New Faces Sing Broadway
What is New Faces Sing Broadway?
Porchlight Music Theatre’s hit revue series is the tuneful and fun audience-interactive evening that music theatre fans crave! Hosted by a popular Chicago music theatre “name” and featuring a company of ten up-and-coming local talents, the evening is a journey from the start to the finish of one specific musical season on Broadway. Peppered with visuals of the era in an exciting multimedia presentation, trivia games (with prizes!), sing-alongs and more, you’ll be treated to the very best music of the “hit and miss” productions that made up a musical season on the Great White Way presented in an intimate and elegant cabaret environment.
Many of the artists who have appeared in Porchlight’s New Faces Sing Broadway series have continued their careers on television, and local and national stages including Frankie Leo Bennett (Jeff Award nominee-The SpongeBob Musical), Dawn Bless (Waitress-national tour), Blu Allen (MJ the Musical-Broadway, Titanique-Off-Broadway), Katherine Bourne (School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play-Goodman Theatre), Kayla Boye (Call Me Elizabeth-Off-Broadway, Europe, Mexico & national tour), Ariana Burks (Real Women Have Curves-Broadway,) Anna Brockman, Tim Foszcz, Josiah Haugen, Cam Turner, Jerod Turner and Evan Wilhelm (Porchlight’s Cabaret), Haley Gustafson, (The Who’s Tommy-Broadway ), Lydia Burke and Molly Kral (Jeff Award winners [ensemble] – Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies), Darilyn Burtley and Max Cervantes (The Light in the Piazza-Lyric Opera of Chicago), Kyrie Courter (Sweeney Todd-Broadway), Maddison Denault and David Moreland (Jeff Award nominees, Cruel Intentions), Gilbert Domally (The Lion King-Broadway), Andres Enriquez (Jeff Award nominee-Porchlight’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Nik Kmiecik, Ziare Paul-Emile and Alix Rhode (Porchlight’s Rent), Theo Germaine (Showtime’s Work in Progress), Lucy Godinez (Jeff Award nominee-Oliver), Emily Goldberg (Jeff Award nominee-Porchlight’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Nicole Michelle Haskins (Jeff Award winner-The Color Purple), Michelle Lauto (Jeff Award winner-Spamilton), Yando Lopez (Wicked-Broadway), Henry McGinniss (Book of Mormon-Broadway), Brandy Miller and Bryce Ancil (Jeff Award nominees-She Loves Me), Chloé Nadon-Enriquez (Bad Cinderella-Broadway), Anthony Norman (The Prom-Broadway, Dear Evan Hansen and Newsies-national tour), Luke Nowakowski and Tommy Thurston (Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale-Chicago Shakespeare), Patrick Rooney (Les Miserables-national tour), Aalon Smith (Porchlight’s Gypsy), Katherine Thomas (Jeff Award winner-Ragtime), Aeriel Williams (Jeff Award winner [ensemble] Ain’t Misbehavin’-Drury Lane Theatre, Oedipus Rex-Court Theatre) Nicole Lambert, Courtney Mack, Mallory Maedke (SIX-Broadway) and Samantha Pauly (SIX and The Great Gatsby-Broadway).
Porchlight’s series is inspired by a set of musical revues produced from 1934-1968 entitled “New Faces” which was instrumental in introducing the public emerging talent with names like June Carrol, Robert Clary, Imogene Coca, Jane Connell, Professor Irwin Corey, Henry Fonda, Alice Ghostley, Ronny Graham, Billy Hayes, Tiger Haynes, Van Johnson, Madeline Kahn, Eartha Kitt, Robert Klein, Carol Lawrence, Paul Lynde, Virginia Martin, Bill McCutheon, John Reardon, Maggie Smith, Inga Swenson and many, many more.
The New Faces Sing Broadway series is sponsored by Elaine Cohen & Arlen D. Rubin.
(ABOVE: The ensemble cast of New Faces Sing Broadway 1956. Photo by Austin Packard)
Previously from New Faces Sing Broadway
2022-2023
New Faces Sing Broadway 1951 – January 23 (Evanston SPACE) & 24 (Arts Club of Chicago)
New Faces Sing Broadway 1984 – April 25 (Evanston SPACE) & 26 (The Den Theatre)
2021-2022
New Faces Sing Broadway 1947 (virtual) – April 8 – May 5, 2022 (virtual release filmed at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts)
New Faces Sing Broadway 1971 – August 3, 2022 (Center on Halsted)
2020-2021
New Faces Sing Broadway 1987 (virtual) – November 6 – December 13, 2020 (virtual release filmed at the historic Studebaker Theatre)
New Faces Sing Broadway 1961 (virtual) – April 16 – May 16, 2021 (virtual release filmed at the historic Studebaker Theatre)
2019-2020
New Faces Sing Broadway 1956 – October 29 (Evanston SPACE) & 30 (Arts Club of Chicago)
New Faces Sing Broadway NOW – February 24 (Evanston SPACE) & 25 (Arts Club of Chicago)
2018-2019
New Faces Sing Broadway 1964 – November 19 (Skokie Theatre) & 20 (Arts Club of Chicago)
New Faces Sing Broadway 1941 – February 26 (Evanston SPACE) & 27 (Arts Club of Chicago)
New Faces Sing Broadway NOW – April 29 (Evanston SPACE) & 30 (Arts Club of Chicago)
2017-2018
New Faces Sing Broadway 1939 – November 19 (Skokie Theatre) & 20 (Uptown Underground)
New Faces Sing Broadway 1959 – February 26 (Skokie Theatre) & 27 (Uptown Underground)
New Faces Sing Broadway 1975 – June 5 (Skokie Theatre) & 6 (Uptown Underground)
2016-2017
New Faces Sing Broadway 1985 – November 28 (Skokie Theatre) & 29 (Uptown Underground)
New Faces Sing Broadway 2001 – January 23 (Skokie Theatre) & 24 (Uptown Underground)
New Faces Sing Broadway 1969 – March 14 (Skokie Theatre) & 15 (Uptown Underground)
2015-2016
New Faces Sing Broadway 1991 – November 3 (Uptown Underground)
New Faces Sing Broadway 1972 – March 22 (Uptown Underground)
New Faces Sing Broadway 1949 – June 7 (Uptown Underground)