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PERFORMER

Onstage, Brianna is known for her emotional depth, versatility, and vocal stamina. She has performed on stages across the United States and Asia, but is most proud to be a part of the Chicagoland theatre community. While she will be the first to joke that her career has largely been playing "sad moms," she is also known for her comedic chops and her willingness to take risks and engage deeply with her scene partners and directors. She feels incredibly lucky to have made a living doing what she loves with people she respects and admires.

 

Brianna's family also has a theatrical background: her parents met onstage, she met her husband while doing summer stock together, and she spent the early months of her pregnancy singing Sondheim while her corset got increasingly tighter. 

Billy Elliot, Drury Lane - Nick Dantes and Brianna Borger

Billy Elliot at Drury Lane, with Nick Dantes. Photo by Brett Beiner.

REPRESENTATIVE ROLES

Baker's Wife, Into the Woods 

   Writers Theatre (dir. Gary Griffin)

u/s Diana, Next to Normal

   Writers Theatre (dir. David Cromer)

Suzanne Wellington, Southern Gothic

   Windy City Playhouse

   World Premiere, Original Cast

Lucille Frank, Parade

   Writers Theatre (dir. Gary Griffin)

Georgie Bukatinsky, The Full Monty

   Peninsula Players

Maria, Twelfth Night

   Writers Theatre

Alma Stossel, The Christmas Schooner

   Mercury Theater

Shirley Partridge, The Bardy Bunch

   Mercury Theater

Mrs. MacAfee, Bye Bye Birdie

   Drury Lane Oakbrook

Dead Mum, Billy Elliot

   Drury Lane Oakbrook

Petra, A Little Night Music

   Writers Theatre

Anna Leonowens, The King & I

   Porchlight Music Theatre

Lily, The Secret Garden

   Light Opera Works

Ensemble, The Three Musketeers

   Chicago Shakespeare Theatre

   World Premiere, Original Cast

Anna Leonowens, The King & I

   Broadway Asia International Tour

Sarah Jane Moore, Assassins

   Alaska Shakespeare Festival

Into the Woods Writers Theatre, Brianna Borger and Ximone Rose

Into the Woods at Writers Theatre, with Ximone Rose. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Southern Gothic Windy City Playhouse, Brian McCaskill, Brianna Borger, Christine Mayland Perkins

Southern Gothic at Windy City Playhouse, with Brian McCaskill and Christine Mayland Perkins. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

ACCLAIM

A Little Night Music Writers Theatre, Brianna Borger

A Little Night Music, Writers Theatre

Wall Street Journal:

Brianna Borger comes within an inch or two of stealing the show with "The Miller's Son"... Buxom and saucy, Ms. Borger leaves you in no doubt of her determination to get whatever's going—until the last line of the song, when she suddenly averts her eyes from the audience, betraying in a flash her long-buried self-doubt.

Into the Woods, Writers Theatre

Chicago Theatre Review

Brianna Borger’s humane, nicely grounded portrayal of the sensible Baker’s Wife is terrific. This actress continues to dazzle in every role she plays. Here, Ms. Borger gets to show a flair for subtle comedy along with her strong, effortless singing voice.

Parade, Writers Theatre

Chicago Tribune:

Borger, a formidable vocalist whose work anchors this show and whose performance of "You Don't Know This Man," the best musical number in the show, is worth your journey to Glencoe.

New City Stage:

Brianna Borger’s exquisite range (“Do It Alone” shook the hall) is only matched by her and Andrews’ stage chemistry.

Parade Writers Theatre, Patrick Andrews and Brianna Borger

A Little Night Music at Writers Theatre. Photo by Brett Beiner.

Parade at Writers Theatre, with Patrick Andrews. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Chicago Tribune Top 10 Performances of 2017

 

Lucille Frank in Parade

Writers Theatre

Joseph Jefferson Award Nominations

 

Best Actress: Anna, The King & I

Porchlight Music Theatre

Best Ensemble: Into the Woods

Writers Theatre

Best Ensemble: Southern Gothic

Windy City Playhouse

IN PERFORMANCE

Infinite Joy by William Finn

I Read by Stephen Sondheim

All the Wasted Time by Jason Robert Brown, with Patrick Andrews

It Takes Two by Stephen Sondheim, with Michael Mahler

I Won't Mind by Jeff Blumenkrantz

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