4-14-06
Proctor Recovery Slow and Steady
Actor Daniel J. Proctor continues to make slow but steady progress in his long recovery from a gunshot wound to the head, sustained in a late-night street attack almost 10 months ago. A recent report on his Web site (www.danieljproctor.com) indicates that he’s now walking tentatively but independently with the aid of a calf brace and a cane, and that he’s put on a few pounds. Clear vision and reading skills still have not returned, but speaking ability continues to improve. The best news is an indication of returning neural and muscular control of his right hand and arm. The improvement is tiny—the ability to slightly curl fingers that have been without any motor sense—but real, although it cannot be taken as assurance of full recovery. Proctor has a strong and caring support group of family and devoted friends who maintain his Web site (which even has some recent photos). The fund for Proctor established through Actors Equity remains open. Checks made out to the Actors’ Fund of America should be sent to Ina Clark, The Actors’ Fund of America, 729 Seventh Avenue, 10th floor, New York, NY 10019. The memo line should indicate “On behalf of Dan Proctor.”
Proctor can take heart from the comeback of another actor, Michael Patrick Thornton, who marks his return to the stage with May 18-July 1 performances of Conor McPherson’s The Good Thief, a monologue no less. Thornton, like Proctor, was a vigorous young man who endured a life-threatening crisis, a series of near-fatal spinal strokes—and Thornton was not yet out of his 20s. Thornton has spent three years fighting his way back along the difficult road of physical therapy, returning to theatre initially directing from a wheelchair and as co-founder of the Gift Theatre Company, of which he is artistic director. In The Good Thief, Thornton plays a Dublin thug, returning with the type of character for which he was making a name for himself before his illness. John Gawlik directs. May the wind be at Michael’s back!
Live Bait Theatre has engaged Tony Award winner Richard Hoover as scenic designer for Keith Huff’s The Bird and Mrs. Banks, and that certainly isn’t your usual kettle of fish. Hoover won a Tony for scenic design for Tennessee Williams’ Not About Nightingales as revived on Broadway, and designs extensively for film and TV. Seems he’s a fan of Huff’s work and so agreed to work at a small, storefront theatre on a tiny, tiny fraction of his usual budget, squeezing in the project between larger and more lucrative assignments. Since Hoover isn’t resident in Chicago, Live Bait brought on Justin Barisonek as co-designer, a choice gig for a young designer who recently moved to Chicago from St, Louis. We bet Live Bait will get a doodle out of Hoover, too, for its annual celebrity doodles benefit. The Bird and Mrs. Banks runs through May 14.
Columbia College, in association with the Point Foundation, has established a scholarship program specifically for GLBT students. The college is not allowed to set up a scholarship targeted to a specific demographic, but the Point Foundation can. Several GLBT teachers and administrators saw a need for such a scholarship after several students—including one in the school’s musical theatre program—were financially cut off by their parents when they came out. The Point Foundation will match Columbia College’s fundraising for the project up to $10,000 in the first year, providing the College raises at east $5,000 in contributions. Checks may be made out and sent to: The Point Foundation, PO Box 804687, Chicago IL 60680-4250. Put “Columbia College Scholarship” in the memo line.
Congratulations to Ike Holter, a student at the Theatre School at DePaul University, who has won the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival (KC/ACTF) Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award for One Fell Swoop. The award carries a cash prize and a trip to the Festival this month in Washington, D.C. Also, Holter will have his choice of a residency up to two weeks at the O’Neill Playwrights’ Conference, or a full fellowship to attend the two-week Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive, both in July. This is Ike’s second award from the ACTF. The Lorraine Hansberry Award is presented for the best KC/ACTF student-written plays on the subject of the African-American experience.
Becoming George, a new musical by local authors and long-time writing partners Patti McKenny and Doug Frew (along with Ohio composer Linda Eisenstein), will receive its world premiere at Metro Stage in Washington, D.C., April 19-May 28, with Chicago cabaret favorite Kat Taylor in the lead role. Set in 19th Century France, Becoming George is about female writer and political activist (and lover of Frederic Chopin) Georges Sand (1804-1876)—actually Amandine-Aurore Lucille Dupin, Baroness Dudevant. In this musical version, she comes out of retirement to confront a repressive French government, a war, and a new protégé, Sarah Bernhardt.
Farewell obsequies were observed Sunday, April 9, for 2851 N. Halsted Street, the former commercial bakery that was home, successively, to the St. Nicholas, Steppenwolf and Organic theatre companies and, last of all, to ComedySportz, which hosted the farewell in the form of a champagne brunch, a talk by Richard Christiansen, and various tours and reminiscences. The hosts incorrectly counted the Goodman Theatre among the occupants. The Goodman world premiere production of Mamet’s American Buffalo was the first show at St. Nick as a transfer from the Ruth Page Center, but Goodman never occupied the space in any way. Yours truly was St. Nick’s first literary manager and put together the first two subscription seasons at 2851, and also engineered the pre-Broadway tryout of Lily Tomlin’s first show. The old bakery/theatre has been sold—along with the entire block—to a developer who’s tearing it all down to build condos. He was completely unaware of any of the address’ theatrical history, such as early work by actors William H. Macy, John Malkovich, Linda Kimbrough, Jeff Perry, Larry Russo, Laurie Metcalf, John Mahoney (who trained at the St. Nicholas School) and Patti LuPone; directors Robert Falls and Gerald Gutierrez; and such designers such as John Lee Beatty, Michael Merritt and David Emmons.