8-5-05
BY JONATHAN ABARBANEL
Now that Wicked has settled in for a long run at the Ford Center/Oriental, it seems that every second theatre in town is discovering a new angle to the familiar Oz tales of L. Frank Baum (who lived and wrote right here in Chicago, as you may know). Theatre-Hikes recently completed its summertime run—or should we say walk?—of The Wizard of Oz, using a 1928 stage adaptation much closer to the Baum original than the 1938 Hollywood film or Wicked. This version has silver slippers (not ruby) and four witches (not two). Theatre-Hikes’ production co-starred Weemac, an Affenpinscher Terrier, as Toto.
Not to be outdone, House Theatre of Chicago opens its 2005-2006 season, Sept. 17-Nov.5 with The Great and Terrible Wizard of Oz, adapted from Baum by Phillip C. Klapperich and featuring original music, dance, magic and shadow play.
Finally, the American Musical Theatre Project at Northwestern University presents Was as its inaugural production, opening Oct. 28 at the Barber Theatre. Directed by Tina Landau, Was interweaves the story of Kansas orphan Dorothy Gael with that of Frank Baum himself in the guise of a substitute teacher. The musical is based on a novel by Geoff Ryman, as adapted by Barry Kleinbort (book and lyrics) and Joseph Thalken (music).
Baum’s first Oz book was such a success that he followed it with a dozen or so more Oz stories (plus a large quantity of non-Oz fantasy fiction), so there’s a substantial body of work upon which would-be adapters may draw. This column even has done historical research on Baum’s trip to Australia. Impressed by the famous Aussie capacity for beer, he adapted his own story into a tribute to them, entitled “The Wonderful Whizzers of Oz.”
The 2006 budget for the National Endowment for the Arts continues its slow progress, with the House and Senate scheduled to meet to reconcile their differing versions of the Department of the Interior appropriations bill. The House version marked up the NEA at $131.3 million, the Senate version at $126.3 million. Look for the Senate to agree to the extra $5 million, which would cover continued funding for the NEA’s Challenge America program (the umbrella under which Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and other large classical troupes, toured The Bard to all 50 states and numerous military bases).
Friends of actor James Sie were surprised to see him on the cover of the July 19 Advocate, the glossy national GLBT bi-weekly magazine. Sie was pictured with his partner of many years, composer Douglas Wood, and their adopted son, Benjamin, in a story on gay parenting. For many years, Sie was a member of the Lifeline Theatre Ensemble and also acted at various other Off-Loop venues. Since heading out to Los Angeles, Sie’s career has taken off, particularly in voice-over where he’s found stardom, of sorts, as the voice of action star Jackie Chan in a weekly animated kids’ show. Recently, Sie made a transition from virtual to actual when the real-live Chan made a TV commercial. The clients complained they couldn’t understand Chan, so Sie was brought in to dub the voice of the actual Jackie. Is that what they mean by life imitating art?
Lara Teeter, the four-year artistic director of Light Opera Works who stepped down last year, surfaced this summer at the Barrington Stage Company in the arts-rich Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts. Teeter choreographed a production of Follies, directed by Julianne Boyd and featuring a dream cast of Donna McKechnie, Marni Nixon, Jeff McCarthy, Leslie Denniston, Kim Crosby and Teeter himself as Buddy.
Exit Navy Pier, enter Los Angeles: following her summer gig at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, transgendered actress/singer/composer Alexandra Billings will take her one-woman show, Before I Disappear, to Los Angeles for a Sept. 30-Nov. 20 run at the Avery Schreiber Theatre. The show is Billings’ personal account of her journey from boyhood to womanhood, and was first produced in 1996 at Bailiwick Arts Center. Before I Disappear is based on an idea by David Zak, with book and music by Ms. Billings and lyrics by Chrisanne Blankenship. Mary Beidler Gearen is the director.
Chicago’s very own Jam Productions has been selected to produce the to-be-televised opening and closing ceremonies of Gay Games VII, to be held in Chicago July 15-22, 2006. Chicago Games, Inc. (CGI), the local organizers of the Gay Games, selected the home town team after a five-month national search. CGI and Jam believe that 12,000 athletes and artists (the Games have an arts festival component, too) and 40,000 spectators will be present for the July 15 opening ceremonies at Soldier Field. Jam also will produce the July 22 closing ceremonies at Wrigley Field and Medal Ceremonies at Millennium Park, July 16-21. The opening and closing ceremonies will be televised live on the Q Television Network in at least 150 USA and international markets, and one presumes that local stations will pick up clips. Hey, what about ESPN?
The well-known Jam Productions is 34 years old and produces some 1,200 concerts, theatrical productions and special events each year in 22 states. The Jam team will be led by executive producer Donna Sue Van Cleaf and producer Matt McGinn. They will be joined by New York-based Kile Ozier as creative director. Ozier produced the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1994 New York Gay Games. Jam operates a theatre division as well under the supervision of Steve Traxler. While not directly involved in the Gay Games project, Jam Theatricals is riding high thanks to its participation as a producer in the Tony Award winning shows, Monty Python’s Spamalot and Glengarry Glen Ross.
Life-imitates-art-imitates-life department: the phenomenon of cheaply produced and ridiculously addictive, guilty-pleasure TV shows known as Reality TV already has given us “The Last Comic Standing,” and now MTV has devised “MADE,” a show about wannabe improv actors. Those who become addicted to the new show will see an episode taped at The ComedySportz Theatre, scheduled to air this fall. The ComedySportz episode features Alyssa Williams, a high school student with no theatre experience who wanted to join a professional comedy troupe. After a week and a half of training with Minnesota improv teacher Jill Bernard, Alyssa auditioned for Chicago’s ComedySportz Theatre on May 28. The evening culminated in Alyssa performing with ComedySportz to a sold-out audience. But she wasn’t hired. Hey, reality bites.