Porchlight to Launch The Cole Porter Festival - A Celebration Of The Man And His Music This October
Featuring Porchlight's Production of Anything Goes January 13 - February 25, 2024.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Oct. 04, 2023
Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre launches its 29th season with the announcement of Chicago's Cole Porter Festival - A Celebration of the Man and his Music. This multi-participant festival honoring Cole Porter's incredible career includes live and digital events with Porchlight's centerpiece contribution being a 90th Anniversary production of Porter's crown jewel musical comedy, Anything Goes, directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber+, music directed by Nick Sula+, choreographed by Tammy Mader* and starring internationally renowned powerhouse Meghan Murphy as “Reno Sweeney” featuring the Chicago debut of a newly commissioned 2022 libretto, January 13 – February 25, 2024, at the Ruth Page Center. For more on the festival or to subscribe to Porchlight's 29th season that includes Anything Goes and Porchlight in Concert: Sunday in the Park with George, go to PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or 773.777.9884.
Porchlight is collaborating with a variety of artists and institutions in the Chicago area throughout 2024 in acknowledgement of the 60th anniversary of the passing of the great composer/lyricist Cole Porter. In addition to the Anything Goes, the Cole Porter Festival features a variety of events and activities, including a retrospective Cole Porter in Hollywood focusing on Broadway adaptations and original film musicals with songs by Porter, a newly curated Behind the Show Backstory multimedia presentation created by Artistic Director Michael Weber focusing on the creation and evolution of the musical Anything Goes, A Roundtable Discussion with Producing Artistic Associate Frankie Leo Bennett+ focusing on Porter's work as seen through his lens as a gay artist working in the 1920s-50s, a presentation by renowned music theatre historian, Charles Troy+ titled Porter vs. Sondheim, comparing two 20th century powerhouses of Broadway, a revisit of Cole Porter and the Golden Age of Radio featuring rare broadcasts of the Broadway musicals Anything Goes, Around the World and Kiss Me, Kate, Porchlight Young Professionals host a karaoke night at The Understudy, WIND AM's Hollywood 360 hosts Lisa Wolf* and Carl Amari+ pay tribute to the composer/lyricist with Cole Porter Remembered and more free and ticketed events to be announced.
CURRENT Cole Porter FESTIVAL EVENTS INCLUDE:
WPMT - Anything Goes
Monday, Oct. 16 at 12 p.m. CDT
Virtual/Free on Porchlight's YouTube channel
Porchlight's popular digital series WPMT: Classic Musicals from the Golden Age of Hollywood shares an encore performance of Anything Goes, which was originally presented on "The Railroad Hour" October 11, 1948, with songs by Cole Porter and book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, starring (from the original Broadway company) Victor Moore as "Moonface" with Margaret Whiting as "Reno Sweeney" and Gordon MacRae as "Billy Crocker.”
WPMT - Around the World (in 80 Days)
Monday, Oct. 23 at 12 p.m. CDT
Virtual/Free on Porchlight's YouTube channel
Porchlight's popular digital series WPMT: Classic Musicals from the Golden Age of Hollywood shares an encore performance of Around the World (in 80 Days,) which was originally presented on "The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air" June 7, 1946, with songs by Cole Porter and book by Orson Welles, starring the original Broadway company. Our special guest is Ray Kelly, administrator of Wellesnet, widely regarded as the leading online source of information about the life, career and work of Orson Welles.
Hollywood 360's Cole Porter Remembered
Saturday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. CDT on WIND AM 560
Hollywood 360 is a five-hour, nationally syndicated radio show that airs live from Chicago on WIND AM 560, Saturday evenings beginning at 8 p.m. The Saturday, Nov. 11 broadcast of Hollywood 360 commemorates the 60th anniversary of Cole Porter's passing. Hosts Lisa Wolf and Carl Amari will pay tribute to Porter with special segments at the top of each hour including "Movie Jeopardy," "Beat the Host," "Name That Tune" and "Real or Ridiculous, Cole Porter Edition."
WPMT presents Kiss Me Kate
Monday, Nov. 6 at 12 p.m. CST
Virtual/Free on Porchlight's YouTube channel
Porchlight's popular digital series WPMT: Classic Musicals from the Golden Age of Hollywood shares a new edition of Kiss Me Kate from a 1949 broadcast with Cole Porter songs including “Another Op'nin', Another Show,” “So in Love” and “Wunderbar!” and features a conversation with special guest Johanna Mckenzie Miller, Jeff Award-nominated actor, and director of the Kiss Me, Kate at The Marriott Theatre.
Anything Goes Behind the Show Backstory and Performance Preview
Monday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. CST
Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street
Suggested Donation - Reservations Required
Artistic Director Michael Weber's Behind the Show Backstories have become legendary among Porchlight audiences. For this edition, Weber gives an entertaining and informative multimedia presentation on Anything Goes introducing the show's creative history, juicy backstage stories and included in this presentation is a sneak peek of Porchlight's winter production of Anything Goes.
Cole Porter in Hollywood hosted by Michael Weber
“Born to Dance”
Monday, Nov. 27 at 12 p.m. CST
Virtual/Free on Porchlight's YouTube channel
A six-part series of short, informative videos hosted by Artistic Director Michael Weber highlighting movies that were penned by Porter or were about the famous composer continues with a second video highlighting “Born to Dance” (1936) starring Eleanor Powell, James Stewart and Virginia Bruce with an original score composed by Porter.
Charles Troy: Porter vs. Sondheim
Monday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. CST
Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street
Suggested Donation - Reservations Required
Cole Porter was the greatest composer/lyricist to devote himself to Broadway in the first half of the 20th century and Stephen Sondheim was the greatest of the last half. In this compare-and-contrast multimedia production, Charles Troy examines similar-themed songs of both geniuses in this 45-minute presentation.
Cole Porter in Hollywood hosted by Michael Weber
“The Pirate”
Monday, Dec. 18 at 12 p.m. CST
Virtual/Free on Porchlight's YouTube channel
A six-part series of short, informative videos hosted by Artistic Director Michael Weber highlighting movies that were penned by Porter or were about the famous composer continues with “The Pirate” (1948) starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly with an original score composed by Porter, based on the 1942 Broadway play by S. N. Behrman, which starred Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.
Kokandy Productions' January Book Club
January 2024
The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N. Clark St.
$15 or Pay What You Can
Kokandy Productions starts the new year with their January Book Club meeting in Andersonville focusing on Cole Porter. This ongoing series takes a known play, person or theme and explores it through musical performance.
Cole Porter Roundtable: Cole Porter as a Gay Icon
Monday, Jan. 8, 2024 at 12 p.m. CST
Virtual/Free
A virtual roundtable discussion with notable Cole Porter fans, colleagues and experts discussing Porter as a gay artist working in the 1920s-50s, hosted by Producing Artistic Associate Frankie Leo Bennett.
Anything Goes
January 13 - February 25, 2024
Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Ave.
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
Original Book by P.G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton
and Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
New Book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman
Directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber
Choreographed by Tammy Mader
Music Directed by Nick Sula
Starring Meghan Murphy as “Reno Sweeney”
Previews: January 13, January 14, January 17 and January 18
Opening Night: Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.
Performance schedule: Wednesdays at 7:30PM, Thursdays at 7:30PM, Fridays at 7:30PM, Saturdays at 2PM & 7:30PM, Sundays at 2PM
Chicago will get a kick out of this 90th anniversary production of Cole Porter's smash-hit musical comedy, Anything Goes starring the Chicago-based international sensation Meghan Murphy as “Reno Sweeney.” Launching Porchlight's 29th season, this legendary toe-tapping voyage across the Atlantic is filled with laughs, romance, intrigue and, of course, lots of tap dancing in this farcical and merry musical classic. Porter's iconic score includes a shipload of tunes that built the Great American Songbook including "Anything Goes,” “Friendship,” "You're the Top" and "I Get a Kick Out of You.”
Complementing the Anything Goes run, Porchlight is scheduled to host additional post show discussions as well as other appearances of the cast, to be announced.
Cole Porter in Hollywood hosted by Michael Weber
“High Society”
Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 at 12 p.m. CST
Virtual/Free on Porchlight's YouTube channel
A six-part series of short, informative videos hosted by Artistic Director Michael Weber highlighting movies that were penned by Porter or were about the famous composer continues with “High Society” (1956) starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong based on the 1939 Broadway play “The Philadelphia Story” by Philip Barry with a (mostly) original score composed by Porter.
Cole Porter in Hollywood hosted by Michael Weber
“Les Girls”
Monday, Feb. 5, 2024 at 12 p.m. CST
Virtual/Free on Porchlight's YouTube channel
A six-part series of short, informative videos hosted by Artistic Director Michael Weber highlighting movies that were penned by Porter or were about the famous composer continues with “Les Girls” (1957) starring Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall and Taina Elg - the last movie Porter worked on.
Cole Porter in Hollywood hosted by Michael Weber
“Silk Stockings”
Monday, Feb. 19 at 12 p.m. CST
Virtual/Free on Porchlight's YouTube channel
A six-part series of short, informative videos hosted by Artistic Director Michael Weber highlightings movies that were penned by Porter or were about the famous composer continues with “Silk Stockings” (1957) starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse based on the 1955 stage musical of the same name, which had been adapted from the 1939 film “Ninotchka.”
Cole Porter in Hollywood hosted by Michael Weber
“Can-Can”
Monday, March 4 at 12 p.m. CST
Virtual/Free on Porchlight's YouTube channel
A six-part series of short, informative videos hosted by Artistic Director Michael Weber highlighting movies that were penned by Porter or were about the famous composer continues with “Can-Can” (1960) starring Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan and Juliet Prowse in a film adaptation of Porter's 1953 Broadway musical.
ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
Porchlight Music Theatre 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 28-year history includes more than 70 mainstage works with 16 Chicago premieres and five world premieres. Porchlight's commitment to the past, present and future of music theatre led the company to develop the Porchlight Revisits and New Faces Sing Broadway program series, both quickly becoming audience favorites.
Porchlight's education and outreach programs serve schools, youth of all ages and skill levels and community organizations, most notably the ongoing collaboration with Chicago Youth Centers. 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 192 Joseph Jefferson Award (Jeff) nominations and 48 Jeff awards, as well as 44 Black Theatre Alliance (BTA) nominations and 12 BTA awards. In 2019, Porchlight graduated to the Large Theatre tier of the Equity Jeff Awards, and was honored with eight nominations in both technical and artistic categories and won three awards in its inaugural year in this tier, most notably Best Ensemble for Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies.
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