Bringing Broadway to the burbs: Academy of the Arts hosts stars for gala, concert
Academy of the Arts, the West suburban, nonprofit academic and art school projected to open in fall 2025, will host its annual fundraising concert and gala Saturday, Feb. 24, at North Central College’s Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville. Doors open at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6 p.m. and the “A Night on Broadway” concert at 7 p.m.
“This year we’re taking a somewhat different approach, offering concert-only tickets so there is opportunity to enjoy the event and support the Academy at prices starting at just $50,” said Dylan Ladd, executive director and co-founder.
Returning to the Wentz Hall stage is Meecah, who performed at the academy’s first gala in 2022 and recently in the roles of Eliza, Angelica, and Peggy Schuyler in “Hamilton.”
She will be joined by Kayla Davion who played the title role in “TINA: The Tina Turner Musical” on Broadway, along with Samantha Pauly who played Katherine Howard in the original Broadway cast of “Six,” and Erika Henningsen who played Cady Heron in the original Broadway cast of ”Mean Girls.“
Ladd’s mission is to build and open the school for sixth to 12th grades, offering the core academic areas of math, reading, language arts, social studies and science, along with a range of visual arts and performing arts programs, by the 2025-26 academic year.
“We have a lot of work ahead before we have our state-of-the-art facility and our first class of full-time students,” Ladd said. “And that work moving forward is funding the project.”
The facility is a planned world-class arts center: A 1,200-seat auditorium with a proscenium stage, fly loft and orchestra pit, an outdoor amphitheater, a modular black box theater and dance studios, and academic classrooms.
The non-profit Academy’s year-one fundraising goal is $1 million, from which it anticipates building momentum toward the $80 million needed to break ground and build the new facility.
The gala dinner and concert package is $250 per person and includes a three-course dinner, open bar, VIP concert seating and an after-party. Tables of 10 guests are $2,000. Concert tickets are $100 for orchestra seating and $50 for balcony seating.
A silent auction also will be held to support the academy’s commitment to making available high-level arts programming within a comprehensive academic education to engage emerging artists in Chicago’s Western suburbs.
Learn more about the Academy, its gala and other opportunities to support its mission at www.illinoisartsacademy.org.