Porchlight Music Theatre to launch new musical revue series

Porchlight Music Theatre, whose excellent revival of the Broadway musical, “Side Show,” is now playing at Stage 773, has announced plans to inaugurate a new musical revue series dubbed “New Faces Sing Broadway.”

The first entry in the series, highlighting songs from the 1991 Broadway season, is scheduled for Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. at Uptown Underground, 4707 N Broadway. It will be directed by Porchlight artistic associate Christopher Pazdernik, with music direction by Kory Danielson and with Meghan Murphy serving as emcee.

A little background to put it all in perspective: “New Faces” was a series of musical revues produced on Broadway between 1934 and 1968. It was instrumental in introducing the public to such then emerging talents as 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 McCutcheon, John Reardon, Maggie Smith, Inga Swenson and many more.

In tribute, Porchlight is reviving its version of the series, with its first production shining a spotlight on the year 1991. Featuring a cast drawn from Porchlight’s hottest up-and-coming talents, the evening will chronicle the 1991 musical season on Broadway, and will be peppered with a multimedia presentation comprised of photos and films of the era. Songs featured will be drawn from such shows as “Once on This Island” “Shogun: The Musical,” “Miss Saigon,” “The Secret Garden,” “The Will Rogers Follies” and more.

In addition to the performances on stage, Murphy will encourage the audience to sing along as the chorus for some of the best-known production numbers from that classic Broadway season, and she will challenge them to “Name that Show Tune” in a music theater game for which participants will win prizes.

Tickets are $22, with no drink minimum. Call (773) 777-9884 or visit http://www.porchlightmusictheatre.org. Future performances are scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, 2016 and Tuesday, June 7, 2016.