Perhaps it’s the symbolism of a new century, but shows have been closing in Chicago at a drastic pace over the last few weeks. “Fosse” has now slinked away on tour. “Shakespeare’s r & j” has ended its run at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. After disappointing ticket sales at the Royal George Theatre, the Northlight Theatre’s production of “Visiting Mr. Green” is gone. And Walt Disney Theatricals’ “Aida” completes its Chicago run Sunday before going back into rehearsals prior to its opening on Broadway in March. Even the long-running “Shear Madness” has been
forced into prolonged hiatus due to losing its space at the Blackstone Hotel.
There are, of course, lots of replacement attractions coming down the pike. But not every show from the last century has suddenly exited like a bottle of spent champagne. Here are updates on Chicago’s small but proud collection of long runners:
Blue Man Group, Briar Street Theatre: “Things are so good in Chicago there’s no end in sight,” says Manuel Igrejas, the New York-based spokesperson for the hugely successful Blue Man Group, which has been occupying the Briar Street Theatre since October 1997. Even though the show has not changed at all since its opening, the local demand for these cobalt performance artists seems insatiable. In Chicago alone, for the week beginning on Dec. 27, Blue Man Group performed a whopping 20 performances in a seven-day period, with most tickets going for $49. Since there are now more than 3O Blue Men of various ranks who rotate through the New York, Boston and Chicago casts, the high number of performances each week is relatively easy to achieve.
So in a city that has not been kind to long runs in the past few years, why has the increasingly cultish Blue Man done so astonishingly well? Igrejas credits the unique concept and the show’s ability to rival “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in attracting repeat business (one audience member has seen the show more than 70 times). It also helps that the Chicago production is the biggest and most recent of the three current troupes: The New York theater is so small that some of the current material in the Chicago production does not fit there and cannot be included. “Everything we learned in other places, we brought to Chicago,” says Igrejas.
This March, the latest version of Blue Man Group will debut at the Luxor Theatre in Las Vegas. Since that’s a far larger space than the Briar Street with appropriately higher expectations, the creative team of Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink is increasing the size of the band and beefing up the scale of the various visual tricks for Vegas. This will give the show a chance to introduce some new elements to its original trio of productions–and ensure their longevity well into the current century.
“Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!” Apollo Theatre: When this musical based on the comic songs of Allan Sherman opened quietly at the Apollo Theatre on Oct. 8, it was not expected to last beyond the end of the year. But this cheerfully retro affair has turned into an unexpectedly big seller. Last week, producer Rob Kolson announced that the show would move into an “indefinite open run” (translation: at least through spring). Sherman, best known for the title ditty but also a prolific writer and recording artist, got his start in Chicago, which may account for the revue’s popularity here.
Kolson says that ticket sales were very poor over the New Year holiday, but word of mouth is strong, and there’s a lot of interest from those all-important group bookings. Since rental costs tend to affect a show’s ability to keep on ticking, it helps greatly that Kolson is both the producer of the show and the owner of the theater.
“I fight with myself on a regular basis,” he says. “Somehow I keep giving myself ridiculous concessions on the rent.”
“Hellcab” and “Ghetto,” Famous Door Theatre at the Ivanhoe Theatre: “I don’t see `Hellcab’ closing ever,” says the eternally optimistic Larry Neumann, managing director of the Famous Door Theatre Company. This comic drama chronicling a day in the hellish life of a Chicago cab driver has been playing since Nov. 21, 1992, and generally attracts between 200 and 250 people to the three shows it plays each week at the Ivanhoe Theatre.
The great and unexpected success of Famous Door’s production of “Ghetto” has been well documented, but the success of this show is set to continue well into 2000. After completing its run at the Theatre Building in early February, “Ghetto” will be moving into the mainstage at the Ivanhoe.
“A View From the Bridge,” Raven Theatre: Raven Theatre has made its mark in the last couple of years with long-running productions like “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “Six Degrees of Separation.” The current version of Arthur Miller’s “A View From the Bridge” has been playing since early November and is expected to run through the spring, rivaling the eight months that “Six Degrees” managed to last. Since Raven is expecting to lose its Lincoln Avenue storefront by the summer due to the sale of the building, this may well be the last mainstage production in its current home. “We’re in the throws of both space and soul searching,” says artistic director Michael Menendian, “but demand for this show has been very strong.”
“Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind,” Neofuturists: “We are the longest-running show currently playing in Chicago,” claims Greg Allen, whose constantly evolving “Too Much Light” opened on Dec. 2, 1988, and has been playing continuously ever since. As of December, the Neo-Futurists have created 3,526 plays over 555 weeks of production, and ordered 744 free pizzas for the audience (the indication of a sell-out). More than 130,000 people have seen the show, which also ran for two years in New York and has been seen on various tours. So will it ever end? “Each year is still better than the one before,” says Allen. “We’re hoping to sell out Sundays in 2000.”
“Forever Plaid,” Royal George Cabaret: The Plaids have come and gone in cities all across America, but they warble on in Chicago, where “Forever Plaid” entered its sixth year last October and claims the title of “Chicago’s longest running musical ever.” The cast has changed several times in that period, but the show remains the same. Although there is now a Milwaukee production of Stuart Ross’ harmonizing musical, there are no signs of the Chicago production coming to an end any time soon. Last week, “Forever Plaid” added regular Monday night performances.
“Popcorn,” Profiles Theatre: In its 12 years of slogging away on the North Side, Profiles has never had a hit like Ben Elton’s “Popcorn,” which has been selling out the troupe’s 50-seat theater on a consistent basis. Running since early October, “Popcorn” is a dark comedy about two serial killers who break into the home of a Hollywood director. According to associate artistic director Darrell W. Cox, the theater often turns away more people than it can seat. “This is everything that any theater can hope for,” he says. “I guess this is very topical material.”
There’s no current closing date for “Popcorn,” and Cox hopes his show will still be popping away in April.
