Christine Mild

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced the Chicago Sings Broadway Pop cast and that Rick Boynton of Chicago Shakespeare Theater is the 2023 Guy Adkins Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Music Theatre in Chicago recipient.

Last seen in 2017 when she wowed audiences in ALWAYS, PATSY CLINE, and then again for a single knockout number in the MSMT Gala 60th Anniversary Concert in 2018, Christine Mild returned to the Pickard stage this week for three solo concerts in which she unleashed the power and splendor of her voice and the sheer dazzling dynamism of her stage presence. In a generous, two-hour evening, entitled CHRISTINE & PATSY TOGETHER AGAIN in honor of its core sets, Christine Mild, sang the music of Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Whitney Houston, Linda Ronstadt, and Patti LaBelle, paying tribute to these iconic legends at the same time she puts her own highly original stamp on each song.

On the heels of a sold-out The Wizard of Oz, Maine State Music Theatre recently announced its 2020 shows. 

Porchlight Music Theatre's 25th anniversary season began with the 14th Annual Chicago Sings concert: Chicago Sings 25 Years of Porchlight, Monday, Aug. 5 at 7 p.m., at The Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave, directed by Christopher Pazdernik and Artistic Director Michael Weber with music direction by David Fiorello and a band featuring Kelsey Boltz, Cara Hartz, John McCreary, Greg Strauss, Celeste Park and Jake Saleh.

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the 14th Annual Chicago Sings concert: Chicago Sings 25 Years of Porchlight, Monday, Aug. 5 at 7 p.m., at The Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave, directed by Christopher Pazdernik and Artistic Director Michael Weber with music direction by David Fiorello. Reception begins at 6 p.m. with a cocktail hour and light appetizers. Performances, awards ceremony and paddle raising begins at 7 p.m. in the Edlis Neeson Theatre. Tickets are on sale for $125 at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling 773.777.9884. Tickets at the door will be $150. The event has reserved seating and supports Porchlight Music Theatre's educational and artistic programming.

Jeff Award-winning director and HIV+ activist Christopher Pazdernik presents the 5th installment of Chris' Birthday Belt Fest, an annual benefit concert for Howard Brown Health, Monday, May 13 at 8 p.m. at Greenhouse Theatre Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.Tickets are $30, in advance; $40, at the door on the night of the performance, and are available at GreenHouseTheater.org or by calling 773.404.7336. The performance is suitable for all ages and runs two hours with one intermission.

'Always… Patsy Cline' at New Theatre Restaurant in Overland Park is a delightful, two-hour sojourn into mid-twentieth century 'Country and Western' music.   Patsy Cline was an early country singer who achieved crossover success and a very loyal listener following.

Porchlight Music Theatre welcomed a sold out crowd at the 13th Annual Chicago Sings concert fundraiser; Chicago Sings The MGM Musicals, held Monday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m., at Second City's UP Comedy Club, 230 W. North Ave, direction by Keely Vasquez, music direction by Porchlight Artistic Associate Beckie Menzie, stage management by Jake Allen Miller and sound design Robert Hornbostel. Monday's event was the company's most successful Chicago Sings to date. Sales from this one-night-only performance benefit Porchlight Music Theatre's youth educational and community outreach programming raising more than $54,000.

Anniversaries are times to reflect, to evaluate, but also to celebrate. Yesterday with its 60 Years of Musical Theatre: The Best of Maine State Music Theatre gala concert, the Brunswick theatre pulled out all the stops with a big, beautiful Diamond Jubilee gala that proved a stunning culmination to this milestone season. And indeed, six decades after Victoria Crandall launched her dream at the Pickard Theater on the Bowdoin College campus, MSMT can boast numerous reasons to celebrate its history, as well as its present accomplishments and future aspirations. In a matinee and evening stagings that featured musical performances by twenty-one soloists and an ensemble of ten, as well a number of spoken tributes, Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark architected a program that was classy, heartfelt, and rich and deep in the talent it showcased. As with any commemorative event, the program tapped into nostalgia and memory but blended these with a strong sense of the vigorous, energetic, imposing presence this company has become - not only in Midcoast Maine but also as a force in national regional theatre.

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the 13th Annual Chicago Sings concert; Chicago Sings The MGM Musicals, Monday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m., at Second City's UP Comedy Club, 230 W. North Ave, directed by Keely Vasquez and Artistic Director Michael Weber with music direction by Porchlight Artistic Associate Beckie Menzie.

The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.

The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.

The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.

The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.

The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.

The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the 12th Annual Chicago Sings concert; Chicago Sings: Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Monday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m., at Second City's UP Comedy Club, 230 W. North Ave, devised and directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber and Keely Vasquez and music directed by David Fiorello.

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the 12th Annual Chicago Sings concert; Chicago Sings: Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Monday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m., at Second City's UP Comedy Club, 230 W. North Ave, devised and directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber and Keely Vasquez and music directed by David Fiorello.

'We wanted to go big and grand. We knew we had Christine [Mild] with her powerhouse performance and Charis [Leos] so we wanted to play it large and create an environment that would support them. The production concept we came up with turned out to be a wonderful envelope to wrap around the show and the entire staging fell into place.' Co-director/choreographer Marc Robin was talking about his and Curt Dale Clark's vision for their new staging of Always, Patsy Cline, which opened Maine State Music Theatre's 2017 season on June 7th. Robin was part of a panel that also featured Patsy star Christine Mild and stand-by Heidi Kettenring, MSMT Charge Scenic Artist Sean Cox, and MSMT Board Vice President Kristine Ganong. The discussion on June 14th, moderated by Broadway World Maine editor Carla Maria Verdino-Sullwold was the first in the now four-year-old summer series of free public forums, A Peek Behind the Curtain, held at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick. The series, designed to give theatre-goers insight into the creative processes of producing each of the summer main stage shows, featured a lively and far-reaching conversation about Patsy Cline, MSMT's Theatre for Young Audiences program, and the theatre's burgeoning role in the community.

'I love it here! This Always, Patsy Cline will be the twenty-sixth production I've appeared in with MSMT, and by the end of this summer, the number will be twenty-nine.' Actress Charis Leos - a huge favorite with Maine audiences and critics alike - is reflecting on her long association with the Brunswick theatre and what the future holds for her here and in the other numerous regional theatres where she lights up the stage with her vibrant, inimitable gifts as a musical theatre performer.