Chicago Cabaret Professionals Will Present A Tribute Concert To Cole Porter

As a celebration and a tribute to the acclaimed composer and songwriter Cole Porter, Chicago Cabaret Professionals will present a “LET'S MISBEHAVE — the Wit and Genius of Cole Porter,” an ensemble cabaret event featuring a cast of eleven performers, on Monday, March 18 at The Rhapsody Theater in Chicago. The historic venue was recently remodeled to be one of the city's premier performance spaces. 

“Cole Porter had an extraordinary career as a composer and songwriter, and he is also an icon in the cabaret community because his songs are witty, charming and a joy to sing,” explains Joan Curto, director of LET'S MISBEHAVE. “We created this show for those who love Cole Porter songs as well as for those who may be hearing them for the first time.”

The cast for LET'S MISBEHAVE are among the most accomplished cabaret performers in the Chicago cabaret community: Cynthia Clarey, Joan Curto, Elizabeth Doyle, David Edelfelt, Cathy Glickman, Daniel Johnson, Beckie Menzie, Tom Michael, Michael J. Mitchell, Suzanne Petri, and Ellen Winters-Reynolds. Each artist will perform two songs and the evening will include Porter's most well-known songs as well as songs that are less frequently performed. 

The producer of LET'S MISBEHAVE is Marty Balogh and the music director is Beckie Menzie. The two-piece band includes Beckie Menzie on piano and Irwin Berkowitz on percussion. 

Cole Porter is considered one of America's best composers. In a 2020 New Yorker article he was described as “almost inhumanly prolific, Cole Porter produced a new kind of American lyric—and language.” He provided complete scores for 30 stage and film musicals, and his best work set standards of sophistication and wit seldom matched in the popular musical theater.

According to Curto: “We've had so much fun selecting the songs, planning the arrangements, and putting this evening together. I think it truly celebrates the many styles and types of songs in the Cole Porter catalog and reminds us how influential he has been in music and popular culture.”

LET'S MISBEHAVE is the first of three concerts from Chicago Cabaret Professionals “Musical Mondays” series. The two other Musical Mondays concerts are “STUDS PLACE - ONE MORE TIME: a Musical Salute To Chicago's Own Studs Terkel” on May 13, and “A CENTURY OF SONG: 100 Years of Singers & Songwriters” on July 15.

All three Musical Mondays concerts will be held at The Rhapsody Theater, located at 1328 W. Morse Ave. Tickets are $35 available at the button below. A 10% discount is applied to a purchase of tickets for all three concerts. Valet parking is available, and a limited number of parking spaces are available in the Rhapsody Theater lot. 

LET'S MISBEHAVE is also one of many events and performances as part of the “Cole Porter Festival — A Celebration of the Man and His Music,” a year-long, multi-participant festival presented by Porchlight Music Theatre that began in October 2023.

Musical Mondays is supported by a grant from Chicago DCASE.
 

About Chicago Cabaret Professionals

Chicago Cabaret Professionals (CCP) is a membership organization that promotes the art of cabaret by educating performers, presenters, the media and the public at large; encourages the development of venues; and advances the development of cabaret. CCP members include seasoned and aspiring performers, composers, lyricists, producers, directors, writers, presenters, music business professionals, venues, and friends. CCP is a non-for-profit 501c3 organization formed in 1998. 

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