More than a decade ago, I saw my first Chicago storefront-produced musical. It was the swinging Burt Bacharach tuner Promises, Promises, produced by a little theatre group called Porchlight Music Theatre. Porchlight has been on my radar since then, and while their shows over the years have been usually well-produced, they’ve often seemed a little, well, generic. But since Michael Weber took the reins as the new artistic director, he’s promised us “American musicals. Chicago style.”
If this smart and sophisticated production of Putting it Together is any indication of what else is in store, I’m delighted to say it seems Weber, with his succinct mantra in mind, has injected Porchlight with a much-needed point of view.
Read the rest of my review on Chicago Like a Local >
Also, not noted in this review: McKinley Carter’s shoes (especially her second act pair) are *to die*.
Chicago Theatre Addict 
[…] Putting it Together. If this smart and sophisticated production was any indication of what else is in store, I’m […]
[…] Chicago actress McKinley Carter served as performer for the evening. She doesn’t know this, but Carter and I go way back. When I was a freshman in undergrad, our Social Science class took a field trip to Chicago where we saw Lisa Loomer’s The Waiting Room at Stage Left Theatre. (I guess the Goodman show we were scheduled to see fell through, and our professor scrambled to find an appropriate alternative, so we ended up in this dusty black box theatre. And it was thrilling.) Carter was featured in that small ensemble show, and her performance stuck with me. Since then I’ve been following her career, including her recent success in Porchlight’s Putting it Together. […]