Porchlight Music Theatre "Resurrects" The Devilishly Popular Musical MACABARET To Celebrate The 15TH Anniversary; Opens 10/22

Porchlight Music Theatre, Chicago’s musical theatre leader, celebrates the company’s 15th Anniversary with an updated version of one of the most popular hits in the company’s history, Macabaret.  The production, with music and lyrics by Robert Hartmann and Scott Keys, runs for two weekends only—Thursday, October 22 through November 1, 2009, at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.

A kooky and spooky journey into the macabre, Macabaret is a collection of humorous songs, which twist towards the morbid.  Murderous spouses, horror films, evil cows, supermodels and global warming are just a few of the things parodied by a "Corpse de Cabaret" of the undead.  Porchlight Music Theatre presented the world premiere of this original revue in 1995 and presents a revised edition for 2009.  This marks the 15th Anniversary of both the musical Macabaret and Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago.

“Porchlight is proud to present the return of Macabaret, resurrecting a show popular with our audiences and perfect for the Halloween season,” comments Artistic Director L. Walter Stearns. “Critics and audiences praised Porchlight’s 2005 version. We present this devilishly delightful musical revue as part of our 15th anniversary celebration and as testament to the fun and well-crafted work that we have presented over the course of those fifteen seasons.”

Macabaret was created in 1995 by NYU graduates Scott Keys and Rob Hartmann. Following its Porchlight world premiere, Macabaret has been produced across the country in New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Sarasota. Porchlight has had the honor of presenting the World Premieres of two other Keys and Hartmann productions—Hereafter (1996) and The Vanishing Point (1998). Scott Keys holds a BFA in Musical Theatre Performance from Syracuse University and an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU-Tisch School of The Arts where he was the recipient of the Oscar Hammerstein Fellowship for lyricists. Rob Hartmann is currently an Adjunct Faculty Composer/ Lyricist Tisch School of the Arts at NYU and served as the Research Associate for Broadway: The American Musical, the successful 10 hour PBS documentary on the history of the Broadway musical. He has also authored study guides for Broadway productions including Titanic, 1776, and Footloose.

Porchlight’s Artistic Director, L. Walter Stearns directs this production with musical direction by Eugene Dizon and choreography by Brenda Didier and Andrew Waters.  Rounding out the creative team are Bill Morey (costume design) and John Horan (lighting design).

Porchlight Music Theatre will present Macabaret at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 West Belmont (at Racine), from October 22 through November 1, 2009. The performance schedule is: Thursday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday evenings at 10:30 p.m., and Sundays at 6:00 p.m.  Tickets at $30 are currently on sale and can be purchased in person at Theatre Building Chicago’s box office 773.327.5252 or at any Ticketmaster Ticket Center 800-982-2787 and online at www.ticketmaster.com.  Discounted tickets are available for students and seniors by calling 773-327-5252. For groups of 10 or more, call Group Theater Tix at 312.423.6612.

Porchlight Music Theatre is Chicago’s music theatre leader; producing award-winning interpretations of classic musicals and cutting-edge new works on intimate stages. The company has staged 36 shows including four world premieres, among them, The Teapot Scandals, its first work developed through Off the Porch, Porchlight’s new works program, as well as seven Chicago premieres. Porchlight earned the most Jeff awards of any Chicago music theater and the most After Dark Awards of any Chicago theater in 2007. An Equity theater since 2004, the company has already received a total of 33 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations resulting in 11 Jeff Awards.
                                                                   
Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from the A.R.T League, the William Blair & Company Foundation, Capri Capital, LLC, a City Arts Program 2 Grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council (a state agency), the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Nine North Michigan Surgery Center, Peoples Energy, and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Summer Street Theater Program.

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