Mercury Theatre Mounts Online Video Series, “Backstage Stories”

L. Walter Stearns, executive director of Mercury Theater Chicago, recently announced an ongoing lineup of three video series featuring past and present Mercury talent, to include actors, musicians and members of several creative teams. The three series of videos will be entitled “Backstage Stories,” “On the Air with Mercury Theater Chicago,” and “On the Road to Priscilla,” and will be posted on an ongoing basis on the theater’s social media pages. The theater will also be coordinating a city-wide initiative video entitled “Stay Home Chicago” in response to the stay-at-home orders following the COVID-19 crisis, featuring performers from previous Mercury Theater Chicago productions.

The “Backstage Stories” video series will consist of bi-weekly videos featuring past Mercury Theater Chicago cast and creative team members telling stories from their time at the theater. Some hilarious, some heartwarming, the stories will all focus on memorable moments during one of the many shows in the Mercury’s production history. The videos will be released every Tuesday and Thursday while Chicago observes Stay-At-Home orders. The first videos will feature stories from Sawyer Smith (The Addams Family, Pippin, The Producers) and Dan Gold (The Christmas Schooner, Mary Poppins, The Producers).

“On The Air With Mercury Theater Chicago” will be a variety video series released weekly and bi-weekly, and will feature former and present Mercury Theater Chicago talent displaying various at-home skills and performances. Mondays will be dedicated to “Music Mondays” featuring Eugene Dizon, Mercury Theater Chicago Business Manager and Music Director, on piano. Other videos include the cast of Mercury Theater Chicago’s production of Company coming together virtually to perform a number from the show, and a time lapse of Mercury alumni Cory Goodrich (The Christmas Schooner, Ring of Fire, The Addams Family, Barnum, Mary Poppins) painting a landscape on canvas. The videos will be premiering on an ongoing basis.

“On the Road to Priscilla” is an ongoing video series documenting features from the cast of the forthcoming production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert in the Mercury’s Venus Cabaret Theater. The video content includes virtual performances from the cast, interviews with the cast and creative team, and sneak-peeks into the creative elements of the production. Videos will be released on Wednesdays on an ongoing basis.

All video content can be accessed at Mercury Theater Chicago’s social media channels, to include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

For more information, visit mercurytheaterchicago.com.