John Harold Kander is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb, Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including Cabaret (1966) and Chicago (1975), both of which were later adapted into acclaimed films. He and Ebb also wrote the standard "New York, New York".
Mass is a musical theatre work composed by Leonard Bernstein with text by Bernstein and additional text and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy, it premiered on September 8, 1971, conducted by Maurice Peress and choreographed by Alvin Ailey. The performance was part of the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Mass premiered in Europe in 1973, with John Mauceri conducting the Yale Symphony Orchestra in Vienna.
Benn Lee Jordan is an American modern jazz and electronic musician operating under many pseudonyms. Since 1999 his most widely distributed and electric music has been released under the name of The Flashbulb. Other names Benn has released as are Acidwolf, Human Action Network, and FlexE.
Rebecca Gilman is an American playwright.
L. Scott Caldwell is an American actress known for her role as Rose on Lost.
Theater in Chicago describes not only theater performed in Chicago, Illinois, but also to the movement in Chicago that saw a number of small, meagerly funded companies grow to institutions of national and international significance. Chicago had long been a popular destination for touring productions, as well as original productions that transfer to Broadway and other cities. According to Variety editor Gordon Cox, beside New York City, Chicago has one of the most lively theater scenes in the United States. As many as 100 shows could be seen any given night from 200 companies as of 2018, some with national reputations and many in creative "storefront" theaters, demonstrating a vibrant theater scene "from the ground up". According to American Theatre magazine, Chicago's theater is "justly legendary".
Gary Griffin is an American theater director. Griffin grew up in Rockford, Illinois, where he graduated from East High School in 1978.
The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is a performing and media arts college of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Lonny Price is an American director, actor, and writer, primarily in theatre. He is perhaps best known for his creation of the role of Charley Kringas in the Broadway musical Merrily We Roll Along and for his New York directing work including Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd, Company, and Sondheim! The Birthday Concert.
The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater star who, as a child, was a player in Chicago's first theater company. Two types of awards are given: "Equity" for work done under an Actors' Equity Association contract, and "Non-Equity" for non-union work. Award recipients are determined by a secret ballot.
Colman Jason Domingo is an American actor, playwright, television and stage director.
Robert Falls is an American theater director and the current artistic director of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.
Joel G. Fink is an American actor, director, acting coach and theatre administrator. He is Professor Emeritus of Theatre, The Theatre Conservatory of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he also served as Associate Dean and Founding Director of the conservatory. Fink also served as the Casting Director/Artistic Associate of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival from 1988 until 2003. Fink holds a doctorate and an MFA from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. He holds a BFA from the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Alex Weisman is a stage actor, who is best known for his performance as Posner in TimeLine Theatre Company's debut production of the play, The History Boys He is the younger brother of Robin Weisman.
The Practical Theatre Company was a Chicago-based theatre company founded by Northwestern University students and active throughout the 1980s. Its productions included new plays, satiric agitprop, rock and roll events, and a series of successful improvisational comedy revues. The PTC, whose motto was "Art is Good", is notable for the fact that the entire cast of its 1982 improvisational comedy revue, The Golden 50th Anniversary Jubilee was hired by Saturday Night Live.
Rohina Malik is an American playwright, actress, speaker, story teller and educator of South Asian descent.
Małgorzata Babiarz, professionally known as Megitza, is a Polish singer, double bass player, and composer. She combines Polish and Eastern European folk music, Romani music and gypsy jazz with world music, Latin music, pop, worldbeat, Americana and reggae.
Lisa Portes is an award-winning director, educator, advocate and leader. She heads of the MFA Directing program at The Theatre School at DePaul University. She serves on the board of the Theatre Communications Group, the Executive Board of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, and is a founding member of the Latinx Theater Commons. Primarily a director of new American plays and musicals, Ms. Portes' work has been seen regionally at California Shakespeare Theater, Guthrie Theatre, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Cincinnati Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, McCarter Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In Chicago she has directed for Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens Theatre, TimeLine Theatre Company, American Blues Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Next Theatre, and Teatro Vista. New York credits include work at Playwrights Horizons, Soho Rep, New York Theatre Workshop, the Flea Theatre, and The Public Theater. Ms Portes served as the Associate Director of the Tony Award-winning musical The Who's Tommy, and staged its international productions in Canada, Germany, and the U.K, as well as its 20th anniversary remount at the Stratford Theatre Festival in 2013. In 2016, Ms. Portes was awarded the SDC Zelda Fichandler Award.
Sandra Delgado is a Colombian-American actor, writer, and producer who grew up and works in Chicago, Illinois.
Mojo & The Bayou Gypsies is a band led by Mojo from Breaux Bridge Louisiana. Their music is a blend of zydeco, Cajun and their particular style which he calls Red Hot Mojo Music. Circa 2018, they consist of Mojo on vocals and Cajun accordion, Zydeco T Carrier on Frottoir (rubboard), Greg Hirte on Cajun fiddle, Tee John Moser on drums Beau Brian Burke on bass.
