HIS AND HIS Cabaret to Salute Jerry Herman at Pride Films and Plays

The second installment of Pride Films and Plays' His & His.' cabaret series will be performed on Valentine's Day, Tuesday, February 14 in The Broadway at the Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway. The His and His series follows the development of LGBT characters on Broadway, and celebrates the artists who wrote the great works of musical theater.

His & His II will include numbers from musicals ranging from HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH to FUN HOME and featuring such characters as the high school students from BARE and ZANNA, DON'T and Lola from KINKY BOOTS, as well as a few brand new vocal arrangements from music director Aaron Benham. The second half of the cabaret will be a tribute to Jerry Herman, featuring songs from his well-known hits Hello, Dolly!; Mame and La Cage aux Folles along with selections from his obscure treasures Dear World; Mack & Mabel; and The Grand Tour.

Christopher Pazdernik curates and directs. Aaron Benham is the musical director. The cast of His and His II is Ryan Lanning (Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch by Haven Theatre), Lauren Paris (The Story of a Story: The Untold Story by Underscore Theatre Company, Into the Woods by The Hypocrites), Will Skrip (Tony in West Side Story and Prince Erik in The Little Mermaid, both at Paramount) and Travis Austin Wright (The Scottsboro Boys, In the Heights for Porchlight).

Tickets for His & His II on February 14 at 7:30 are $25 for Reserved Center Section Seats, or $20 for general admission. They can be reserved at 1 800 737 0984 or here.

IF YOU GO:

His and His II
Directed by Christopher Pazdernik
Music Direction by Aaron Benham
Featuring Ryan Lanning, Lauren Paris, Will Skrip, Travis Austin Wright
The Broadway, Pride Arts Center
4139 N. Broadway, Chicago
Tuesday, February 14, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $25 reserved VIP seats, $20 general admission
Visit www.pridefilmsandplays.com or call .800,737,0984 to order.

Christopher Pazdernik (Curator and Director) is a director/choreographer with "a near encyclopedic knowledge of musicals" (NewCity Stage). Christopher's recent Chicago credits include The Rink, Anyone Can Whistle, City of Angels and Applause (Porchlight Revisits), Wicked City (Chicago Theatre Workshop), Planted (Chicago Musical Theatre Festival), Make Me a Song (Eclectic Theatre Co.), High Fidelity (Refuge Theatre Project), Story of A Story (The Untold Story) (Underscore Theater Co.), Bette, Live at the Continental Baths (Hell in a Handbag) and a Jeff Award nomination for co-choreographing Spamalot with Nightblue. An openly HIV+ artist, Christopher was named a 2016 Windy City Times 30-Under-30 honoree for his contributions to Chicago's LGBT community.

Aaron Benham (music director) is a local music director, conductor, arranger, and composer. Credits include: The Scottsboro Boys, Side Show (Porchlight); Xanadu (ATC); The Wild Party, (Jeff Award) Carrie (Bailiwick Chicago); Always, Patsy Cline (Theo-Ubique); also work with About Face, Chicago Opera Theater, Hell in a Handbag, Kokandy, Montana Shakespeare, Second City, Timberlake Playhouse, Writer's, and Underscore. BFA Emerson College.

The Pride Arts Center consists of two performance spaces - The Buena at 4147 N Buena which has 50 seats, and The Broadway at 4139 N. Broadway which has 85 seats. Since taking over the lease on August 1, PAC has become an important part of the arts environment in our Buena Park neighborhood and beyond, providing free space for events including After Orlando, staged readings responding to the Orlando tragedy, Broken Noses Bechdol Fest and other community meetings and events. We have hosted performances by Red Tape Theater, Clock Productions, and Give A Thought Theater. Upcoming tenants in 2017 include Walkabout Theater, New American Folk Theater, Cor Productions, Underscore Music Theater, 20% Productions, About Face Youth Theater, Another Door Productions, and of course the Pride Films and Plays productions of For The Love Of (or the Roller Derby Play) and The Nance. For more information about space at Pride Arts Center, visit www.prideartscenter.com, or www.pridefilmsandplays.com.

Pride Films and Plays changes lives through the generation of diverse new work (or work that is new to Chicago) with LGBTQ+ characters or themes that is essential viewing for all audiences. We accomplish this mission through fully-staged productions, writing contests and staged readings, film screenings, and special events. We foster long term relationships with artists to create programming that is as diverse, unique, and complex as the community we represent. In 2015, Huffington Post called PFP "A powerful and empowering entity." The company acquired its two performance spaces at 4139 and 4147 N. Broadway in July 2016, renaming the spaces the Pride Arts Center. For more information, visit www.pridefilmsandplays.com or call 1.800.737.0984.

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