joliet, Illinois. A retired U.S. postal worker, he believes that the era that he grew up in, although rife with prejudice, was also one of the most prolific in terms of music, the arts and coming together as a community here in Chicago.

Scott Free (composer, Musical Director) is a Chicago-based composer, performer, and live music and theatrical event producer. His first musical, Witches Among Us (book by Rick Karlin) was produced by the New American Folk Theatre in 2014. His own Campsongs Productions staged his Zombie Bathhouse musical (book by Brian Kirst) at the Center On Halsted's Hoover-Leppen Theatre in 2017. Scott has released five solo albums, and an LGBT family album by his group The Diesel Tykes. In 2010 he was inducted into the City of Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame. He has twice been named Outmusician of the Year by the OUTMusic Awards, in 2005 and 2009. His music videos have appeared on the national cable stations BET and LOGO. His 'Pink Album (A Pop Opera)' was the #1 CD of 2009 at Outvoice. He hosted the LGBT performance series 'Homolatte' from 2000 to 2020, and the annual 'ALT Q' LGBT music festival from 2000 to 2012, both in Chicago. He is the producer of AltQ Radio, a 24-hour, independent LGBT music station.
https://scottfree.net/

Dion Walton (Director) is a 69-year-old performing artist from Chicago. He has performed for over 50 years, nationally and has been a writer for 30 years. He is currently working on his autobiography, entitled "The Happening." Dion is also a 20-year veteran of 2nd Story where he is a writer, reader, and director. He is a 30-year veteran of the Goodman Theater's GeNarrations Program. He also worked at the Center on Halsted for 2 years where he helped inspire some of Chicago's gay homeless youth of color by creating and directing the Queer Cabaret program. He performed in Palliative Neglect: The World Spelled Backwards, a dance performance piece about navigating the health system with HIV. He is a working singer, actor and artist that has presented artwork in galleries throughout the Chicagoland area.

Campsongs Productions is the theatrical and live music production company of Scott Free and Gene Hendricks. This is Campsongs Productions' second staging at the Center On Halsted. The first was Zombie Bathhouse, with book by Brian Kirst and music & lyric by Scott Free, produced in 2017. Campsongs produced original cast recordings for this production as well as Scott's Witches Among Us, which was staged by the New American Folk Theatre in 2014. Campsongs produced the Queer Is Folk / Alt Q Music Festival at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago from 2000 to 2012.

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