Subscribe Today and Save!
Don’t Miss a Minute of Our 2022-2023 Season!
The 2022-2023 season is a celebration of opportunities here at Porchlight Music Theatre, and we hope that you’ll join us for the many exciting new things ahead, both onstage and off.
We thank our valued subscribers whose support each season is vital as we can continue to thrive as Chicago’s home for music theatre!
For questions, please call our box office at 773.777.9884 | Box Office Hours
Why Subscribe?
Being a season subscriber is a tremendous opportunity not only to see our award-winning productions in the best seats, at the best price, but also to have a deeper involvement with the theatre. It’s a commitment we greatly value and appreciate, especially in this next ambitious phase for our organization. Our valued season subscribers enjoy:
Savings up to 20% OFF single tickets
Priority reserved seating for Mainstage & Revisits performances in our intimate theatre, no seats more than 30 FEET from the stage!
Discounts on additional Mainstage single tickets
One free exchange per production
Priority subscription renewal opportunity for next season
PLUS additional benefits listed for each subscription option below
Subscription Packages
Enjoy Porchlight’s award-winning Mainstage productions – with the flexibility to see just two or all three of the season’s offerings – and save up to 20% off single ticket prices!
PRIME Subscription
Admission to any performance, including Friday evening, Saturday matinee, Saturday evening or Sunday matinee Mainstage performances.
3-SHOW PRIME ■ $177* [Buy Now]
2-SHOW PRIME ■ $120* [Buy Now]
STANDARD Subscription
Admission to any Wednesday evening, Thursday matinee, Thursday evening or Sunday evening Mainstage performance.
PREVIEW Subscription
Admission to any Preview performance.
PORCHLIGHT REVISITS Subscription
Admission to one performance of each 2022/2023 Porchlight Revisits production.
The 2022 – 2023 Mainstage Season
RENT
October 29 – November 27, 2022
Music, Lyrics & Book by Jonathan Larson+
Based loosely on the 1896 opera La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini+
Directed by Adrian Abel Azevedo+
Music Directed by Michael McBride+
Choreographed by Laura Savage*
Over the last 25 years, this Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical has become a cultural phenomenon with millions of fans around the world. Porchlight’s production celebrates this legacy and adds a new page to the story of a year in the life of a diverse group of artists struggling to survive and create in Lower Manhattan’s East Village under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. In the thriving days of bohemian Alphabet City at the end of the millennium, these friends are determined to follow their dreams without selling out.
Cabaret
January 14 – February 12, 2023
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Book by Joe Masteroff
Directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber+
Music Directed by Linda Madonia*
Associate Directed & Choreographed by Brenda Didier*
Based on the 1951 play I Am a Camera by John Van Druten+ adapted from the 1939 novella Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood+
Bold and provocative, this landmark musical shines a spotlight on Berlin in the late 1920s and the colorful, gritty and hedonistic lives found there. Filled with iconic songs and electrifying dance the story of American writer “Clifford Bradshaw’s” relationship with English cabaret performer “Sally Bowles” as the Nazi party is rising to power is one you’ll never forget. Overseen by an ominous “Emcee” at the fabled Kit Kat Club, Cabaret is a cautionary tale that has renewed resonance in today’s political climate. “Your table’s waiting” for this winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Ernest Shackleton Loves Me
May 6 – June 1, 2023
Music by Brendan Milburn+
Lyrics by Val Vigoda*
Orchestrations and Additional Music by Ryan O’Connell+
Book by Joe DiPietro+
Directed by Michael Unger+
Music Directed by Eric Svejcar+
Ernest Shackleton Loves Me is the critically acclaimed new musical with a tongue-in-cheek script by Tony Award-winner Joe DiPietro+ (Memphis). In this wildly inventive adventure, a sleep-deprived single mom and video game music composer is contacted across time by the famous polar explorer Ernest Shackleton+. Inspired by her music, he shares his epic Antarctic journey with her in video and song. Together, they conquer the odds in a timeless love affair for the ages. Awarded 2017 Best New Musical by the Off Broadway Alliance.
Porchlight Revisits 2022 – 2023
Now in its ninth season, Porchlight Revisits shares Broadway and off-Broadway hits and misses, as well as cult classics, performed live in a limited run with the pre-show “Behind the Show Backstory” historical multimedia presentation by Artistic Director Michael Weber+, introducing the evening’s production including the show’s creative history, juicy backstage stories and much more. Chicago’s finest music theatre talents dust off these treasures and escort audiences to the world of Broadway’s past.
The Porchlight Revisits eighth season features:
The Apple Tree
Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022 at 7:30 PM and Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022 at 1:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Book by Bock & Harnick with contributions from Jerome Coopersmith
Directed by Frankie Leo Bennett
Directed & Choreographed by Dina DiCostanzo
Music Directed by Linda Madonia
The songwriting team behind Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me created this witty, tuneful and charming piece that was Tony nominated for Best Musical. Made up of three musical miniatures, each directed by a different person, Porchlight Revisits The Apple Tree includes “The Diary of Adam and Eve,” a quirky, touching spin on the tale of the world’s first couple, adapted from Mark Twain’s short stories; “The Lady or the Tiger?,” a 1960s rock and roll fable set in a mythical kingdom, which explores the fickleness of love and “Passionella,” based on Jules Feiffer’s offbeat Cinderella-story about a chimney sweep who dreams of being a “glamorous movie star.”
I Am A Camera
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023 at 7:30 PM and Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023 at 1:30 PM
Written by John Van Druten
Premiering in 1951 starring Julie Harris as “Sally Bowles,” this special event staged reading is a rare opportunity to experience the remarkable play that became the inspiration for the musical Cabaret. Never revived on Broadway and not seen in Chicago in decades, the title is a quotation taken from Christopher Isherwood’s “Goodbye to Berlin’s” first page: “I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.” Before Kander and Ebb. Before Bob Fosse. Before Liza Minnelli. Come see the play that started it all!
Two by Two
Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 7:30 PM and Thursday, May 25, 2023 at 1:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Martin Charnin
Book by Peter Stone
Based on the play The Flowering Peach by Clifford Odets
The legendary comedian Danny Kaye starred in the original 1970 Broadway run of Two by Two, the musical comedy based on Clifford Odets’ play The Flowering Peach, that tells the story of Noah, the flood and its aftermath with touches of modern themes including the environment and the differences from generation to generation. The first of two collaborations with Martin Charnin (the other being I Remember Mama,) this late career production by the legendary Richard Rodgers is, by turns, tuneful and hilarious and a perfect Porchlight Revisits production.
DISCLAIMER: Productions, performance schedule and artists subject to change. Seat selection and admission is subject to availability and advanced reservations are required.
*Additional fees may apply. All sales final. Available while supplies last. All performances and special events are subject to change