Featuring bluegrass favorites and the foot-stomping, hand-clapping finest of American roots music.
A young classical violinist and her song collector boyfriend flee from the confines of their Brooklyn apartment to the mountains of North Carolina on a quest for musical authenticity and inspiration. Their search leads biracial Mira back to her old family home, where she reconnects with an estranged grandfather she never mentioned. An unexpected combination of joy and discovery along with past pain and prejudice comes to light in this story of an Appalachian family’s varied roots and the music that binds them together.

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at Northlight Theatre
9501 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie, IL 60077

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

By Catey Sullivan

“Hugely talented trio makes music as a family making nice in Northlight’s ‘Porch on Windy Hill’”

A river of music runs through “The Porch on Windy Hill,” cross-currents of ancient folk tunes rippling alongside streams of Bach and Haydn. Succinctly, accurately billed as “a new play with old music,” the two-hour production at Skokie’s Northlight Theatre is driven by the sonic sprawl of American folk music, a genre with influences as wide as the world itself.

Lutken gets marvelous performances from her three-person cast, and their musical skills are unimpeachable. When the pickin’ parties (sometimes called hootenannies or shindigs or wingdings) get fully cooking, it’s with a joyful noise. Johanson creates a storm of sound on the violin and the erhu, while Lutken’s Edgar makes the banjo strings resonate like a chorale of steel-winged angels. Beckett holds down his part with a guitar that moves from foot-stomping hootenanny to the subtlest of melodic whispers.

As with most families, there’s no tidy happily-ever-after in “The Porch on Windy Hill.” But the power of glorious music to smooth over family fractures is clear. And that music itself is a whole lotta fun.

Read the full review. 

 

CHICAGO READER

By Josh Flanders

“Bluegrass healing: Northlight’s The Porch on Windy Hill will get your feet stomping.’”

The Porch on Windy Hill, conceived and directed by Sherry Lutken, is a delight from beginning to end, featuring an outstanding cast of three who cowrote the play and also perform some of the finest foot-stomping bluegrass music this side of the Des Plaines river. Lisa Helmi Johanson as Mira explodes with energy and a jaw-dropping singing voice, ably alternating between classical playing and fiddling. Morgan Morse as Beckett is as funny as he is talented, picking up a storm on a variety of stringed instruments. And David M. Lutken as Edgar, Mira’s grandfather, is a remarkable musician, singer, and actor, anchoring the entire show. Kudos also to Mara Zinky for creating an incredible set that is a character in itself, reflecting the nature of change, dynamic or static, examined in the play.

Read the full review. 

 

NEWCITY STAGE

By Noel Schecter

“However windy the path, a trip to this production is highly recommended.”

This production hums along well on two levels with director Sherry Lutken (who also conceived this work) allowing for both the sentimental as well as the more painful moments to breathe. The cast (each of whom shares a writing credit) is simply exceptional with all three members proving adept not only in nailing the dramatic moments but also in playing folk instruments involving everything from a dulcimer to an erhu (a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument). They also possess earthy and natural singing voices that effectively show off a musical catalog bred of longing and sadness.

Credit also needs to go to Mara Zinky’s incredibly well-done set design that features an almost life-size wood-frame house with accompanying front porch. The only thing absent was a barking dog pressed against a window frame. Lindsey Lyddan’s lighting design and Rick Sims’ sound design are just as actualized and the effect is an engaging frame by which folk classics such as “Columbus Stockade Blues” and “My Horses Ain’t Hungry” are given new life.

Read the full review. 

 

SPLASH MAGAZINE

By Mira Temkin

“Audiences will find themselves enveloped in an American family’s cultural and generational identification, estrangement and isolation with the hope of reunion, and music as the catalyst..”

Their search leads biracial Mira back to her old family home, where she reconnects with an estranged grandfather she kept hidden. An unexpected combination of joy and discovery along with past pain and racism come together in this story of an Appalachian family’s varied roots and the music that binds them over the generations.

One of the best parts is the foot-stomping, hand-clapping bluegrass music that’s performed throughout the show. It is outstanding.

Read the full review. 

 

Cast

lisa-helmi-johanson
Lisa Helmi Johanson

"Mira"/Co-writer

Lisa (she/her) is a multi-hyphenate who has a passion for developing new works, authentic storytelling, and intentionality in representation as a means to further the work of racial justice and social equity. Broadway: POTUS, Or Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive; Tours: Into the Woods, Avenue Q; Off Broadway: Avenue Q, Einstein’s Dreams (OG), Rescue Rue (OG), Three Sisters, Women Beware Women, Soft Butter (Ars Nova AntFest). Select Regional: The Chinese Lady (Milwaukee Rep; Best Actress in a Play, Broadwayworld), Anything Goes (Arena Stage), Vietgone (Denver Center), Amadeus (Syracuse Stage), The Drowning Girls (Drama League, NYC). TV/Film: Law and Order: SVU, A Holiday Spectacular (Hallmark); Her first co-written piece, Kim Loo Gets a Redo, was selected for the 2021 Ice Factory Festival at the New Ohio Theater who subsequently produced The Porch on Windy Hill as part of their Now In Process series. Lisa and her husband are close to launching a sitcom podcast called “Preschool” in which she co-directs, acts, and sound designs. Her greatest joy is her Junho and Jake. May I tirelessly strive to better the world, that it may be worthy of your light.

For the lives lost in Atlanta and the ones that continue with more fear than before.

Lisa is repped by The Katz Company and HCKR. More at www.lisahelmijohanson.com and on IG: @hurricanehelmi

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Morgan Morse

"Beckett"/Co-writer

Morgan Morse is an actor, musician, and writer originally from Connecticut. Selected credits: Southern Comfort (The Public Theater), Once, Godspell, and Stand By Your Man (Ivoryton Playhouse), Once (Cape Playhouse), and Ring of Fire everywhere from Houston to Vienna. In addition to theatre, he also writes and performs original music, and makes comedy videos online (linktr.ee/themorsecoda for more info!). So many thanks to Lisa, Sherry and David, my intrepid co-conspirators; Christine Mok, our brilliant dramaturg; and everyone at Northlight for your support, your work, and your faith in this piece.

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David M. Lutken

"Edgar"/Co-writer/Music Director

BROADWAY: Inherit the Wind; Ring of Fire; The Civil War; The Will Rogers Follies.

N.Y. CITY OPERA: Paul Bunyan

OFF-BROADWAY: Southern Comfort; Stars in Your Eyes; Winter Man; The Portable Pioneer & Prairie Show, and Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie (Outer Critics’ Circle, Off-Broadway Alliance and Drama League Best Musical nominations)

LONDON: Dark of the Moon; Woody Sez (Evening Standard Best Musical nomination)

REGIONAL UK: Bonnie and Clyde; A Month In The Country.

REGIONAL US: Our Town; Man of La Mancha; Big River; Elmer Gantry; Finian’s Rainbow; The Will Rogers Follies; Fire On The Mountain; Lost Highway; Buddy; Pump Boys and Dinettes; The Love List; The Man Who Came to Dinner; On Golden Pond; Mark Twain’s River of Song; Almost Heaven, and The Porch on Windy Hill. (Best Actor nomination, Connecticut Critics’ Circle Awards)

With Woody Sez, he and his company have toured Europe, the British Isles, China, the Middle East and The United States. For his portrayal of Woody Guthrie, David won the Helen Hayes and the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actor.

He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Public Theater, The 92nd St Y, at Cooper Union, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Chicago’s Navy Pier, with the North Carolina Symphony and the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, on NPR, the BBC, Polskie Radio Troika, ORF Austria, Voice Of America, and The Louisiana Hayride.
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Megan Erin Lai

u/s Mira

Megan is elated to be making her professional theatre debut at Northlight Theatre. A graduate of the BFA Acting program at Illinois Wesleyan University, some of her previous theatre credits include Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Alice in Breaking Up, and Liat in South Pacific. Megan has also acted in multiple short films around Chicago and taken classes at Acting Studio Chicago. Special thanks to the Porch team for welcoming her with open arms, to David Finch for sharing his fiddle expertise, and to her mom and Jacob for their unwavering love and support. www.meganerinlai.com

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Kelan M. Smith

u/s Beckett

Kelan M. Smith (U/S Beckett) hails from western Wisconsin and is a proud Columbia College Chicago alum. His work as an actor, musician, music director, and composer has been seen all across the country. He is thrilled to be making his debut with Northlight Theatre! Past acting credits include: Spring Awakening, and Pump Boys and Dinettes (Porchlight Music Theatre), Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Plaid Tidings, and Lost Highway (Timber Lake Playhouse), Once (Bristol Valley Theatre), Verböten (The House Theatre), Bright Star (Boho Theatre), Haymarket (Underscore Theatre), The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party (Chicago Children’s Theatre). www.kelanmsmith.com

Production Team

Sherry Lutken

Director/Co-writer

Sherry directed the premiere of The Porch on Windy Hill at The Ivoryton Playhouse (Connecticut Critics nomination: Best Director). Off-Broadway and Regional directing and choreography credits include: The Bourgeois Gentleman, The Million Dollar Quartet, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Stand By Your Man, Stars in Your Eyes, Almost Heaven, Hopscotch and Anything Goes. In 2009, she directed the first regional theater production of Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash at North Carolina’s Flat Rock Playhouse. She has directed many subsequent productions around the US, as well as internationally — at Vienna’s English Theatre and The Deutsches Theater in Munich. As Associate Director of the critically acclaimed Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie, Sherry has staged productions of the musical in Chicago at Northlight Theatre (Joseph Jefferson Award nomination: Best Musical Revue), Washington D.C. (Helen Hayes Award nomination: Best Musical), Florida, Pennsylvania, and its first National UK Tour.
Mara Zinky

Scenic Design

Bio coming soon!
Gregory Graham

Costume Design

Gregory is a Chicago costume designer and milliner.. His credits include: Chicago:Garbologist, Fireflies (Northlight Theatre); Once (Writers Theatre); Anna in the Tropics, Routes (Remy Bumppo Theatre) The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre) 1919 (Steppenwolf Theatre); Enough to Let The Light In (Teatro Vista); Private Lives (Raven Theatre); Rent, Porchlight Revisits: Passing Strange (Porchlight Music Theatre); On the Greenbelt, Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins (Strawdog Theatre); The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice (Court Theatre); Dream: A Community Reimaging of A Midsummer’s Night Dream (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); The Facts of Life: Satan’s School for Girls, The Drag Seed (Hell in a Handbag Productions). Regional: Raisin (Skylight Music Theatre);  Blood at the Root (Millikin University, School of Theatre and Dance). Education: BA in Theatre Design, University of Illinois at Chicago. www.gregorygrahamdesign.com

Lindsey Lyddan

Lighting Design

Lindsay is very happy to be making her debut at Northlight Theatre. She has worked with theatres all over the Chicago area including Steppenwolf, Drury Lane Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Blair Thomas & Co, Haymarket Opera, Roosevelt University’s Opera Program, Wheaton College Opera Program, Chicago Dramatists, and the Phoenix Theatre and Summit Performance of Indianapolis. She received her MFA in lighting and scenic design from Northwestern University. Lindseylyddandesign.com

Rick Sims

Sound Design

Rick has composed and designed sound for numerous Chicago-area theaters, including Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Northlight, Congo Square, Writers, Lifeline, Griffin, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Court, American Blues, Victory Gardens and Steep. Regional credits include Arena Stage and Roundhouse Theatre in Washington D.C., Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, South Coast Rep in Southern California, The Getty, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia, 2nd Stage and Playwrights Horizons in New York City, Actors Theatre of Louisville and Portland Playhouse. He is an artistic associate of Lookingglass, an artistic affiliate with American Blues and is currently composing music for The Thanksgiving Play at 2nd Stage Theatre on Broadway. Sims won a Jeff Award for sound design for Lookingglass’ Moby Dick, Frankenstein, and Hepheastus, and a BTA award for Congo Squares Brothers In the Dust. Sims also wrote the book, music and lyrics for Lookingglass Hillbilly Antigone.
Christine Mok

Dramaturg

Christine is a dramaturg, designer, and scholar. Recent dramaturgy credits include Lloyd Suh’s The Heart Sellers (Milwaukee Rep), Lloyd Suh’s The Far Country (Atlantic Theater Company), and Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s Snow in Midsummer (OSF). She is assistant professor of English at the University of Rhode Island. She has published in Theatre Survey, Theatre Journal, JADT, PAJ: A Performing Arts Journal, Modern Drama, and the Journal of Asian American Studies. She is co-editor with Joshua Chambers-Letson of Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s China Trilogy: Three Parables of Global Capital (Bloomsbury, 2021). She is a member of Wingspace Theatrical Design.
Katie Klemme

Stage Manager

KATIE KLEMME is pleased to return to Northlight where her credits include Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley, Intimate Apparel, Mr. Dickens’ Hat, The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, Landladies, and You Can’t Take It With You. Recent credits include Villette (Lookingglass), Tiger Style!, Wife of a Salesman, and Into the Woods (Writers); Mamma Mia! and Much Ado About Nothing (Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival), Hamilton: An American Musical (Chicago, Sub); Sorin: A Notre Dame Story (National Tour); If I Forget, Indecent (Victory Gardens); Mr. Burns, The Realistic Joneses, others (Theater Wit); Mother and Me (Geva Theater Center, Rochester, NY). She was resident production stage manager at American Theater Company from 2008-2018 where highlights included the world premieres of Disgraced (Pulitzer Prize), The Project(s), and columbinus (Chicago and ArtsEmerson, Boston). She is on the faculty at Loyola University Chicago and is a proud member of Actors Equity Association.

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Accessible Performances

May 3 at 7:30 pm: Relaxed/Sensory Friendly Performance

May 5 at 8:00 pm: ASL Interpretation and Open Captions

May 6 at 2:30 pm: Audio Description and Open Captions

 

SENSORY GUIDE

This guide holds many different accessibility tools to make your experience at our show as comfortable as possible. Please be aware that not every element of this guide will be useful to each individual, therefore, please feel free to pick and choose which accessibility tools would be most beneficial to you. The guide includes a synopsis of the show, sensory warnings, and photos of what to expect when you arrive at the theater.

View the Porch on Windy Hill Sensory Guide

 

For more information or questions about Captioning, ASL Interpretation, or Audio Description please contact Ruben Carrazana: 847.324.1615 or rcarrazana@northlight.org.

Visit our Accessibility Page for more information for our whole season.