8-17-07
Uncertain Future of Drury Lanes
The summer has not been kind to the Drury Lane Theatres. The long-term stability of both the Oakbrook Terrace and Water Tower Place operations has been rocked by the deaths of founding producer Anthony De Santis this past June and the passing Aug. 13 of his producer daughter and theatre heir, Diane Van Lente (see page 1). Although a DeSantis’ grandchild, Kyle DeSantis, holds the position of managing director of Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, much of the day-to-day burden of running both operations reportedly has been shouldered by veteran administrator Jim Jensen, the general manager of Drury Lane Water Tower Place.
Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, of course, has a solid subscription audience of 24,000, a built-in banquet and bar business, and an artistic director (William Osetek). As long as he puts out product that sells enough tickets, Oakbrook Terrace should be OK.
But the downtown landscape is quite different. The Michigan Avenue location has operated for the last 18 months on a show-by-show strategy that’s about to receive a big test. The new Drury Lane Water Tower Place opened in 2005 at a cost of $6 million, but abandoned its announced subscription season after six months. Instead, the house was leased to the Broadway in Chicago presentation of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which ran a year. The show closed for three weeks, then reopened and will continue through the Labor Day weekend. What most people don’t know is that Drury Lane itself took over as producer when the show reopened. With virtually no advance sale at that point, Spelling Bee had several money-losing weeks although reportedly now is breaking even.
A new production of Altar Boyz is the next attraction at Drury Lane Water Tower Place and, like Spelling Bee initially, its a lease deal with the producers (and cast) all out of New York. But unlike Spelling Bee, this time there’s no Broadway in Chicago involvement; no marketing clout; no series audience to form the basis of a run. Altar Boyz opens Oct. 7 for a run announced through Nov. 25. In fact, the deal is open-ended, which is great for Drury Lane if the show is a hit. On the other hand… With no bar or banquet business, no subscribership and no artistic director, Drury Lane Water Tower Place Theatre could face an uncertain future if Altar Boyz fails to pack them in.
Muntu Dance Theatre, one of Chicago’s oldest and most exciting dance organizations, is on the brink of announcing its first-ever permanent home, to be located in Bronzeville. Watch for an announcement as soon as a few more funding ducks are lined up. The naming gift already is in place, the Boeing Theatre, thanks to the Boeing Company, which continues to back the arts in a big way in its adopted headquarters city.
Publicist Cathy Taylor is the fastest girl in town. (We don’t mean it that way.) She’s gonna’ be making fast tracks over the next eight weeks as she opens 9 shows at 9 different venues. Certainly the most in-demand publicist in town, Taylor will open Cymbeline at Chicago Shakes (Sept. 9), Some Girls at Profiles (Sept. 14), The Magnificents at The House (Sept. 15), Elmina’s Kitchen at Congo Square (also Sept. 15), The Crucible at Steppenwolf (Sept. 22), The Savannah Disputation at Writers’ Theatre (Sept. 26), Merchant on Venice at Silk Road (Sept. 28), No Child at Lookingglass (Oct. 6) and The Miser at Northlight (Oct. 10). Then wring her out and hang her up to dry.
Ms. Taylor’s prodigious commitments came to our attention when we saw her name listed as the contact for Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST), rather than Catherine Brandt, the publicist hired a year ago. “It took me less than a year to burn her out,” CST audience development director Alida Szabo joked. She explained that Brandt had accepted a position with “a private sector company in the suburbs,” and that she—Szabo—was conducting a national search for Brandt’s successor. In the meantime, CST needed someone who could hit the ground running to help them open both Cymbeline and Passion, and Taylor got the call. “Cathy knows the lay of the land,” Szabo said.
Speaking of CST, nothing has been officially announced, but fans of rap Shakespeare may expect a return visit sometime this season by GQ, the theatrical artist who created The Bombitty of Errors several years back, which played both the Royal George and CST. The new project looks to be a rap version of Much Ado About Nothing, retitled Much Ado ‘Bout Nuttin’. No dates have been set for what will start out as a developmental workshop rather than a public run.
“We can teach you to fly. Really.” Most actors in town can identify that line as the promotional tag for the Actors Gymnasium. But to teach you to fly, they gotta’ have rigging, and around these parts most stage rigging is done by the Chicago Flyhouse. They count the Oprah Winfrey Show, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Goodman, the Field Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Harris Music and Dance Theater and Second City among their clients, to name a few.
Yeah, that sure sounds like a roster of big and well-heeled guys, but the Chicago Flyhouse also helps smaller guys, especially through an annual rigging grant of up to $10,000 open to all tax-exempt theatre and performing arts companies based in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, or Wisconsin. Recent past recipients have been the House Theatre of Chicago, Redmoon and that very same Actors Gymnasium.
Applications now are being accepted for the 2007-2008 Rigging Grant; a project-oriented award that can be used for a production flying or rigging effect, or a permanent installation for the improvement of a venue. Companies interested in applying for the grant should visit the Chicago Flyhouse Web site—www.flyhouse.com—for applicant requirements, a list of available Flyhouse services, and to download a grant application. The Flyhouse also can be contacted at 773/728-8455, ext.112. We hear they are eager for more applications as this grant still is not widely known.