BY PEDRO MODILA
John Malkovich—last
seen here in Chicago in The Libertine eight years ago—will once
again walk the boards at Steppenwolf. He is slated to star in Stephen
Jeffreys’ world premiere Lost Land, which is set in northern Hungary
at the end of World War I (April 12-June 5, 2005). Also announced for
2004-05: Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser, directed by Amy Morton and
featuring Tracy Letts and John Mahoney (Sept. 16-Nov. 14, 2004). Letts
plays the manservant to Mahoney’s ostentatious “Sir,”
an actor in a touring theatre who is preparing to perform King Lear during
wartime England; Curt Columbus’ translation of Chekhov’s Cherry
Orchard (Nov. 16-March 5, 2005), directed by Tina Landau, with Amy Morton
heading the fallen family as Lovey alongside Yasen Peyankov as Lopakhin
and Rondi Reed as Charlotta; and rounding out the season is Bruce Norris’
The Pain and the Itch (June 30-July 9, 2005)—set the day before
Thanksgiving, this dark comedy pits a yuppie couple against their unwanted
extended family. “We’re very excited to have John [Malkovich]
back,” said artistic director Martha Lavey. “But we’re
also very excited to take one of our subscription series [Cherry Orchard]
into the upstairs so people can experience that space as well.”
The
Department of Revenue (DOR) strikes again. The long arm of the
law reached out on Feb. 5 and this time around it was the Around the Coyote’s
(ATC) annual Winter Arts Festival that got spanked. An estimated 5,000
patrons were expected to attend ATC’s opening weekend at the Landmark
Building (1625 N. Damen) when they received notification that city inspectors
declined to approve the recently rehabbed building for any type of occupancy.
At the 11th hour, ATC found space at 1849 W. North Ave. and the festival
proceeded as planned. “It was amazing how ATC staff, board and artists
all bonded together to actually make it work,” said Sarah Hamilton,
ATC’s executive director. “Over 70 artists had to be moved.
Once we secured another venue, Flat Iron Artists opened up and shared
their studios, and in the end we had more visitors than we expected.”
On
a positive note, Profiles Theatre finally secured their PPA license.
“We would like to thank the League of Chicago Theatres, the Mayor’s
Office, and Alderman Shiller’s office for their commitment and support
throughout the licensing process,” said Darrell W. Cox. “We
would also like to thank those of you who have shown support for the small
theatre community throughout this ordeal…Your voice has made—and
will continue to make—the small theatre community in Chicago an
everlasting part of our diverse theatrical landscape.” Profiles
has a TBA show scheduled March 18-May 2. And Artistic Home, which was
also temporarily shuttered by the city, will reopen their space with 3
by Synge on March 7.
You
can’t blame the DOR for this one. After announcing the cancellation
of Orange Lemon Egg Canary last December, Roadworks has
decided to axe its entire season, which also included a spring production
of Neil Labute’s The Shape of Things. The 12-year-old company
has apparently found itself in a substantial financial bind, having accrued
more than $20,000 of debt. Rather than digging themselves into a deeper
hole, artistic director Geoff Curley and managing director Jason Rissman
have ceased all operations to assess the damages, and to see if the company
is salvageable or not. Company and board plan to meet soon, and hopefully
a verdict will be made over the next few months.
Adding
even more excitement to its Silver 25th Anniversary Season, Pegasus
Players has promoted Alex Levy to the position of artistic director.
Since joining Pegasus in 1998, Levy has held the titles of company manager,
literary manager, Young Playwrights Festival coordinator and associate
artistic director. He has directed several shows for Pegasus including
The One-Eyed Man is King, Free Will!, and Insert Title Here, in addition
to the current crowd pleaser Broadway Bound. Levy had previously worked
in the literary and education departments at Geva Theatre in Rochester,
NY, and the production department at The Studio Theatre in Washington,
D.C., and is a graduate of the University of Rochester. “We are
thrilled to have Alex finally in the role of artistic director after all
these years,” said Arlene Crewdson, executive director and founder
of Pegasus Players. “After all the hats he has worn with the company,
I think we’ve finally found the right one.”
Boxer
Rebellion Ensemble also reports a change of guard. Kyle Hillman, who
previously served as Lookingglass’ manager of general operations,
has signed on as the new managing director. Hillman replaces founding
member Kern Wasan, who is departing to pursue his own acting career in
New York. Hillman holds a Masters degree in theatre from Roosevelt University.
Finally, Chicago says goodbye to one of its own. A memorial service for acclaimed stage and screen actor Bea Winde will be held Feb. 28 at the Church of the Good Shepherd (5700 S. Prairie Ave.). Winde—who passed away Jan. 3 of cancer, two days shy of her 80th birthday—is best known for her Tony-nominated role in Melvin Van Peebles’ 1971 classic Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death, which she also directed for eta Creative Foundation in 1984. She earned a Joseph Jefferson Award for her performance in Goodman’s The Young Man from Atlanta by Horton Foote, and reprised the role on Broadway with original cast members Rip Torn and Shirley Knight. She was honored with the National Black Theatre’s Living Legend Award in 1997. Some of her TV and film credits included “Law & Order,” “The Sopranos,” “NYPD Blue,” “The Cosby Show,” Malcolm X, Hurricane, Simon Birch, The Real Blonde, Jefferson in Paris, Lone Star, and A Rage in Harlem. Winde is survived by her brothers, John Wesley Williams (Dorothy) and George Crawford Williams.