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One of the most highly-anticipated cultural events of the summer, the Broadway In Chicago Summer Concert at Millennium Park marked its twelfth season Monday night—when shows are dark—as Broadway In Chicago is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary.
Instead of the small pit orchestras heard at most shows, this special occasion offers the extravagance of a full orchestra on stage, superbly conducted by Broadway In Chicago music supervisor Michael Keefe.
The evening began with a powerful traversal of “Kaleidoscope” from “Hell’s Kitchen,” the semi-autobiographical 2023 musical by Alicia Keys in a remarkable breakout performance by eighteen-year-old Californian Maya Drake. She will be making her professional debut as Ali when the national tour launches in October and the show comes to town November 11-30 at the Nederlander Theatre.
“The Sound of Music” launches a new national tour next month and comes to the Nederlander Theatre October 21-November 2. It was represented by “Do-Re-Mi” led by Jill Christine-Wiley, a veteran Maria, although the tour will feature Cayleigh Capaldi in the role. Alumni of Broadway In Chicago’s Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards winners took the role of the von Trapp children and stalwartly served as ensembles to various shows throughout the evening.
“Parade” is currently at the CIBC Theatre (through August 17) and was represented by an inspiring and hopeful duet by its leads, Max Chernin as Leo and Talia Suskauer as Lucille, “This is Not Over Yet.”
Music director Justin Craig and Denver Milord were part of a trio that performed the folk-rock “Masquerade” from “Stereophonic,” a stage drama set in a 1976 recording studio showing a fictional rock band at work. The band’s music was written by Will Butler from the indie-rock band Arcade Fire, and will play January 27-February 8, 2026 at the CIBC Theatre.
The 2024 Broadway circus musical “Water for Elephants”—based on the 2006 Sara Gruen novel and 2011 film—was represented by the folk ballad “Silver Stars,” beautifully sung by Chicagoan Zachary Keller. He will star as Jacob in the national tour that opens next month and hits the Nederlander Theatre June 23-July 5, 2026. “Thank you Chicago,” said Keller after his gentle and poignant performance. “See you next summer!”
Gabriella Enriquez, who has starred as Lady of the Lake in “Spamalot,” stole the comedy spotlight with her dead-on “Diva’s Lament (What Ever Happened to My Part?)” that was all the more funny because her character didn’t think so. The national tour of the 2023 Broadway revival of “Spamalot” starts in December and arrives at the CIBC Theatre May 19-31, 2026.
Broadway In Chicago’s Summer Concert/Photo: Broadway In Chicago
Based on the S.E. Hinton novel and the Francis Ford Coppola film, “The Outsiders: A New Musical” was supposed to have opened at Goodman Theatre during the summer of 2020. It is finally coming to Chicago in a national tour of the 2024 Broadway production that starts this fall and comes to the Cadillac Palace Theatre February 10-22, 2026.
Original Broadway cast member Josh Strobl movingly led “Great Expectations” as Ponyboy, with an ensemble of alumni of Broadway In Chicago’s Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards winners who were impressively understated.
A warm, summer night became Christmas in August when Paul Aniello refreshingly traversed the whimsical “World’s Greatest Dad” from “Elf the Musical,” which comes to the Auditorium Theatre December 2-14 for the holidays.
A national tour of the 2024 Broadway show “The Great Gatsby: A New Musical,” based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, is set to launch in January 2026 and will hit the Cadillac Palace Theatre from April 21-May 3, 2026. Composer Jason Howland masterfully evokes the jazz era of the 1920s, and the swinging power anthem “Past Is Catching Up to Me,” rendered by Noah J. Ricketts from the original Broadway company, was a rousing highlight of the evening.
“MJ: The Musical” was the only show that had an ensemble from the show itself perform, albeit Michael-less, navigating “Man in the Mirror” and covering the lead lines across the cast with aplomb. “MJ” is playing through August 24 at the Nederlander Theatre.
Isaiah Bailey, who is starring as “The Phantom of the Opera” in the North American tour that launches in November, rendered a tender yet powerful “Music of the Night” as the penultimate performance of the evening. “Phantom” will be back in Chicago over the holidays, December 11-February 1, 2026, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.
The anthem finale “Keep Marching” of “Suffs,” a musical about the Suffrage movement that led to the Nineteenth Amendment that gained women’s right to vote, was the powerful finale to the evening. Original Broadway cast member Ally Bonino’s voice soared over the park and the contagious inspiration it spread was palpable. Alumni of Broadway In Chicago’s Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards winners had their shining moment of the evening as the ensemble. The national tour opens next month and comes to the CIBC Theatre July 7-July 19, 2026.
Broadway In Chicago’s Summer Concert took place at Millennium Park, 201 East Randolph, on August 11.
