Buyer & Cellar at Pride Films and Plays

Pride Films and Plays Announces New Leadership

July 05, 2020

The Board of Directors of Pride Films and Plays has voted to bring new leadership to the company, effective immediately. Artistic Associate Donterrio Johnson will be elevated to the position of Artistic Director, with JD Caudill and Robert Ollis continuing on as Artistic Associates.

The  47th Annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards Are Announced

June 22, 2020

As part of the annual recognition of theater excellence, the 47th Non-Equity Jeff Awards today announced honorees in 21 artistic and technical categories. Recipients included 27 theater artists whose work was featured at 14 theater companies during the 2019-2020 season.

Premiere Of Pride Films and Plays' NOMINEE NIGHT Rescheduled To Wednesday, June 3

June 03, 2020

The premiere of Pride Films and Plays' annual NOMINEE NIGHT concert featuring performers nominated for Non-Equity Jeff awards in musical theatre categories, originally planned for Monday, June 1, has been rescheduled to Wednesday, June 3.

Pride Films and Plays Presents Virtual Reading of A LATE SNOW

May 27, 2020

Continuing Pride Films and Plays' 'Pride in Place' series of live online readings, A LATE SNOW by Jane Chambers will be performed on Thursday, May 28 at 7 p.m. 

Performers Announced For Virtual NOMINEE NIGHT To Be Broadcast Online June 1

May 19, 2020

A preliminary list of performers for Pride Films and Plays' annual NOMINEE NIGHT concert has been announced by Robert Ollis, a PFP Artistic Associate serving as music director for the event. NOMINEE NIGHT is typically performed in mid-May at Sidetrack's Musical Monday to showcase musical theater performers and productions nominated in the Non-Equity Jeff Awards.

Cast Announced for Pride Films and Plays' A LATE SNOW Live Online Reading

May 12, 2020

Casting is complete for Pride Films and Plays' live online reading of A LATE SNOW, by Jane Chambers, according to its director, Sara BenBella. The reading is the second in PFP's PRIDE IN PLACE series of live online readings, following the reading of LONELY PLANET, by Steven Dietz, on May 14.

Steven Dietz's LONELY PLANET To Kick Off 'Pride In Place' Online Reading Series

April 29, 2020

Pride Films and Plays today announced five more live online readings of LGBTQ-themed plays, following its enthusiastically received April 14th reading of Terrence McNally's MOTHERS AND SONS.

Nominations Announced for the 47th Annual Non–Equity Jeff Awards

April 28, 2020

With the conclusion of the 2019-2020 Chicago non-Equity theater season, the Jeff Awards announced the nominees for the 47th annual awards for theater excellence that include 120 theater artists across 21 categories.

Pride Films And Plays Announces Extension of A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE

October 29, 2019

Pride Films and Plays' Jeff-recommended production of  A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, the Chicago area's first revival in over a decade of the heartwarming musical created by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, and Terrence McNally, has been extended for one additional week due to popular and critical demand. The musical will now close with the 2:30 pm matinee on Sunday, November 17.

Pride Films And Plays To Produce Chicago Premiere A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE

August 01, 2019

Pride Films and Plays will stage the first Chicago production in more than a decade of A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, the heartwarming musical created by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, and Terrence McNally, the team that wrote RAGTIME and ANASTASIA. A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE is based on a 1994 film starring Albert Finney as a Dublin bus conductor and features a gorgeous Irish-influenced score. Donterrio Johnson, the Jeff award-winning actor who directed PFP's BUYER AND CELLAR earlier this year and is currently appearing in THE SPITFIRE GRILL with American Blues Theater, will direct. Music direction is by Robert Ollis, who most recently music directed SOUTHERN COMFORT for Pride Films and Plays and was a 2019 Jeff nominee for his music direction of HAYMARKET: A NEW FOLK MUSICAL. Ollis was Music Director for the 2008 production of A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, which earned five Jeff Award nominations for Bailiwick Repertory.

Performers Announced For Pride Films and Plays' NOMINEE NIGHT

April 30, 2019

A preliminary list of performers for Pride Films and Plays annual NOMINEE NIGHT concert has been announced by PFP Artistic Associate Robert Ollis, presenting music director for the event. NOMINEE NIGHT, which showcases musical theater performers and productions nominated in the Non-Equity Jeff Awards, will be performed on Monday, May 13 at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted. The lineup, which is subject to change up until show time, will include performers who were cast members of the five productions nominated for "Production of a Musical" or who received individual performance nominations.

Pride Does Streisand: A Birthday Celebration To Be Performed April 22

April 13, 2019

BUYER & CELLAR star Scott Gryder to lead cabaret of songs made famous by Barbra Streisand Emmy Award winner and Chicago Musical Theatre and Cabaret performer Scott Gryder, who in Pride Films and Plays' current production of BUYER & CELLAR plays a struggling actor that manages a make-believe shopping mall in the basement of Barbra Streisand's Malibu home, will lead a cabaret of Ms. Streisand's songs on Monday, April 22 - just two days before her 76th birthday - in The Broadway, Pride Arts Center. Gryder and Music Director Adam LaSalle will be joined in this tribute to the Emmy, Grammy and Oscar-winning actress, songwriter and director by a cast including Jerome Riley Jr., Anslee Rainwater, Missy Aguilar, Matthew Huston, Adam Hibma, and Kimberly Lawson. The concert will be directed by BUYER & CELLAR director Donterrio Johnson.

Scott Gryder to Star in BUYER & CELLAR for Pride Films and Plays

March 04, 2019

Emmy Award winner and Chicago Musical Theatre and Cabaret performer Scott Gryder has been cast as the principal character in Pride Films and Plays' upcoming production of Jonathan Tolins's one-man comedy BUYER & CELLAR, according to the production's director Donterrio Johnson. Gryder will play all the characters in Tolin's comedy, but most notably, the role of Alex More - a struggling actor who takes a job managing a make-believe shopping mall in the basement of Barbra Streisand's Malibu home.

Donterrio Johnson To Direct BUYER & CELLAR For Pride Films And Plays

February 06, 2019

Pride Films and Plays will mount Jonathan Tolin's one-man play BUYER & CELLAR in the Broadway Theater of the Pride Arts Center, according to the company's Executive Director David Zak. The production will be directed by Chicago-based Donterrio Johnson, whose many acting credits include his Jeff Award-winning Judas Iscariot in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR for Theo Ubique and most recently, his role as the Leading Player in Mercury Theater's production of PIPPIN. Johnson has also performed as an actor with Pride Films and Plays, in productions including UNDER A RAINBOW FLAG.