In Shakespeare’s day, only men acted in his plays, even playing female characters. 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death, and over the centuries, things have changed. Men and women have played both male and female parts—I even saw an all-female cast of Henry V back in high school. But that was actually nothing new…
David Bowie’s American Stage Debut
“How many rock stars could step out from behind their guitars and into a Broadway drama without thoroughly embarrassing themselves? At least one: David Bowie.” Theater critic Scott Fosdick asked and answered this question when David Bowie made his American stage debut as John Merrick in The Elephant Man at Chicago’s Blackstone Theatre in 1980…
Alice on the Stage
Lewis Carroll's beloved fantasy story Alice in Wonderland has delighted children for 150 years. Alice is loved not only on paper, but also on the stage. In 1898, Burton Harrison brought Alice in Wonderland to life in three acts at the request of "kind ladies" caring for ailing children at a London hospital. By the…
Former Library Commissioner Donald Sager Passes
Donald J. Sager, Commissioner of the Chicago Public Library from 1978 to 1981, passed away on January 1, 2015. Sager had a long and distinguished career in public libraries. In addition to Chicago, he directed libraries in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Columbus, Ohio; and Kingston, New York, among other cities. As head of the Chicago Public Library…
The Auditorium Theatre Turns 125
On Monday, December 9, 1889, the Auditorium Theatre "formally opened with ceremonies of unprecedented impressiveness." The evening featured an ambitious dedication program concert beginning with Theodore Dubois’ “Triumphal Fantasie,” a work composed for the occasion and the Auditorium’s grand organ. The program concluded with the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s Messiah. In between were performances by a…
The Great Chicago Fire Knocked the Loop for a Loop
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 burned the heart of Chicago, starting on DeKoven Street on the Near West Side (558 West, 1100 South) and going north to Fullerton Avenue. The Loop was destroyed, as can be seen in these maps. City Hall, Palmer House, Field, Leiter & Co.—all gone. But, with the rubble still…
Happy 40th, Northlight Theatre
This season Northlight Theatre in Skokie launches its 40th anniversary with the Midwest premiere of Amanda Peet’s The Commons of Pensacola. Founded in 1974 as the Evanston Theatre Company by Frank Galati, Mike Nussbaum and Greg Kandel, Northlight’s success is documented in the Northlight Theatre Collection. Researchers can visit the archive to see the theater’s premiere…
Ninety Years at the Goodman
This fall the Goodman raises the curtain on its 90th anniversary season. They have an exciting lineup of plays beginning with an encore production of the critically acclaimed Smokefall. The Goodman was officially dedicated on October 20, 1925. The Repertory Company gave a performance of three works that night all by the late Kenneth Sawyer…
Celebrate Wizard of Oz’s Chicago Roots
August celebrates the anniversary of the release of the MGM classic film The Wizard of Oz. This favorite has roots in Chicago. L. Frank Baum wrote the children's story in 1900 while living in Chicago, and many speculate that the Emerald City was inspired by the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition's famed White City. Baum's Wonderful…
Happy Birthday, Preston Sturges
Next week marks what would have been the 116th birthday of the director, playwright and screenwriter Preston Sturges (August 29, 1898-August 6, 1959). Born in Chicago as Edmund Preston Biden, Sturges began a life in the theater at a young age when he traveled with his eccentric actress mother to Europe to work with Isadora Duncan. Later, as…
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