OUR 2025 – 2026 SEASON
Explore our 31st season! Renewal subscriptions begin Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 12PM with new subscriptions available Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 12PM. Porchlight Follies Passes will also go on sale Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 12PM offering early access to Follies single tickets. Current office hours may be found here and are updated weekly.
ICONS Gala Celebrating Leslie Uggams
Sunday, Sept. 14 at 11AM
Ritz-Carlton Chicago at Water Tower Place, 160 E. Pearson St.
Directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber
Music Directed by Linda Madonia
Tickets: $500 with sponsorship opportunities available.
The ICONS Gala may be added to 2025 – 2026 subscription orders as a separate event.
The 2025 ICONS Gala celebrates the incredible life and career of Tony and Emmy Award-winner Leslie Uggams with performances from her legendary career by Porchlight favorites, a live on-stage interview with WGN’s Paul Lisnek, highlights from Porchlight’s educational and community initiatives, the presentation of the 2025 Luminary Award to Brenda and James Grusecki and a deluxe brunch buffet.
Single tickets and sponsorships are available now.
New Faces Sing Broadway 1960
Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 7:30PM
Rhapsody Theater, 1328 W. Morse Ave.
Directed by Frankie Leo Bennett
Music Directed by Micky York
Hosted by Johanna McKenzie Miller
New Faces Sing Broadway 1960 may be added to 2025 – 2026 subscription orders as a separate event.
The 2025 – 2026 season marks the 10th anniversary of one of Porchlight’s most popular series, New Faces Sing Broadway. This concert introduces audiences to the next generation of Chicago music theatre artists and, with a celebrity host, takes them on a musical journey from the start to finish of an entire Broadway season in 90 minutes. Past editions have focused on the seasons 1957 (The Music Man, Lil’ Abner, My Fair Lady), 1970 (Company, 1776, Applause), 2002 (The Full Monty, The Producers, Urinetown) and others. New Faces Sing Broadway 1960 features hit songs from Bye, Bye Birdie, Camelot, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, West Side Story and others as well as sing-alongs, a trivia contest with prizes and more.
Single tickets go on sale Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 12PM.
Off The Porch: Making Marilyn Miller – An Immersive Musical
Fall 2025
Book and Lyrics by David H. Bell
Music by Ira Antelis
Porchlight’s new work developmental series, Off the Porch, hosts Making Marilyn Miller – An Immersive Experience. Making Marilyn Miller follows the audition process for a modern musical based on the life of the great music theatre icon of the 1920s. Three women are the finalists for this role of a lifetime and in the audition process, they explore the complex, contradictory, meteoric success of one of the theatre’s first superstars.
Marilyn Miller starred in her first Ziegfeld Follies in 1918 when she was only 22 years old. She became the highest paid performer on Broadway and Hollywood and was the embodiment of the “modern flapper” and a symbol of the Jazz Age.
Porchlight Sings the Season
Monday, Dec. 8 at 7:30PM and Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7:30PM
Rhapsody Theater, 1328 W. Morse Ave.
Directed by Brenda Didier and Michael Weber
Music Directed by David Fiorello
Porchlight Sings the Season celebrates the holidays with music from Broadway and Hollywood with Porchlight luminaries performing songs from Mame, Meet Me in St. Louis, Holiday Inn and others. This premiere offers a musical respite from the holiday stress with an unforgettable evening of festive entertainment, a salute to Chicago holidays past, warm cookies, an ugly Christmas sweater contest and more.
Single tickets go on sale Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 12PM.
The Irish … and How They Got That Way
January 31 – March 15, 2026
Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St.
By Frank McCourt
Directed by David Girolmo
Music Directed by David Fiorello
Original Musical Arrangements by Rusty McGee
The Irish … and How They Got That Way is an irreverent history of Ireland through the tumultuous 20th and 21st centuries seen through the eyes of Pulitzer Prize winning author, Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes, ‘Tis, Teacher Man) whose razor sharp wit, coupled with his trademark satirical irony and boundless love for the Irish People are all underscored by humor, heartache and a glorious score that spans 100+ years from “Danny Boy,” “Galway Bay” and “The Rare Old Times” to “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ra” and U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I Am Looking For.”
Single tickets go on sale Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 12PM.
Porchlight In Concert: Follies
Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 7:30PM and Sunday, April 26, 2026 at 2PM
Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave.
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Goldman
Directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber
Music Directed by Linda Madonia
Porchlight In Concert debuted in 2024 with sold out performances of Sunday in the Park with George and this season returns to the Studebaker for a limited engagement of another Stephen Sondheim classic, Follies. Winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Score, Follies shares the reunion of the legendary “Weismann Follies” company on the eve of a crumbling theater’s demolition, to reminisce about their past with a rich score that celebrates the music of the 20s – 40s. Considered to be one of the best American musicals, Follies includes the celebrated standards “Broadway Baby,” “I’m Still Here,” “Losing My Mind” and more.
Single tickets go on sale Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 12PM.
You may purchase Porchlight Follies Passes Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 12PM and get your Follies single tickets early.
Chicago Sings Broadway’s British Invasion
Spring 2026
Porchlight’s annual concert fundraiser highlights Great Britain’s contributions to the biggest hits of Broadway. Chicago music theatre’s leading performers add their signature style to the musical favorites that premiered “across the pond” in this one-night-only event. From early West End successes like Me and My Girl, Oliver! and Stop the World – I Want to Get Off, to the “rock operas,” Jesus Christ Superstar, Chess and Evita, blockbusters including Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon and Les Misérables and recent favorites Mamma Mia!, Six, Operation Mincemeat and more.
Broadway in your Backyard
Summer 2026
Porchlight’s free, outdoor summer concert series marks its sixth edition in 2026 at parks throughout Chicago. The 60-minute, family-friendly, outdoor performance includes some of the best loved show tunes from Broadway and Hollywood with sing-alongs, a raffle for valuable prizes and more.
Please note: performances, dates and participants are subject to change.
