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 at Drury Lane, with Nick Dantes. Photo by Brett Beiner.
REPRESENTATIVE ROLES
Baker's Wife, Into the Woods
Writers Theatre (dir. Gary Griffin)
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u/s Diana, Next to Normal
Writers Theatre (dir. David Cromer)
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Suzanne Wellington, Southern Gothic
Windy City Playhouse
World Premiere, Original Cast
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Lucille Frank, Parade
Writers Theatre (dir. Gary Griffin)
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Georgie Bukatinsky, The Full Monty
Peninsula Players
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Maria, Twelfth Night
Writers Theatre
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Alma Stossel, The Christmas Schooner
Mercury Theater
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Shirley Partridge, The Bardy Bunch
Mercury Theater
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Mrs. MacAfee, Bye Bye Birdie
Drury Lane Oakbrook
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Dead Mum, Billy Elliot
Drury Lane Oakbrook
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Petra, A Little Night Music
Writers Theatre
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Anna Leonowens, The King & I
Porchlight Music Theatre
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Lily, The Secret Garden
Light Opera Works
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Ensemble, The Three Musketeers
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
World Premiere, Original Cast
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Anna Leonowens, The King & I
Broadway Asia International Tour
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Sarah Jane Moore, Assassins
Alaska Shakespeare Festival
Into the Woods at Writers Theatre, with Ximone Rose. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
Southern Gothic at Windy City Playhouse, with Brian McCaskill and Christine Mayland Perkins. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
ACCLAIM
A Little Night Music, Writers Theatre
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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
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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
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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.
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New City Stage:
Brianna Borger’s exquisite range (“Do It Alone” shook the hall) is only matched by her and Andrews’ stage chemistry.
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
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Joseph Jefferson Award Nominations
Best Actress: Anna, The King & I
Porchlight Music Theatre
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Best Ensemble: Into the Woods
Writers Theatre
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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