Chicago Cabaret Week | Girls Like Us present "It’s My Party"

Girls Like Us present It’s My Party during Chicago Cabaret Week at PianoForte Chicago!

Join Laura Freeman, Beckie Menzie, and Marianne Murphy Orland for It’s My Party, celebrating the Girls and the Groups of the 1960s—The Supremes, The McGuire Sisters, Lesley Gore and more.

When we talk about music of the 1960s, most people think of Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones, but that’s really only part of the story. In a tiny window of about eight years, popular music changed forever with the birth of a genre most historians don’t even acknowledge: Bubblegum Pop.

Suddenly, the airwaves were jumping with the sound of women – actually, girls – teenage girls and their teenage problems. With charm, skill and humor, Laura, Beckie and Marianne bring you the sparkling harmonies, lyrics of happiness and heartbreak of first love, origin stories and unforgettable sounds of Dusty Springfield, Tina Turner, The Mamas and the Papas, and other icons of the ‘60s. Don’t miss this party!

An award-winning concert artist, Beckie Menzie has appeared at some of the nation’s top nightclubs and concert venues including the legendary Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Birdland in New York, Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre, The Ravinia Festival and Park West, as well as at concert halls and art series across the country. Hailed by Chicago’s WGN Radio as “one of the city’s finest cabaret performers,” Beckie is a three-time winner of Chicago’s After Dark Award for Outstanding Cabaret Artist.

As one of cabaret’s most in demand entertainers, Beckie was featured in Michael Feinstein’s “Now & Then” Series for her Carnegie Hall debut. She has been a featured performer at many of the Mabel Mercer Cabaret Conventions in New York, The Hamptons and in Chicago, as well as performances for the Chicago Humanities Festival, where she has served as a performer, a director and musical director.

She performs regularly with Tom Michael, and as a duo they are also recipients of the After Dark Award. They have toured their concerts across the country, including Carnegie Hall’s 100th birthday celebration for Cole Porter, with Rich Daniel’s City Light’s Orchestra, and headlined with symphonies and Chicago Chamber Orchestras with their Holiday show. Beckie is also one third of the trio GIRLS LIKE US with Laura Freeman and Marianne Murphy Orland, entertaining sold-out audiences across the Midwest and in New York, and is a sought-after coach for musical talent across the country.

From swing to torch songs, Beckie’s interpretive style, rich smoky voice and inventive piano stylings rank her among the best nightclub entertainers in the country. Hers is a talent that not only warms but breaks your heart.

One of Chicago’s favorite and most versatile talents, Marianne Murphy Orland has performed as a big-band singer, cabaret artist, director and voice-over talent since music came on vinyl (the first time around!) Notable venues for her critically acclaimed and sold-out performances include: Park West, Victory Gardens, Metropolis, Skokie Theatre, Davenport’s, Hey Nonny,  Madden Theatre at NCC, Acorn Theatre in Three Oaks, MI, Theatre at the Center, in Munster, IN and Chicago’s venerable Auditorium Theatre.

In addition to being one third of renowned trio Girls Like Us, Marianne is best known for her tribute shows: If I Were a Carpenter: The Life & Music of Karen Carpenter, Pet Project: The Remarkable Petula Clark, and Rags to Rhinestones: The Musical Life of Dolly Parton.

With a passion for storytelling and a way with words, Marianne has captivated cabaret audiences across the country with velvet vocals and sparkling stage presence. Each performance is infused with wit and emotion. Whether enchanting an intimate crowd or commanding a grand stage, she brings vibrant energy and authenticity, making every show a memorable experience.

With an ideal combination of theatricality and musicality, Laura Freeman has been delighting audiences around the country and abroad for over twenty years. Known for her wit and warmth, Laura finds the heart and soul in her material, whether it’s a song from musical theater, the Great American Songbook, or a beloved jazz standard. As background music for an evening of dining or providing the night’s main attraction, Laura lights up the room with her trademark charm.

As an Equity actress, Laura has toured the US and Europe extensively in such productions as Into the Woods, as the Witch, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, as the Narrator. She has been featured at Theatre at the Center in Munster, Porchlight Theatre inC Chicago, and at Ravinia (Annie Get Your Gun with Patti LuPone).

As a cabaret performer, Laura has created tributes to Doris Day, Julie Andrews, the USO performers of WWII, and Backstage Pass (a look at her production support life in New York, Chicago, and on the set of Chicago PD) along with salutes to Broadway and Hollywood. As a soloist, and as one third of Girls Like Us, she has performed at venues throughout the Chicagoland area, the Midwest and New York, including Park West, Auditorium Theatre, Davenport’s, Skokie Theatre, Drury Lane, Freedom Hall, Hey Nonny, Metropolis, Chicago Cultural Center and the Acorn Theatre in Michigan. 

The fifth annual Chicago Cabaret Week will be Friday, May 8 through Sunday, May 17, 2026!

This annual ten-day festival showcases Chicago’s top cabaret artists performing blues, Broadway, burlesque, jazz, R&B, American Songbook, French chanson, and world music. Last year’s schedule included more than 95 performers performing in 17 intimate venues throughout Chicagoland, with discounted tickets available for many performances.

To find more information, please visit our website: https://www.choosechicago.com/things-to-do/festivals-and-special-events/chicago-cabaret-week/