SSG DAVID G. BELLAVIA Medal of Honor Recipient at Norwich University

This special program, posted today for the first time in recognition of National Medal of Honor Day, March 25, 2020, was recorded live at Norwich University on September 25, 2019. et

I first met Staff Sargent David Bellavia in March 2008 following the publication of his gripping combat memoir House To House, the story of his service in Iraq and the fierce fighting during the Second Battle for Fallujah in November 2004. Those actions were first documented a few weeks later in a Time magazine feature article written by Michael Ware. Bellavia would receive a Silver Star for his service and a recommendation for the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor in combat.

Fast-forward to 2014 and the release of Only the Dead, Ware’s HBO documentary about combat in Iraq that includes chilling footage of Bellavia re-entering the insurgent stronghold with Ware after an ambush had severely decimated his squad.

The events that followed—supported by witness statements, Ware’s graphic footage and forensic examinations—would be the basis for the award to Bellavia of the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House on June 25, 2019.

On September 25, 2019, SSG David Bellavia joined me for a one-on-one conversation at Norwich University, the nation’s oldest private military college, in Northfield, Vermont. The Norwich Corps of Cadets, civilian students and special guests—an audience of more than 1,600—mustered at 6 am in historic Plumley Armory for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the first living Medal of Honor recipient from Iraq, Staff Sargent David Bellavia.

PHOTOS:
Mark Collier, Norwich University
Ed Tracy

PODCAST

DAVID BELLAVIA WEBSITE

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NORWICH UNIVERSITY WEBSITE

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TRENT JAMES: Pure Lies - The Chicago Magic Lounge

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Making Magic on North Clark—Trent James: Pure Lies

The Chicago Magic Lounge is a sleek, glistening nightclub dedicated to the craft of magic. From the moment you pass through its nondescript entrance, the captivating retro-whimsical atmosphere in the Performance Bar (a.k.a. David’s Bar) and adjoining Chicago Round Table Magic Library provide reason enough to check out the club at 5050 N. Clark Street on any evening. On the other side on a recent Wednesday awaits the Harry Blackstone Cabaret Theater and the fresh, exuberant talent of Trent James, whose arresting charm is every bit as appealing as his deft technique.

If you have heard about this spot before, you know the first test for newcomers is to find your way inside through the small faux-laundromat entryway. Like the magic to come, you’ll have to be perceptive to join the mayhem behind Washer I. (If all else fails, read the sign and ring the bell.) The cozy reception area, jammed in advance of the main-stage performance of “Trent James: Pure Lies,” has magic of its own in the specialty drinks and the menu choices available for every taste.

When the house opens, guests are escorted in small groups to the richly appointed, two-story vaulted Blackstone with its multi-tiered array of club tables, banquets and counter bars which provide every guest with an unobstructed view of the small stage. For the lucky dozen or so in the front row, there is a high probability that you will become part of the show.  

A team of tip-worthy magicians perform pre-show tableside effects while circulating in and among the guests. (Jan Rose and Luis Carreon stopped by our table.) By the time the lights go down, the house was filled to capacity for the fast-paced and clever James, who works alone, except when his pint-sized former partner tries to steal the show midway through.

Given the title, nothing is as it appears to be. There’s a nifty disappearing flute, an artful picking of the pocket of an audience member—this time it was “Michael” whose energetic yoga entourage cheered him on—and the mind-reading of a pug-lover. James’s youthful enthusiasm and self-effacing style clearly won over even the most die-hard pessimists, turning lemons into lemonade for all to see.

David’s Bar was still thriving an hour later—proof that the Chicago Magic Lounge is the kind of place that makes you wish you had stuck to those childhood dreams of making magical things happen and reminds you that it is never too late to begin. 

TRENT JAMES: Pure Lies
Wednesdays 7:30 p.m. through March 25, 2020
Tickets:
$35 (Main Floor)
$45 (Front Row)

THE CHICAGO MAGIC LOUNGE
5050 N. Clark Street

WEBSITE
(312) 366-4500

TRENT JAMES WEBSITE

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2019 YEAR IN REVIEW

Back channel negotiations, microscopic measurements, stories set in and among our vibrant ethnic neighborhoods, a beast, a beauty, a quartet and a bucketful of particularly astounding solo performances capped a year on stage that was stuffed with the new–“SIX”–the retold–“Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN” and “SPAMALOT”–and just the right number of high-octane favorites–Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” “A Chorus Line” and “Into the Woods”–to make 2019 a year to remember.

In no particular order, here are the moments, memories and people from the shows we saw this year that made our top list. (Click on “P6” for more.)

Monty Python’s SPAMALOT – “All for one and one for all!” There is not much more to say about the Mercury Theater production of “Spamalot,” directed by L. Walter Stearns, with choreography by Shanna Vanderwerker and including a superb cast that featured Jonah D. Winston and Meghan Murphy.  This production, starring Jeff Diebold and Keely Vasquez, can still be seen through Dec. 29. P6

DANA H. – The world premiere of Lucas Hnath’s “Dana H.” was a searing drama, interpreted by Deirdre O’Connell in the role of Hnath’s mother, Dana Higginbotham, whose tape-recorded recollections are the only dialogue of the piece. Directed by Les Waters, O’Connell gives a compelling and arresting performance—the most gripping production of the year. P6

CHAON CROSS – In “Photograph 51” at Court Theatre, Chaon Cross played British chemist Dr. Rosalind Franklin, whose groundbreaking—and historically obscured—work in the male-dominated world of scientific research provided the key to our understanding of DNA’s molecular structure. Uniquely told from the point of view of her peers, Cross’s flawless performance was exhilarating. P6

CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER –Settling into their world-class facilities on Navy Pier, Chicago Shakes presented critically acclaimed productions of “SIX,” “Hamlet,” “The Wizard of Oz” and more. Start planning now to take a day next summer, stroll the Pier and see a mid-day matinee–a Chicago experience second to none! P6

BETHANY THOMAS – Writers Theatre’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” –directed by Gary Griffin, with musical direction by Matt Deitchman–featured one of the finest casts ever assembled, including Bethany Thomas, Michael Mahler, Brianna Borger and McKinley Carter. Musically rich and superbly produced, “Into the Woods” was top-flight entertainment. P6

LA HAVANA MADRID – The new staging of the Teatro Vista|Collaboration production of Sandra Delgado’s “La Havana Madrid” fit perfectly into The Den Theatre, bringing to life the beautiful cultural diversity of a community in Chicago through the songs and the stories of the people who lived there. One of the most festive and enjoyable evenings of the year. P6

NAT ZEGREE – A terrific production of “Million Dollar Quartet” was staged in the round at Marriott Theatre. And, it was Nat Zegree who shaked, rattled, rolled, flipped, spinned and knocked everyone for a loop with his turn as Jerry Lee Lewis.  The unique staging allowed the exuberant and multi-talented Zegree to give the audience a full–360 “Zegree”–performance. P6

ROSS LEHMAN – On the other end of the spectrum, but equally show-stopping and also at Marriott Theatre, was the performance of one of Chicago’s top actors, Ross Lehman as Nostradamas in  “SOMETHING ROTTEN!” singing “A Musical,” one of the most uplifting and entertaining anthems to musical theater ever written and so marvelously performed by Lehman. P6

HEIDI KETTENRING – Among the many fascinating CONVERSATIONS this year, Heidi Kettenring ventured into the challenges, and the joy, of a career in Chicago theater and a satisfying life with her actor husband, David Girolmo. On stage, Kettenring was hilarious in Mary Zimmerman’s “The Music Man” at Goodman Theatre, then gave an amazing performance at the Auditorium Theatre in Joan Curto’s “Chicago Celebrates Sondheim!” concert. There is lots more ahead, but you can see Heidi’s one-woman show–“Merry Christmas Darling: Heidi Kettenring Sings Karen Carpenter”–at Venus Cabaret through Dec. 29.  Podcast

PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE – This year, and into 2020, Porchlight Music Theatre celebrates its 25th season. Thanks in large part to a growing subscriber base and the top-flight new talent that appear in their productions, the future looks rosy for the company that followed up last year’s mega-hit “Gypsy” with superb productions of “A Chorus Line” and “Sunset Boulevard.” From their educational youth programs to mentoring new talent, Porchlight is making magical moments happen at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. P6

BRI SUDIA – When we sat down with the multi-talented Bri Sudia during rehearsals for TimeLine’s “OSLO,” you could tell that this was going to be a major turning point for the company. A cast steeped in talent,  under the direction of Nick Bowling, brought the show to the Broadway Playhouse in a memorable run. There, in the middle of it all, was Sudia: poised, powerful and at the top of her game in TimeLine’s critically acclaimed production. Podcast P6

SEAN FORTUNATO – The Drury Lane production of Roald Dahl’s “Matilda The Musical” had several memorable performances, but Sean Fortunato’s turn as the prickly, insensitive, mega-maniacal ex-Olympian Miss Trunchbull was in a class all its own. P6

LILI-ANNE BROWN – For directing superb productions of Ike Holter’s “Lottery Day” at Goodman and “The Color Purple” at Drury Lane, Lili-Anne Brown is tops again in 2019. P6

WEST SIDE STORY – The highly-anticipated Lyric Opera production of “West Side Story” filled the Lyric stage with soaring voices, fast-paced drama and one of the finest stage productions of the classic that we will see for a long time. P6

Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN – Companies all over Chicago mounted thrilling versions of Mary Shelley’s classic in 2018, but only one roared to life in 2019: an outstanding Lookingglass Theater adaptation written and directed by David Catlin, and performed by an ensemble of actors who electrified Chicago’s historic Water Tower Water Works. Imaginative atmosphere, Rick Sims’s piercing original compositions and high-flying acrobatics all contributed to making Catlin’s “Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN” a whopping good story of joy, sadness and gripping suspense. P6

Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST – Aurora’s Paramount Theatre, home to stellar productions this season of “The Producers” and “Newsies,” is in the middle of a run of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” directed by Amber Mak and starring Beth Stafford Laird as Belle and Paul-Jordan Jansen as the Prince. Jeffrey D. Kmiec’s cantilevered three-story wing-and-wagon system is magnificent, and the performances of an all-star cast that includes George Keating, Jackson Evans, Jeannie Sophia, Emmet O’Hanlon and many more all under the musical direction of Kory Danielson make this beast a real beauty. P6  

Not to be missed: James Earl Jones II continues in the North American Tour of Come From Away in Washington, DC. Next stop: Charlotte, NC… Sharissee Hamilton continues in the Melbourne company of Come From Away. Next stop: Shanghai… Rob Lindley is appearing now in the 25th Anniversary tour of Phantom of the Opera at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre… Merry Christmas Darling Heidi Kettenring Sings Karen Carpenter has performances through December 29 at Venus Cabaret…You can see Karl Hamilton in SPAMALOT at Venus’s big brother Mercury Theater Chicago through December 29… Larry Yando trips through time as Ebenezer Scrooge in Goodman’s classic staging of A CHRISTMAS CAROL… American Blues Theater presents It’s A Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago through January 5th at Stage 773… the Lincoln  Park Zoo Lights are spectacular this year and the weather is accommodating… Joel Gray will be honored by Porchlight Music Theatre on March 23 at Ritz-Carlton Chicago at the 2020 Icons Gala celebration of Porchlight’s  25th Anniversary… and Santa’s workshop will be working overtime at Greenhouse Theater Center with the world premiere of Eleanor's Very Merry Christmas Wish-The Musical playing through December 29! 

Monday Night Live at Petternio’s returns January 13, 2020!

Happy Holidays!

CAGE SEBASTIAN PIERRE - Daggers Rule in 'Romeo and Juliet' at Chicago Shakespeare

Things have come full circle at Chicago Shakespeare Theater for Cage Sebastian Pierre. His first Chicago role was Balthazar in the 2017 Marti Lyons directed Romeo and Juliet at Shakes, a production in which he served as dance captain. It did not take long to realize that his fight training at the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program and certification from Dueling Arts International would be an asset to the production and others that have followed.  

Which all of course leads naturally to the upcoming Barbara Gaines production of Romeo and Juliet, set in 2020 Verona, that begins previews on October 31st. Cage plays Benvolio and serves as the Associate Fight Choreographer to Fight Choreographer Rick Sordelet, arguably the top fight director in the business with over 70 Broadway credits and counting. In this creative capacity, Pierre works alongside Sordelet in the staging process and is the show’s Fight Captain, responsible for maintaining the safety and blocking of the stage violence throughout the run.

When we caught up with him during a break in rehearsal, the engaging Pierre addressed the challenges of staging fights with daggers versus rapiers for this production, the creative and rehearsal process that requires every move in a fight to tell a meaningful story and the process that is followed in advance of every performance.   

Earlier this year, the multi-talented actor played Tony Carter in the brilliant TimeLine production of Too Heavy For Your Pocket directed by Ron OJ Parson, a show about the enormous courage and sacrifice by Freedom Rider activists in the early 1960s that Pierre says changed his life. He appeared in the Chicago Shakespeare production of Macbeth, the Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, has been in the company of Q Brothers Christmas Carol for two seasons and appeared on television in Empire. 

There is much more ahead in our thoughtful CONVERSATION with one of Chicago’s top young actors and fight choreographers, Cage Sebastian Pierre. PODCAST

Early influencers… “If I had to pick someone who was instrumental into my learning, I'd probably say Marcela Lorca. She has this technique that she created called ‘Lorca Movement’ that really connects body to text because Shakespeare can get insanely heady if you let it. So, her grounding it back in lived experience helped connect the bridge between language, the body and to create the product of story. … And then the most pivotal person who I will add to the ‘Marcela Lorca’ list is Annie Enneking. She was my fight choreographer teacher. She taught us all about fight choreography. She pulled me to the side and said, ‘Hey, you are really special at this. I would like to train you, get you certified and send you to get more training at a different program.’ She lifted me up in that way and from there I've just sort of been running with it.” 

Fight choreography certification… “I got certified originally under Dueling Arts International (DAI) in unarmed, which is essentially hand-to-hand, broad sword and rapier, and contemporary violence, specifically in the unarmed section. So that covers a lot of Shakespeare, realism, (and) a lot of your more classical plays.”  

Contemporary violence?… “that has to do deal with found objects because so much of contemporary violence happens in domestic settings or workplace settings. If someone needs to be thrown onto a table, and then hit with the phone, then we have to take the time to talk. What is this object? Does it need to be fake? Can we hide it? Where do we find the noise or what we call a ‘knap,’ the sound that we hear when someone is being hit. Is this object dangerous? …contemporary violence is using found objects in our current century to tell that story.”

Following the text… “the dream is always that as soon as we touch these weapons in Shakespeare, everything we do comes strictly from the text. Romeo and Juliet has a prime example. We hear all this language about how Tybalt is a measured fighter. So he is not a person waving a blade. He is not a person who taught himself. He has been to school for it. He has a form and a technique. Whereas Mercutio we hear likes to fight for days and days and his language lends us to believe that maybe Mercutio is a bit more of a free-form fighter. If I am looking at the fight between the two, I take every single movement I can off the language. If he says, ‘Will you walk?’ then we might not necessarily be walking, but that might be an indication of an en garde or an indication of a blade being drawn…. once we understand this story, and we find every single point of indication, we then go back over that indicated timeline and fill in those moments with justified action. Then from there we do everything at the slowest speed possible so that people know exactly where my point is going. The intention of this. Am I evading or am I attacking? So on and so forth, until we slowly work that up to speed. We add vocals. We add blood.” 

Fight Captain responsibilities… “Making sure everybody is safe. Everybody is keeping the integrity of the fight and that the story is still being upheld. Every day, half hour to an hour, depending on how many fights and the intricacy of those fights, we do everything once at a very, very slow pace that we call ‘mudspeed.’ And then we do the whole thing again at the speed it will be for the show. So, every time you see a show, and if there are two shows in a day, we ran that fight two times before you see it.”

Romeo and Juliet. …“What I think that this production is trying to challenge or what my personal goal in this production to challenge is that the opposite of love is not hate. That they actually only exist in tandem and that one is necessary for the other. But how we go about manifesting those things I think is the question. And to challenge that the opposite of hate is not love, but in fact, creation. I won't ruin the ending for those who want to come see it, but in our production we challenge the ending of this play and really ask the question, ‘What are we truly creating?’ We can create a facade. We can create an image. We can create, let's say, a monument—an ode—to our past mistakes. But what is creating that breed for our future? I think this production calls for the creation of action in a very immediate way, not that all theatre is immediate and not all issues are immediate, but I think this production holds true to that. I think this production asks us, ‘What hate are we holding on to in spite of creation? When there is an opportunity to create something, say a bond, an opportunity for peace or collaboration, how are we negating that by clinging on to our hate?’”

The Future… “Fight choreography is something I enjoy. Telling stories through movement and allowing people to excise violence in a way that hopefully suppresses it in the real world—excise it on stage to suppress it in the real world. As far as what I see for myself, I am interested in pursuing more film and television, but I am also interested in devising work because the more choreography I do, the more I realize that I work at a lot of places where the connection from language to body is not as strong. And I would like to build a work where those two things do not exist without each other and to question and challenge traditional storytelling. So, we'll see. We'll see how that manifests in the next few years.” PODCAST

Comments have been edited for length and clarity.
CST PHOTOS | Liz Lauren
TimeLine PHOTO | Lara Goetsch

CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER
presents
ROMEO AND JULIET
Courtyard Theater
Navy Pier
through December 22, 2019
WEBSITE
TICKETS
(312) 595-5600

PODCAST available on Apple Podcasts, Libsyn, Stitcher, IHeartRadio and Radio.com App
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HEIDI KETTENRING - Chicago Celebrates Sondheim!

There are more than a few things you need to know about Heidi Kettenring, the accomplished Jeff Award-winning actor and vocalist that you may have seen on stages all across Chicagoland.

In addition to the Artists Lounge Live Karen Carpenter concert performance that is gearing up for the holidays at Mercury’s Venus Cabaret and a flurry of roles that will keep her busy on stage well into next summer, Kettenring will be appearing at the Auditorium Theatre in ‘Chicago Celebrates Sondheim!’ on November 16th with the Chicago Philharmonic under the direction of Rich Daniels. The concert, directed and produced by Joan Curto, features Paul Marinaro, Beckie Menzie, Johnny Rodgers, Robert Sims with Tom Michael, Sophie Grimm, David Edelfelt, Rodrick Dixon, Susan Werner, Laura Freeman, Marianne Murphy Orland and Jaymes Osborne in a 90th birthday musical salute to Steven Sondheim.

In balancing a busy career and personal life with actor/husband David Girolmo, Kettenring expects that they will be separated often. In our recent CONVERSATION about the concert, Kettenring recalled staying in touch daily during the summer run in Mary Zimmerman’s The Music Man at the Goodman Theater while David was out of town playing the Lion in the Wizard of Oz at the Maine State Music Theatre.

That sparked a delightful story about a memorable performance that does not appear among the over 40 shows on her resume as Dorothy in a high school production of The Wizard of Oz in Nashville.

There’s much more about her career in Chicago, the Sondheim concert, and what will make the holidays a little brighter in a touching and memorable conversation with the superbly talented, Heidi Kettenring. PODCAST

Northwestern theatre and Mary Zimmerman… “I went to Northwestern. (Mary Zimmerman) was teaching there at the time and I couldn't get into her class the whole four years that I was there. There was the Theatre major and then there was also something called ‘Performance Studies’ major…a lot of people transferred out of the theatre program into performance studies because you could not get into her class or Frank Galati’s class. They just filled up so quickly. And truth be told, I've never even had the opportunity to audition for her until this year because I've been busy every time one of her shows has come through. It was a 25-year dream sort of realized, which was wonderful.”

The Music Man at Goodman… “Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn wore one of the most magnificent red, white and blue costumes that I've ever seen. I saw the rendering of it and I think I even said out loud, “Do I actually get to wear that?” It was quite patriotic and oddly comfortable…. It was thrilling for me. Similar to working with her, I've never worked at the Goodman. They tend to cast their shows a little bit later and so often I've already been working when their auditions have rolled around. And I've also auditioned for some things that were not quite the right fit... So, it was a dream come true kind of all the way around to finally get to work there, to finally get to work with Mary, to do The Music Man for the first time. I had never been in The Music Man. I actually had not even seen The Music Man until about seven years ago when my friend Bernie (Yvon) did it at the Marriott Lincolnshire beautifully. … It was a great time of year to do it. … being downtown in the summertime, because I live in Evanston, so getting to spend just active time downtown, was fun. And that theater. They treat everyone really, really well. It was a truly special experience.”

Balancing careers with husband David Girolmo… “It's interesting. People ask me that a lot and the first thing I say is I don't know any different. I don't know what it's like to be with somebody who is not in the business, so I can't compare in that way. But what I do know is that he's the most important thing to me. He's a bit older than I am. So, when we met, he immediately said, ‘You know. Look… Listen… This is what I do. This is what I do for a living. This is how I do it.” Meaning ‘I might have to go out of town to work. The hours are different from a 9 to 5 job. I have to work on holidays often.’ And that is just how this business works. And obviously there is always room for negotiating, but for the most part, that's the way that it is.…The thing that keeps it from being difficult is that he's the person. He's my favorite person. And, honestly, technology has helped immeasurably. When we first met it was a lot harder getting into contact with each other when he was out of town. You know, you have to make a date. ‘I'm going to be by the rotary telephone at a certain time.’ We don't have to do that anymore. And, honestly, we almost communicate more when we are out of town because we text constantly. We both want yours as the first voice that I hear. Yours is the last voice that I want to hear. We probably speak on the telephone four or five times a day. We text all day, so it's hard because obviously we are not in the same place. But it's not hard because it's like breathing.”

CHICAGO CELEBRATES SONDHEIM!
AUDITORIUM THEATRE
NOVEMBER 16, 2019 8PM
Chicago Philharmonic
under direction of Rich Daniels featuring:
Joan Curto, Johnny Rodgers, Beckie Menzie,
Paul Marinaro, Heidi Kettenring and Robert Sims
TICKETS or CALL: (312) 341-2310

Chicago Celebrates Sondheim!… “For this concert, I'm not sure if I'm at liberty, so I'm not going to say because I want people to be surprised by what I'm singing. My two songs are vastly different. One of them I could sing without thinking about it. The other one I know that my knees are going to be knocking together right before I sing it. And a lot of that is because it's very wordy and I'm going to be standing backstage running through those lyrics up until I walk out on stage. But, that said, it's so much fun and I've never performed it in front of people. So that's going to be really fun to see what it's like to actually hear the audience's response to the song because that's part of it, too. …There are truly songs that, the second I hear them, I think, ‘Oh, I'm going to sing that.’ And there are times that people asked me to sing something and I take a big swallow and go, ‘Whoa. Really? Okay.’ … (the Sondheim) catalog is so vast and so wonderful. Honestly, quite complicated to sort of turn into singular events. I'm really excited to see how some of these songs are plucked out and turned into performances.”

Chicago Philharmonic at the Auditorium Theatre… “Singing with the Philharmonic. There is nothing like that. It almost feels like you're being buoyed on this wave of music behind you. It's so thrilling. I really cannot wait to see what it feels like to sing songs that already feel great.”

Next Up… “Karen Carpenter concert. We're putting together a Christmas version at the Mercury’s Venus Cabaret. …Then, in the new year, I'm doing a new musical at Paramount Theater in Aurora called “Secret of My Success.” And then after that I will be doing “As You Like It” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Something special for Christmas from David? — Listen to the PODCAST to find out. et

Comments have been edited for length and clarity.

Production Photos
All My Sons, Court Theatre | The Music Man, Goodman Theatre - Liz Lauren
Wicked - Joan Marcus

November 16, 2019
CHICAGO CELEBRATES SONDHEIM
2019 Annual Fall Gala, honoring Patti Eylar and Charlie Gardner
Auditorium Theatre
TICKETS

Sarah Siddons Society Gala
Supporting scholarships to theatre students at
top drama departments across Chicagoland.

December 20-29, 2019
Mercury Theater and Artists Lounge Live
present
MERRY CHRISTMAS DARLING
Heidi Kettenring Sings Karen Carpenter
Venus Cabaret | Mercury Theater
TICKETS

ARTISTS LOUNGE LIVE - HEIDI KETTENRING VIDEO

PODCAST available on Apple Podcasts, Libsyn, Stitcher, IHeartRadio and Radio.com App
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CHARLES NEWELL - Turning 25 at Court Theatre

It will come as no surprise that Charles Newell, the long-serving Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director of Court Theatre, cites others for the award-winning theater’s unparalleled success translating and adapting classic texts for contemporary audiences.

Newell’s career at Court began in 1993 when he was hired by founding director Nicholas Rudall, a move that turned out to be the opportunity of a lifetime. Right out of the gate, Rudall enlisted Newell to direct and cast his wife, actor Kate Collins in The Triumph of Love which earned the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production. “That first year was transformative in so many ways,” Newell told me.

In 1994, Newell was appointed artistic director and in the years since has directed over 50 productions at Court and throughout his career at other prominent theaters including Goodman Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage, the California and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Julliard and New York University. Newell has served on the board of TCG and was honored in 2012 by the League of Chicago Theatres with its Artistic Achievement Award. Court Theatre was recognized for its outstanding service to the theatre community with a special Jeff Award in 2018.

Newell credits director Ron OJ Parsons for his contributions in broadening Court’s relevancy with their audience with his critically acclaimed productions of August Wilson’s Century Cycle among many others. And he notes the dedication of the late Stephen J. Albert whose leadership and strategic planning expertise allowed Court to expand into the community and beyond with innovative programs and partnerships.

Under Newell’s artistic leadership, Court’s national reputation has flourished as a leader in new work development and as a proving ground for emerging playwrights, artists, directors and companies. The unique intersection of top artistic talent with the resources of world-class scholarship available at the University of Chicago all make Court Theatre one of the most successful regional theater’s in the nation.  

Next up for the 2019-2020 season: the beginning of what Newell says is his “life project,” the Oedipus Trilogy which opens November 7 with Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, translated by Nicholas Rudall and starring Tim Kane followed in May 2020 with The Gospel at Colonus and Antigone next season. It all sounds like exactly where Charles Newell wants to be—another season of taking risks and stepping out of a comfort zone to create an emotional experience for actors and audience alike that is second to none. PODCAST

Court Theatre… “I love the space. I'll never forget walking in there for the first time. I think there was a production starring Jacqueline Williams as Electra. I just love both intimacy of the room and the scale of the stage house and the combination of those two things, that relationship, there is no other theater in the country like that.”

University of Chicago… “Unequivocally, Court, as part of the University of Chicago, could not be what it is if it weren't part of the University of Chicago. We made what may seem like a small change, but I think it was critical. We no longer think of ourselves as the professional theater at the University, but rather, the professional theater of the University of Chicago. And, specifically, the fact that we, in our making of the art, can collaborate and partner with this incredible research university and the scholars, not just humanities and theater, but across all disciplines can collaborate with scholars who are interested in the making of knowledge and the making of art… In the last ten years, we have recognized the uniqueness of “And here we are on the South Side,” a predominantly African-American community and the combination of those three things: a professional theater, a research university, and the most incredibly creative South Side African-American community that we reside in and how those three things now inform and fuel each other.”

Ron OJ Parson … “10 years or more ago, despite my efforts to cast Allen Gilmore as Cyrano, a young black actor in Barber of Seville, Eugene Perry as Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, which I thought would, by having artists of color take on what had traditionally cast with Caucasians, might attract not only more artists of color, but an audience of color. I learned that that was not enough. And so after an extensive, self-examination of the organization, we decided that we were going to do what seems now just obvious, which was there are classics from the African-American cannon writ large that we wanted to put on our stage and celebrate. So, we commissioned adaptations of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and Native Son and other projects as well. And then I wanted to get a leader of color as part of the Court Theatre artistic staff. And that's when Ron OJ Parson joined the team. … We had quite a year with his first production of August Wilson Fences. That same season, we did Eugene Perry as Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha. I think for the first time in Chicago theater history, a single theater won best production Jeff Awards for both play and musical. And that was a conspicuous start to Ron's residency as our resident artist. And as you know, with King Hedley, we are now on our eighth of the 10 play August Wilson Century Cycle and Ron has directed 15 or 16 productions over the last 10 years.”

Steve Albert… “He brought extraordinary experience across the country as a producer, and building theaters capacity, both artistic and financial and that paralleled a strategic planning process that the Board and the University went on in which this notion that Court theatre was now becoming a center for classic theater here on the South side. That elevated our ambition, the national artists that we were then able to attract, the kind of funding we were able to attract, and suddenly, thanks to Steve's leadership, our capacity grew quite a lot. Even as we were finding success in attracting an audience of color over an eight-year period, we've gone from less than 5% audience of color to now close to over 30%. That jump, while I feel like is only the beginning in the national theatre conversation, Court is used as a model about how do you remain true to your core mission and expand the definition of who you are and expand the audience and artists of color so that the whole organization can grow together.”

Developing New Works… “We have begun a fairly rigorous and consistent commissioning program here at Court Theatre. We are a classic-based company presenting world premieres. That's an unusual combination of things. This past year we did David Auburn's world premiere of The Adventures of Augie March. We also co-produced with Manual Cinema, Frankenstein, which then went on to national and international touring. We have three or four projects in the works that are new commissions, which we are very much hoping will appear on our stages, one based on a personal family connection and passion for who is the man, Stokely Carmichael that people perhaps are not aware of as much as they should be. We have commissioned Nambi E. Kelly who did the adaptation of Native Sun on that project. Those are some of the ambitions we are moving forward in terms of new work, but you're absolutely right. How do we balance both serving our core–the Canon of classics, both traditional and African American—as well as produce new work that's been commissioned often based in some classic texts, but not always. Man in the Ring is a good example. We commissioned Michael Christopher for the world premiere of that play. It's going on to Huntington and now it looks like there will be a Broadway production. It was a transformative experience for us. And one of the examples of our collaboration with the University. What other theater can call up the medical school at the University of Chicago and have an expert come over who can talk to us about boxing dementia that occurred to the central character in the play and how to portray that and what that would be like for that man to experience? At the same time we brought a gentleman who has a boxing ring on the West side to come and teach our actors how to box. So again, this combination of where we are and our core communities that we work gives us the kind of opportunity to do the work that we do.”

Oedipus Trilogy… “Back in 1983-84, I went to the Brooklyn Academy of Music and saw The Gospel at Colonus and went back three more times and then found out that they were going to be touring to Arena Stage in Washington DC, my hometown theater. So, I then was a directing intern on that original production. I was in the room with Morgan Freeman and Clarence Fountaine and the five blind boys and the Soul Stirrers and always thought, ‘Would my life ever lead me to a place where I could direct a production of that piece?’ In thinking about a 25th Anniversary season, Angel (Ysaguirre, Court Executive Director) was like, “Charlie, what's the most ambitious, outrageous project you would love to do?” And I immediately said, The Gospel at Colonus because it's a very large cast and it's a very ambitious piece. But then we went further, which was how might we best bring an audience to The Gospel at Colonus. Well, why don't we tell the story of Oedipus prior to his journey to Colonus for redemption, which, of course, is the most classic of all classic texts, Oedipus Rex or King Oedipus. So, we're going to do this trilogy that, frankly, Sophocles never intended as a trilogy, but we have now linked them together as if they're one long family story of Oedipus Rex, The Gospel at Colonus and next year to the daughter of Oedipus, Antigone.”

Why not repertory?... “I did that for the first six or seven years when I first came to Chicago … honestly the thing that we learned is that as much as an audience says they love to see repertory, unless you are a destination theater like Stratford, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, other places, we—at least in Chicago at Court Theatre—found it difficult to get an audience to want to come and see two shows that were thematically, or even narratively connected on the same day. I mean, I love it and if I had my druthers, we would do rotating repertory all the time. … So I'm hopeful that with this kind of modified form of repertory, namely you'll see Oedipus Rex this fall, you'll see The Gospel at Colonus next spring and then you'll see Antigone a year from now, an audience will have the pleasure of that kind of repertory. …We have cast one actor to play Creon through all three, Tim Kane. We have cast one actor, Ariel Williams, to play Antigone through all three. Kelvin Roston is playing Oedipus Rex as a vibrant live King and he then is the blind destitute Oedipus in The Gospel at Colonus. By connecting you to the artists, we're hoping that there will be that sense of repertory as well.”

Comments have been edited for length and clarity.
Listen to the PODCAST

PHOTO CREDIT:
Photograph 51 , Augie March, King Hedley II |Michael Brosilow
Oedipus Rex | Joe Mazza Brave Lux

Court Theatre was honored with five 2019 Joseph Jefferson Awards on October 21, 2019.

COURT THEATRE
presents
OEDIPUS REX
November 7 though December 8, 2019
5535 S Ellis Ave.
Chicago, IL 60637
(773) 753-4472

PODCAST available on Apple Podcasts, Libsyn, Stitcher, IHeartRadio and Radio.com App
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