Feb. 25--Lin-Manuel Miranda will be represented by more than "Hamilton" in Chicago this fall. Porchlight Music Theatre announced its 2016-17 mainstage season on Thursday, which will kick off with Miranda's first Broadway hit "In the Heights."
"In the Heights" (Sept. 9 -- Oct. 16) features music and lyrics by Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes. Set during the hottest days of July, the slice-of-barrio-life 2008 Tony winner follows a Washington Heights community on the cusp of change.
Next up is the Chicago premiere of Peter Quilter's "End of the Rainbow" (Nov. 4 -- Dec. 4). Featuring Judy Garland's songbook, the bio-musical tracks the downfall of the icon as she prepares for a final comeback performance.
Following is the local premiere of "The Scottsboro Boys" (Feb. 3 -- March 12), John Kander and Fred Ebb's final collaboration about the real-life trial of nine African-American teens falsely accused of assault in the 1930s. With a book by David Thompson, the musical, which ran on Broadway for only two months in 2010, is performed in the style of a minstrel show.
Austin Cook will star in the final show of the season, Stephen Sondheim's rarely-produced "Marry Me A Little" (April 14 -- May 21). Conceived by Craig Lucas and Norman Rene, the story of two single people, separated by one floor in the same apartment, combines trunk songs from "Follies," "Company" "A Little Night Music" and more Sondheim classics.
Porchlight will also continue its concert series celebrating lost musicals with "The Rink" (Oct. 4 -- 6), "Little Me" (Feb. 28 -- March 2) and "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" (May 9 -- 11, 2017).
All performances will take place at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.
