Michelle makes her debut with Chicago Fringe Opera in their take (on Kathleen Brennan & Tom Waits’s take) on this classic play:

Desperate for money to support his fledgling family, a working-class man submits to medical experimentation for cash. As the experiments drive him to the edge, Georg Büchner’s eponymous play asks “Is there really any difference between man and beast?” This Chicago premiere of Tom Waits’ alt-chamber opera features a new orchestration by acclaimed jazz pianist Carl Kennedy.

CAST

WOYZECK: Jonathan Wilson

MARIE/ANDRES: Christina Pecce

DOCTOR/MARGARET: Michelle Jasso

DRUM MAJOR/CAPTAIN: Matthew Peckham

WOYZECK runs Nov 14th-23rd at Stage 773 (cabaret space). Tickets and info here: https://www.chicagofringeopera.com/event/woyzeck/

Michelle was happy to return to Chicago Shakespeare Theater this fall, this time to understudy the role of Mrs. Wallis Simpson in The King's Speech. Though she didn’t have the pleasure of going on this time around, Michelle was honored and thrilled to be in the room with this all-star cast, which included Harry Hadden-Paton (Broadway’s My Fair Lady, Downton Abbey, The Crown) and James Frain (The Tudors, True Blood, The White Queen) as well as Chicago all-stars Elizabeth Ledo, Kevin Gudahl, and John Judd. Closing on October 20th at CST after a highly-acclaimed run, the production will begin a national tour in early 2020.

https://www.chicagoshakes.com/plays_and_events/kingspeech

At the beginning of what ended up being a very busy summer, Michelle was happy to receive the call to understudy the great Hollis Resnik as Ms. Gulch/The Wicked Witch of the West in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s TYA production of The Wizard of Oz. Gleefully Michelle was able to step into the black cape a total of 19 times throughout the run, to great acclaim. It was a joy and great honor for Ms. Jasso to have the opportunity to bring this story to life - a childhood favorite - alongside a tremendously talented cast in this magical production.