11th Hour Announces New Twist In Spotlight Series, First On

11th Hour Theatre Company announces a new twist to its Spotlight Series. This annual series of one-night only events, designed to put local favorite musical theatre performers front and center, will now feature some up-and-coming Philly artists that the company thinks audiences should get know. The evenings are hosted by 11th Hour favorites. All of the performances will coincide with 11th Hour's Next Step Concert Series. These special events will be performed this season at The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake, 302 South Hicks Street. The first one is Monday, October 8 at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $24 (including service fee), and $19 for industry tickets (including service fee). Tickets and more information can by found online at www.11thhourtheatrecompany.org or by phone 267-987-9865.

First up, the Spotlight Series will feature Hanna Gaffney and Michaela Shuchman. They have appeared on many local stages including The Walnut Street Theatre, The Resident Theatre Company, and at 11th Hour in Urinetown, Jane Eyre, Big Red Sun and 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. 11th Hour Producing Artistic Director Michael Philip O'Brien hosts the evening. The cabaret will be musical directed by Gina Giachero.

"This year we wanted to really focus on featuring the up-and-coming artists that 11th Hour audiences have seen on our stage before, but may not know as well," said O'Brien. "At 11th Hour, we take a lot of pride in the fact that we are able to give younger performers an opportunity to showcase their talents and this is just an exciting way to continue that. Audiences can expect an intimate night of songs and stories that really allow them to get to know these performers and their connection to each other. Each of these events will also be also feature one of their favorite 11th Hour performers who will host the evening (and sing a little too)!"

Sponsored by The Happy Mixer Bakery, the evening will feature delicious treats and one beverage included with the price of admission.

The Spotlight Series is held in conjunction with 11th Hours Next Step Concert Series. Now running over two weekends, the company begins its season with a concert performance of Grey Gardens. Grey Gardens features Music by Scott Frankel, Lyrics by Michael Korie, and a Book by Doug Wright. 11th Hour Theatre Company Associate Artistic Director and Co-Founder Steve Pacek directs. Amanda Morton is the Music Director. Grey Gardens runs October 6-14.

About the Artists
Hanna Gaffney (Performer)
Hanna Gaffney is so excited to get to work with Michaela and Mike on this cabaret! This will be her third time working with 11th Hour, having been in Big Red Sun and Spelling Bee (with Michaela!). She and Michaela also performed Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play with Resident Theatre Company. Hanna is also a makeup and teaching artist with an upcoming makeup design for Frankenstein at Rutgers-Camden University. Upcoming acting roles include Nancy in Oliver! at Quintessence Theatre and Emma Goldman in Ragtime at the Eagle Theatre. Hannagaffney.com

Michaela Shuchman (Performer)
Michaela Shuchman is so thrilled & honored to be performing alongside her dear friend, Hanna, and her theater mentor since 2010, Mike. Michaela is a Philly raised & based theatermaker. She has previously been seen in 11th Hour's productions of Spelling Bee, Jane Eyre, and Urinetown. She recently closed Behold Her, which she produced and starred in, with her theater company, Half Key Theatre Company, as part of the Philly Fringe Festival. Michaela has also worked with the Walnut Street Theatre, Resident Theatre Co, PlayPenn, the Wilma, Theatre Horizon, and with The Acting Company in NYC. She is currently in rehearsals for DelShakes' Community Tour production of Merchant of Venice and looks forward to performing alongside Mike in Honk! with Delaware Theatre Company this spring. Proud graduate of Swarthmore College.

Michael Philip O'Brien (Host)
Michael is a five-time Barrymore Award nominee and a two-time winner, for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical (Avenue X, 2009) and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical (Field Hockey Hot, 2016). Performing credits include: TUTS, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Milwaukee Rep, Walnut Street Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, Bristol Riverside, Act 2, Delaware Theatre Company, 11th Hour Theatre Company and many more. Michael is also a member of The Summer Club, an original show featuring songs from the Golden Era sung with a 17-piece band, which performs throughout the Philadelphia area as well as regionally.

11th Hour Theatre Company is the only company in Philadelphia dedicated to producing all musicals, all the time. Intimate by design, 11th Hour creates a lasting experience with the audience by producing character-driven musical theatre.

11th Hour produces a broad spectrum of musicals that fill a niche in the diverse Philadelphia theatre landscape: musicals that spark the creativity of artists and the imaginations of audiences. Over the past eleven seasons, they have produced seventeen full-scale musicals, nine of which were Philadelphia premieres. In addition to the World Premiere of their first commission, Field Hockey Hot, the company has contributed to the development of several new musicals beginning with Angst, a ten-minute musical that premiered in the Spark Festival of 2005. 11th Hour produced the American premiere of Austentatious that went on to success at the New York Musical Theatre Festival; and a 29-hour reading of Fantasy Football, the Musical? before its production at New York University. Both Austentatious and Fantasy Football have since been published and are now professionally licensed. In the fall of 2014, 11th Hour partnered with University of the Arts to workshop Persephone Unplugged, a new twist on the classic Greek myth. With support from the Independence Foundation, 11th Hour recently commissioned their second musical from a local writing team, a Civil War-themed project currently titled Something Like a War.

11th Hour has received a total of 55 Barrymore Award nominations. Their work has been recognized with 15 awards, including five recently for Lizzie (including Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical), and several individual awards for their artists. Founding member Steve Pacek was also the proud recipient of the 2012 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist. In 2013, 11th Hour became the first-ever recipient of the June and Steve Wolfson Award for an Evolving Theater.

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