Porchlight Music Theatre Announces Casting for END OF THE RAINBOW

Porchlight Music Theatre announces the Chicago premiere of End of the Rainbow, November 4 - December 4, featuring music from the songbook of Judy Garland, written by Peter Quilter, starring Angela Ingersoll as "Judy Garland," direction by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Weber, music direction by Jon Steinhagen, who also appears as "Anthony," at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.

Previews are Friday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. and Monday, Nov 7 at 1:30 p.m. Opening night is Monday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. There is an added matinee performance Thursday, Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m. and Friday, Nov. 25 at 4 p.m.

NOTE: *There are no Thursday 7:30 p.m. performances November 10 and 24. Tickets for previews are $38 and for the regular run $45 - $51. Single tickets may be purchased at 773.327.5252 or at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.

Subscriptions to the entire season or Porchlight's series, Porchlight Revisits, are currently on sale as well as single tickets for the entire season. Subscriptions are available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling 773.777.9884. Groups of ten or more may receive discounts on tickets purchased via Group Theater Tix at 312.423.6612 or grouptheatertix.com.

It's December 1968 and Judy Garland (Angela Ingersoll) is about to make her comeback... again. In a London hotel room, with both her new fiancé (Kyle Hatley) and her adoring accompanist (Jon Steinhagen), Garland struggles to get 'beyond the rainbow' with her signature cocktail of talent, tenacity and razor-sharp wit. Featuring many of Garland's most memorable songs, this savagely funny play with music offers unique insight into the inner conflict that inspired and consumed one of the most beloved figures in American popular culture.

End of the Rainbow also features Felipe Jorge as "The Radio Interviewer/The Porter/The ASM."

The End of the Rainbow production team includes: Christopher Rhoton, scenic designer; Bill Morey, costume designer; Shelley Strasser Holland, lighting designer; Ross Hoppe, projection designer; Mealah Heidenreich, properties designer; Robert Hornbostel, Sound Designer; Christopher Pazdernik, assistant director and Alex Rhyan, production manager.

ABOUT Angela Ingersoll, "Judy Garland"

Angela Ingersoll returns to Porchlight where she last appeared in The Secret Garden. Currently appearing in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at Marriott Theatre, other credits include: The Great Gatsby (Indiana Repertory Theatre); Shakespeare's Greatest Hits, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Richard III, The Comedy of Errors (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); The Game's Afoot, The 39 Steps (Drury Lane Theatre); The Mistress Cycle (Apple Tree/Auditorium); Carousel (Madison Rep); South Pacific (Light Opera Works); Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Man of La Mancha, Macbeth, Jekyll and Hyde, Ragtime, Nine, The Philadelphia Story, The Wizard of Oz (Playhouse on the Square). Comedy: Second City Hollywood. TV: "Chicago PD." Ingersoll and husband Michael Ingersoll produce the Artists Lounge Live concert series. Concerts: I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues (Paramount Theatre, etc); My Baby Just Cares for Me (Northlight Theatre, etc,) and The 12 Dames of Christmas. She's the recipient of two Jeff Award Nominations, two Ostrander Award Nominations and four Ostrander Awards.

ABOUT Kyle Hatley, "Mickey Deans"

Kyle Hatley is making his Porchlight debut. He is an actor, director and writer. Hatley was born and raised in Memphis, TN and relocated to Chicago after graduating from Rhodes College. His television credits include a guest starring role on NBC's "Chicago Fire" and co-starring in FOX's "Prison Break" and CBS's "As The World Turns." He is a 2011 Charlotte Street Foundation Generative Artist Fellow and served as associate artistic director of Kansas City Repertory Theatre from 2008 until 2014, where he directed, performed and produced six seasons alongside Artistic Director Eric Rosen and Producing Director Jerry Genochio. After joining his wife in Chicago in August of 2014, he served as resident director for the 50th Anniversary Season at Kansas City Repertory Theatre, and remains a board member and artistic associate of The Living Room Theatre. In the last seven years he has worked primarily in Kansas City, Missouri at KC Rep, The Living Room Theatre, The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival and KC Fringe. In Chicago he has worked on Take Me Out (Steppenwolf Theatre), Execution of Justice (About Face Theatre), The Last Supper (InFusion Theatre), Picasso at the Lapine Agile (Noble Fool Theatricals), and Danny Casolaro Died for Your Sins (TimeLine Theatre Company) and, recently, The Iliad (Geva Theatre Center).

ABOUT Jon Steinhagen, "Anthony" and Music Director/Conductor

Jon Steinhagen returns to Porchlight where he last music directed the Porchlight Revisits production of Fade Out - Fade In and where his critically acclaimed musical The Teapot Scandals made its world premiere. Last seen starring as "Artie" in The House of Blue Leaves at Raven Theatre, this prolific Chicago actor and playwright has appeared in Dividing the Estate, The Odd Couple and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Raven Theatre),1776, Six Degrees of Separation, The Real Inspector Hound, and ACES (Signal Ensemble); Mack & Mabel, Sweet Smell of Success, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Circle Theatre). Steinhagen is also a resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists, a past winner of the Julie Harris Playwriting Award, a finalist for the first Noël Coward Award and a member of the Dramatists Guild, He has received four Jeff Awards and six nominations (AEA and non-AEA).

ABOUT FELIPE JORGE, "The Radio Interviewer/The Porter/The ASM"

Felipe Jorge makes his Porchlight debut with this production. Recent credits include Parachute Men (Teatro Vista), The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Importance of Being Earnest and Cruel Intentions (White Mask Theatre Club), War of the Worlds (Gorilla Tango Theatre) and Spring Awakening (Teatro-Escola Celia Helena).

ABOUT Peter Quilter, playwright

Peter Quilter's plays have been performed in major theatres in cities across six continents, including London, Cape Town, Rome, Prague, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, Chicago, Madrid, Sydney and New York and translated into 27 languages. He is best known for his Broadway play End of the Rainbow and his West End comedy Glorious!. He has twice been nominated for the Olivier Award (Best New Comedy 2006 and Best New Play 2011) and his Broadway debut was nominated for three Tony Awards.

ABOUT Michael Weber, director

Artistic director of Porchlight Music Theatre, Weber previously served as artistic director for the inaugural season of Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place (now The Broadway Playhouse) and at Theatre at the Center (1998-2004). His productions of Side Show, Sweeney Todd, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Pal Joey and Assassins at Porchlight Music Theatre, Grand Hotel at Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place and She Loves Me at Theatre at the Center were each nominated for the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production-Musical. Most recently he directed Side Show (2016 Jeff Award-nomination) and Chess for Porchlight. Directing credits include Living the History-125 Years of The Auditorium Theatre starring Patti LuPone, John Mahoney and stars of Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and more, Fifth of July and Talley's Folly at the Oak Park Festival Theatre, The Petrified Forest at Theatre at the Center, Beauty and the Beast at Marriott Theatre, Over the River and Through the Woods at The Mercury Theater, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Pheasant Run Theatre, and Cirque du Symphony at Sears Center Arena. The recipient of two Joseph Jefferson Awards, he has written and directed the past nine Equity Joseph Jefferson Awards ceremonies. Weber is proud to serve as a pledge host on WTTW, Channel 11, and he is author of the play, WAR of the WELLES.

ABOUT Porchlight Music Theatre

Porchlight Music Theatre, now in its 22nd season, is nationally recognized for developing innovative new works, reimagining classic productions and showcasing musical theatre's noted veterans and rising stars. Porchlight elevates the genre in Chicago by providing intimate and powerful theatrical experiences for its growing and diverse audiences. With the vision of Artistic Director Michael Weber, Porchlight builds on its role as Chicago's only Equity not-for-profit company exclusively specializing in music theatre. Porchlight's rich history includes the staging of more than 60 productions with 15 Chicago premieres and five world premieres. Through Porchlight's "Off the Porch" new works program, the musicals of the next generation are developed and given a first audience. The School at Porchlight is Chicago's new center for music theatre training in the areas of performance, writing and appreciation. The company's many accolades include 15 Black Theatre Alliance nominations and two awards, as well as a total of 126 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations resulting in 35 Jeff Awards including three consecutive Best Production awards for Sondheim on Sondheim (2015), Ain't Misbehavin' (2014) and A Class Act (2013) as well as Sondheim on Sondheim being named one of the Chicago Tribune's "Best Theatre of 2015."

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