At first glance, the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Noble Fool Theater on Monday morning looked very much like those for other recent theater openings in Chicago’s ever-burgeoning downtown theater district.
Mayor Richard M. Daley was on hand to talk warmly about the important role of the arts in his vision of a Loop that never sleeps. A beaming Ald. Burton Natarus (42nd), a sometime actor, was there to praise the mayor’s support and tell jokes. And both the City of Chicago’s Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development (Alicia Mazur Berg) and the head of the State of Illinois’ Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (Pam McDonough) were present to receive acknowledgement of their role in helping secure public funding to help pay for this new, $2.7 million theater complex located in a prime Loop site at 16 W. Randolph St.
But Noble Fool is a very different — and arguably riskier — endeavor than the other city-sponsored efforts in the downtown theater district. Unlike the renovations of the Chicago Theater, Ford Center for the Arts/Oriental Theatre and the Cadillac Palace Theatre, Noble Fool is not a restored rental venue but the year-round home of a non-profit resident company dedicated to comedy.
Growth spurt
That presents particular challenges. Noble Fool has never run a building. It does not have a storied, multiyear track record of top-tier theatrical productions. It has never had a subscription season. It counts no celebrities among its alumni. And even now, it has a staff of five people.
The former Zeitgeist Theatre has only been around since 1994. Until now, it has been known primarily for one hit show, “Flanagan’s Wake,” a semi-improvised spoof of an Irish funeral that’s been running to large and appreciative audiences in various locations since 1994.
Despite Chicago’s large community of improv and comedy-based theaters and the Windy City’s central role in the ongoing development of this art, it’s rare indeed for a local improv-based troupe to embrace this kind of sudden growth. Aside from Second City, the for-profit gorilla located in Old Town, comedy theaters to date have tended to be small-scale operations located in small storefronts in North Side neighborhoods and doing shows aimed at young audiences with very little money to spend.
“We would not want to come downtown,” said Charna Halpern, artistic director of the 20-year-old ImprovOlympic. “Our audiences like to be able to park for five bucks.”
But this kind of history has not prohibited a large injection of public money into the new Noble Fool Theatre, which opens to the public Monday night with an awards-show spoof. Of the approximately $2.7 million it cost to convert the former Old Heidelberg restaurant into a three-theater complex, $1 million came from the City of Chicago in tax increment funding. The State of Illinois provided a $125,000 Tourism Attraction Development Grant and an additional $150,000 came from the Illinois First grant program. Those three grants alone amount to more than half the cost of the new theater. The remaining amount, not all of which has yet been raised, is coming from corporate, foundation and individual support — and a bank line of credit.
“It’s very rare to get this kind of attention from the city and state,” says Kelly Leonard, the producer of Second City, which is where many of the Noble Fool members trained, “unless you’ve been around for 20 years.”
Going for it
Noble Fool and its supporters say that this new venture is a risk worth taking right now.
“Our growth model is not so different from other organizations,” says artistic director Jimmy Binns, arguing there’s a demonstrable market for original comedy in the Loop and that Noble Fool is the group to fill it. “We are ready to take this step.”
Commissioner Berg argues that this initial public support of Noble Fool will have tangible economic and cultural benefits in the future. “Diversifying the downtown theater district is important to us,” she said. “We want different price points. We want synergy between uses. And we want the district to be attractive to all kinds of folks.”
“In the past, the focus downtown was on the renovation of big theaters,” says Marj Halpern, executive director of the League of Chicago Theatres. “Chicago theater is about a lot more than Broadway product.”
Everyone involved agrees that Noble Fool demonstrated great savvy in securing a renewable 10-year lease on this prime new theater behind the restored Bavarian-cottage facade.
This happened because, in 1999, the Art Institute of Chicago was asked by the city to develop a street-level theater as part of its larger dormitory and retail development on State and Randolph Streets. The Art Institute asked for suggestions and Noble Fool was one of the few theaters to actually give them one.
“There was a request for proposals,” recalls Halpern. “And there wasn’t exactly a crowd waiting in line to drop them off.”
“We saw an opportunity,” says David Kipper, the former board chairman of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago and now chairman of Noble Fool’s board of directors.
The energetic, well-connected Kipper, who became chairman in 1999, has played a pivotal role in raising funds and helping the Noble Fool build an infrastructure. He says that more than 80 percent of the start-up costs have been “identified” and that he believes the new theater will be able to generate at least 60 percent of its ongoing costs from earned income. By non-profit standards, that would be a healthy state of affairs.
The bottom line
“We offer a comprehensive approach to comedy,” Kipper says, noting that Noble Fool will feature “very talented artists” doing scripted shows, improv and cabaret, and it will also house a comedy school and bar. “Every form of comedy will be here. That attracts people.”
“The trail we’re leaving will be helpful to others,” says Binns. “We’re showing other small theaters that you can move downtown.”
So what are the chances of Noble Fool making a success of its new home?
Like all theaters, it will require quality product.
“They will have to knock a couple out of the park,” says Leonard. “They are going to have to work very hard.”
In terms of classes and performances, there’s plenty of local competition, including ComedySportz, ImprovOlympic, Players Workshop and Second City. All of those have longer track records. And while “Flanagan’s Wake,” which has a customized, pub-like, 100-seat space (with full bar) in the new complex, seems destined to continue as a big draw for tourists and visitors, one hit show won’t sustain this new venue.
“Noble Fool’s biggest chore,” Leonard says, “will be getting a local audience downtown.”
Still, Chicago-area residents have shown they are willing to come downtown for big Broadway shows. And among the local improv community, Noble Fool is known for capable and funny mainstream shows, rather than cutting-edge experimentation. The troupe has plans for a variety of comic shows, some of which are themed around crowd-pleasing themes such as television. Many hotels are nearby, which should be a good match for Noble Fool’s visitor-friendly fare. And unlike its big neighbors, Noble Fool only has 155 seats to fill in its appealingly intimate proscenium theater.
On April 8, Noble Fool will open its debut main-stage production: “Mirandolino,” a new translation of an 18th Century comedy by Carlos Goldoni, with ticket prices from $32 to $36.
Period Italian comedy is far removed from what one normally would think of as a show with obvious commercial appeal. By way of comparison, Second City charges no more than $17 a ticket; ImprovOlympic shows are generally $5-$10. On the other hand, Noble Fool is charging significantly less than its downtown neighbors, which present touring Broadway shows.
Noble Fool argues its shows are well worth every penny. Either way, the artistic and box-office success of “Mirandolino” is likely to be a significant barometer of the overall potential of the new Noble Fool Theater.
