Which producer deserves the most credit for the current renaissance of the Chicago theater district?
Garth Drabinksy, the maverick, free-spending Canadian who renovated the Oriental Theatre as a home for his “Showboat” and “Ragtime”? Michael Leavitt, the Chicago entrepreneur who beautifully fixed up the Cadillac Palace Theatre? The New York producer David Stone, who decided to risk the creation of a dedicated Chicago production of “Wicked”?
They all made major contributions.
But you could make the case that the current era of busy Loop sidewalks and multi-week engagements really began with Cameron Mackintosh. The famous British producer dominated the 1990s in the Loop, bringing to the Auditorium Theatre long engagements of his three mega-hits: “Les Miserables,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Miss Saigon.” That was the triptych the defined the blockbuster show for the modern era (to the irritation of those who felt like the theater suddenly had been strangled by expensive spectacle).
But the shows all were done right in Chicago. Mackintosh came here straight after New York. And he brought along the whole show, not some cut-down version.
“I do think the early decisions we made with ‘Les Miserables’ were instrumental in changing the perception that Chicago was not a theater town,” Mackintosh said in a recent interview. “We actually found that the audience there really wants every show to succeed.”
That’s now a common perception among Broadway producers. But in the relative wastelands of the 1980s, it was not the case.
After a few quieter years — by his standards, at least — Mackintosh is enjoying something of a comeback. His co-production (with Disney) of “Mary Poppins” is doing well on Broadway. His nationally touring version of “My Fair Lady” is coming to Chicago in January and will probably make into New York some time the following year. And, of course, “The Phantom of the Opera” is still touring. It opens again in Chicago on Friday night for a holiday engagement at the Cadillac Palace.
“Phantom” is not the sold-out smash it once was, especially when “Jersey Boys” and “Wicked” are competing for business.
Last week, Broadway in Chicago sent out emails announcing tickets to weeknight performances could be had for a mere $35 (use the code name “FRANCE” at Ticketmaster, and note that the offer is subject to availability). But “Phantom” is still “Phantom.”
“I suspect there will come a time,” Mackintosh said, “when this glamorous production is no long viable. But not yet.”
Mackintosh also said he’s not spending enormous amounts of time looking for the next blockbuster musical. “I am lucky to still have my hands full with my half-a-dozen classic titles. I don’t have the ambition for much more.”
That said, though, I think “Mary Poppins” has the potential to be the next long-running show in Chicago, once “Wicked” leaves in 2009, as I expect. “It’s coming to Chicago,” Mackintosh said, “just as soon as we sort out the dates.”
‘The Phantom of the Opera’
Oct. 31 to Jan. 5 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.; $28 to $85, 312-902-1400 and www.broadwayinchicago.com.
At chicagotribune.com/phantom
A behind-the-mask look at the Chicago production.
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