BOOTH ONE - Celebrating Culture and Conversation: Recent Episodes
Gary Zabinski, Frank Tourangeau
Host Gary Zabinski and co-host Frank Tourangau engage in the art of lively conversation from the vantage point of BOOTH ONE (formerly known as TalkSports).
In the heyday of the Pump Room at the Ambassador East Hotel here in Chicago, Booth One was the most sought after seat in the house, as the privileged celebrities and other luminaries who were seated there could be seen from the lobby, the bar and the rest of the room. A place to see and to be seen. Sadly, the original Booth One is now lost to the ages, but still resides as a display in the lobby of the UP Club at the Second City.
On our BOOTH ONE podcast, we attempt to revive that feeling of being in the best seat in the house by seeking out and describing our Booth One experiences for our listeners. We’ll be talking about our recent Booth One brushes with famous guests, first class events, and behind-the-scenes encounters. We’ll also continue to have Booth One conversations covering a variety of topics, both current and esoteric. We’ll send Frank and Gary to some of the more exotic places and events in this great metropolis and beyond, looking for Booth One-type experiences to share with you.
Anything is fair game on BOOTH ONE, reflective of the kinds of conversations that must have taken place in the legendary Pump Room’s first-class seating. Be a fly on the wall as Gary and Frank attempt to recreate the magic, mystery and mischief of the BOOTH ONE experience for your amusement and edification!
Send us your Booth One experiences and we’ll share them with our listeners on the podcast. Your reservation to BOOTH ONE is waiting!
Booth One first encountered Breon's work seeing The Total Bent, produced by Haven & About Face Theatres. We were all blown away by Lili-Anne Brown's direction and the marvelous performances, including friend of the show, Robert Cornelius and new friend, Breon Arzell, who also choreographed this great musical. Here are some of the rave reviews. The production design was extraordinary. We were especially wowed by the choreography and costumes, designed by previous guest and friend, Christine Pasqual.
You can catch some of his brilliant work in the remote production of Kill Move Paradise. Absolutely not to be missed. We have seen a lot of attempts to capture great theatre on video and this is exceptional. A true masterpiece, directed by dear friend of the show, Wardell Julius Clark. Read one of the many great reviews here.
Much more to say, but we want to get the audio published now. Will write more ASAP.
We always love our amazingly talented guests, but this time we were Star Struck! David Pasquesi is a brilliant artist and one of the nicest people you're ever likely to meet. He is a master improvisor and has created memorable performances in many movies and TV series. He was excellent as Julia Louis Dreyfuss's ex-husband, Andrew in VEEP and had a great role as the "local alchemist" on the weird and wonderful Lodge 49. He also has done some infamous and long running voice-over spots for clients like McDonalds and Anheuser Busch. We have included his remarkable commercial reel in this episode. You can also go to David's website to check out his work.
David studied with the legendary improvisation pioneer Del Close, who created the Harold and was part of the first ever Harold team, Baron's Barracudas. David describes the Harold as a "long form group improvisation that was developed as a performance piece itself as opposed to using it to create material for revues...The aim is that the work is consistently good enough to be able to warrant a ticket price."
We talk about Del's ideas about working genuinely in improvisation. Gary reads from David and TJ Jagodowski's book, Improvisation at the Speed of Life. "Del taught us to play slowly without worrying about entertaining the audience. He stressed the importance of playing at the top of our intelligence...Another big lesson I took from Del was not to talk too much because overusing words diminishes the power of each one. Del taught us to dare to be poets...Don't be afraid of silence."
TJ & Dave have been doing long form performances at iO in Chicago and Barrow Street Theatre in New York since 2001. Stephen Colbert says of them, "One of these guys is the best improvisor in the world. And the other one is better." The New York Times calls their work, "...a creative tour de force, an intellectual high-wire act as astonishing as it is entertaining." They met on a team at the Chicago Improv Festival and found they shared a reverence for the same kind of work. They make it "more about discovery than invention...The work can be funny, but also sad, heartwarming, kind, scary, brutal. It's unlimited." David talks about the important role of the audience. TJ & Dave "requires interested people watching it."
David and our co-host Frank talk about teaching improvisation. "The most important thing is listening and paying attention...Be genuine moment to moment and the rest of it takes care of itself." Gary asks about another of David's teachers and mentors, Charna Halpern, who built ImprovOlympic with Del, has taught so many magnificent actors and writers, and now owns the marvelous iO Theatre at 1501 Kingsbury. There are 4 performances there every night of the week, a nice bar, and good food. Charna gave us great backstory on a few things. Such as: David camped out at her place when he was a student without an apartment and cooked dinner in exchange for his room. She also told us about him juggling apples in his stand up act and that he does great impersonations (not). Learn more about the force of nature that is Charna on episode 47 of our show, performed live at Steppenwolf Theatre.
Frank reviews the superb production of
Dennis Zacek, founding member and Artistic Director of Victory Gardens Theatre for 34 years, joined us in the Booth for a fascinating conversation about playwrights, directing, and the history of Chicago theatre. He shares his experiences directing over 250 productions, including his current production of Waiting for Godot, which runs at Victory Gardens through December 15.
Dr. Z is an icon of the Chicago theatre community, having been at the forefront of the storefront theatre movement in the mid-1970s. In 2014, Victory Gardens received the special Regional Theatre Tony Award for outstanding contributions to the American theatre landscape.
The Zacek Tapes is a fascinating book filled with interviews with Dennis about many aspects of his life in the theatre. We couldn't recommend it more highly!
More notes to come...
Kiss of Death Jessye Norman, American opera singer and recitalist. A dramatic soprano, Norman sang a broad repertoire and avoided being limited to one kind of genre. She famously stated that "pigeonholes are for pigeons” and that she was "attracted to the unusual". A towering figure on operatic, concert, and recital hall stages, Norman leaves a vast catalogue of recordings. NY Times music critic Edward Rothstein described her voice as a "grand mansion of sound”, and wrote that “it has enormous dimensions, reaching backward and upward. It opens onto unexpected vistas." Jessye Norman was 74. Read the full NYTime obit here.
Wardell Julius Clark and Regina Victor are stars who just keep growing in our Chicago theatre community. We had an amazing time talking with them recently about all of their adventures. They are work and life partners and as Gary said, "extraordinary creative artists and human beings." They also did a beautiful job introducing the show. Voice over agents, take note.
Regina Victor works as a theatre director, producer, dramaturg, arts journalist, and mentor. Regina is a non-binary femme who grew up in Oakland, now residing in Chicago. Regina attended boarding school at Phillips Exeter, then studied theatre, religion, and dance at Santa Clara University. They have worked with and been mentored by, among others, Phylicia Rashad, Anna Shapiro, Raelle Myrick-Hodges, and Danya Taymor. Victor has helped develop world premieres by Antoinette Nwandu (Breach:...), Brett Neveu (To Catch A Fish), Sarah Ruhl and Morgan McNaught (A Persephone Pageant), and Loy Webb (The Light, His Shadow). Regina will be direct a world premiere of Pro-Am at Sideshow in May. They have recently been named to be the first Associate Producer ever at Court Theatre.
Regina founded an arts criticism platform called Rescripted in 2017. Rescripted’s mission is "to reprogram the way we critically engage with each other using an empathetic lens, while cultivating critics and adding new voices to the field." It is a collective of artists who engage with each other's ideas and opinions openly. Regina mentors young critics through a program called The Key, which has produced some terrific new critics. It is produced in partnership with the Chicago Inclusion Project and is hosted by Steppenwolf Theater Company.
Wardell Julius Clark was raised in Fairfield, Alabama, where he toured the country as a child with the amazing Sparkle Dance Company. Read about their mission and programs here. He went on to audition for DePaul University's acting program, which is extremely competitive. He got in to the program, didn't get cut, and has been working here in Chicago ever since. He was a very successful actor for the first 10 years of his career, then asked Ron OJ Parsons if he could assist him on directing Gem of the Ocean at Court. He tells a wonderful story about his first (triumphant) directing gig on Insurrection at Stage Left. Next up was Wardell's hugely acclaimed production of The Shipment. He has been booked as a director since...
We recently saw and were blown away by His Shadow, which Wardell (with Sydney Charles) directed, with Regina serving as Dramaturg. It was truly not to be missed. The good news is it was recorded for the archives at Harold Washington Lib...
We were thrilled to have Erica Daniels Strater join us in the Booth, starting our next 100 episodes off in style! She has been an agent, casting director, Associate Artistic Director, president, and now Executive Director. All at top-flight companies.
Erica has so many dear friends in the Chicago theatre community. She helped us all out when we were with small companies who needed casting help and couldn't afford our own casting directors. Her email response would come back pronto with a list of really great suggestions for a role. Early in her career, she joined her close friend and mentor, Martha Lavey, in choosing to make the effort to pay attention to smaller companies and emerging talents and to lend a hand up.
A graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in Performance Studies, she studied with an amazing group of artists, including Martha Lavey, Frank Galati, Mary Zimmerman and Dwight Conquergood. When she graduated and was planning to start auditioning, Erica broker her foot. While she was recuperating, she thought maybe she could help out in a casting director's office. She worked in Jane Brody's office, then Shirley Hamilton's, two of the best casting people in Chicago. Then, after an exciting stint as the Theatre Department coordinator at William Morris in New York, she went to work for Steppenwolf as their in-house casting director. She was then promoted to Associate Artistic Director and did a wonderful job in that capacity while continuing to do their casting.
She is providing great leadership at Victory Gardens, collaborating with her partner, Artistic Director Chay Yew. Erica is eloquent about Victory Gardens' mission to "be a leader in developing and producing new work and cultivating an inclusive theater community." We have seen so many marvelous productions there, most recently, Tiny Beautiful Things. Erica and Chay were listed as #1! in New City Stages' feature: Players 2019: The Fifty People Who Really Perform for Chicago..
Gary talks to Erica about getting her start in the business, what she looks for in an actor, the audition process, working with directors to cast just the right actor for the role, and what challenges an Executive Director of a Tony Award-winning Chicago off-loop theatre faces on a daily basis. You'll find Erica to be eloquent and forthright in her responses. Just a joy to have as a guest in the Booth. Kiss of Death: Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director with a penchant for excess. Renowned for his extravagantly romantic opera productions, immensely popular film versions of Shakespeare and an active and sometimes controversial social life. Wiki tells us he was one of the only living people traceably consanguineous with Leonardo da Vinci. Mr. Zeffirelli was 96.
We chose Michael and Mona Heath for our 100th episode because they are the most amazing angels to the Chicago theatre community. With backgrounds in applied mathematics and computer science, they have dedicated their time, energy, and savings to supporting Chicago theatre artists. Last year, they paid full price to see 336 shows! And that is while living part time in Champaign/Urbana. Not to mention building the mainstage theatre, dressing rooms, and lounge at The Den Theatre. They are the production sponsors of so much important work, including "His Shadow" at 16th Street Theatre, which opens tonight!
So much more to say, but want to get this published today. Will add info and photos soon!
Christine has created beautiful designs for many of our all-time favorite productions! Check out this list of her recent projects! From Dutch Masters to La Ruta to East Texas Hot Links and To Catch a Fish. All great, great shows!
The costumes we think were the most breathtaking were for The Total Bent. Robert Cornelius's suits (and shoes!) were just perfect, as were all the other costumes, especially the cape she made for Gilbert Domally's character.
Much more to say. Want to publish the audio of this great interview and will update these show notes very son!
Jonathan Abarbanel, our first theatre critic guest, comes with great perspective not just as a theatre historian and scholar but also as an artist. He's been an actor, dramaturg, playwright, and producer, so he knows what it means and takes to bring work to the stage. He's the immediate past president of the American Theatre Critics Association. He's reviewed Chicago theatre for 50 years and continues as a great critic for the Windy City Times and Footlights magazine.
He and Kerry Reid are the "Dueling Critics" on The Arts Section on WDCB public radio. This marvelous and nuanced conversation about Isaac Gomez's play, La Ruta, is a great example of their collaboration and a chance to hear some longer form criticism from two real pros.
Frank tells us about his trip to the Dalmation Coast, including a visit to the "Museum of Broken Relationships" in Zagreb. Sounds like a must-see.
Jonathan was an early member of the off-loop theatre movement and was part of exciting and important developments like working with Del Close on the Harold.
He briefly worked as a copywriter and producer in advertising an came up with an iconic slogan "America spells cheese, K-R-A-F-T"!
Another claim to fame was his appearance on the Antique Road Show with original artist boards of Winsor McCay's comic strip, "Little Nemo in Slumberland." Winsor invented animated cartoons with a character called "Gertie the Dinosaur". Jonathan was working summer stock and came across the boards in a barn. He offered to buy them from the property's owner who said just to take whatever he wanted...They were worth a lot of money when he went on the Road Show and are worth even more now. Picture here is one of the Little Nemo strips he owns, as it appeared in print in full color. Jonathan describes it as "a zoo on Mars and a Martian is showing Nemo and his gang around."
We asked Jonathan about his philosophy of criticism and he responded that he does not believe in attack criticism. And since his review space in the Windy City Times is usually only about 450 words, he doesn't have space to show off his "style." He'd rather spend 10 words writing about a costume or sound design than trying to show off his wit. He is very direct. To Jonathan, every single word sounds. Especially when writing about new work. About 50% of the shows produced in Chicago are new work. He will generally approach the script first, rather than the production elements or acting. The question is, "Does it work?" He talks about how consistently excellent most of the performances in Chicago theatre are right now.
Speaking of which, Gary, Frank, and Jonathan agree that the performances in Steppenwolf's production of the new play by Tina Landau and Tarell Alvin McCraney, Ms. Blakk for President, were just terrific!
Jonathan quotes the famous New Yorker critic, John Lahr's book title,
Seven-time Emmy award winner, WTTW producer, and documentary filmmaker Dan Andries joins us in the Booth! He arrived at the studio having just toured the Hamilton Exhibition on Northerly Island. Sounds like something we need to visit.
We recently discovered that Dan was creating a series of pieces for WTTW called "Stage Players." They are very short interview pieces honoring all of the kinds of people who make Chicago theatre great. They appear between other programs and are excellent. It's amazing how much they convey in such a short period of time. We have had some of the same amazing guests. Check them out! Dan's career so far is pretty remarkable. He has been at WTTW since 2000. He was the series producer of Artbeat Chicago for 5 years, and did stories on the arts off and on for Chicago Tonight. In 2005 he began working on documentaries, which included “Beauty Rises: Four Lives in the Arts” (2006), “Cannot Live Without: Illinois Artists at Work” (2014) and nine documentaries on architects, including Chicago architects Jeanne Gang and Tom Beeby and the amazing French architects Marc & Nada Breitman. Here he is in Paris with Marc and WTTW's Geoffrey Baer: Beauty Rises is a wonderful documentary highlighting Laura Wiley, the co-founder of Albany Park Theatre Project, Orbert Davis, who created the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, sculptor Dessa Kirk, and poet Alison Joseph. All moving and compelling stories.
Other documentary projects include co-producing and co-writing “DuSable to Obama: Chicago’s Black Metropolis” and “Out & Proud in Chicago” as well as 2 Geoffrey Baer tour shows (River and the Southwest Suburbs) and a show about the Irish (“Irish Chicago”). Dan created the four-part series “Art & Design in Chicago” that aired in the fall of 2018.
Since 2006, he has also "had the great privilege of producing a multi-camera documentation of the work of Albany Park Theatre Project." He does that work with his wife, Anne Northrup. One of those pieces, “Feast,” was broadcast on WTTW and won an Emmy. He comes from a family of arts journalists. His mother, Dorothy Andries was a music critic on the North Shore for Pioneer Press and his aunt, Wynne Delacoma, was the classical music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times for a number of years.
I'll Be Seeing You: John Singleton:
In our regular segment celebrating the life of someone who has recently left us, Gary shares the story of filmmaker, John Singleton. He was a huge talent and contributed so much to our history of film making. Read his obituary from the Washington Post here
Join our rollicking conversation with two of the most talented artists we know, Lili-Anne Brown and Robert Cornelius. Lili-Anne is the luminous director of many great productions and also an accomplished actor, singer, and educator. Robert, who has appeared on our show before (episode 67), is a brilliant actor, singer, educator, and designer. These are just some of their many gifts.
Booth One has had the honor of witnessing two of their thrilling collaborations this season in The Total Bent produced by Haven and About Face and in Lottery Day, onstage now through April 28 at the Goodman. Gary and Frank talked about how much they loved The Total Bent on our last episode. Learn more about that show and Ike Holter's dazzling Lottery Day on this episode.
We have so much more to say about the conversation, but are publishing it now while there are still some chances to get seats to see Lottery Day (11 more performances with just a few tickets left). Will update this page soon...
It's Gary and Frank together in the Booth for a cavalcade of theatergoer notes on shows we've recently seen around Chicago. First off, Frank tells us about his adventures in speech competition judging that's kept him away from home the past month. By all accounts, the dazzling array of young talented actors and orators is promising news for the future of theater and performance in the Chicago area.
Just this afternoon, our boys went to Northlight Theatre to see the world premiere play Landladies by Sharyn Rothstein, directed by Jess McLeod. As luck would have it, this sparkling three-hander features actress Leah Karpel, who Frank has known since she was a baby some 25-odd years ago. Leah was gracious enough to spend a few minutes with us after the show talking about her role and the privilege of appearing in a world premiere, and we bring you some of that remote interview in this episode. Running through April 20.
Next, we traveled to the Den Theatre to see a truly inspiring and brilliantly produced musical show called The Total Bent. Written by the acclaimed singer, songwriter, founder and leader of the punk-rock combo The Negro Problem, Stew, and his writing partner Heidi Rodewald, The Total Bent traces the lives of an established Gospel and R&B singer (magnificently played by Robert Cornelius) and his upstart young son (a dazzling debut by Gilbert Domally) as they navigate show business and the total bent of their lives together and apart. Though closed now, this show was one of the finest productions Chicago has seen in many years, so keep your eyes peeled for a revival. Director Lili-Anne Brown does amazing work keeping the story and the tension moving. Teaser Alert: Robert Cornelius and Lili-Anne Brown will be our guests next time on Episode 96!
Have you heard of the very smart fish that scientists think can recognize itself in a mirror? Until now, the only species to have passed the mirror test were great apes, bottlenose dolphins, killer whales, Eurasian magpies and a single Asian elephant. Add to that list the cleaner wrasse, a 4-inch fish that lives in coral reefs. Read the full story here. Along those lines, Gary wishes that some annoying theatergoers were more self-aware!
A Caryl Churchill play called A Number is receiving a striking production at Writers Theatre this spring. Running through June 9 in the Gillian Theatre, this 65-minute show is about parenting, cloning and going back to try to fix mistakes in your l...
Gary welcomes to the Booth two true Chicago theatre professionals - both long-time stage managers at Steppenwolf Theatre - Malcolm Ewen and Laura Glenn. No one has better behind-the scenes stories than great stage managers. Malcolm has been at Steppenwolf since 1987 and was most recently welcomed into the company's elite Ensemble, an honor he didn't even know was possible. He is the first stage manager to become an ensemble member. Malcolm has taken 4 shows to Broadway, including The Grapes of Wrath and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, which were both honored with Tony awards. He has also stage managed at the Goodman, Northlight, and Remains Theatres, among others. He has directed at the Weston Playhouse Theatre in Vermont during summers for 30 years.
Laura has been with Steppenwolf for 25 years with an impressive resume of memorable shows including Buried Child, Superior Donuts, and The Rembrandt. From her Actor's Equity bio: "I was fortunate enough to work with and be mentored by many great stage managers, including my hero, Malcolm Ewen. I have been a part of world premieres, great revivals, taken shows to international festivals and Broadway – both with Steppenwolf and my other creative home, Northlight Theatre."
Laura and Malcolm address the age-old question, "What does a stage manager do?", with wit, sincerity and personal insight. As Gary well knows, having started his career in the theatre as a stage manager in New York, being an SM involves a myriad of responsibilities, including establishing a safe and collaborative space in which the actors and director can feel free to create, fail and try new ideas. There are also the tangible elements of scheduling, communicating, and upholding the Actors' Equity rule book, which Malcolm describes as jigsaw puzzle work.
The two colleagues and dear friends reminisce about past show experiences, including some of their most satisfying and rewarding projects - Bruce Norris' Downstate for Laura and Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff for Mal. Laura talks about the special bond she had with the late John Mahoney. As a teacher of stage management, Malcolm has reminded his students to find their own rewards and reasons for individual achievement in a profession that can have very few accolades or public job recognition. Laura likens stage management to being a catcher on a bas...
Gary welcomes director Jonathan Berry and actor Jessica Dean Turner from the new hit play Red Rex to the Booth today. Written by Ike Holter as the newest in his Rightlynd series of plays, Red Rex is is receiving a world premiere by Steep Theatre and is being presented in their 55-seat space at 1115 W. Berwyn through March 30. Gary called it "one of the most moving, thought-provoking and beautifully produced plays he's seen in many a season."
The production is about members of a Chicago storefront theater company who are working on a new play being presented by a Chicago storefront theater company. Jonathan discusses the meta nature of directing this project at Steep, where he's been an ensemble member for many years, having directed there since 2007. Jon describes one of the themes of the play: "The theatre community can create its own center of focus, obscuring, entirely, the actual world just outside the door."
Jonathan and Jessica talk about the play's other themes, including equity and inclusion, inadvertent and subtle acts of racism, shining a light on the pretentiousness of some creative processes, and the deep humor and humanity with which Ike Holter treats each of his characters. It's a discussion that will make you want to run, don't walk, to the see Red Rex at the Steep.
Jessica talks about her theatre training in the very intensive program at the University of Illinois - Urbana, and how the rigorous nature of the program prepared her for the life of a working actor. As a non-Equity actor striving to make a career in the burgeoning off-Loop theatre scene, Jessica is frank in her assessment of the challenges and struggles that entails. The commutes are long, the pay is low, and the competition is steep(!) But Jonathan and Jessica both emphasize what most audiences already know - the Chicago style of acting exemplifies a fierceness and passion fueled by the daily grind that is the nature of a life in the theatre.
Gary offers a play idea with the news story of 183 Amtrak passengers stranded for 37 hours in a snowstorm in the Oregon wilderness. Jonathan has been on plenty of delayed Amtrak trips and describes the mounting stress among the passengers as "a Lord of the Flies mentality." The dramatic possibilities are endless!
Jessica also teaches at the Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts), training young performers. ChiArts is a public 4–year college preparatory visual and performing arts high school located in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. Operated by the Chicago Public Schools district, the school opened for the 2009–10 school year. She's also worked as an actor-patient at Northwestern Medical School where she helped train doctors to treat a variety of conditions and symptoms. A great acting exercise.
Kiss of Death:
Ethel Ennis - Celebrated Singer Who Walked Away from Fame:
Ms. Ennis was a highly respected jazz singer in the 1950s and 60s. Ella Fitzgerald stated that Ms. Ennis was her favorite young vocalist,
We were thrilled to welcome Elaine Soloway to the booth for episode 92! Check out her bio here. She is something else. Between her two memoirs, her Roman à clef, the essays she writes for her blogs, and having part of her life fictionalized on the television show, Transparent, Elaine is "living out loud." Learn about her books and essays by going to Elaine's website. Or friend her on Facebook. At 80 years old, she regularly communicates on social media and has 4,000 FB friends!
Elaine grew up on Division Street in Chicago. Her memoir about those years is called Division Street Princess. We highly recommend that and all of her books!
Elaine's "audacious" daughters are Jill and Faith Soloway, whose many remarkable accomplishments include creating the sensation called The Real Live Brady Bunch at Chicago's Annoyance Theatre. This project was a huge hit and wound up traveling the country with a first rate cast including Jane Lynch and Andy Richter. Check out this video rehearsal footage.
Faith is a musician & producer of rock operas. She regularly works as a collaborator with her sister, Jill, who wrote created the ground-breaking and award-winning show Transparent. The character of Maura was inspired by their father and Elaine calls Judith Light's wonderful character a "version" of herself. Jill Soloway's other credits include writing for the TV show Six Feet Under.
When Faith & Jill were growing up, their family lived in "South Commons" in Chicago for 10 years. The intention of this 30 acre community was to integrate people of different races, incomes, home styles, and ages. There was a K-3 school on the campus and a community center with tons of exciting activities. Elaine, who had been an unhappy housewife, was soon editor of the community paper and had started a musical theatre company. Her husband and daughters starred in some of those shows. Elaine thinks that community helped make her extraordinarily talented daughters who they are.
GZ & Frank review the movie Cold War and give it a big thumbs up.
Elaine tells us about a recent comedy pilot writing class she took at iO taught by Mike McCarthy.
Gary shares the sighting of Deep Blue, one of the largest great white sharks in the world. more than 20 feet long and 2.5 tons at age 50. Check out this amazing story.
Elaine appeared on Season 3, Episode 3 of Transparent and was fabulous. She talks about what a warm family the cast is and how much fun it is to be on the set. We ask about our favorite Chicago actors on the show, Alexandra Billings and Amy Landecker. She adores them. Season Five is going to be a 2-hour musical (!) and Elaine reports the entire cast can really sing. Faith is writing the music. To be released this year. We can't wait!
Kiss of Death: Francis Grill - Founder of Click Model Management.
We are thrilled to be part of the launch of the "Year of Chicago Theatre", helmed by the Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events (DCASE) Commisioner, Mark Kelly.
Mark at the Chicago Jazz Festival
Mark joined us to talk about this first-ever City initiative that is "calling on the world to recognize the power of Chicago Theatre." Partnering with the League of Chicago Theatres and all of the individual theatres, the goal is: "to be a Chicagoan, you are welcome into a Chicago Theatre."
From the City's press release: "To truly fall in love with Chicago, you must go to our theaters. This is where the city bares its fearless soul. From joy to heartache and every feeling in between, Chicago theatre tells stories that evoke big emotions. Stories that take risks, inspire awe, ask tough questions – and dare audiences to do the same. Through Broadway musicals or storefront plays and improv, the energy of the city comes alive in our theaters. And with a diverse collection of over 250 dynamic theaters throughout our neighborhoods, there’s always a seat waiting for you...The Year of Chicago Theatre will also encourage dialog within Chicago’s theatre and philanthropic communities around inclusion and equity issues – and will seek to expand the geographic scope of Chicago theatre, especially on the city’s south and west sides."
Sandra Marquez - photo credit Joe Mazza
We also welcome to the show an important member of the theatre community, actress and director Sandra Marquez. Most recently we saw her brilliant direction of Isaac Gomez's play, "La Ruta" (episode 89) and her wonderful performance in Jen Silverman's "The Roommate" with Ora Jones. Marquez is a longtime member of Teatro Vista, the only equity Latino theatre company in the midwest. She has also been a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble since 2016. She is on the faculty at Northwestern University, teaching acting and voice. She is in rehearsal to play Nora in Steppenwolf's production of "A Doll's House, Part 2". Previews start Jan. 31. Can't wait to see her in this.
Hear Sandra and Mark's takes on what makes theatre here so special. "We are doing new work all the time, everyone supporting and pushing each other to do gutsy and innovative work...
Join us in a great conversation with brilliant artist and illustrator Tom Bachtell. Learn how this self-taught artist became the best thing about the New Yorker's "Talk of the Town". He is still doing stunning caricatures and illustrations for the magazine 23 years later. Check out this wonderful piece Neil Steinberg recently wrote about Tom in the Sun-Times. Tom tells us that "People are bundles of ambiguity. That's what I try to capture in portraits."
Rising stars Isaac Gomez & Karen Rodriguez join us in the Booth to talk about the rehearsal process for their world premiere production of Isaac's play, La Ruta, at Steppenwolf Theatre. Previews begin December 13 and the show runs through January 27. We are going to press opening on December 20 and cannot wait! This amazing project features a number of Steppenwolf debuts: It is Isaac's as a playwright, ensemble member Sandra Marquez's as a director, and Karen's as a new ensemble member!
Director Sandra Marquez with Karen Rodriguez
Isaac tells us that the play is "about a community of women who are living in the wake of unspeakable loss...About how resiliance takes form in various capacities and directions for each of them." La Ruta is a bus that takes women to the U.S. owned factories in Ciudad Juarez. Along this route, many women have disappeared, been attacked, and murdered.
Steppenwolf Poster
The eight Latina actresses in this play all represent real women Isaac has interviewed. As he describes it, "I made a promise to these women that their stories would be heard by as many people as humanly possible,
Fashion world icon Nena Ivon joins us in the Booth to talk about her astounding career, her varied interests in all things cultural, and so much more! - A legend in Chicago, Nena Ivon was the fashion and special events director at Saks Fifth Avenue fr...
Gary and Frank welcome one of the finest actors we've ever had the pleasure to meet to Booth One! Francis Guinan has been with the Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble since 1979 and has appeared in a remarkable number of shows.
Booth One's Frank Tourangeau and his husband, filmmaker Dan Pal, who serves as Booth One's film correspondent, have just returned from a trip to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and have much to report!
We welcome to the Booth this week the very talented and vibrant Jerre Dye. Recommended by a recent genius guest, Cecelia Wingate, Jerre is a Southerner by birth, having grown up in a small town in Mississippi. He is a playwright, actor,
While Frank is out of town, we welcome Ross Fraser, founding co-host of Booth One, back to the studio. He is clearly excited to be back behind a microphone and in rare form. - Gary and Roscoe revisit some favorite topics such as,
We welcome the remarkably talented actress and stage director Cecelia Wingate to Booth One this week. Hailing from Memphis, TN, Cecelia is a driving force in the vibrant theater scene there. Gary recalls seeing her breathtaking performance in Chicago i...
Legendary Chicago newspaperman, radio host, and author Rick Kogan joins us in the Booth to share some great stories and lively conversation. - He's a big fan of our show and has listened to a number of past episodes that he's told us are terrific.
Gary and Frank catch up and discuss a couple of recent theatrical viewings. First off, we get an inside look at Frank's eastern European trip which took him away from Booth One for a couple of episodes. He tells of his experiences in Warsaw, Krakow,
Today we welcome to the Booth acclaimed artist, author, and actor Tony Fitzpatrick, and his son and podcast partner, Max. They are quite a team. Max also manages Adventureland Gallery at 1513 N. Western. Where there is great art and free beer! -
Long time friend and Gary's collaborator on the legendary Klub Kokomo joins us in the Booth to talk about that amazing production and his career as an actor, director, producer, and coach to trial lawyers. -
The endlessly fascinating Jennifer Engstrom graces us in the Booth today. Jen is a long-time ensemble member of A Red Orchid Theatre (as is our last guest, playwright Brett Neveu). She has appeared in over a dozen productions there and at many other gr...
We were thrilled to welcome Brett Neveu to the booth just two days after being in the audience for the press opening of his marvelous new play, To Catch A Fish at Timeline Theatre. This production, masterfully directed by Ron OJ Parson,
We were thrilled to welcome Brett Neveu to the booth just two days after being in the audience for the press opening of his marvelous new play, To Catch A Fish at Timeline Theatre. This production, masterfully directed by Ron OJ Parson,
Gary reports on the wonderful time we had at the Writers Theatre Gala at the Four Seasons. We were guests of Mary Pat & Andy Studdert. It was such a fun evening, featuring sensational entertainment with a Motown theme.
Gary reports on the wonderful time we had at the Writers Theatre Gala at the Four Seasons. We were guests of Mary Pat & Andy Studdert. It was such a fun evening, featuring sensational entertainment with a Motown theme.
Booth One proudly welcomes back to the program writer and teacher Stuart Dybek. Stuart previously appeared on Episode 37, where he spoke about the art of the short story and his approach and inspirations for writing fiction and poetry.
Booth One proudly welcomes back to the program writer and teacher Stuart Dybek. Stuart previously appeared on Episode 37, where he spoke about the art of the short story and his approach and inspirations for writing fiction and poetry.
Gary welcomes back to the Booth author Mark Larson, whose oral history is a chronicle of the past, present and future of Chicago Theatre. Having recently turned in his manuscript to date, Mark had interviews come through with Pulitzer Prize winning pla...
Gary welcomes back to the Booth author Mark Larson, whose oral history is a chronicle of the past, present and future of Chicago Theatre. Having recently turned in his manuscript to date, Mark had interviews come through with Pulitzer Prize winning pla...
Aerialist, circus performer and actor Javen Ulambayar visits Booth One this week with Gary and Frank, as we celebrate our 3rd Anniversary on the air! - Javen is a native of Mongolia and emigrated to the United States when he was 17 with his parent...
Aerialist, circus performer and actor Javen Ulambayar visits Booth One this week with Gary and Frank, as we celebrate our 3rd Anniversary on the air! - Javen is a native of Mongolia and emigrated to the United States when he was 17 with his parent...
It's Oscar season, and Gary and Frank delve into the nominees, snubs and surprises for the 90th Annual Academy Awards. - On a sad note, Gary announces that our dear Roscoe, founding co-host, will not be re-joining us in the Booth any time soon.
It's Oscar season, and Gary and Frank delve into the nominees, snubs and surprises for the 90th Annual Academy Awards. - On a sad note, Gary announces that our dear Roscoe, founding co-host, will not be re-joining us in the Booth any time soon.
Actresses Delia Kropp and Penny Slusher join Gary and Frank in the Booth this week. Penny, a longtime favorite of ours, recently appeared in the Steppenwolf Theatre production of The Minutes, the new play from Tracy Letts.
Actresses Delia Kropp and Penny Slusher join Gary and Frank in the Booth this week. Penny, a longtime favorite of ours, recently appeared in the Steppenwolf Theatre production of The Minutes, the new play from Tracy Letts.
Gary and Frank welcome two of the great leaders of Chicago's Pride Films & Plays to Booth One.
Nelson Rodriguez is Artistic Director of Pride Films and Plays. Filmmaker Dan Pal is running the Pride Film Fest, which happens on the second Tuesday of each month. Check out the line-up for January's festival here.
Pride Films and Plays brings a 4-show season of excellent LGBTQ programming to the Chicago theatre community. Housed at the Pride Arts Center at 4139 N. Broadway, PFP also hosts the aforementioned Pride Film Fest and rents its two spaces to other theater companies.
Dan Pal is an award-winning filmmaker and professor at DePaul and Moraine Valley Community College. Check out his website to see the fabulous Scotty & Josh trilogy and more. Here is Dan winning an award for his direction of Counting, which is the first film produced by Pride Films & Plays. It is on the festival circuit now and headed to the Santa Fe Film Festival in February, where it will open for Melanie Mayron's new movie. We got a chance to screen this beautiful and moving short film.We'll keep you posted when it becomes available to the public.
Nelson recently starred in a feature film called En Algun Lugar, which we can't wait to see. He has performed in a one-man show depicting 7 gay immigrant characters called "Men on the Verge of a His-Panic Nervous Breakdown." Would love to see this and hoping for a remount. Nelson has been featured as one of "30 Under 30" in the Windy City Times. Looking forward to all he will continue to bring to our community.
Pride Films and Plays was founded by David Zak, longtime artistic director of Bailiwick, who brought us so many memorable productions, including The Christmas Schooner, in which Roscoe, our founding co-host, created the role of Gus.
Chita Rivera and Seth Rudetsky did what sounded like an amazing show at Steppenwolf. We had to miss because of a conflict, but sent our friends and loyal listeners with only one request: that they write a short review. Gary shares the a few observations made by Virginia Gerst, Nancy Needles, and Kay Ellwein. We appreciate the excellent reporting and wish we'd been there with you. BTW, we interviewed Chita in episode 32. Check it out.
Frank Tourangeau, our new regular guest host, geeks out on I Love Lucy in a fascinating way. If you didn't already know how the DesiLu empire started, you'll hear it on this show. They also invented the rerun. Geniuses both.
Kiss of Death:
We close each episode with a tribute to a fascinating person who has recently passed away.
Mentor, Educator and Theatre aficionado Frank Tourangeau (Episode 54) returns and joins Gary as this week's co-host in the Booth. Gary and Betsy have just returned from a glorious Thanksgiving week in New York,
Gary's guest this week is photographer, explorer, and theatre artist Stephan Mazurek. Stephan is a storyteller - on screens, on stages, on buildings and on the web. He is a director of photography, still photographer, writer,
Our guest in the Booth this week is the multi-talented Robert Cornelius. Singer, Actor, Songwriter, Band Leader, Educator, Activist, and Writer - he excels at them all! And...we learn that he can design and construct costumes as well. A long-time friend of the show, we were finally able to work it out with his busy schedule to have him on.
Robert grew up on the South Side and studied theatre and psychology at Western Illinois University. When he came back to Chicago, he got cast in Rosencrantz & Gildernstern Are Dead at Stage Left. He quickly became a company member. Other highlights of his career include acting and designing costumes for A Member of the Wedding (also at Stage Left), and playing the lead in Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage at Madison Rep.
Robert tells us about recent favorite acting projects, including appearing in a new play called Lottery Day by Ike Holder for the Goodman Theatre's New Stages project.
Robert is also a successful musician, whose "unattainable goal" when he was young was to become a backup singer. When Poi Dog Pondering's band leader Frank Orall met Robert when both were performing in Brigid Murphy's Milly's Orchid Show, Frank asked him to come sing a couple of lines for a Poi Dog recording.
Soon after, he was asked to join the group for a show outside of the Field Museum in Chicago. There were 10,000 people in attendance! Later he went on tour with the band for several years. Robert is still a proud member of the Poi Dog Pondering collective. They'll be performing five shows this December at City Winery in Chicago. Their live shows are joyous and not to be missed! On this episode, you'll hear a couple of short clips from one of Poi Dog Pondering's great albums, Pomegranate.
Robert is the founder and leader of the musical group RC7, which started as a Soul and R & B cover band. Later, Robert started writing songs and they've produced a CD called To Your Soul. Both Poi Dog Pondering and RC7 have performed marvelous outdoor free shows at Petrillo Music Shell and at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, one with the Grant Park Music Festival's sublime orchestra.
The great Don Cornelius, creator of Soul Train, was Robert's uncle. Robert and a friend won one of the weekly dance contests with a cash prize, but he had to give it back because it was his uncle's show. Still he earned a place as a regular (unpaid) dancer for 2 1/2 years. The legend King of Soul Sam Cooke was married to Robert's dad's step sister. So being around huge talent and fame was par for the course when he was growing up.
Director of Arts Education for Victory Gardens Theater,
Colin Cordwell, proprietor of the The Red Lion English pub, brings his uncanny insights and encyclopedic knowledge to Booth One this week. Colin has seen it all in his 40 years watching "a conveyor belt of humanity go past me" behind one of Chicago's g...
We welcome actor, director, audiobook narrator, and author Kevin Theis back to Booth One to talk about his new book, Invading Nirvana, A Chicagoan in the City of Angels. This hilarious and informative book serves as a blueprint for any actor considerin...
It was thrilling to welcome to the Booth two of the stars and the Assistant Director of Writers Theatre's world premiere production of Trevor the Musical.
Eli Tokash, who plays Trevor, is magnificent on stage and off. He just lights up the room. He has met his match with co-star, Tori Whaples, who is Cathy in the show. And what can we say about Tyrone Phillips, who is doing amazing and exciting work in every aspect of his career.
Trevor began as a monologue written and performed by James Lecesne for his Drama Desk award-winning one man show Word of Mouth, directed by Eve Ensler and produced by Mike Nichols and Elaine May. He then adapted it into a screenplay for a short film directed by Peggy Rajski that won an an Oscar! Watch the film on YouTube here.
This story, set in 1981, is about Trevor, an exuberant middle school kid who is wild for Diana Ross. He has a great "cool" friend, Pinky Faraday (Declan Desmond), who likes him a lot. When one of Pinky's friends insinuates Trevor may be gay, he tries to prove he's not by making out with Cathy, who has a huge crush on him.
However, when Trevor's adoration for Pinky (documented in a notebook) is revealed to classmates by his best friend, Trevor gets bullied and shamed at school. Trevor's emerging sexuality is confusing for him and he is getting no support. This kid who is so full of light winds up attempting suicide.
When James and the film's producers realized that a resource for kids dealing with the issues Trevor raises didn't exist, they started the Trevor Project, a life saving non-profit organization. The goals of the project are "to provide crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13–24, as well as to offer guidance and resources to parents and educators in order to foster safe, accepting and inclusive environments for all youth, at home and at school." Since it's inception in 1998, The Trevor Project has helped hundreds of thousands of kids.
This world premiere musical is produced by Writers Theatre by special arrangement with U Rock Theatricals, a group of young producers making new shows aimed for Broadway. Director Marc Bruni has done a wonderful job of leading this tremendous ensemble and creating a vibrant and important piece that is full of so much heart. We are so lucky to have seen it here first and to have had a chance to talk with these three superstars. They give us an inside look at the process of creating a new musical. The immensely talented writing team of Julianne Wick Davis an...
Booth One welcomes Mary Jo DuPrey, who recently visited Chicago from Los Angeles for some meetings about possible directing projects. - Mary Jo trained as an actress at Vassar. She then worked with her sister Katie Agresta, a legendary vocal coach,
Gary and popular co-host Paul Stroili, welcome special guest Mark Larson to the Booth. Mark is an educator, writer and oral historian, currently working on a book of interviews called Ensemble Chicago: The Making of a Theater Town, An Oral History. Mark has spoken to literally hundreds of theatre professionals, spanning the Chicago theatrical eras from the early 1950s to the present. From Joyce Piven and Alan Arkin to Michael Shannon and Evan Linder, Mark has recorded the stories of playwrights, actors, critics, designers, stage managers, teachers, comedians, artistic directors, producers, executives, and everyone in between. We know you will enjoy hearing our lively discussion about the birth and growth of the Chicago theater scene and the players who made it possible. Mark's book will be released in 2018.
You might also enjoy reading more about the incredible story of the rise of theater in Chicago in legendary critic Richard Christiansen's book A Theatre of Our Own, A History and Memoir of 1,001 Nights in Chicago.
A follow up to last episode's teaser on Michael Phelps swimming against a Great White Shark. Sadly, Phelps didn't win! - no limbs were sacrificed, but he lost by 2 seconds! More from the Hollywood Reporter here.
The 36 Questions - also know as the Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness study - is now a MUSICAL PODCAST! Starring Jonathan Groff (of Hamilton fame) and Jessica Shelton. Gary, Mark and Paul play some of the questions from the study, designed to make the participants fall in love! Learn more at Entertainment Weekly, and listen to the full musical at the Two-Up Productions podcast studio.
Kiss of Death:
Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara, Japanese Longevity Expert, Dies at (or Lives to) 105. What a remarkable life. Not only was he a pioneer in Japanese medicine, but he wrote a best seller at 101!
Read the full NYT Obituary here.
Chill out with a mid-summer edition of Booth One! Gary's good friend and storyteller extraordinaire Julia Maish joins us in the Booth this week. Julia is Manager of Media Relations for WTTW and WFMT and has worked as an actress and jazz singer in Chicago.
We ask Julia about her early days working with The Second City. She was the sole administrative employee when she was there and tells an hilarious story about how on her last day, her boss swept all the cash from the safe into a paper bag to compensate her for the many vacation days she never took. A dramatic and thoughtful gesture.
Though she never had the desire to jump into the improvisation scene, Julia made a fine career out of doing scripted theater with the likes of Frank Farrell and Paul Sills. She relates her experiences with site-specific Shakespeare and the physical demands and dangers of acting. Also the 24-hour Shakespeare Marathon, the first of its kind in Chicago.
Julia talks about her meeting President Barack Obama on several occasions, including during his run for Senate. At a debate organized by Julia, Obama arrives late and is ascended upon by a gaggle of press. There is apparently a photo of Julia and the aspiring senator out there somewhere, but alas, a lengthy search proved fruitless. Listeners, please forward to us if you should come across it.
For many years, Julia was part of a vocal jazz trio know as Three A.M., and later changed to Moonglow. Her suggestion to the group that they change their name again to Cakes Men Like (from a cookbook title that was given to her by a friend) was met with little enthusiasm.
Gary praises a marvelous new play called At The Table, produced by Broken Nose Theatre Company at the Den Theatre. It's one of the finest examples of ensemble acting we've seen in a long while, and though the extended production is sold out through its current run, this fine piece is sure to find a long life in regional theaters across the country. Broken Nose is a "pay-what-you-can" company, where you set your own ticket price, which makes seeing this great work affordable for many more people. You can read the rave reviews of the play here.
After falling for his voice on American Idol, Julia spent many years as a Clay Aiken fan, traveling the country to see him in concert with a group of like-minded Aiken-ites. She fell into this group almost by accident, but after seeing nearly 40 concerts, and ten performances of Spamalot when Aiken was in the Broadway cast, she grew to appreciate his talent, showmanship and wit. Julia was selected to read one of her stories on stage several times during various Aiken performances, and by all accounts stopped the show with her rendition of the time her dress caught on fire while performing with Moonglow. Gary recalls seeing Julia do her story at the historic Genesee Theatre when he book...
Gary welcomes actor, director, producer, choreographer, casting and teaching professional Stephen Schellhardt to the co-host chair of Booth One this week. Longtime listeners to the program may remember Stephen as a panel guest when we recorded our all-...
Gary interviews playwright Antoinette Nwandu and director Danya Taymor during rehearsals of Nwandu's play Pass Over, on site at the Steppenwolf Theatre. We are attending a press performance on June 13 and cannot wait!
They share fascinating insights about the process of creating a world premiere, with Antoinette developing the script throughout the rehearsal period. These two are absolutely inspiring as artistic collaborators. So much mutual respect, affection, and humor. Booth One would love to be in the rehearsal room!
Antoinette describes Pass Over: “At its core, this play asks us collectively to consider the value of black lives, specifically the lives of young black men who are not extraordinary, who are not entertainers, they’re not athletes, they’re not secret math geniuses. They're young men who might never get better, who might never be different. This play challenges us to envision a society that does not ask these young men to prove their worth.”
Inspired in part by two young black men Antoinette taught in community college, she riffs on ideas and themes from both Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot and the Book of Exodus.
The cast includes friend of the show, Jon Michael Hill; co-founder of Definition Theatre Company, Julian Parker; and Ryan Hallahan, from the acclaimed cast of Straight White Men, also at Steppenwolf.
Ms. Nwandu tells us the Cinderella story about how this play came to be produced at Steppenwolf. Thrilling!
Not only a great director, Danya is also a translator. Her story about the translating partners she works with is fascinating. Antoinette also tells us Danya has "world class knowledge of all theater." Our producer is wanting a trivia contest between Danya and Gary...
A couple of our favorite quotes from the interview: Danya: "The truth of this play can shift on a dime." Antoinette: "I write with a lot of jagged tonal shifts."
When asked who they would like to spend a month being mentored by, Danya chooses European director extraordinaire Romeo Castellucci. Antoinette chooses the remarkable playwright Caryl Churchill. Good calls!
Danya and Antoinette are two theatre artists that are without a doubt "going places". Booth One is so excited to follow their skyrocketing careers.
Booth One welcomes back co-host Paul Stroili, and special guest Kevin Theis, actor, writer, director and audio book narrator, for some wild and wacky conversation. Kevin recently directed The My Way Residential, a world premiere play by Geraldine Aaron for the Irish Theatre of Chicago, running though June 25, 2017 at the Den Theatre. Can't wait to see it!
In our ongoing fascination with shark stories, we discovered this: When porn star Molly Cavalli dropped down under water into a shark cage wearing a "white hot swimsuit," her presence apparently enticed a 10-foot lemon shark. The next thing you know she's screaming as she clutches her bloody foot. Check out the video. Further evidence to never get out of the boat!
Kevin describes his audio narrating career reading some of the world's great books, like Jack London's Call of the Wild, the Autobiography of Charles Darwin, Sun Tzu's The Art of War, and of course the classic, Bigfoot and Frankenstein! Kevin records for Audible, and has newly formed his own audio book company, Fort Raphael Publishing Company.
Booth One gets health conscious by reporting on gluteal amnesia, commonly known as Sleeping Butt Syndrome. Sitting all day can lead to a flat butt because muscles are disengaged for so long they forget how to wake up. The cures? Walk around for 30 seconds every half hour. Get a standing desk like most Scandinavians have (of course). Use a foam roller. Vary your workouts to include donkey kicks, squats and planks. Testing for sleeping butt syndrome is easy - squeeze each butt cheek to see if it engages. Keep moving and stay healthy!
The world's oldest person has died....again! Emma Morano, 117, the last person known to have been born in the 1800s. Born in Piedmont, Italy in 1899, Morano credited her longevity to ending her abusive marriage in 1938 and a diet of raw eggs and cookies. She held the Guinness World Record titles for oldest living person and oldest living woman. Stay tuned for more updates on the world's oldest living humans.
Paul Stroili's first feature film begins shooting in Long Beach in June. We are excited for him and will keep you posted!
Gary, Paul and Kevin take a crack at 36 Questions Designed to Help You Fall in Love with Anyone. Asking thirty-six specific questions plus four minutes of sustained eye contact is purportedly a recipe for falling in love, or at least creating intimacy among complete strangers. After sampling select questions,
Booth One welcomes the amazing Rachel Rockwell to our studios amidst her action-packed schedule. Her beautiful production of Shakespeare in Love has just opened at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and she has about a million other irons in the fire.
As a choreographer, Rachel was nominated for Joseph Jefferson Awards for The King & I (2007) and A Chorus Line (2011). As a director, she received Jeff Award nominations for Miss Saigon (2009); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee—Best Musical (2009); Ragtime (2010) and 42nd Street (2011). For her acclaimed Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre production of Ragtime (11 Jeff nominations and seven awards), she received the Joseph Jefferson Award as Best Director of a musical. As Director, Jeff Award nominations (2012) for Best Director and Best Musical: The Sound of Music and Sweeney Todd at Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre; and Best Play: Enron at Timeline Theatre Company. In 2013, her production of Oliver! received a Jeff nomination for Best Musical. In 2014, she received Jeff Award nominations (Director, Choreography and Best Musical) for the revival of Brigadoon at The Goodman Theatre and Les Miserables at Drury Lane Oakbrook. Her production of Brigadoon was named Best Musical and she was named Best Choreographer for that production. She won the Jeff Award for Best Choreography for her production of Billy Eliot in 2015. In 2016, she won the Jeff Award as Best Director for her production of Ride The Cyclone at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.[22]
She has directed notable Children's Theatre productions at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. At CST, she also choreographed productions of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo and Juliet, and Measure For Measure. Since the mid-nineties, Rockwell has directed and choreographed dozens of productions for such theaters as: Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook, Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire, Paramount Theatre, Noble Fool Theatricals, Fox Valley Repertory, Apple Tree, The Little Theatre on the Square, SIU Summer Theatre and McCleod Summer Playhouse.
Rachel is also working on writing and developing new musicals. Look out world!!! Booth One has a couple of ideas we may be passing by her desk.
Rachel is the third musical genius to come on our show who hails from Indiana. Beckie Menzie and Danni Smith, both past guests and friends of the show, cultivated their talents in the Hoosier State. We're wondering what's in the water over there!?
Rachel credits her success to a long line of mentors and teachers, including Buzz Miller, who danced Bob Fosse's brilliant choreography in the seminal "Steam Heat" on Broadway and in the film of The Pajama Game.
Rachel was Dance Captain in Mamma Mia on Broadway and the National Tour, and she gives us some backstage insight about what a difficult and important job this is.
She choreographs in her car(!) and counter-clockwise in her living room to avoid the coffee table. So yeah, kind of a genius. Deb Acker, the production stage manager at Chicago Shakespeare, says Rachel is the most prepared director she's ever worked with. Rachel tells us why she prepares so thoroughly.
Gary and Rachel talk the 2017
Gary and the Booth One crew are pleased to welcome award-winning artistic director of Court Theatre, Mr. Charles Newell to the program. Court is the resident professional theater company of the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. Charlie has been AD at Court since 1994. Under his leadership, Court has, in the words of playwright Tony Kushner, "developed a spectacular reputation as one of the most important theaters in the country." Charlie's directing credits span a spectrum from classic Shakespeare to world premiere dramas and comedies, from musicals to opera. He is the recipient of four Joseph Jefferson Awards for directing, and has been honored by TCG and the League of Chicago Theatres for artistic achievement. Charlie is one of the finest theatrical artists working in America today and refers to himself as "the luckiest man in show business."
Newell grew up in the Washington, DC area and first fell in love with theater when he saw an Arena Stage production of Death of a Salesman as a young boy. He studied at Wesleyan University, then honed his craft through a series of professional apprenticeships with some of the country's most outstanding theater artists, including Garland Wright at the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.
Charlie's most recent work is a production of Tom Stoppard's The Hard Problem. The title comes from philosopher David Chalmers' term to describe scientific efforts to understand consciousness. We discuss this play in depth as well as Newell's close relationship with Mr. Stoppard. Charlie and Tom have consulted personally on a number of other Stoppard productions Charlie has directed. For this one, they had almost daily conversations about the play during rehearsals. In his early career as a stage manager, Gary had the great privilege to work on the Broadway and National touring productions of Stoppard's The Real Thing. He and Charlie trade stories about working with Stoppard and what a true man of the theater he really is.
Much like Stoppard's other works, The Hard Problem is a tricky play to fully comprehend on a single viewing. Charlie talks about the way Stoppard's focus is centered on the emotional connections between the characters rather than the intellectual ideas. "If one can find the heart of it, the rest will fall into place." We think you will find the discussion illuminating and fascinating.
Court Theatre takes full advantage of being part of the University of Chicago. In 2010, with the support of some very generous members of the Board of Trustees, Court created The Center for Classic Theatre. "A new way of approaching what it means for a professional theatre to be in residence at a major university. It is an approach to producing that fully accesses the amazing intellectual resources that surround the theatre. This vision influences how Court Theatre builds seasons and serves its audience and community." The results have been exciting. For instance, this season Court produced the widely acclaimed world premiere of
April Fools' Day finds us recording our 55th Episode! Returning friend of the show Paul Stroili co-hosts this toe-tapping episode with Gary in Booth One. Paul reveals that he is a motorcycle enthusiast and that his father once raced motorcycles in Europe. Riding a "Hog" is a skill that Gary has long wanted to acquire, though driving a Vespa is probably closer to his ability levels of balance and coordination.
Paul gives an update on his hit interactive theatrical production of Tony n' Tina's Wedding. Some cast changes are in store, at least through the summer, but the good news is that the show continues to sell strongly and bookings are being confirmed for well into the fall of 2017. Congratulations to the entire Tony n' Tina's team and best wishes for a long and prosperous run!
Our friends at Broadway In Chicago made sure that both Gary and Paul got to see the recent Circus 1903 spectacular at Chicago's Oriental Theater, and they loved both the production and the talented performers. Some of our favorites are Ringmaster Willy Whipsnade (David Williamson), aerialist Lucky Moon (Elena Gatilova), The Cycling Cyclone (Florian Blummel), Elastic Dislocationist Senayet Asefa Amare, and juggler extraordinaire Francois Borie. The highlight of the show are the life-size faux elephants, manipulated by a team of expert puppeteers and designed by the same folks who brought War Horse to life on stage. These pachyderms are so life-like and majestic that you can feel the awe and amazement from the crowd. Their presence, and the focus on the artistry and athleticism of the performers, make this nostalgic homage to the golden age of circus wonderous experience for young and old alike. Check out their website for their touring itinerary and don't miss this performance if it comes to a city near you.
On a sadder note, producers of the long-running musical The Fantasticks have announced its closing in New York....again! Seems that the money from anonymous donors that has kept the show alive the past couple of years has run out and ticket sales are flagging. This is one of Gary's favorite shows, so if you plan to be in New York before June, try to catch this landmark musical before it closes. Who knows? Your ticket purchase may just contribute to another extension of this beloved show. You can buy tickets here.
Speaking of contributions - if you want to support the Booth One mission of bringing you the best in the art of lively conversation and fascinating guests, go to our DONATE button on this web page and you can make a fully tax deductible donation to our cause. It's quick, it's easy, and it would be deeply appreciated by all of us at Booth One. Including Gary's imaginary teacup pig support animal. Down, Jeanette!
Gary and Paul reminisce on their splendid dinner from the night before at friends Nancy and Arne's Big Night party. It was a recreation of the famous over-the-top dinner from the Stanley Tucci/Tony Shaloub 1996 film
Guest co-host Frank Tourangeau joins Gary in Booth One this week. Frank is a director, educator, speech coach, and all-around performing arts aficionado, whose knowledge of Chicago and New York theater is wide-ranging and insightful. I guess we should call him "Doctor" Tourangeau, as he holds a PhD in Speech and Performance Art from Southern Illinois University, and did his dissertation on the interactions of right brain/left brain as it relates to emotional cognition in performance. Wow. One of the smartest people we know!
Frank once coached our producer in high school speech competitions and relates a few stories about her performance piece and its reception at competitions. More here. Frank is retired now from his professorship at the College of DuPage in Wheaton, IL and spends much of his time supporting theater and film in and around the city of Chicago.
Gary does an Academy Awards recap by reviewing his picks along with those from Roscoe and Paul Stroili. Looks like Gary was the big winner with 6 out of 9 correct picks. Roscoe: 4. Paul: 3. Prize: $0.
Sally Field fares marginally well in reviews of The Glass Menagerie, but the production gets disappointing notices for its deconstructionist quality and unusual staging. We highlight the New York Daily News review as a representative example.
Frank and Gary romp through what's coming to the boards on Broadway and what's "in the works" for future seasons. Select upcoming openings: Come From Away, The Play That Goes Wrong, War Paint, The Little Foxes, Hello, Dolly! and A Doll's House Part 2(!). Scheduled for later - The Prince of Broadway; The Minutes by Tracy Letts; Bombshell, the Marilyn Monroe musical from Smash; The Cher Show; The Devil Wears Prada; Gypsy(again! this time starring Imelda Staunton); To Kill a Mockingbird (adapted by Aaron Sorkin); King Kong from Australia; and The Honeymooners starring Hank Azaria. Will all these come to fruition and make it on the Big White Way? Only time will tell.
We discuss the brilliant new film from Jordan Peele, Get Out, a semi-horror thriller with more than a few twists and turns. Both Frank and Gary like this picture immensely and try not to give too much away while discussing various scenes and plot points. There are elements of science fiction and some suspension of disbelief is required as the harrowing story hurtles its way forward. We encourage everyone to go see it! After you've seen it, read this excellent analysis in The Atlantic. Get Out was produced by friend of the show, Jason Blum. Congratulations, Jason and Blumhouse!
Pride Films and Plays, a new local producing organization whose mission is to change lives by creating diverse new work with LGBTQ+ characters or themes, has mounted a production of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert in a 99-seat theater with as many production elements as can be created in a small space. It features Chicago legend, Honey West!
Gary welcomes 4-time Jeff Award winner Danni Smith to the Booth this week, in a lively discussion of her career, growing up in Indiana, her recent lauded performances in Jesus Christ, Superstar, Man of La Mancha, and the currently-running Mamma Mia at the Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre. Gary and Roscoe first encountered Danni at the Theo Ubique, where she was just marvelous in the role of Mary Magdalene. Not only was she a highlight of the show, she was also our table server at the intimate space. Oh, what fine actors do to make it in this business! Danni treasures the time she spent doing five shows at Theo Ubique. The "bolt of lightning" description is a quote from a Broadway World rave review of her performance in Man of La Mancha.
Ever since playing a Munchkin in a grammar school performance of The Wizard of Oz, Danni has been smitten with the theatre. She attended Ball State University to study musical theatre. (Other Ball State alumni include David Letterman, Steadman Graham and John Schnatter, founder of Papa John's Pizza.) We chat about her inspirations, aspirations and dream roles. You can view a clip of Danni's performance in Mamma Mia here.
The latest news in our recurring watch of the world's elephant community is about the cold weather sweeping across northern India and threatening the health and well-being of these gentle mammals at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Center. Big-hearted local villagers have begun knitting giant sweaters to keep the pachyderms warm. These colorful new duds take about 4 weeks to create. But it's well worth the effort to keep these animals happy and comfortable, especially considering all the hardships they've been through. To buy a blanket for an elephant at Wildlife SOS click here. Or you can knit your own sweater and send it to them! Learn about other ways to help at http://wildlifesos.org/donate-2-2/.
About a year ago, Danni co-founded, with Artistic Director Harmony France, a new Chicago theatre company called Firebrand Theatre, the first "equity feminist musical theatre company" committed to employing and empowering women by expanding opportunities on and off the stage. The inaugural season includes 9 to 5 The Musical and Lizzie, a rock musical based on the true-life story of accused axe-murderess Lizzie Borden(!). Plus a kick-off benefit concert called Nothin' Like a Dame: A Celebration of Women in Musical Theatre. That February 27th performance featuring 28 singers was sold-out! Congratulations, Firebrand, and best of luck in your new exciting venture.
Gary gives a shout-out to the Goodman Theatre's production of Uncle Vanya, adapted by Annie Baker and directed by Artistic Director Robert Falls. This is one of the finest examples of ensemble acting we've seen in some time, and beautifully captures the humor and existential pathos of Chekhov's brilliant...
Booth One continues its string of lively guest co-host episodes with our good friend Paul Stroili, actor, writer, director and filmmaker, sitting in the hot seat for still-recuperating Roscoe. Who has, by the way, rented a Barca Lounger to watch movies from for his convalescence. We're going to need a photo of that. Frequent Booth One listeners will remember that Paul has appeared on past episodes, talking about his long-running hit production of Tony n' Tina's Wedding and just being his hilarious, Booth One type entertaining self. He's working on writing a sequel to that outstanding piece of audience interactive theater. We can't wait!
Gary and Paul take a look at the current Broadway season, highlighting Glenn Close as Norma Desmond in the new revival of Sunset Boulevard. The NY Times says that her reinvented performance after 22 years "may well guarantee its status as one of the great stage performances of this century." And "one of those rare instances where more is truly more." An actor cannot win a Tony for the same role, even in different productions. Yul Brynner was given an honorary Tony when he appeared in a revival of The King and I. Could there be a "special" Tony Award in the offing for Close? Read the full review here.
We also discuss the upcoming revival of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, featuring Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon in the roles of Regina and Birdie, directed by Daniel Sullivan at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Here's the catch - the actresses will alternate parts at select performances! Now that's something worth seeing in back-to-back seatings. We'll eagerly await the notices when this show opens in mid-April. And hope to see it ourselves. A fun fact: The title of the play was suggested by Dorothy Parker.
One of our favorite theater reviewers, Charles Isherwood, is leaving his post at the New York Times for points unknown. Isherwood not only reviewed Broadway and off-Broadway fare, but he was a frequent viewer and critic of Chicago and other regional theater productions. Booth One has always enjoyed his insight and candor. There's a wonderful opportunity here for the up-and-coming new generation of cultural art critics. If you or a loved one are interested in pursuing this position, American Theatre has published the full job description. See how many of the requirements you qualified for. Who knows? We might be quoting from your review some day on Booth One!
It's that time of year again....OSCAR time! Gary and Paul handicap their favorites in the major categories alongside picks received from Roscoe! Will La La Land make a sweep? Or is Hidden Figures the dark horse for best picture? Natalie Portman, Emma Stone or Meryl Streep as Best Actress? Denzel or Casey? What to say about Mahershala Ali in Moonlight! Play along with the guys by downloading your own
Our special guest in the Booth this week is Sean Graney, the highly acclaimed Artistic Director of one of our favorite Chicago off-Loop theater companies, The Hypocrites. While Roscoe continues to recover from his health condition, Gary goes one-on-one with Sean in a lively and informative discussion of Graney's background, his founding of The Hypocrites 20 years ago, his experiences with acting, playwriting, adapting and directing, and a host of other theatre-related topics.
Sean began his theatrical life in Boston. After school, he chose Chicago as the place to lay down his creative roots. Sean has received wide recognition for his vibrant and forceful productions of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore, and his ground-breaking All Our Tragic, a tour de force adaptation of the 32 extant Greek tragedies, performed in one 12-hour cycle (with meal breaks, of course!). Gary asks Sean about his approach to running a theater company, the nature of collaboration, and his style of working to adapt classic pieces of the theater canon.
We also discuss the recent developments within The Hypocrites that have led Sean to cease current operations and to reorganize the company under a different business model. It's fascinating conversation and a must-listen for anyone who is considering starting a theater company or is struggling to remain viable in this rapidly changing cultural environment. Sean reveals what he's working on now and how this new show - related to All Our Tragic - will be developed and work-shopped in several environments. Cannot wait...
Along the way, Gary mentions another long-running operation that has recently announced it is ceasing its presentations - Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, The Greatest Show on Earth. Declining attendance and low ticket sales, attributed in part to the removal of the elephant acts from the show, have led the Feld Corporation to pull up the tent stakes and call it a day, after 146 years of bringing live circus entertainment to millions of young and old alike. Grateful to have seen the show this past November and will always have fond memories of watching the childrens' delight at the spectacle.
Gary relates his experience seeing the documentary film, "The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened," an account of the making of, and untimely demise of, the Sondheim/Prince musical Merrily We Roll Along. This fine film from director Lonny Price is a treasure trove of original production footage, audition tapes, and interviews with all the leading participants, including original cast members and Sondheim himself. It's not in wide release so you'll have to seek out your favorite art house or local film forum. But it is well worth the effort. A must-see for all theatre fans or musical geeks - like us!
Finally, Sean and Gary discuss the recent benefit performance of their award-winning production of Our Town, directed by and featuring David Cromer, in a staged reading at the Steppenwolf Theatre. It was an emotional evening, and the Chicago theater community was out in force to show their affection and solidarity for a struggling company of brothers and sisters. To support The Hypocrites in their reorganization,
We celebrate Booth One's 50th! episode with guest co-host, Jim Reho. For the past several years, Jim has resided in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the South Side and joins us to give a great tour. Learn more facts about Chicago's South Side.
Jim reports on some of the highlights in his part of Chicago. For starters, check out some of the best thin crust pizza anywhere at Vito & Nick's, 84th & Pulaski. They have been around for 90 years!
Another Reho favorite is a place that serves Korean/Polish cuisine. We are planning a "Roscoe at Large" visit to check out this great concept at Kimski! Read a 4 star review here.
For excellent musical programming in a beautiful setting, hear a concert at Thalia Hall. Built in the 1890's as a replica of the Prague Opera House, it was one of the most ornate theaters of its time. Located in the Pilsen neighborhood, it has wonderful acoustics and you can even rent part of the balcony. Talk about Booth One! Check out the fascinating history. We are planning to see a show there and will report back.
Between Christmas and New Years was the highest grossing week in Broadway history. 359,495 people saw a Broadway show that week. Jim talks about his favorite classic American musicals, including Carousel, a Booth One favorite. Listening to the original cast album the other night, Jim says there are 4 indelible songs he can list off the top of his head. He asks Gary if there are any songs in Hamilton that will live throughout history. Gary's response is there are probably half a dozen. Jim reveals that while he majored in English, his undergraduate minor was in - get this, the History of the American Musical Theatre!
Gary reports on his trip to Writers Theatre to see East Texas Hot Links and says, "You will not see better acting anywhere...It is a powerful, bold and troubling statement. I couldn't recommend it more highly." Read one of the many rave reviews here. This Pulitzer Prize finalist was written by Eugene Lee and directed splendidly by Ron OJ Parson. Speaking of Ron, he's directed a production of Blues for An Alabama Sky, running now at the Court Theatre in Hyde Park on the south side. Court has been doing excellent work for a long time and will be featured on an upcoming episode.
Gary talks about the Kennedy Center Honors, which featured a stunning tribute to Mavis Staples by Bonnie Raitt and Andra Day, backed by a gospel choir. Check out the video here. Jim and Gary discuss Bonnie Raitt's lovely relationship with her father, John, who was the original Billy Bigalow in Carousel in 1945! See John and Bonnie sing a gorgeous duet of Hey There with the Boston Pops when he was 85!
Another highlight of our winter theater season on Booth One was seeing The Christians at Steppenwolf. Gary and Jim talk about the fascinating questions the show raises about faith, death and forgiveness. Again, with crazy good acting - across the board! Tom Irwin and Glenn Davis are particularly riveting.
Gary and Roscoe wrap up 2016 - and good riddance to a challenging year - with an episode of year-end theater going and a few fun lists.
First we revisit Hamilton and our recent viewing of the new Chicago production. From our Booth One perspective in the 11th row at the PrivateBank Theatre, this sit-down company is hands down as dynamic, entertaining and exciting as the Broadway show we saw in New York in May. It's not just a traveling road company - the show's creators have put together a virtual replica of the Broadway smash and re-produced one of the great theatrical experiences of a lifetime. Yes, ticket prices are steep and seats are hard to come by, but it's worth every penny and effort to get into this show. Take the time to play the lottery. 'Nuf said....
Our first year-end list is President Obama's final Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients:
Alphabetically, they are Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, Ellen DeGeneres, Robert DeNiro, Bill and Melinda Gates, Frank Gehry, Tom Hanks, Michael Jordan, Maya Lin, Lorne Michaels, Newton Minow, Robert Redford, Diana Ross, Vin Scully, Bruce Springsteen, and Cicely Tyson. A special note is made about Newt Minow, close friend of our producer and a Chicago native, who famously referred to television as a "vast wasteland".
Audra McDonald's pregnancy was a surprise. But was it an accident, an illness or neither? We discuss the lawsuit brought by the producers of the marvelous Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed against Lloyds of London, claiming damages of more than $12 million. Ms. McDonald's absence from the show for maternity leave prompted not only the show's early closing, but earlier health issues forced her to miss some preview performances. Ms. McDonald, who has won six Tony awards, was the show's biggest star. Lloyd's has denied the claims, arguing that the pregnancy "and the associated medical conditions were neither an 'accident' nor an 'illness'," criteria cited in the original $14 million insurance policy. Stand by for more on this unprecedented story...
Pray. Eat raw eggs. Stay single. Those are the keys to a long life, according to Emma Morano, the world's oldest person. Emma celebrated her 117th birthday this week, and is a national treasure in her native Italy, where her birthday celebration was broadcast on live state television. After the party, Morano took a well-deserved nap. God Bless, Emma.
Our next list is of Golden Globe Award nominees, as Gary puts Roscoe in the hot seat for predicting the winners of the January 8 ceremony. His picks: Manchester By the Sea and La La Land for Best Motion Pictures; Denzel, Natalie Portman, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in the Best Acting categories.
Continuing our movie musical theme, Gary tells about a new Marc Platt project based on the book "Everything's Coming Up Profits: The Golden Age of Industrial Musicals".The source book focuses on corporate musicals made by the hundreds from the 1950s to the early 1980s by companies like Coca-Cola, Westinghouse and Chevrolet.
Roscoe and Gary feel on the cusp of stardom and celebrity as they record Episode 48 in time for the holidays. Basking in the great feedback and listener response to our Charna Halpern interview on the last episode, the boys dream of Booth One seating at the great establishments of the world, particularly the Old Ebbett Grill in Washington, DC, where the shellfish is always fresh and the oysters are always briny and cold.
We announce the winner of our Hamilton ticket raffle - that lucky someone who will accompany Gary and Roscoe to the Chicago production on Dec. 4. And the winner is......Fran Bernstein, long-time friend and fan of the show! Congratulations, Fran. We'll see you at the PrivateBank Theatre on the aisle! And don't forget we have the VIP Experience before curtain and at intermission. How Booth One of us....
Gary and Roscoe take a tour of the current Broadway season, noting that the aforementioned Hamilton grossed $3.3M last week, the most money ever made in a single week by a Broadway show. Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 also cleared the $1M mark (much to Roscoe's consternation), joining the ranks of The Lion King, Wicked and Aladdin. Another new Broadway show, Heisenberg, prompts Roscoe to share one of his great unpleasant theater-going experiences of all time. Hint: It involves a faulty hearing device and a Wednesday matinee crowd. And tickets for Sally Field in The Glass Menagerie appear to be selling briskly for a March opening. Lost footage of a filmed version of this play from the 1960's starring Shirley Booth of Hazel fame and Hal Holbrook will be aired on Turner Classic Movies during December.
Gary went to the circus again. For the first time in 134 years without elephants. But it's still an experience not to be missed. Booth One tip: Sit as close as you can without being in the front row. It's worth it for the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd. As well as the snarling of the lions and tigers. Here's an image of Gary in his souvenir pachyderm hat! On a related note, Elephant Polo will now be disbanded in Nepal in the continuing and important efforts for elephant conservation and welfare. Though widely known for it's humane treatment of the animals since 1982, a spokesperson for the International Elephant Polo Championships said, "We've always been ahead of the game in the way we treat our elephants, but we prefer our elephants to remain as elephants, and elephant polo is hardly that." Live long and prosper, you great giants of the jungle.
It's been a stellar season for great movies, but we rue the fact that many of the smaller films come and go so quickly in Chicago to make room for the holiday blockbusters. Some films we wish stayed around longer so we could see them are Moonlight, Loving, Birth of a Nation and Inferno. Roscoe mourns for Warren Beatty and his new film Rules Don't Apply, which received mixed notices but can only be seen at 10:00am at one theater in the city. And has per screen grosses in only the hundreds of dollars. Sad.
Gary and Roscoe record Episode 47 before a live audience at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre as part of the 1st Annual Chicago Podcast Festival. Special guest in the Booth Charna Halpern discusses the legendary iO Theater in Chicago, and her work over a 30-year career using improvisation to develop and discover future comedy stars.
Her theaters have been a prime conduit of talented performers, writers, and directors for film and television. Graduates of the iO have appeared on Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, The Daily Show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, among dozens of others. Mike Myers called Charna Halpern "The Uta Hagen of comedy." And the New York Times labeled her "The Hidden Architect of Modern Comedy."
Alumni of the iO include Adam McKay, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, Chris Farley, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, Jason Sudeikis and Vince Vaughn. Under Halpern's direction, the iO Theaters are producing the next generation of artistic geniuses. Charna shares her insight, experiences and advice to aspiring improv performers in a delightful 45 minutes.
We promote Charna and Del Close's book Truth in Comedy - The Manual of Improvisation, widely considered to be the improv "bible" for those wishing to learn the techniques, games and structures of long-form improv and "Harold". And if you want to learn more from Charna, get her latest book Art by Committee, a guide to advanced improvisation that includes a DVD showing her principles in action.
In a couple of digressions, Gary announces the giveaway of a Hamilton ticket for the lucky winner of a raffle, culled from those who sign up for our A-List at Booth-One.com before November 28. And Roscoe describes his recent New York trip to see Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 at the Imperial Theatre. Suffice it to say that audience participation does not figure highly in Roscoe's enjoyment of theatrical entertainment.
Finally, Charna shares her love of animals, particularly her efforts to rescue and find foster homes for dogs. She explains why the ACC animals need homes the most. For more information on adopting a pet from Animal Care & Control in Chicago, go to this site.
She also tells us about the fascinating work she did in Africa with orphaned elephants through David Sheldrick's Wildlife Trust. And describes what it was like to take walks with a wily giraffe named Kiku. As you know, we love elephants on Booth One!
Peabody and Emmy Award winner Jay Martel joins us in Booth One via Skype all the way from Hollywood! It's our first long-distance interview show and the technology involved has Gary and Roscoe a bit daunted, so we've brought in our audio guru John Lisiecki to run sound for us today. Great to have John back in the studio!
Jay won an Emmy this year as Executive Producer on the brilliant sketch comedy show Key & Peele, now available in full episodes at Comedy Central. One of their recurring sketches became so iconic that Luther, Barack Obama's "Anger Translator" appeared with the president at the White House Correspondent's dinner.
Jay and producing partner Ian Roberts, a co-founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade, were the show runners (Jay tells us what that entails) for Key & Peele and are now show runners for the TV Land program Teachers - featuring the actresses who performed here in Chicago as the improv group, The Katydids.
Jay is also a successful playwright, essayist (The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, etc.) and novelist. His first novel, Channel Blue, is about an intergalactic alien conglomerate called Galaxy Entertainment that for decades has used the Earth as the basis of a reality TV show for billions of planetary viewers. But the viewership has become bored with our "earthle" behavior and the producing corporation of Channel Blue decides to "cancel" Earth in a spectacular series-ending finale. Only one person can prevent this disaster - out-of-work screenwriter and manic depressive Perry Bunt. And this is just the first 40 pages!! A terrific read and a very funny book. We detour into a few animal stories and talk about Shirley and Jenny, 2 former circus elephants who have an emotional reunion after 22 years when they end up at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. Watch the touching video here.
Next we discuss the 100-year-old giant tortoise Diego, who single-handedly saved his species from extinction by fathering 800 babies in the past 50 years on the Galapagos Island of Espanola. Conservationists credit Diego's success with the ladies to his handsome, grizzled appearance. You be the judge.
Finally, an air passenger boarded a flight recently with her "emotional support animal" - a duck wearing red shoes and a Captain America diaper. Gary, Roscoe and Jay discuss the merits and ethical implications of the emotional support animal craze - real or ruse?
Gary and Roscoe are treated to Booth One experiences by being invited into the limousines of Tony and Tina on the way to their "wedding". Roscoe gets the bridal party while Gary travels with the groomsmen as they head to the church on time. Afterwards, we attend the ceremony and reception right here in Chicago....
Gary and Roscoe romp through a medley of miscellany, joined unexpectedly by friend-of-the-show Paul Stroili of Episode 43 fame. Paul was loitering outside an Edible Arrangements franchise near our studio, shamelessly advertising for his new hit Chicago show Tony n' Tina's Wedding. So Gary invited him in for a visit and a chat on the air. More about Edible Arrangements than you ever wanted to know...
Roscoe reviews The Scivvies for our listeners - singer/actor/musicians Nick Cearly and Lauren Molina from New York, who perform in their underwear stripped down arrangements of eclectic covers and eccentric originals. Roscoe "charms" other patrons seated near him at the event, which featured guest appearances by musical artists from Hamilton and Wonderful Town. Roscoe's informed notice? Two big thumbs up! Gary finally sees Wonderful Town at the Goodman Theatre before closing and his take concurs with Roscoe's - a brilliant re-imagining that simply shows what a theatrical genius like Mary Zimmerman and a stellar cast can do with somewhat mediocre musical material. Marvelous performances all, especially by leads Bri Sudia and the aforementioned Lauren Molina. Bri Sudia gives a performance that Gary imagines is reminiscent of a young Fanny Brice or Ethel Merman in her heyday.
We can't avoid discussing the unanimous stellar reviews that Paul and his production of Tony n' Tina's Wedding have received in all the Chicago media. The acting, the direction, the venue, the music and the original 1980's theme make this one of the must-see events in the city this season. Despite the Chicago Cubs' World Series run diverting audiences to their TV sets this October, T n' T is playing to large and repeat crowds, offering an actual church wedding ceremony, an interactive reception, loads of great 80's music, full Italian dinner, champagne toast and real wedding cake. Paul discusses the extraordinary work by the cast and their dedication to naturalism and honest improvisation. Go to www.tonylovestina.com for information and to order tickets. Hurry, though, as it only runs through January 14, 2017.
Another shout out from Roscoe and Gary about their experience at the famous iO Theatre improvisation space, where they saw the Improvised Shakespeare Company. Smart, funny, sophisticated, inspiring and downright thrilling, this troupe of actors and improvisers create a full 2-hour Shakespearean-style play with just a single suggested title from the audience. Ours was called "Without Handlebars" and was hilarious from start to finish. From mistaken identities to rhyming couplets, from iambic pentameter to mismatched lovers, you'll swear you're watching a fully written and prepared script. But NO! It's being made up on the spot for the first - and last - time ever! This is the perfect date night event, and it's only $16. Worth at least twice that. Enough gushing....GO!
Gary, Roscoe and Paul bandy about Broadway's The Cherry Orchard reviews, George Bernard Shaw, War Paint and actress
Gary and Roscoe are pleased and excited to welcome cabaret artist Beckie Menzie to Booth One this week. Beckie is an award-winning performer, teacher, song writer, musical director and vocal coach, a staple of the Windy City music scene, and nationally recognized as one of the country's finest cabaret entertainers. Along with her musical partner Tom Michael, they have been called, "Sizzling...immensely appealing...one of the most compelling duos in cabaret today!"
Beckie is from Pierceton, IN, but a Chicago girl through and through. She learned piano at an early age and fell in love with music and the performing arts while hanging around the Wagon Wheel Theatre in Warsaw, IN. She has performed at some of the nation's top clubs, theaters, concert halls, outdoor venues, and cabaret rooms. She most recently appeared at Carnegie Hall and the Auditorium Theatre. We play a few song excerpts throughout the podcast to give you a taste of her talent, style and singular musical gifts.
Beckie and the boys chat about cabaret performers Michael Feinstein, Barbara Cook, Karen Mason, Sally Mayes, Julie Wilson, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, Marilyn Maye and Barbra Streisand. (Just to drop a few names!) We discuss Laura Benanti's latest show at the Cafe Carlyle in New York and the stellar reviews she received.
Gary gives a shout out to the Therapy Players, Chicago's premier all-psychotherapist comedy improvisation troupe! Seems they're holding auditions looking for a few new recruits. If you or someone you love is mental health professional, check them out at www.therapyplayers.com.
In addition to performing steadily with Tom, Beckie is also a vocal coach and teacher, has recently become engaged, and sings with Laura Freeman & Marianne Murphy Orland in a group called Girls Like Us. They'll be performing their new show Barbra, Bette and Bernadette at Chicago's famed Davenport's nightclub on November 19 & 20. Go here for more info and tickets. Beckie's various musical ventures are part of her BeMe Music empire.
If you like The Golden Girls like we do, you'll LOVE the new action figures from Funko. Retirees Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia are posable vinyl figures 3.75 inches tall and ready for action! The four-figure set costs $25 and is only available from participating Target stores and New York Comic Con. Run, don't walk, to your nearest Target for holiday shopping magic.
There's nothing like a country and western song title to bring a smile - and an occasional grimace - to your face. Gary cycles through the Best of the Worst Country-Western Song Titles of all time. Here's one - She Got the Gold Mine and I Got the Shaft. Beckie tells us about the country song she once wrote and one that she intends to.
Roscoe inquires whether anyone can be taught how to...
Gary and Roscoe greet Autumn in Chicago with anticipation and merriment. While discussing pie fights and pet peeves, Roscoe admits to being officially notified by the Library of Congress about misrepresenting the number of screenings of the newly restored and fully assembled 1927 Laurel and Hardy film The Battle of the Century. Seems he saw the third American screening at Cinecon, not the first. A minor quibble, but worthy of correction.
Gary's latest Sourpuss Smithers peeve concerns the use of the helper word "like". As in "Like he heard this woman on like the train using the word 'like' like as every third or fourth like word and couldn't like believe that a seemingly well-educated and like professional person would be caught like dead in a loud conversation in like public with such a debilitating like speech pattern. Like." We know this is not a new problem, but seriously?
The sharks are back in town in New Smyrna Beach, Florida with three attacks on surfers in one day! NSB is apparently known as the "shark attack capital of the world." Read more here to learn why. And keep your hands and feet inside the boat at all times.
We preview the new season on Broadway with a nod toward those shows closing (Something Rotten, The Humans, An American in Paris, Matilda, Fiddler on the Roof), and a look ahead to upcoming openings. Of particular interest is the revival (again!) of The Glass Menagerie, this time featuring Sally Field. Roscoe is flush with excitement over this and predicts a Tony Award for the former Flying Nun. We like her! We really like her!! Even more exciting is the opening of Hello, Dolly! starring the great one herself, Bette Midler. And featuring David Hyde Pierce as Horace Vandergelder. The first revival in 22 years, this show broke the first day Broadway record for ticket sales, ringing in at $9,082,497! Word on the street has it that Carol Channing, 95, will be in attendance on Opening Night. Oh, to be in the audience that night...
Roscoe gives us his thumbnail review of Wonderful Town, now playing at the Goodman Theatre, directed by the great Mary Zimmerman. "It's bright, colorful...with one show stopper after another after another", says Roscoe. 4 Stars out of 4. Bri Sudia gives what Chris Jones in the Chicago Tribune calls a brilliant, career-making performance. High praise indeed.
You heard it here first on Booth One, folks - The People vs OJ Simpson was going to be BIG! A huge winner at this year's Emmy Awards., including Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark and Courtney B. Vance as Johnny Cochran. Also, close friend Jay Martel appeared on stage as Executive Producer when Key and Peele won for Outstanding Variety Sketch Show. Nice photo in the NYTimes the next day, Jay! Way to go. Can't wait to have you on the program. See all the Emmy noms and winners here.
Something that we hope will become a recurring segment is Roscoe reading entries from his grandfather Roscoe's scrapbook of letters and reminiscences. Touching, human and revealing, we think you'll find this will become a popular Boot...
Gary and Roscoe welcome to The Booth stage and film actor, director, writer and producer Paul Stroili, recently relocated back to Chicago from Los Angeles. Paul's wit, charm and remarkable storytelling make him one of our most hilarious guests to date. See Paul's full bio here. Paul previously co-hosted an entertainment talk radio show in Los Angeles called "State of the Arts" with Michael Sterling, and is pretty savvy behind the mic, as you'll hear. He tells about some of the iconic guests they had on the show, including Carol Channing, Russ Tamblyn and George Chakiris.
Roscoe takes us through his latest Cinecon Classic Film Festival adventures, seeing rarely or never-seen films in Hollywood in the course of 5 days over Labor Day weekend. From Carl Laemmle's King of Jazz, to vintage Spencer Tracy, to meeting legendary film actress Marsha Hunt, it sounds like Roscoe had another great year at Cinecon sitting in the dark with friends.
Paul's latest project is a new production of the audience-interactive theatre piece Tony n' Tina's Wedding here in Chicago. Paul was in the original Chicago production back in the 90's. When the producers heard he was moving back, they tapped him to direct the remount. This time the ceremony will be held in a real church, and attendees will then make their way 2 blocks to the reception site. Paul says the cast is full of "brilliant improvisors who are also great actors." If you've never experienced Tony n' Tina's "special day", do yourself a favor and get a group together and go. And don't forget to bring a few dollar bills! This show is all about one of our favorite things: Audience Participation. The VIP experience includes ringside seats and surprises. We will be checking that out for sure.
We discuss film acting and screenwriting, and dig into The Beating, which Paul wrote and stars in. This terrific short film is a nail-biting, intense drama with a twist. The Beating tells the story of the lengths to which one father will go to end a nightmarish problem of bullying at his son’s school. The Beating premiered at the 2014 Sedona International Film Festival, as well as being an Official Selection at the San Diego Film Festival, the San Jose International Short Film Festival, The Bel Air Film Festival and The College Town Film Festival with screenings and lectures at Penn State and Ohio University. In addition, the script of the film has been used as an instructional tool at Columbia College in their course of study on short filmmaking. You can view the full film here, or by going to Paul's website at www.paulstroili.com. Go to the IMDb entry at this site.
Paul is working on development for a feature film he hopes to make this spring. The screenplay is an adaptation of a play called Wake, by Carey Crim. We can't wait to follow this story!
Gary asks Paul about his most prized possession - two theatre seats from Grauman's Chinese Theatre from the 1950's that he has restored to mint condition, including burgundy mohair reupholstering and a custom-made platform designed to the same rake specs as the theatre floor. His description of the process of restoring them is priceless.
Gary and Roscoe are back in form for a whirlwind episode, encompassing everything from elephants to Greenland sharks, from Porter to Streisand, from War Paint to Byhalia, Mississippi. Our new Audience Participation Manager Michelle Houle sits in with us at the studio. First, a shout out to friend-of-the-show Billy Lawless's new restaurant Coda di Volpe, recently opened in the Southport/Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. Frequent Booth One listeners will recall Billy's splendid guest appearance during our Taste of Chicago Episode 39. Gary and our producer Betsy were treated like royalty at the Friends and Family soft opening of Coda, and the experience is one to be remembered. This welcome addition to the neighborhood is highly recommended! And they just started serving brunch. Roscoe revisits War Paint with Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole at the Goodman Theatre. Though now closed, and presumably being reworked for a New York run, his review remains unchanged - stellar performances in a show without much dramatic tension. If this show is to have any future life, most agree that there's a lot of work to be done around these two pros of the musical stage. What's the longest-lived vertebrate on the planet? No, not the Blue Whale. It's the Greenland Shark! Living an average of 272 years, some of these natives of the North Atlantic can reach 21 feet long and 2,000 pounds. Many live beyond 400 years. Blind due to all the parasites crowding their eyes, these sharks are said to have an impeccable sense of smell, which they make ample use of when they hunt. Gary won't be deep sea diving in Greenland any time soon. Just what the world needs - a 4 century-old ocean predator! On to the highlight of Roscoe's year - nearly front row seats to Barbra Streisand! As he struggles to properly describe this Booth One experience without using the word "thrilling" too many times, Roscoe regales us with stories about her concert, her hair, her voice and her song selection. "I could see the whites of her eyes!", he tells us. Babs told a few stories throughout the evening - for instance, did you know that the album cover for People was actually shot on the beach of Lake Michigan right here in Chicago while she was in town for a concert date? I've never heard Roscoe so excited. Here's her song list from that night. Act One The Way We Were Everything Being at War with Each Other Everything Must Change Woman in Love Stoney End Enough is Enough Evergreen You Don't Bring Me Flowers Being Alive Papa, Can You Hear Me? Act Two Pure Imagination Who Can I Turn To? (with Anthony Newley on video from the Ed Sullivan Show) Losing My Mind Isn't This Better How Lucky Can You Get? Children Will Listen Don't Rain on My Parade People Happy Days Are Here Again Encore I Didn't Know What Time It Was The show must go on - even without elephants. For the first time in 134 years, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus is sans pachyderms. The new show, "Out of This World", premiered in Fresno, CA in July and is now on tour. Expect an ice floor, an elaborate narrative, and even a smartphone app. But sadly, the elephants have done their last balancing act. Gary and Roscoe plan to attend this new show when it comes to town and will report on that later this fall. Go here for info about Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation. Earlier this summer, Gary was engaged to deliver 2 pre-concert presentations for the Grant Park Music Festival's Cole Porter Celebration. Fans of Porter's work will find this edited excerpt from those presentations fascinating, featuring music director Kevin Stites, and Broadway veteran performers Kathy Voytko and Ben Crawford. "Anything Goes" in this lively discussion of Porter's music and lyrics, his life and times,
Gary and Roscoe return once more to the friendly confines of Steppenwolf Theatre to chat with two of the creative geniuses behind a terrific new play, Byhalia, Mississippi, now getting a remounted production through August 21st at the 1700 Theatre, under the auspices of Steppenwolf's Visiting Company Initiative. Playwright Evan Linder and Director Tyrone Phillips share their thoughts on the creative process of crafting a play, working organically with actors and designers, growing up in the South, their first experiences in the theatre, and the themes addressed in Byhalia, Mississippi. Evan is a founding member and the Co-Artistic Director of The New Colony theatre company. He works as a playwright, actor and director and teaches playwriting at the University of Chicago. Evan grew up in Memphis, TN, just a few miles up the road from Byhalia, and is a graduate of the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Other works include 11:11, Frat, The Warriors, B-Side Studio and 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, which was named Best Overall Production at the 2012 NYC International Fringe Festival, and enjoyed an off-Broadway run as part of Soho Playhouse's 2012-13 season. Tyrone is the founding Artistic Director of Definition Theatre Company and has served on the artistic staff of Writers Theatre. Named by Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune as one of the "Hot New Faces of 2015", Tyrone is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In addition to his rising acclaim as a director, he is an accomplished actor, with credits from Definition, Steppenwolf, Windy City Playhouse, Prologue Theatre Company and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. Byhalia, Mississippi is a play about forgiveness, acceptance, love and the very core ideas of family. Jim and Laurel Parker are about to become new parents. They are broke. They are loud. They are "proud white trash." When Laurel gives birth to their long overdue child, she and Jim are faced with the biggest challenges of their lives. Byhalia, Mississippi explores a couple in the midst of turmoil and a town with a racially-charged past that finds its way into the present. Gary calls it the "finest new play he's seen in a very long time." Right up there with Stephen Karam's The Humans. Tyrone refers to it as "a future classic." All agree that this play will find a wider audience and that many productions across the country are in the offing. Listeners, please keep your eyes peeled for a new production happening near you. This is one theatrical experience you won't want to miss. Kiss of Death: Marni Nixon, Hollywood's leading "Ghost Singer" in the 1950s and 60s. It's her crystalline soprano that pours from the mouths of Deborah Kerr in The King and I, Natalie Wood in West Side Story and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, among dozens of others. Because Hollywood didn't want audiences to know its stars couldn't sing, Nixon's contributions went uncredited. For singing the part of Anna in the film and recording of The King and I, she received a total of $420! Ms. Nixon, who continued singing into her 80s, eventually came to regard her heard-but-not-seen life with affection, touring the country in her one-woman show "Marni Nixon: The Voice of Hollywood", and writing a memoir in 2006 titled "I Could Have Sung All Night." Ghost singers, once a Hollywood mainstay, have now, for the most part, become ghosts themselves. Marni Nixon, one of Hollywood's unseen stars, was 86. Read full Bio here The post The Next Big Thing: Evan Linder, Tyrone Phillips and Byhalia, Mississippi – Episode 40 appeared first on Booth One.
Roscoe ventures out on the town to bring us this lively episode of conversation about theatre, cabaret and Stephen Sondheim. We get his impressions of what's new and exciting, as well as a perspective on some old favorites. Then stay tuned for our live podcast from Writers Theatre and their Sunday Spotlight focused on Company! Photo at left shows us making the magic with a very smart and savvy audience. First, Roscoe tells us about War Paint, the world premiere musical at the Goodman Theatre, starring Broadway veterans Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole.Written and directed by the creative team that brought the world Grey Gardens, this show tells the stories of Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, who defined beauty standards for the first half of the 20th Century. Brilliant innovators with humble roots, both were masters of self-invention who sacrificed everything to become the country’s first major female entrepreneurs. They were also fierce competitors, whose 50-year tug-of-war would give birth to a major industry. From Fifth Avenue society to the halls of Congress, their rivalry was relentless and legendary—pushing both women to build international empires in a world dominated by men. Hear what Roscoe has to say about this new musical, as well as some reviewer comments from The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Read full NYT review here Next up, Roscoe fills us in on his cabaret experience seeing the legendary Andrea Marcovicci at Davenport's. With a career spanning four decades, Ms. Marcovicci is a Queen of the Cabaret, and an accomplished stage and film actress. At 67, does she still have what it takes to enthrall a room? Roscoe gives us his verdict... We revisit the national tour of The Book of Mormon, now playing in Chicago at the ingloriously named Private Bank Theatre (we just call it the Shubert). After five years, how does this religious satire musical with book, lyrics, and music by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone hold up in this rapidly changing world of mores and tastes? Roscoe at Large shares his full theatregoing experience with you. As an added bonus this week, we bring you an excerpt from a pre-show Sunday Spotlight live podcast recording Gary and Roscoe made at the new Writers Theatre. Our guest panelist is Stephen Schellhardt, Associate Producer and Casting Director for Writers. Our topic? Stephen Sondheim and the recent production of Company, now playing through August 7. Read more here. We have great fun in front of a roomful of well-informed theatre patrons, and you'll want to play along with our Sondheim Trivia game. Our thanks to Stephen and artistic director Michael Halberstam for inviting us to their Writers home for this Booth One presentation. Our Kiss of Death segment this week profiles Betsy Bloomingdale, Socialite and Celebrated Hostess to Dignitaries and Royalty. The wife of the department store heir Alfred S. Bloomingdale, Betsy lived in palatial homes, shopped for $20,000 Paris couture gowns, attended the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, and dined regularly with Ronald and Nancy Reagan, becoming known as "the first friend of the first lady". She grew up surrounded by Hollywood royalty - Cary Grant, James Stewart, Merle Oberon - and lived in the exclusive Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles where her neighbors over the years were Barbara Stanwyck, Jack Benny, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson. She kept diaries of the lavish dinner parties she gave, and took photographs of table settings to avoid using the same one twice. Mrs. Bloomingdale was perennially on the list of the world's best-dressed women. She was 93 years old. Read full obit here. The post Roscoe at Large and The Sunday Spotlight – Episode 39 appeared first on
Recording live from the 2016 Taste of Chicago, Gary and Roscoe enjoy the elements and the sound of Buckingham Fountain while talking in depth with friend of the show, successful restaurateur Billy Lawless Jr. Billy's stable of establishments include The Gage web site, The Dawson web site, Acanto web site and the new Beacon Tavern web site. Enjoy the photographs of these beautifully designed restaurants, then go see them in person! We talk food, customer experience, service and location, location, location! Billy describes the thinking behind his restaurants' menus and wine lists and his great Beverage Director, Jon McDaniel. We talk about Ireland and the Brexit. And pork mac and cheese. Billy shares his keys to success, which will be helpful to owners of any business. Billy's dad Billy Sr. emigrated from Galway, Ireland, 18 years ago and was immediately successful with his first Irish pub establishment in Lakeview. From there, the Lawless Restaurant Group has grown into one of the most excellent and prominent hospitality organizations in Chicago. Do yourself a favor and visit one of these marvelous restaurants. And tell them Booth One sent you! Did you know that Buckingham Fountain, clearly audible in the background of this episode, has 134 firing water jets and circulates 1.5 million of gallons of water? Recently, Atlas Obscura provided an opportunity for people to get a glimpse of how the complex plumbing and pumps work on their Buckingham Fountain Underground Pump Room Tour. How many hot dogs do Americans consume between Memorial Day and Labor Day each year? 1 billion? 3 billion? Try 7 BILLION! That averages to about 818 per second! What's your contribution? Source: USA Today Participate in this years' Le Diner En Blanc, where picnickers meet in a public location and dress all in white. The meeting location is kept secret until the day of the event and is available to paying guests only. This 5th Chicago edition is scheduled for August 12 and tickets are $37.50 plus an $8 membership fee. Register for the waiting list now and plan to purchase tickets on July 20. For more information, go to Chicago.dinerenblanc.info. And break out your summer whites! Booth One gives its usual summer shout out to the Grant Park Music Festival, the largest free classical music festival in the world. Though you might have missed their Cole Porter Celebration on July 8 & 9, there are still plenty of concerts to be heard before the end of the season in late August. Get yourself to Chicago and the magnificent Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park for an outstanding evening of music under the stars. Our Kiss of Death celebration-of-a-life segment is Lorna Kelly, who left Sotheby's Rostrum to Help the Poor. An Upper East Side socialite who was one of the first female fine-art auctioneers in the world in the 1970's, Ms. Kelly grew discontent during the 1980's and felt a spiritual void. So she decamped, unbidden, for India and Mother Teresa, the first in a series of charitable endeavors that occupied her ever after. Ms. Kelly was 70. Read more of her inspirational story in the NYTimes obituary. And check out her spiritual memoir, "In the Footsteps of the Camel" here. The post Booth One Tastes Chicago with Restaurateur Billy Lawless Jr. – Episode 38 appeared first on Booth One.
Gary and Roscoe have long wanted to get award-winning author Stuart Dybek on the show, and now we have! Boy, was it ever worth the wait. Dybek is one of America's finest writers of literary fiction, particularly the short story form. His work has been said to "move easily between the gritty reality of urban decay, and a magical realm of lyricism and transcendence linked to music, art and religion." Read this glowing NYT review of his latest work. The reviewer writes that Dybek is "not only our most relevant writer, but maybe our best." If you haven't read any of his work, do yourself a favor and pick up a volume. Here's his bio. Our show begins with a remembrance of Muhammad Ali and how boxing imagery appears in some of Stuart's writing. Ali transcended sport and also his own innate talent and skill to become something more than just a world-class athlete. He was a world-class human being. Read more here. In 2006, Gary directed a world premiere theatrical adaptation of The Coast of Chicago, a collection of Stuart's short stories. Adapted by Laura Eason and presented by Walkabout and Lookingglass Theatre Companies, as well as our very own producer, Stuart reflects on what an exciting experience that was. Learn why Stuart says, "Music is the defining art for me. Always has been." and what kind of music he writes to. What profession he might have entered if writing hadn't been his true calling. How memory, recollection and imagery play parts in his creative process. And the difference between narrative and associative writing. An avid theatergoer, Dybek loves the risks and real chances that Chicago theater artists take. The city's long history of developing improvisation as an art form is a big part of that risk taking. Shout outs to friends of the show, Improv Olympic and The Second City. More here. Ever been lost in a big city? Stuart used to get lost in Prague but can't any longer, to his regret. But he tells a wonderful story of being lost while searching the Michigan woods for mushrooms. Gary relates a tale about getting lost in Seville, Spain, and coming upon a magnificent street ceremony for the Virgin Mary quite by accident. And Roscoe and his family once found themselves disoriented in the Paris Metro. Dybek cites John Dewey as America's greatest writer of the 20th century with regard to social issues. Because "we all depend on one another's choices." Could that be more topical? Read more about this philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer here. Stuart loves to write about work and working class characters so we recount our worst jobs -Stuart washed helicopters at Midway and worked on a production line in an ice cream factory. Roscoe toiled summers in his youth in a vegetable canning factory. Gary picked grocery orders in a large and steamy warehouse. What's your worst work experience? Finally, we discuss Stuart's Fabulous Fiction course at Northwestern University. Gary and Roscoe are signing up! Stuart talks about the importance of imagery as a jumping off point to any good story, then tells us about a couple of student stories he particularly likes and that have found publication. He promises to come back and read some of their (and his) works on a future show. Kiss of Death - Shirley Bell Cole - Radio Voice of Little Orphan Annie Though Ms. Cole passed in 2010, we thought with her Chicago connection and her involvement in the art of storytelling on the radio, she'd be a fitting conclusion to our conversation with Stuart Dybek. From 1930 to 1940, Shirley Cole lent her high-pitched voice to the spunky, curly-haired Little Orphan Annie, first on WGN and then on national NBC networks. Five days a week she would take the trolley to the radio station for the live broadcast. Imagine! No editing! When Ovaltine (not Shirley's favorite drink) dropped its sponsorship of the program, Ms. Bell's acting career came to an end.
Meet the artists who lead Chicago's world-class summer music festival. Principle Conductor and Artistic Director Carlos Kalmar and Grant Park Chorus Director Christopher Bell share the microphone with Gary in this behind-the-scenes conversation at the Grant Park Music Festival. Now in its 12th Season at the stunning Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, the GPMF is the nation's only free outdoor classical music series of its kind. Read about its fascinating history here. First up, Maestro Kalmar discusses the non-stop fevered nature of putting on a 10-week program of music and entertainment, and how two of the festival's key words for the summer are "time management". Carlos talks about his programming philosophy, his desire to please a wide range of patrons' musical interests, and his unswerving commitment to presenting not only new and rarely heard pieces, but the works of American composers in particular. Gary asks Carlos about particular pieces on the season calendar, including works by Matinu, Gandolfi, Kernis and Berlioz. And of course the Tchaikovsky Spectacular on Aug. 12 & 13, featuring the the "rediscovered" 1879 version of Piano Concerto No. 1. For the full summer calendar of events, go to the GPMF Website. Finally, discover what other profession Carlos may have pursued as a young man if music hadn't been his overwhelming passion. The answer may surprise you. Congratulations on 17 glorious Seasons with the GPMF! Next up, Gary talks with the always entertaining and insightful Christopher Bell, now in his 15th Season with the Grant Park Music Festival. Read his bio here. Christopher has spent a great deal of his career working extensively with Youth and Junior Choruses, particularly in Scotland and his native Northern Ireland. We'll learn about his mentoring and what he finds so rewarding about these endeavors. Christopher discusses the Chorus outreach concerts this summer, which will feature Shakespeare-themed works in alignment with Chicago's Shakespeare 400 celebration happening all over the city in 2016. And one of his favorite conducting assignments of every season, the spectacular July 4th Independence Day Salute to America and the Armed Forces, with special guests the National Youth Choir of Scotland. See the lineup for that concert here. Christopher never fails to dazzle in sartorial display each Fourth, and this year should be no exception. And speaking of fashion, we learn about the history of Bell's formidable shoe collection, where he stores them, and what makes him such a footwear fanatic. There's no question that his sparkling personality is reflected in his choice of attire. It's an honor and a privilege to have these two distinguished artists on Booth One. We hope you will take advantage of the marvelous events that the Grant Park Music Festival offers this and every summer. We recommend a picnic supper on the lawn under the stars. BYOB! And may the music never end. The post Words & Music – Carlos Kalmar and Christopher Bell of the Grant Park Music Festival – Episode 36 appeared first on Booth One.
Gary and Roscoe's "little grey cells" get a workout when rising star and Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Jon Michael Hill Read Bio visits the show. Coming to you remotely from the new 80-seat 1700 Theatre performance space at Steppenwolf. Jon is currently starring in Constellations by Nick Payne at the Upstairs Theater at Steppenwolf, along with the luminous Jessie Fisher. "It's a beautiful, elliptical and elegant exploration of all that is possible when two people meet," says Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro. "It deals, simultaneously, with the beauty and mystery found in the unknowable vastness of the universe and the ways in which we attempt to define ourselves in a desperate effort to stave off entropy." Only 80 minutes, and it will blow your mind. Constellations runs through July 3. Jon also co-stars as Detective Marcus Bell with Johnny Lee Miller, Lucy Lui and beloved Chicago actor Aiden Quinn in the hit CBS series Elementary.......the show that imagines Sherlock Holmes living in modern-day Manhattan, helping the NYPD solve crimes. It's Gary's favorite show! No kidding. After discussing the new 80-seat 1700 Theatre performance space and adjoining Front Bar read full story here, we get down to business with Jon about acting, his upbringing, past shows (including his Tony Award-nominated performance in Tracy Letts' Superior Donuts!), and his band The Wolves. Jon and the band can be seen in the 1700 Theatre on July 13 & 14. Tickets are scarce and only $12. Gary tells of some notable figures from Jon's hometown of Waukegan, IL, including Ray Bradbury, Vincent Price, Jerry Orbach, Jack Benny, Otto Graham, and film actor of the1930s-1950s, Mickey Kuhn, who appeared with Vivien Leigh in both. Mickey Kuhn Jon shares his love of Chicago, all kinds of music, and classic films, from Wings of Desire to The 400 Blows to Army of Shadows. Mr. Hill is certainly somewhat to keep and eye on as his career continues to move forward in leaps and bounds. Stage, television and film actor, musician, film lover, and about the nicest guy you will ever meet, Jon Michael Hill is Booth One all the way! Kiss of Death - Jane Little, world's longest serving orchestra musician. Ms. Little collapsed during a recent performance of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Ironically, the symphony was performing a pops concert called "Broadway's Golden Age", and 30 seconds from the end of Irving Berlin's "There's No Business Like Show Business", the long-time bassist collapsed and was carried backstage by fellow musicians. She never regained consciousness. There was sadness among orchestra members and patrons alike, but also a sense of poetic beauty to the timing of Little's death, doing what she so loved for more than 70 years. Hollywood could not have scripted it better. Jane Little was 87. read full obit The post Stars & Constellations – Actor Jon Michael Hill – Episode 35 appeared first on Booth One.
Coming to you from the Chicago studio of famed photographer Marc Hauser, this edition of Booth One focuses (no pun intended) on Marc's work over 5 decades of taking celebrity portraits around the world. Along the way, we discuss his inspiring journey and the meaning of life. Marc began taking photographs as a teenager in the north Chicago suburb of Wilmette. At age 13, he was already working for Hugh Hefner and Playboy magazine. Hauser has taken photographs for Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Life Magazine and Marshall Fields, as well as film shoots, album covers, concerts and family portraits. Marc relates his experiences and shooting sessions with Dolly Parton, Michael Jordan, Cindy Crawford, Woody Allen, Jim McMahon, Sophia Loren, Uma Thurman, Janis Joplin, George Burns and others. Truly a Booth One Experience professional! Here are some of Marc's images from his studio, along with a few stock images of the people and personalities we cover during this amazing and candid episode... Hauser took this candid shot of Michael Jordan on a basketball court with backdrop and lighting. Hauser once traveled with the circus for 3 months, photographing performers, acrobats and animals. This iconic photograph of a show girl on a rearing elephant is one of his most famous. Sadly, one will not be able to see live elephants at the circus any longer, as more and more traveling companies are retiring their pachyderms for humane reasons. So this shot is indeed a record of circus world history. Marc discusses why Chicago is a city of loyalty and helping hands. Many people have aided Marc in his recuperation and return to working after a tragic accident in 2007 that cost him the use of a leg and his right eye. Chicago ain't known as the City of Big Shoulders for nothing! Marc's work can be seen at an upcoming show at Adventureland Go to Website, a gallery owned by another renowned Chicago artist and friend of the show, Tony Fitzpatrick. To see more of Marc Hauser's work, visit his website at http://www.hauserportraits.com/ . To schedule a photo session with Marc, call 312-243-7824 and ask for Tara. Marc is offering a sweet deal on Groupon View Deal Here . Bring the family - you won't be disappointed. Marc Hauser is The Real Thing! Kiss Of Death - Bill Backer, Who Taught the World to Sing. As vice chairman of the ad agency Backer Spielvogel Bates, Mr. Backer was responsible for the writing and creation of perhaps the world's most famous television ad - the classic 1971 Coca-Cola commercial of a diverse groups of singers on a hilltop in Italy, loudly proclaiming: "I'd like to buy the world a Coke, and keep it company" Watch on YouTube. The commercial became a smash success, and recordings by both the Hillside Singers and the New Seekers became Billboard hits. The spot also inspired a 1991 Super Bowl ad, and served as a coda for the AMC series "Mad Men". Bill Backer was 89 and owned a thoroughbred horse farm in Virginia in retirement. Read the full NYTimes obituary here. The post We Ought To Be in Pictures – with Photographer Marc Hauser – Episode 34 appeared first on Booth One.
Gary and Roscoe weren't able to get Blanche, Willy, George or Martha on the show this week, so they have to depend on the kindness of strangers. More on that in a minute, but first....
The strangest stranger of all, Carly "Lilith" Fiorina, took only 6 days to bring Ted Cruz's presidential campaign to ruin - 5 years and 357 days less than it took her to destroy HP! Like a bad penny, she keeps turning up. Won't surprise the boys if she is Trump's VP choice. Watch Carly do a disappearing act as she falls from the stage at a Cruz rally recently. Talk about taking a dive! Video here.
Sheridan Smith, star of Funny Girl on the West End in London, has been missing performances and is now on a leave of absence from the show. Rumors abound as to why and for how long, but unkind media and Twitter posts have fanned the flames. Roscoe and Gary are hoping to see this show on Broadway next year, but this could be a blow to the chances of seeing Ms. Smith in the Fanny Brice role. Read more about these happenings and what her understudy has to say in this Daily Mail article. read more here
We look back with amazement on our astonishing good luck and fortune during our recent trip to New York, not only spending time with Chita Rivera (listen to Episode 32 for the full Booth One interview), but getting into a sold out Hamilton! The odds of both happening are astronomical.
Have a Booth One Experience you'd like to share? Go to Booth-One.com and post something on our website and we'll share it on the air!
Gary and Roscoe venture up to the new Writers Theatre building to see Death of a Streetcar Named Virginia Woolf: A Parody, created in collaboration with Chicago's Second City. go to website Clever and hilarious, the show features a stellar performance by one of our favorite stage actresses Jennifer Engstrom as Blanche DuBois. Read full Bio
Match wits and picks with Gary and Roscoe as we make our predictions for the 2016 Tony Awards! Is Hamilton a lock for every category? Is The Humans the best play of the season? Arthur Miller or Eugene O'Neill as Best Play Revival? Make you own selections here and watch the Tony Awards on Sunday, June 12 to see who's the smartest in the land.
World's oldest living person dies - again! 116-year-old Susannah Jones was the last living American who was verified to have been born before 1900 (July 6, 1899). The title of OLP now belongs to Italian Emma Morano, born in November of 1899, the last verified person alive to have been born in the nineteenth century. God speed, Susannah, and may we all live as long! Read about her on Wiki.
Tune into our next Booth One Episode when we'll be talking with noted Chicago photographer Marc Hauser in his West Side studio. Marc has taken iconic photos of Micheal Jordan, Dolly Parton, Janis Joplin, George Burns, Dennis Rodman and a host of other celebrities and world-famous faces. We're looking forward to an in-depth and candid visit with Mr. Hauser. Go to Website
Kiss of Death - Sylvia Kauders, Late-Blooming Actress:
Ms.
Yes, Chita Rivera! Roscoe and Gary sit down with the musical theater legend in her room at the Carlyle Hotel for an intimate chat about dance, her career, Kander & Ebb, and a host of other engaging topics.
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The two-time Tony Award winner - for The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman - has been nominated a record 10 times for that prestigious award. A native of Washington, DC, Chita began her professional life as a dancer with George Balanchine's School of American Ballet. In 1951, she was cast in her first theatrical role in the touring company of Call Me Madam. Chita was 17. She subsequently landed roles in the Broadway productions of Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Seventh Heaven and Mr. Wonderful starring Sammy Davis Jr.
Ms. Rivera achie(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ChitaTony.jpg)ved Broadway stardom with her electric performance of Anita in the original Broadway presentation of West Side Story, directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Other important Broadway roles were in Bye Bye Birdie, Chicago, Jerry's Girls, Nine, The Visit, and Chita Rivera: A Dancer's Life. In 2002, Chita became the first Hispanic woman ever chosen to receive the coveted Kennedy Center Honor. And in 2009, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Visit her website at www.chitarivera.com. Learn more about Chita's amazing career here. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chita_Rivera)
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Booth One experience alert - while in New York, Gary and Roscoe miraculously manage t(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Hamilton.jpg)o snag two tickets to see.....yes, Hamilton!! Don't ask how, it's a long story. Involving Gary's past life as a Broadway stage manager. Suffice it to say they were wowed beyond belief by their luck, and agree that's it's a good as everyone says. Gary says you will never see a better musical. Roscoe praises the genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda and the seamless integration of music, lyrics, dance, lighting, sound and scenic design. You owe it to yourself to see this show no matter what it takes! Check out Hamilton's website. (http://www.hamiltonbroadway.com/)
Kiss of Death - Joe Patten, Known as the "Phantom of the Fox". For more than 50 years, Mr. Patten worked tirelessly to restore and maintain Atlanta's historic Fox Theater. From saving the massive pipe organ (lovingly called "Mighty Mo" by Atlantans) to rescuing the theater itself from the wrecking ball, Joe became as revered a fixture of the city's cultural life as the theater itself. For decades, Mr. Patten lived in a 3,640-square-foot apartment under the theater's dome, reached by climbing a "cinematically appropriate 39 steps." Our favorite obit writer, Margalit Fox of the New York Times, beautifully chronicles the extraordinary life of this supremely gifted man. Read her full obituary in the New York Times. (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/13/us/joe-patten-atlanta-theater-caretaker-known-as-phantom-of-the-fox-dies-at-89.html)
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An Exclusive Interview with Sister Helen Prejean is the Topic of our Booth One Podcast this Week. Sister Helen is in town in support of the Quality of Mercy Project, a three-month public programming initiative examining the complex issues that arise from the production of Dead Man Walking: forgiveness, compassion, the death penalty, mass incarceration, racial inequality, and social injustice. We are pleased she agreed to spend some time talking to us in our studio. Read more here. Sister Helen Prejean (born in Baton Rouge, LA) is a Roman Catholic nun, a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph and a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. Her efforts began in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1982 a friend asked her to correspond with convicted murderer Elmo Patrick Sonnier, located in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Sonnier was sentenced to death by electrocution. She visited Sonnier in prison and agreed to be his spiritual adviser in the months leading up to his execution. The experience gave Prejean greater insight into the process involved in executions, and she began speaking out against capital punishment. Prejean has since ministered to many other inmates on death row and witnessed several more executions. Her subsequent book Dead Man Walking, a biographical account of her relationship with Sonnier and other inmates on death row, served as the basis for a feature film, an opera, and a play. In the film, Sister Helen was portrayed by Susan Sarandon, who won an Academy Award for her performance. Also starring Sean Penn. Although Prejean herself was uncredited, she made a minor cameo as a woman in a candlelit vigil scene outside Louisiana State Penitentiary. Prejean's second book, The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions read more here was published in December 2004. In it, she tells the story of two men whom she accompanied to their executions. She believes that both men were innocent. The book also examines the recent history of death penalty decisions. Here is an important one: Glossip v Gross. In this episode we learn more about Sister Helen's extraordinary efforts in this cause and a few things about the remarkable person who is Sister Helen as well. Joining us in the studio is Leslie Brown, the Executive Director of the Piven Theatre Workshop right here in Evanston, IL, where a production of Dead Man Walking is being presented from April 16 - May 15, 2016. We hope you find our interview informative, thought-provoking and enjoyable. Sister Helen is truly a force of nature! The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes: 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown; His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majesty. -The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Scene 1 For more information on the Quality of Mercy Project and the Piven Theatre's production of Dead Man Walking, go to Piven Theatre Workshop at http://www.piventheatre.org. You can reach Sister Helen through Facebook at Sister Helen Prejean or on her web site at http://www.sisterhelen.org. See Steve Earle performing Ellis Unit One on YouTube here. The post Sister Helen Prejean – Episode 31 appeared first on Booth One.
"Meet Gary who's lived most everywhere, from NYC to Lincoln Square. But Roscoe's only seen the sights a boy can see from Ashland heights. What a crazy pair!" Our revised lyrics to The Patty Duke Show theme song are an opening homage to the great Patty Duke who passed away this week. Oscar winner at 16 for The Miracle Worker, and recipient of three Emmy Awards, Ms. Duke also starred in the truly awful Valley of the Dolls. An astounding career and a brave lady. read full bio We celebrate our 30th episode with fun facts from 30 years ago, 1986: Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated for the first time, the Iran-Contra affair was tops in the news, Top Gun is the highest grossing film of the year, and more. The last thing Gary needs is a safe haven for sharks. Lo and behold, Ecuador has created a shark sanctuary off the Galapagos Islands the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined. National Geographic story Would that someone would create a non-shark ocean sanctuary for Gary! In Chicago news, you'll hear about the curious case of Dennis Nicholl, who used an electronic jamming device on the Chicago subway to block cell phone signals in an attempt to get some peace and quiet on his commute. While we totally support his motives, the Chicago PD were not so forgiving. Full Story Hoping to avoid jail time, he's entered a counseling program to deal with his "problems". To Roscoe, he's a national hero. We share some public transportation horror stories. Perhaps the greatest April Fool's hoax ever perpetrated came from the BBC in 1957 - a report on the bumper spaghetti crop in Italy! Watch this fabulous video of the full original report. Joke's on You As discussed in Episode 28, Roscoe's mother saved many of his boyhood outfits in their original store-bought packaging. Now we have conclusive evidence. Exhibit A..........Roscoe's Cub Scout Uniform with a tiny snapshot of him wearing it as a youngster. Kind of gets you all misty-eyed, doesn't it? In addition, Roscoe tells a remarkable story about his brush with the Boy Scouts and his school testing him for a gifted student program in 3rd grade. Booth One wishes all the best to retiring Goodman Theatre stage manager Joe Drummond. After 42 years and 133 Goodman productions, Joe is hanging up his stopwatch and prompt books. Good luck, Joe, and thanks for all the tremendous work over the years. read more Sadly, Barbara Cook has postponed the entire New York engagement of her scheduled one-woman show Then and Now, co-written with James Lapine and directed by Tommy Tune. see more at Playbill.com Gary and Roscoe already had tickets and were looking forward to a Booth One experience with Ms. Cook. Here's hoping that the show will get mounted somewhere one day soon. Gary tempts Roscoe with visions of comfort and luxury by featuring two decadent extravagances - a three-floor penthouse for sale in the Plaza Hotel in New York see more; and the newest thing in bedding/clothing hybrids, the Suvet, a cross between a duvet and a suit. Feel like you never even got out of bed!! Click here if you dare! In Theatre news, we profile our experiences at Arcadia at Writers Theatre and at The Flick at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Both productions are excellent and engaging, and both feature stellar casts! We wouldn't expect anything less from the outstanding cultural community that is Chicago theatre. Read more about Arcadia here and The Flick here and get yourself to these shows if you can. It's worth the trip from anywhere. A new segment debuts in this episode - Recipe of the Week, where we provide our listeners with a tasty and savory new recipe to try. This week, Cassia's Vietnamese Coffee Pudding! Heat, eat and enjoy! Full Recipe Here
This is Booth One's second Easter holiday for Gary and Roscoe, having just passed the first anniversary of our podcast. Ross reprises his hilarious story of appearing as a young child in a photo in the Niles Daily Sun (Michigan) searching for an Easter Egg in the bushes with his "hind-end" in focus. We appeal to our Booth One podcast nation for a copy of this priceless photo. Happy hunting! And when in Chicago, don't forget to visit The Fudge Pot chocolate store in Old Town to satisfy your sweet tooth! visit their site Gary talks about his beloved mother Dolores's favorite Polish Easter traditions, gathering around pierogi, kielbasa and lamb cake -- the art of lively conversation flourishing. Our Waspy producer had to get used to the volume. For Poles, Easter is the holiest day of the year. Read more about the food here. Update on the presidential race: As the GOP may soon meet it's death in the general election, Gary suggests the GOP symbol elephant might go to the amazing Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. This 2700 acre retirement home is filled with features of their natural habitats and is closed to the public. How cool is that? For educational and observational purposes, there are 14 solar-powered "elecams". We love everything about this. Check out the details here!Speaking of lame elephants, Donald Trump. Here's something: One of Trump's first business ventures out of college was backing a Broadway show called Paris is Out by Richard Seff in 1970. The show ran for 96 performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Would that his campaign closes as quickly. Details in this great NYT story. LEARN MORE about Gary Z and Roscoe when they play Chat Pack, our favorite game. We aspire to write our own Chat Pack for the show. If you have ideas for questions, please send them in. This week the Broadway chat boards were alive with controversy and invective as actress Patti Murin rebutted some snarky comments that cropped up on BroadwayWorld.com. web site Not only did they vilify the musical Nerds! she was working on that just got shut down in rehearsals for lack of funding, but some comments go right after the talent of the actors. Her responses are witty and priceless and should lead to more oversight of these chat boards in the future. read more Find out how Roscoe learned his lesson in writing on the chat boards in his story about actress Irene Dailey. read bio Looking for that perfectly "little" cute place in the Village or Little Italy? Well, look no further than Mr. Donahue's, a 9-seat restaurant serving hearty meals in a tiny space. go to website No reservations, first come only. Better bring a book. And an umbrella. And find out more about Columbia University student Jonah Reider who opened a restaurant in his dorm room to raise a little extra cash. He's gotten more than he bargained for! read more here Gary and Roscoe recount their Booth One experience attending Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's new production of Othello. As new press list members, we received the royal treatment. Gary recalls seeing the play on Broadway with James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer. Talk about star power! Kiss of Death Martha Wright, Broadway Actress, who took over for Mary Martin in two iconic roles of the American Musical Theatre - Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria Rainer in The Sound of Music. Though never a star like Martin, Ms. Wright by all accounts acquitted herself brilliantly in her portrayals. She performed Forbush more than 1,000 times on Broadway, closing the show in January 1954. Ms. Wright was 92. read full obit The post Of Easter and Elephants – Episode 29 appeared first on Booth One.
Gary and Roscoe share two astounding Booth One experiences, both figuratively and literally, on this week’s episode. But first, Gary profiles the free diver who claims he hypnotized a shark in order to remove a fishing hook caught in its mouth. Talk about a fish tale. Read how to hypnotize a shark!We’re not sure we believe this entire story, but if it’s true, there’s hope for curing Gary’s phobia. Maybe. Roscoe gets surprising news that one of his lifelong idols, famed actress and chanteuse Barbara Cook, will be appearing off-Broadway in May in a one-woman show based on her autobiography. Read details about the show here. After picking his jaw up off the floor, Roscoe vows to see her for perhaps the 100th time. Stay tuned for a possible interview opportunity at a later date. Booth One Experience #1 – We had the great privilege of being escorted on a tour of the West Wing of the White House by friend and staff member Bess Evans! She told us the best stories. A truly remarkable and awe-inspiring evening. Thanks to Bess, our group was able to tour the inner offices, stand in the Rose Garden, view the Cabinet Room and the Oval Office, take photos in the Press Briefing Room, and walk through the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. An experience not to be missed if you ever have the opportunity. No matter who’s running the place! White House Front Door Rose Garden Executive Office Building Our Group, including producer Betsy and nephews Michael, Andrew and Grant Frank Resolute Desk
Big thanks to friend of the show, Sandeep Ghaey (who runs a beautiful wine store called Vinic in our home town) for tipping us off to a great exhibit and leading us to Booth One Experience #2: We were given an insider tour of the current exhibit at the Chicago History Museum, The Secret Lives of Objects – Objects extraordinary and unfamiliar from the Museum’s protected vaults tell their tales and shine a light on their mysterious pasts. One thing all the items in The Secret Lives of Objects have in common is that they serve as touchstones to Chicago’s rich history; tangible evidence of its glorious, surprising, and infamous past. get more info about this wonderful exhibit here.
Our guides for this amazing opportunity were John Russick, co-curator of the exhibit, and Petra Slinkard, the museum’s Curator of Costumes. John Russick
Gary and Roscoe have Spring Fever, and it isn’t even Spring! Full Lyrics They’re frisky and spinning daydreams as we begin our second year of Booth One podcasts with two special guests this week. Firstly, on a sad note, erstwhile BFF of Gary’s, Carly Fiorina (formerly Carlton S.), has laid her primary campaign to rest. After getting around 4 votes in New Hampshire, it was time to give up the ghost. Fortunately, someone found the perfect burial vault for her campaign …..an old HP copier!Now on to the heart of our episode – we welcome David Catlin Full profile, co-founder of the Lookingglass Theatre Info and Tickets in Chicago; and welcome back Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi read bio, whose interview on Episode 12 is a listener favorite! Sylvia is co-founder and Artistic Director of the Actors Gymnasium get more info here in Evanston, IL, a marvelous training center for circus and theatrical arts, and has had an amazing career as a world-class circus performer.
Sylvia with her son Griffin and David with his daughter Emerson! David and Sylvia are appearing together in a new show at the Actors Gymnasium called Marnie & Phil: A Circus Love Story Info and Tickets, written and directed by Chris Mathews of The House Theatre of Chicago read more. Marnie & Phil tells the story of a young aerialist and an aspiring clown as they seek to make their mark in the big time circus world. Their love-lorn tale unfolds through thrilling circus acts, clown routines, acrobatics, gorgeous music and moving dialogue. With a deft touch, writer/director Mathews reveals all the splendor, humor, pathos and sacrifice that being a successful circus performer entails, while subtly illuminating important aspects of the human condition. This show has Heart with a capital H! David and Sylvia tell how they met in 1993 and the various projects they have collaborated on through the years. We learn about their inspirations, the sources of their passion for performing, and how Marnie & Phil reflects their individual lives. Roscoe talks about his fascination with the Silks routines and wonders if one is ever too old to learn… Stunning to behold We discuss a sequence in the show where 20 young performers encircle the stage on Unicycles and why the audience finds the sequence so emotionally moving. Sylvia and David tell us about how they have borrowed from the great performers, teachers and instructors over the years to create their own unique aesthetic and techniques. Roscoe proposes that one can’t learn to be funny by watching Shecky Greene on TV! See Shecky on YouTube Huge congratulations are in order for Lookingglass Theatre, who this week received a monetary award of $1,000,000 from the MacArthur Foundation, one of 14 Chicago area theatres to be so honored by the “2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions”.
Gary and Roscoe welcome Chicago Shakepeare Theatre’s Creative Producer Rick Boynton to the show! First a recap of those Republican candidates who have dropped from the race in the wake of the Iowa caucuses – Huckabee, Santorum and Paul. Gary’s “girlfriend” Carly Fiorina has nary a pulse and the smart money is on her taking a dive after New Hampshire. We’ll know by the time this episode airs. Rick Boynton read full bio is currently Creative Producer at the world-famous Chicago Shakespeare Theatre on Navy Pier in Chicago Learn More. Which means he oversees all the amazing art that appears on stage there. Rick began his career as a performer after graduating from Northwestern University. He has also worked as an agent, a casting director (at Jane Alderman & Chicago Shakes) and as the Artistic Director at Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre. Rick talks about his years as an actor in such shows as 1776 and Shear Madness. And about his time at Marriott Lincolnshire and the incredible creative minds and spirits he encountered during those years, including a vivid and thrilling description of their production of Miss Saigon on a budget. As well as their staging of new musicals, including Honk! We discuss at length the original musical Sense and Sensibility by Paul Gordon read about the show, which CST mounted on their main stage, and how that project first got started and then came to fruition in a gorgeously produced production. It’s a unique inside look at how a theatrical idea is born, nurtured and finally blossoms into a full blown work of art. Ride the Cyclone Another CST project is the recently lauded production of Ride the Cyclone read more, an off-beat, quirky and altogether insightful musical about a group of young choir singers who meet an untimely demise when a roller coaster jumps the track. The kids are left in a kind of purgatory, where a mysterious mechanical wizard promises one of them the opportunity to return to life by telling their story – but they all get to vote. This musical should see plenty of afterlife in New York and regionally. Rick gives us a glimpse into what’s in store in terms of new works at CST for the coming season. Gravedigger’s Hamlet read about the show by Michael Mahler, Alan Schmuckler and Laura Schellhardt is scheduled for the fall of 2016 in conjunction with the Shakespeare 400 Chicago Festival about the festival. Shakespeare 400 Chicago is a yearlong international arts festival in 2016 celebrating the vibrancy, relevance and reach of Shakespeare. It involves theatres, museums, music, dance, opera, exhibits, lectures,
Happy Anniversary to us as we celebrate our 25th Episode of Booth One! Sing along with the Flintstones as we toast a milestone in our podcast history. Sing Along Here As a token of this momentous occasion, Gary presents Roscoe with a “silver” quarter from the state commemorative collection, worth at most .25 cents. Don’t spend it all in one place, Roscoe. It’s a Gallimaufry show today (gal·li·mau·fry ɡaləˈmôfrē/noun: plural noun: gallimaufries 1. a jumble or medley of things. 2. a dish made of diced from minced meat, especially a hash or ragout), as Gary and Roscoe explore a variety of topical subjects and current trends. First, a thank you to Episode 24 guest Melanie Neilan read bio for being so gracious and entertaining. This is proving to be one of our most listened-to episodes. We’re certain that this young actress has an amazing career ahead. And a touch back to the famous Fairy Castle of silent screen star Colleen Moore. Roscoe and Gary pledge to make a field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry soon to view it in person. Our Sourpus Smithers pet peeves of the week include the outrageously wasteful length of CVS pharmacy receipts read why, and one-armed self check-out customers who can’t seem the grasp the concept that two hands are quicker than one! A last goodbye to the Asian elephants of the Ringling Bros. circus. Officials announced that they will retire all the creatures by the end of May 2016, a full two years before previously promised. read full story So if you want to see these wonders of nature up close in performance, better hurry to your nearest arena and catch them while you can. Don’t forget! Gary tells a sad story – for a change – of a shark trapped in a chlorinated pool in Florida. Rescuers were likely too late to save the creature, who was placed in the pool by some hooligan youths. Full Story Rewards have been offered and we hope they catch these vandals before they destroy another wild animal. Gary officially retires his Keys to the Carly segment this week, as the famed failed CEO and queen of the helmet hair has been relegated to the under card at the last 3 GOP debates. Farewell, dear Carlton S. It was fun while it lasted. We suspect this isn’t the last we’ll hear from Frau Fiorina. The Oscar race is heating up, with controversy and drama regarding the lack of diversity in the 20 acting nominations. NYT Story Who’s to blame and what can the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences do to better address the question of gender and racial diversity in the Oscar voting? Hollywood Reporter view Gary and Roscoe Around The Town features a look at some recent and current stage events including – the pre-Broadway Chicago tryout of the new musical Got...
Booth One comes to you Live! from Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Read all about this Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company and its wonderful ensemble and staff here. (https://www.steppenwolf.org/?gclid=CPyltu2LssoCFUc9gQodKwsHOA&gclsrc=aw.ds)
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(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/writersnewspace-300x225.jpg)Happy New Year, Podcast listeners! Welcome to 2016 and a special episode of BOOTH ONE.
Frequent listeners of our show will be familiar with Writers Theatre of Glencoe, IL [check out the Writers website] (http://www.writerstheatre.org/), where Gary and Roscoe have seen some marvelous productions of dramatic and musical literature over the years.
We recently had the great good fortune to sit down with Writers founder and Artistic Director, Michael Halberstam (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Halberstam.jpg)to discuss a wide range of topics, including the new multi-theatre complex scheduled to open in March 2016. Learn more. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/news/ct-writers-theater-jeanne-gang-glencoe-column.html#)
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Michael talks about Writers' history and future, the relationship between audience and actor, what makes great theatre, scale and intimacy, his strongest influences and the crucial role of art and artists in the 21st Century.
We discuss Michael's recent collaboration with Tyrone Phillips and the wonderful new Definition Theatre Company read more here, (http://www.definitiontheatre.org/) and why mentoring and giving back to new generations of theatre artists is so vital to the culture.
We hope you enjoy Michael's eloquence and candor in this insightful and entertaining conversation! We also encourage you to attend a Writers Theatre production when in the Chicago area. Writers inaugural productions for the new theatre facility:
A hearty Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to our fans and listeners! Gary and Roscoe celebrate (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Christmas.jpg)their first holiday podcast with Seasons Greetings!
It's the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas and Gary and Roscoe are in festive moods. They relate their favorite decorations and where you can see the best of the holiday season in Chicago.
Gary and Roscoe are joined once again by old friend George from Midlothian as we discuss(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Georgesmiling-e1439676968628.jpg) a wide range of topics on this, our 20th Episode! Thank you loyal listeners and fans for getting us this far. We plan to be around for many more.
Gary gets Roscoe's and George's take on the three-ring circus clown car that is the GOP Presidential Debate scene. Get a Republican POV (https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/posts/1097137623632166?fref=nf&pnref=story)
Gary's Keys to the Carly this week is that she looked more (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/GOPCandidates3.jpg)"human" than in the last debate. Not saying much considering her dismal 7% poll rating among GOP debate viewers. Read a fascinating account of Presidential debates throughout history written by dear friend of the show, Newt Minow here. (http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Presidential-Debates-Improbable-Promising/dp/0226530418/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448676082&sr=8-1&keywords=newton+minow+debates#reader_B001EGQKGM)
The boys talk about the shocking and unbelievable developments in the case of Fox Lake police officer Joe Gliniewicz...(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/GIJoe.jpg) ...and this week's revelations that has the entire community stunned and feeling betrayed. Full story (http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20151123/news/151129715/)
Need some help with your turkey? (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Butterball.jpg) The friendly folks at Butterball's Turkey Talk-Line(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ButterballTalkline.jpg) will give you advice and assistance with your poultry predicaments. We'll read you a few of the choicer calls they've received over the years. Contact Butterball (http://www.butterball.com/turkey-talk-line)
(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/GuestCheck.jpg)Are you a big tipper? Do you believe in rewarding good service in a restaurant? We'll discuss the movement afoot in the restaurant industry to abolish tipping and increase the price of a meal in order to more equitably compensate staff other than servers. Are you for or against? Read more. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Meyer) And check this out. (http://acculturated.com/tipping/)
Gary issues a warning to new-dog owner George about a disturbing statistic - at least 10 Americans have been shot by dogs since 2004. Read about Trigger shooting her companion (http://theweek.com/speedreads/585538/dog-named-trigger-pulled-trigger-owner-shooting-foot)in the foot!(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/DogwithGun.jpg)
What? What? Don't Tell Me! We examine the increasing prevalence of earpieces on Broadway feeding lines to aging stars - from Cicely Tyson to Al Pacino to Bruce (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Misery.jpg)Willis. NY Post Story (http://nypost.com/2015/11/05/pacinos-not-alone-willis-needs-an-earpiece-to-remember-his-lines-too/)It's become part of the illusion of theatre that actors now look like the know their lines! More Misery (http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/nov/15/misery-review-bruce-willis-seems-aloof-in-stage-chiller-with-little-suspense)
The musical The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle - will receive a world-premiere production at Chicago's Mercury Theatre in January 2016.(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Sherlock.jpg) From the creators of The Christmas Schooner. Not to be missed! Info and Tickets (http://mercurytheaterchicago.com/sherlock.html)
Long-time Artistic Director of The Goodman Theatre Mr. Robert Falls is inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame! A much deserved honor.(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/BobFalls.jpg)Falls is joined by luminous 2015 inductees Tony Kushner, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flarerty, Julie Taymor, Stacy Keach and the late Roger Rees. The induction ceremony was held on Nov.
Gary and Roscoe are in full Halloween mode(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/frankenstein.jpg) as they pay tribute to the holiday with some last-minute costume ideas. Check out Sam Apple's hilarious suggestions for ways to be the talk of ...
We are beyond thrilled to feature an interview with hero to the show, Margalit Fox! Brought to you from the newsroom of the New York Times.
Margalit is the author of most of the obituaries Gary chooses to read during "Kiss of Death," the concluding segment of each show episode. He selects them based on his fascination with the lives they depict and how beautifully they are written. Having the chance to talk with her at the Times was, as he says on the show, "one of the great Booth One experiences of my life!"(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/largergznytoutside.jpg)
Before we get to that interview, Gary and Roscoe continue to describe experiences from their recent visits to New York City. Roscoe recounts seeing Therese Raquin, starring Keira Knightly; Drop Deap Perfect by the Peccadillo Theatre Company; and The Humans by Stephen Karam. About the playwright (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Karam) He has great anecdotes about one-on-one encounters with Karam before and after the show.
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(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/StephenKaram.jpg) (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/TheHumans.jpg) (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/KurtElling4.jpg)Gary shares his thrilling experience at the Cafe Carlyle seeing Kurt Elling and his band in an intimate setting, performing a remarkable and moving program of Sinatra classics. A great night was had by all!! Cafe Carlyle Site (http://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/the-carlyle-new-york/dining/cafe-carlyle) Here is some of the amazing history of the hotel, which has been frequented by luminaries such as John F. Kennedy and Mick Jaggar. History of Carlyle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlyle_Hotel) (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/CafeCarlyle.jpg)Roscoe attends a performance at Don't Tell Mama and sees a faux Judy and Liza, but just misses the legendary Melba Moore read more! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melba_Moore) Booth One (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DontTellMama.jpg)note: actress and sister of Arther Miller, Ms. Joan Copeland, was seated at a nearby table! Copeland Bio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Copeland) This episode's HUGE special treat is an interview with Senior Staff writer for the New York Times, our favorite obituary author, Ms. Margalit Fox. Gary sits down with Margo for an intimate chat about writing, death and the near-dead, along with a few surprises. For instance, he learns that like himself, she is a cellist! And she tells him about an unusual and fascinating creative pastime. Trained as a linguist, Margalit also writes marvelous non-fiction books, including The Riddle of the Labyrinth (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/31/books/the-riddle-of-the-labyrinth-by-margalit-fox.html?_r=0) published in 2013. She is at work on a new manuscript. We can't wait! After the interview, Gary gave her two pink flamingos, which is what he now gives each of the show's guests. Particularly fitting for her since he was inspired to give them by her obituary of Don Featherstone, inventor of the pink flamingo lawn ornament. Find a link to Fox's Featherstone obit and hear Gary read excerpts in TALKSports episode 9. (http://booth-one.com/2015/07/episode-9-taste-of-chicago-part-1/) Margalit told us she put them in a plant in the obit department. We hope someday to get a photo. In the meantime, here is a picture of Gary's: (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/flamingogz-225x300.jpg) Kiss of Death: Dick Moore - Known as "Dickie", when at the age of 1 he appeared in his first silent feature film. He regularly appeared in "Our Gang" shorts, and played Oliver Twist at six in the first sound adaptation of the Dickens classic in 1936. Mr. Moore was later the public relations director for Actors' Equity Association.
Gary and Roscoe "start spreadin' the news" of their separate New York excursions to see what's happening on Broadway and around the Big Apple.
First, Gary updates us on what's new with fact-challenged Carly Fiorina in this week's "Keys to the Carly." Allergic to saying things that are true? Carly' (http://www.salon.com/2015/09/30/the_dark_art_of_boldly_lying_why_carly_fiorina_is_dick_cheneys_spiritual_successor/)s Pack of Lies (http://www.salon.com/2015/09/30/the_dark_art_of_boldly_lying_why_carly_fiorina_is_dick_cheneys_spiritual_successor/)
And beware those freshwater swimming excursions - conclusive evidence of Gary's contention that sharks are everywhere! read more at your peril (http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-week/bios/freshwater-sharks/)(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/BullShark.jpg) (http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-week/bios/freshwater-sharks/)
Gary and Roscoe recount their Booth One experiences at a number of theatrical events and discuss the many plays and musicals they saw in New York.
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The Fantasticks, The King and I, Fool for Love, Fun Home, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Something Rotten, Brian d'Arcy James read more (http://briandarcyjames.com/), The Gin Game, King Charles III
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Gary and Brian d'Arcy James visiting in Brian's dressing room after Something Rotten. They last worked together on an Irving Berlin review at CSO. (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/BDJdressinroom-225x300.jpg)
A shout out to Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal, tragic stars of Love Story, as they open Love Letters in Los Angeles read review (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-love-letters-review-wallis-ali-macgraw-ryan-oneal-20151015-story.html).
The winner of the $100 Gift Card to The Gage Restaurant Chicago (http://www.thegagechicago.com/#!) is..........Larry Frievalt! Congratulations, Larry. Enjoy!
Kiss of Death
Jean Darling - Child star of the Our Gang comedy films, she was born Jean LeVake in 1922 and began her career at the age of 4. Though her film appearances were short-lived, Ms. Darling went on the play Carrie Pipperidge in the original 1945 Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel. In the 50's, "Baby Jean" hosted a musical variety TV show called A Date With Jean Darling, and sang with Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. The Guardian obit (http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/08/jean-darling)
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We're re-branding! TalkSports is now BOOTH ONE! (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/BoothOne.jpg)Named in honor of the famous "Booth One" at the Pump Room in the former Ambassador East hotel in Chicago's trendy River North. It was for decades the most sought-after seat in the house, as those celebrities seated there could be seen from the lobby, the bar and the rest of the room. [Booth One] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pump_Room,_Chicago) (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/GarlandandFamily.jpg)We strive to(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/WagnerWood.jpg) bring you the finest Booth One experiences as we explore the worlds of Culture and the Arts. See our ABOUT page for more...
(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/EbertBelushi.jpg) In this week's Keys to the Car-ly segment, we review Ms. Fiorina's performance on the rec(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Carlywithmic.jpg)ent GOP debate and the many "mic drop" moments she claims to have scored during the proceedings. Did her campaign staff get it right? What is a mic drop moment? (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Drop+The+Mic) Roscoe falls on his sword while issuing some corrections to misinformation about Cinecon given in Episode 15. Despite the errors, we are still in awe of his silent film knowledge and he continues to amaze with his Gary and Roscoe preview the upcoming Broadway and Chicago theatre seasons as they prepare for separate trips to New York to see a few shows. View 15-16 Season Preview here (http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/schedule-of-upcoming-broadway-shows-113677) We also review our last ten days of Booth One experiences, including a dress rehearsal of Steppenwolf Theatre's East of Eden [link to Steppenwolf] (https://www.steppenwolf.org/Plays-Events/productions/index.aspx?id=639&gclid=CK6rm8DSxcgCFUo6gQodp_sKUA&gclsrc=aw.ds),(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/kurios.jpg)(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/eastofeden.jpg) front row seats at Cirque du Soleil's Kurios [Cirque Kurios] (https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/kurios), and Northlight Theatre's opening night of Funnyman, starring George Wendt and Tim Kazurinsky [go to Northlight Site] (http://www.northlight.org/pages/funnyman/386.php). (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/wendt.jpg)Kiss of Death (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DeanJones.jpg)We profile the life and times of legendary actor Dean Jones, star of stage and screen. Jones was most widely known for his starring appearances in a number of Disney films, including The Love Bug and That Darn Cat. Theater-philes will of course remember Jones as the original Bobby in Stephen Sondheim's Company. Read more (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Jones_%28actor%29)
Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Kurt Elling sits down with Gary to discuss a broad range of topics. With Roscoe at Cinecon, Gary flies solo in this one-on-one interview session. Learn more about Kurt in this bio from a recent concert and at KurtElling.com Gary gives a little background on his friendship with Kurt. One highlight was when...
Roscoe talks about his impending annual trip to the Cinecon Film Festival. Very exciting.
We introduce a new segment called Keys to the Car-ly highlighting the "questionably brilliant" things Carly Fiorina, GOP Prez candidate, has to say about leadership, women and world affairs. Warning: this could be frightening to young children and rational adults!
- The winner of the Gift Card to restaurant Acanto is friend of the show.................................Dan Michel! Congratulations, Dan, and enjoy your meal! Acanto Home (http://www.acantochicago.com/)
Roscoe and Gary recount their experience at the recent Kurt Elling(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/KurtElling1.jpg) concert with the Grant Park Orchestra and Gary announces that Kurt will be our special guest on the next podcast! It should be a cool one! Kurt Elling's website (http://kurtelling.com/)
(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Cinecon-150x150.jpg)Roscoe expounds on his upcoming trip to L.A. for the annual Cinecon Film Festival. (http://www.cinecon.org/)
Highlights include restored silent pictures, recently found footage, stars Lee Tracy filmography (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0870543/), Jack Mulhall Full profile (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Mulhall), Oscar-winner Jane Darwell Full profile (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Darwell), Jack Dempsey Official site (http://cmgww.com/sports/dempsey/index.php), wife Estelle Taylor Wiki Link (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estelle_Taylor), and more.
Another new segment called CHAT PACK(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/ChatPack-150x150.jpg) is introduced, where Gary and Roscoe take turns answering probing and personal questions. Learn more about G & R than you may ever have wanted to know! Chat Pack (http://www.questmarc.com/)
Kiss of Death:
Yvonne Craig - Batgirl with a "Ski Party" connection Full filmography (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0186051/) (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/YvonneCraig-150x150.jpg)
Samuel "Biff" Liff - Legendary New York stage manager and theatrical agent Read full article (http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/BiffLiffChita.jpg)
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Roscoe concludes with some Rex Harrison tidbits that neatly tie together his Cinecon experiences with Biff Liff's career. read more (http://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/04/obituaries/cathleen-nesbitt-british-character-actress-dead.html)
(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Georgesmiling-e1439676968628-225x300.jpg)As promised in our first episode, George Schlichter joins us today! Friends since college - Gary, Roscoe and George share memories and a few laughs in this lucky Episode 13. They went to Illinois Wesleyan, Gary and Roscoe majoring in theatre and George in English. George talks about his college stage debut in Waiting for Godot.
They have all been roommates at various times and have tales to tell. George and Roscoe were sharing an apartment in Chicago in 1993 when Roscoe made a brief but successful return to the stage. A highlight was his role in Bailiwick Repertory's Don Juan on Halsted. Tony Adler's review suggested that Roscoe's character "deserved a sequel all to herself." (read more here) (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-02-03/news/9402030163_1_gay-halsted-boys) Roscoe describes having found the unexpected ability to move like Margot Fonteyn in 5-inch heels. His rave reviews for this and other roles during his comeback were very exciting. He remembers George calling him, "the toast of two continents."
Roscoe gives an update on his circus training. We got the Actor's Gymnasium's fall class brochure (http://www.actorsgymnasium.org/classes-camps/adult-classes/) and Roscoe wants to take Contortion. George is not sure Roscoe has conditioned properly for such an undertaking.(http://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/contortion-300x169.jpg)They talk about the shocking August 6 GOP debate, featuring 10 of the 19 primary candidates in prime time. George thinks Ted Cruz looks like Joe McCarthy. Listen to hear who he think Trump resembles. All very disturbing. Roscoe makes a prediction about who will be the Republican nominee.
Cultural Updates:
Gary has been to see Writer's Theatre's great producion of Doubt, set in the Glencoe Union Church. Our friend Geoff Barr, who works at Writer's, gave us a tour of the outside of the new theatre under construction, scheduled to open in March. Looks like it's going to be gorgeous. We can't wait for the new season. They are doing Company!
HMS Media invited us to a live taping of a Kander & Ebb revue for a national PBS broadcast in February. The song selection was a little bizarre; we're guessing "lesser known" Kander & Ebb. Still the performances were fantastic, especially from 2015 Tony award nominee, Kate Baldwin! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Baldwin) This event was the setting for a hilarious encroachment incident involving a 5-year old in our row. Which leads us to other dismaying displays of complete lack of theatre etiquette. George tells us that people are texting even in church!
Kiss of Death:
Blaze Starr: Icon of Burlesque read her fascinating obit (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/us/blaze-starr-burlesque-stripper-linked-to-a-governor-dies-at-83.html?_r=0) The film Blaze, starring Lolita Davidovitch and Paul Newman, was based on her memoir. Here they are with director Ron Shelton at the New York premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater.
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