On May 11, Season of Concern held its 11th annual Belting for Life Concert, and reached a milestone.
The event, a fundraiser for AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) was the most successful Belting for Life event yet, nearly selling out SPACE at 1245 Chicago Ave. in Evanston.
Conceived, produced and curated by Christopher Pazdernik—and taking place on his birthday—Belting for Life has garnered ecstatic word of mouth praise as a showcase for Chicago theatrical talent. Better still, this edition was packed with knockout performances from beginning to end and it became almost exhausting to take in all of the talent onstage.
Tyler Anthony Smith served as host, personifying a wayward gang of divas, including Bernadette Peters, Norma Desmond and Carol Channing; Smith even snatched a member out of the audience to participate.
There was plenty of ribald humor too. Molly Callinan (with back up from Nicholas Ian and Elya Fae Bottiger) ripped through RAYE’s “Where the Hell is My Husband?” with an overwrought fury which made the song hilariously over the top (the punchline to the title of the song was, “…your husband is at Steamworks…”). Veronica Garza had a giddy high time biting into “Pretty Little Dead Things” from Paddington, while Maya Rowe’s lightly sinister, sweetly charming “Hurt Someone’s Feelings Today” from Michael Devon came with a disarming finish (“…Tell them Erika Kirk sent you.”).
Elya Faye Bottiger whipped “What’s Gonna Happen” from Tootsie into a fizzy epic, turning audition anticipation into a torrent of neurotic comedy. Missy Aguilar and Molly Kral smothered “You Don’t Know About Women” from City of Angels with glibness, while infusing the song with squirm-inducing glee, and Sawyer Smith’s interpretation of “Wig in a Box” from Hedwig and the Angry Inch straddled fury and humor.
Claudia Quesada’s saucy reading of “Enough” from In the Heights was full of matronly exasperation while Amanda Petersen and Larissa Olsen’s jolly take on “More is More is More” from Asphalt Beach was shot through with jolly energy.
Despite the lighter moments, there was plenty of drama too. Janelle Villas’s take on “Carrie” from the show of the same name was brutally sincere and stunning, while Joryhebel Ginorio’s version of “Disneyland” from Smile was raw and approached torch. Marta Bady’s “Knowing When to Leave” from Promises, Promises was thrilling dramatically and musically, while Asia Celine Posey’s “Waiting for Life” from Once on this Island was stunning in its execution.
Mia Nevarez’s take on “On My Own” from Les Misérables was a revelation that did not need a gargantuan production to put it across, while “Stop and See Me” from Weird Romance, performed by Amanda Rodriguez, was a sparkling gem of phrasing and power. Dakota Hughes gave “Ireland” a distinct life of its own while Holly Stauder’s take on “Moments in the Woods” from Into the Woods featured a subtly escalating desperation.
Dani Pike and Keeley Vasquez’s reading of “I Know Him So Well” from Chess was patient, articulate and restrained, while Rachel Guth’s reading of “What It Means to be a Friend” from 13 was akin to peeling an onion, with its slow emergence of fury rising past a placid start.
Then there were moments of pure magic where performer, interpretation, and song melded with explosive results.
Nicholas Ian’s “The Spark of Creation” from Children of Eden was downright electric and joyously celebratory, while Cynthia E. Carter’s “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy” from White Christmas was a blast of sunny cheer. Neala Barron’s take on “And I Will Follow” from Jason Robert Brown was thunderous and wrenching, while Angela Ingersoll’s reading of “Losing My Mind” from Follies was shot through with a ragged neuroticism that gave the classic an unhinged allure missing in previous recordings.
Lucy Godinez’s reading of “Defying Gravity” from Wicked drew an immediate response from the audience at the start of the song, reaching a stunning crescendo that was thoroughly satisfying. Satya Jnani Chavez’s re-shaping of “Piragua” from In the Heights with her own lyrics brought down the house and garnered sustained applause.
Capping it all off was a sweet reading of Cass Elliot’s “Make Your Own Kind of Music” from Amanda Petersen, Keely Vasquez and Angela Ingersoll followed by the traditional curtain closer with Marta Bady leading the cast through a reading of “Dreamgirls” from the hit show.
Belting for Life 2026 was directed by Rachel Guth and Keely Vasquez and musical direction was from Linda Madonia; musical accompaniment included Justin Akiro Kono on drums, Eric von Holst on bass and Madonia on piano.
