Neighbor News
Tony Award-Winner Jessie Mueller to Perform at Benefit Show for Evanston Township High School
The ETHS Educational Foundation will honor 60 years of YAMO, during a one-day only show featuring Tony award-winner Jessie Mueller.
It has been 16 years since Jessie Mueller was on stage at Evanston Township High School (ETHS). At 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 15, the Tony Award-winning performer and 2001 ETHS graduate, will return to the high school auditorium to headline ShowcaseETHS! A Tribute to YAMO’s 60th. The show will celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the highschool’s popular student-run production and serve as a fundraiser for the ETHS Educational Foundation.
Mueller will be joined by other YAMO alumni spanning the six-decade run of the production.
Showcase ETHS! will look back at the history, performers, music; and satirical sketches that have
made YAMO popular among ETHS families and the Evanston community. The tribute performance
will benefit students involved in performing arts programming at ETHS.
Mueller will perform a selection from the smash hit “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” for which
she won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 2014.
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Reflecting on her role as General Director in 2000 during her senior year; Mueller notes YAMO as
being among her favorite high school memories. She recalls, “It was the most collaborative, creative
and challenging environment. The fact that, in high school, someone entrusted us with the
responsibility of creating our own show...it’s almost crazy. But our teachers and facilitators believed
we could do it, so we did too. That’s an amazing gift to be given at such a young age. It was a huge
part of my formative experience in the arts.”
YAMO started in 1958 as a student-produced variety show in the ETHS auditorium and later moved to
the school’s Upstairs Theater. The show has remained a favorite among students, parents and
community members, often selling out multiple shows.
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Money raised from Showcase ETHS! will fund renovations to the dressing rooms and rehearsal spaces
adjacent to the Upstairs Theater. For more information or to purchase tickets or sponsorships please
visit www.supporteths.org/showcase-eths.
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The mission of the ETHS Educational Foundation is to raise and distribute funds to the high school in order
to complement, enhance and enrich beyond the means of conventional public funding opportunities that
further the educational mission of Evanston Township High School. Through its support to the school the
Foundation helps to ensure access to excellence for all students.
