Nudity, personality revelations and little known facts made WBEZ's Chicago theatre alternative history event fun

Kerry Reid (l), Dennis Zacek, Jonathan Arbarbanel and Kelly Kleiman*

Jonathan Arbarbanel and Kelly Kleiman, WBEZ's dueling theatre critics, began WBEZ's The Alternative History of Chicago Theatre in Chopin Theatre with banter that included Arbarbanel's ruby red slippers (attractive, indeed) and a confession that it was he who created off loop theatre. (He began it in Athens in a conversation with Aristotle.) Thus he is the oldest theater critic in the history of off loop theater.

Kate Buddeke (2nd from l) amuses panel and audience*

Kleiman explained that her costume (a $6.90 find from the Salvation Army) was to be an Elizabethan compliment, bustle and all, to Arbarbanel's Edwardian look and that her perspective of Chicago theater began in the time of the first Mayor Daley, who was not likely to be seen in a theatre. "Chicago Theater, in its original renaissance, was more political, more far out and more determined to shock people. Now, I think, theater has given up on shocking Chicago audiences, who are un-shockable."

RoShamBo Theater Company* members portray debate about "exposure"

"Tonight we have stories to tell you about people who became famous or should have become famous, disaster and drunken orgies, but we also have stories to tell you about naked people. So what I would like to know is, which would you like to hear first?"

After the audience chose "naked," RoShamBo Theater Company was introduced to present "Chicago naked theater stories."

They began telling about an event in 1970 when Stuart Gordon had a vision of naked flesh in Peter Pan  in full view of the audience..." They marched on thru the decades with examples from many Chicago theaters.

"Chicago Theater history can be approached from many different directions," Kleiman explained. "One thing that theaters did was to take neighborhoods where no one would want to spend time and make them into places where everyone wanted spent time.  In other words there is Chicago theater as gentrifier. Victory Garden ....then the Biograph Theatre... was across the street from where the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre began on the roof above the Red Lion bar."

"And, you need to note that in the wake of theatres helping to establish a neighborhood, often comes the lose of the theater because they can no longer afford the rent or the landlord wants to sell the building," said Arbarbane. They went on thru a list of examples of lost spaces and theaters.

Three BoyGirlBoyGirl actors perform monologues: Susan McLaughlin Karp (l), Robert Rodi             and Rachel Claff*

A series of monologues by BoyGirlBoyGirl, which coincidentally was done by a girl, boy, girl, focused on various stars and their personalities such as John Malkovich, William Peterson and Gillian Anderson.

Kerry Reid, a freelance arts journalist, critic, who writes for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Reader, took the place of Chicago Reader's Albert Williams on the panel with Arbarbanel and Kleiman as they covered other historic facts including stories about John Mahoney.

Robot vs. Dinosaur spoofed Second City's 50th anniversary

In a comedic presentation the Robot vs. Dinosaur (RD) group told the tale of researching Second City's fifty year history and how they "unearthed" another theater group that had used space Second City used. That group, The Practical Theater Company , presented  the Golden 50th Anniversary Jubilee.  Since that show was three years after they formed as a company, RD researchers were not sure whether the fuzzy math was a joke or a poor reflection of the quality of Northwestern's math department.

Tofu's chorus*

Tofu's dancer and drummer

Next, Dennis Zacek, founder of Victory Gardens Theater, joined the panel telling many tales about many actors including John Mahoney and Harrison Ford as well as others he has worked with over the years.

A fluid dancer, a drummer, and a chorus from Tofu Chitlin' Circuit, southside educational theater company, brought to life a story about a 1980s Goodman Theater production of Death and the Kings Horsemen during which there was the sacrifice of a chicken under the Goodman stage.

Rich Cotovsky being portrayed by James Dunn of The Plagiarists Theater*

Kate Buddeke, Broadway actress, talked about her beginning in the theatre at the age of fifteen. With Chicago as her home base, she spends a great deal of time in New York. Asked about whether there is a difference in attitude of New York and Los Angeles actors in comparison to Chicago actors. She said "yes." Her explanation was that many of them are very pretentious with a reverence for Broadway that Chicago actors do not have. "We want to have fun, we want to play."

The evening ended with a brilliant one-man presentation by James Dunn, The Plagiarists Theater, portraying Rich Cotovsky, founder of the Maryarrchie Theater.

EDITOR'S NOTE: To all the participants and idea man Don Hall, job well done. When is the next trip down history lane?

Thanks also to WBEZ Breeze Richardson for her help in gathering material and photos and to *Jerry Schulman for his photos. The Chopin venue was an appropriate venue for telling the tales of Chicago's theatrical history. We would love to see you back in our neighborhood.