Porchlight Music Theatre Announces Cast For NEW FACES SING BROADWAY NOW

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced the roster of new faces for New Faces Sing Broadway NOW, hosted by Adrian Aguilar, directed by former New Face and Porchlight's Producing Artistic Associate Frankie Leo Bennett with music direction and arrangements by Carolyn Jean Brady.

New Faces Sing Broadway NOW takes place Monday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Evanston SPACE, 1245 Chicago Ave. in Evanston and Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. at The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario St. There will be a pre-show lobby reception with complimentary wine and appetizers and a cash bar at The Arts Club beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for $45 at Evanston Space and $75 at The Arts Club at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.

Now in its ninth season as one of Porchlight's most popular series, New Faces Sing Broadway takes audiences on a musical journey from the start to the finish of an entire Broadway season in 90 minutes. Host Adrian Aguilar introduces the audience to the next generation of Chicago music theatre artists while serving as the guide to the stars, songs and stories of Broadway. Past editions have focused on the seasons 1957 (South Pacific, Where's Charley?, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,) 1970 (Company, 1776, Applause) 2002 (The Full Monty, The Producers, Urinetown) and others. New Faces Sing Broadway NOW includes hit songs from Hell's Kitchen, The Notebook, The Outsiders and others as well as sing-alongs, a trivia contest with prizes and more.

The cast of New Faces Sing Broadway NOW includes, in alphabetical order, Diana Marilyn Alvarez (she/they, Chicago Children's Theatre's Milo Imagines the World), Maddie Brunner (she/her, Harper Ensemble's Big Fish), Dakota Hughes (they/them, Jeff Award - Performer in a Supporting Role—Short Run Production, Hell in a Handbag Production's Frankenstreisand), Andrew MacNaughton (he/him, Jeff-Nominee - Performer in a Supporting Role - Musical, Mercury Theater Chicago's Young Frankenstein), Lorenzo Shawn Parnell (he/him, Drury Lane Theatre's Elf: the Musical), Kevin Parra (he/him, Kokandy Productions' Alice by Heart), Callan Roberts (he/him, Mercury Theater Chicago's Big River), Maliha Sayed (she/her, Music Theater Works' Carousel), Peyton Schoenhofer (he/him, Lemont Quarries' The Forge Sings Disney) and Ava Stovall (she/her, Kokandy Productions' Alice by Heart).

Many of the artists who have appeared in Porchlight's New Faces Sing Broadway series have continued their careers on television, and local and national stages including Neala Barron (Jeff Award nominee-Assassins and 110 in the Shade), Frankie Leo Bennett (Jeff Award nominee-The SpongeBob Musical), Dawn Bless (Waitress-national tour), Blu Allen (MJ the Musical-Broadway, Titanique-Off-Broadway), Katherine Bourne (School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play-Goodman Theatre), Kayla Boye (Call Me Elizabeth-Off-Broadway, Europe, Mexico & national tour), Anna Brockman, Tim Foszcz, Josiah Haugen, Cam Turner, Jerod Turner and Evan Wilhelm (Porchlight's Cabaret), Haley Gustafson, (The Who's Tommy-Broadway ), Lydia Burke and Molly Kral (Jeff Award winners [ensemble] - Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies), Darilyn Burtley and Max Cervantes (The Light in the Piazza-Lyric Opera of Chicago), Kyrie Courter (Sweeney Todd-Broadway), Maddison Denault and David Moreland (Jeff Award nominees, Cruel Intentions), Gilbert Domally (The Lion King-Broadway), Andres Enriquez (Jeff Award nominee-Porchlight's A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder), Nik Kmiecik, Ziare Paul-Emile and Alix Rhode (Porchlight's Rent), Theo Germaine (Showtime's Work in Progress), Lucy Godinez (Jeff Award nominee-Oliver), Emily Goldberg (Jeff Award nominee-Porchlight's A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder), Nicole Michelle Haskins (Jeff Award winner-The Color Purple), Michelle Lauto (Jeff Award winner-Spamilton), Yando Lopez (Wicked-Broadway), Henry McGinniss (Book of Mormon-Broadway), Brandy Miller and Bryce Ancil (Jeff Award nominees-She Loves Me), Chloé Nadon-Enriquez (Bad Cinderella-Broadway), Anthony Norman (The Prom-Broadway, Dear Evan Hansen and Newsies-national tour), Luke Nowakowski and Tommy Thurston (Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale-Chicago Shakespeare), Patrick Rooney (Les Miserables-national tour), Aalon Smith (Porchlight's Gypsy), Katherine Thomas (Jeff Award winner-Ragtime), Aeriel Williams (Oedipus Rex-Court Theatre) and Nicole Lambert, Courtney Mack, Mallory Maedke (SIX-Broadway) and Samantha Pauly (SIX and The Great Gatsby-Broadway).

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE

Porchlight Music Theatre, entering its 30th season, is the award-winning center for music theatre in Chicago. Through live performance, youth education and community outreach, we impact thousands of lives each season, bringing the magic of musicals to our theatre home at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts in the Gold Coast and to neighborhoods across the city. Porchlight has built a national reputation for boldly reimagining classic musicals, supporting new works and young performers, and showcasing Chicago's most notable music theatre artists, all through the intimate and powerful theatrical lens of the “Chicago Style.”

Porchlight's history over nearly three decades includes more than 70 mainstage works with 15 Chicago premieres and five world premieres.

Porchlight's education and outreach programs serve schools, youth of all ages and skill levels and community organizations. Porchlight annually awards dozens of full scholarships and hundreds of free tickets to ensure accessibility and real engagement with this uniquely American art form.

The company's many honors include 178 Joseph Jefferson Award (Jeff) nominations and 49 Jeff awards, as well as 44 Black Theatre Alliance (BTA) nominations and 15 BTA awards. In 2019, Porchlight graduated to the Large Theatre tier of the Equity Jeff Awards and has been honored with seven awards in this tier to date including Best Ensemble for Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies (2019) and Best Production-Revue for Blues in the Night (2022).

Through the global pandemic, Porchlight emerged as one of Chicago's leaders in virtual programming, quickly launching a host of free offerings like Sondheim @ 90 Roundtables, Movie Musical Mondays, Porchlight by Request: Command Performances and WPMT: Classic Musicals from the Golden Age of Radio. In 2021, Porchlight launched its annual summer series, Broadway in your Backyard, performing at parks and venues throughout the city.

Porchlight Music Theatre announces the roster of new faces for New Faces Sing Broadway NOW, hosted by Adrian Aguilar, directed by Frankie Leo Bennett with music direction and arrangements by Carolyn Jean Brady. New Faces Sing Broadway NOW takes place Monday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Evanston SPACE, 1245 Chicago Ave. in Evanston and Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. at The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario St. There will be a pre-show lobby reception with complimentary wine and appetizers and a cash bar at The Arts Club beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for $45 at Evanston Space and $75 at The Arts Club at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.

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