In both aesthetic and commercial ways, theater and dance blossomed in Chicago in 1992, busy, productive, thought-provoking and exciting enough to repeatedly attract attention elsewhere.
Yet there was an underlying doubt, insecurity and financial nervousness that seemed to second-guess, cut short and diminish the widespread critical acclaim and achievement. Success was across the board, with commercial revival downtown and in the off-Loop, a handful of stellar achievements by members of the not-for-profit resident theater network and more than a year`s worth of unexpected treats from the storefront avant-garde. Local choreographers joined with visiting ones to give dance enthusiasts bright new works; guest artists were of the highest caliber in dance.
The dance community is somewhat used to dire hardship, but for the theater community worry was new and pandemic. Except for the safely institutional Steppenwolf and Goodman Theatres, the former already luxuriating in the comforts of its new home and the other forging ahead with plans to build a new one of its own, the not-for-profit smaller resident theaters off- Loop all quietly voiced, at times, uncertainty about the future, even about survival.
But in the process theater not only survived, it astonished and surprised with its artistry and resilience. Chicago saw the first national company of a Broadway hit outside New York (”Miss Saigon”); a local commercial producer
(Michael Leavitt) and his ongoing ”Lend Me a Tenor” managed to surpass the grosses taken in by its Broadway predecessor; ”The Song of Jacob Zulu,” ”Wings,” ”The Good Person of Setzuan,” ”The Mysteries” and ”Arthur”
all played on off-Loop main stages; and ”The Conquest of the South Pole” and ”The Arabian Nights” delighted on smaller stages-not to mention a superb International Theatre Festival of Chicago and an active Shubert Theatre downtown.
There was even one new Equity group worth touting: Classic American Theater and its charming revival in November of ”The Voice of the Turtle.”
The resident theaters, of course, had their share of clinkers. In addition to smashes like ”Spic-O-Rama” in January and ”Wings” in October, framing the Goodman Studio Theatre with world-class originals, one already off-Broadway and the other a sure bet to show up there, the Goodman featured a cross-dressed ”Twelfth Night” that managed to offend liberals and conservatives, and a ballyhooed summer musical that hit more than its share of critical snags: ”Riverview: A Melodrama With Music.” But then about the same time, on May 31, the Goodman won the Tony Award for regional theaters.
Steppenwolf, despite the Broadway bound ”The Song of Jacob Zulu,” met with ho-hum reception for ”A Slip of the Tongue” early in the year and
”Inspecting Carol” in December. But Eric Simonson, the ”Zulu” director, had a banner year, including his glowing and touching adaptation for ”Bang the Drum Slowly” at Evanston`s Next Theatre last January, a production that missed our Top 10 list only by a hair.
The suburban commercial theaters had much to crow about in 1992. Marriott had ”Arthur” and ”Annie Warbucks,” while Candlelight Dinner Playhouse had its long-running ”Phantom,” enterprising projects breaking the mold of the predictable revival lineup. And, Drury Lane Dinner Theatre in Evergreen Park provided a riotous farce, ”Taking Steps.”
The year 1992 saw Court Theatre`s first installment of ”The Mysteries”; Shakespeare Repertory`s elemental and imaginatively visual ”Macbeth”; a
”Once in Doubt” blisteringly reteaming William Petersen and Amy Morton at Remains Theatre; both ”Eleemosynary” and ”Piaf” at the near South Side`s Interplay (along with one notable turkey, ”Salome”).
Also, Peter Ustinov and Mandy Patinkin in separate star turns at the Shubert; ”Secret Garden” at the Auditorium; and ”Stand-Up Tragedy” at Apple Tree in Highland Park.
Chicago playwrights were more visible than ever: Rick Cleveland offered
”The Rhino`s Policeman” at Northlight, Michael Myers turned in a funny
”The Brother and the Bap” at ETA Creative Arts Foundation, newcomer Roger Rueff proved a comic writer to watch with ”Hospitality Suite” at Victory Gardens Theater and Christopher Cartmill sailed ahead at Bailiwick Repertory with his ”Light” series, two plays so far about a 19th Century gentleman and amoral adventurer.
Commercially, ”Wild Men!” and ”Six Degrees of Separation” were among the notable off-Loop successes. The International Theatre Festival, meanwhile, in addition to a feverishly successful ”Waiting for Godot” and salute to Samuel Beckett by Dublin`s Gate Theatre, offered scintillating non-English productions, including France`s Compagnie Philippe Genty`s ”Derives” and Japan`s electrifying ”A Man Called Macbeth.”
Non-Equity achievements included Lookingglass Theatre`s ”Arabian Nights,” Famous Door`s ”Conquest of the South Pole,” Center Theatre`s
”Abundance,” and for innovative zeal, Footsteps Theatre`s modestly successful all-female ”Hamlet.”
While not nearly as busy, the dance scene was better than most. Some developments, including the emergence of Performing Arts Chicago as an important local presenter, were encouraging. However, the Lyric Opera of Chicago`s takeover of the Civic Opera House-and what that may mean for dance there and its not-for-profit resident presenter, Civic Stages-ends 1992 with a worrisome question mark.
But what a year it was. The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company came twice, first to bring the unforgettable mix of art and sociology, ”Last Supper at Uncle Tom`s Cabin/The Promised Land,” at the Civic Theatre in March and for a memorable engagement at the Blackstone in December.
Ralph Lemon returned with his company earlier this month, to the Dance Center of Columbia College. Other visitors included David Rousseve, an artist whose work invites comparison to Jones` mix of dance, personal history and cultural commentary; the Joffrey Ballet in April; and, in what may be the company`s last appearance for awhile, American Ballet Theatre`s varied and sometimes breathtaking engagement last March.
Local groups were busy as well. Ballet Chicago came into its own, finding an excellent home in the fall at Steppenwolf Theatre, where Gordon Peirce Schmidt`s ”Nutcracker” sendup, ”In a Nutshell,” all but sold out.
And the Hubbard Streeters got a new name, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and an important new dance, Twyla Tharp`s ”The Golden Section,” continuing to diversify and brighten that signature company`s motherlode of repertoire.
