Although the Tony Awards will be handed out tomorrow night, it’s already been a month since the American Theatre Wing announced that the Chicago Shakespeare Theater was the recipient of the 2008 Tony Award for excellence in regional theatre. During that time, the theatre has begun to explore the opportunities the Tony Award can present to a young, ambitious company.
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley hosted a ceremony this past Monday to honor the theatre for its achievement. Chicago Shakespeare Theater Artistic Director Barbara Gaines used the occasion to outline some big ideas for the company she founded in 1986. Hedy Weiss of the “Chicago Sun-Times” reports, “In an eloquent speech that fell on all the most needed and influential ears, Gaines briefly laid out her artistic and educational plans for CST for the next decade. It is a period that might well include the arrival of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Chicago. Noting that next year will mark the one millionth visit by a student to a CST matinee performance, Gaines outlined her dreams, which include:
• A program devised to make sure every 9th grader in the city’s schools will see at least one production at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre during that crucial year of their education.
• A Children’s International Theatre Festival that will bring established and startup companies from throughout the Americas to perform at CST — a natural extension of the theater’s current World Stages series, which brings international companies to Chicago.
• A new theater space that would allow more students in the city’s middle schools and high schools to have the CST experience.” Read the complete Sun-Times article
Grand as the proposals sound, Gaines describes them simply as “seed ideas.” When reached for further comment, Cathy Taylor, head publicist for the company, told “The Shakespeare Post” that the ideas represent the theatre’s aspirations. She added that further discussion would be premature.
Chicago Shakespeare is the fourth Chicago theatre company to win the regional theatre Tony. The Steppenwolf Theatre Company (1985), the Goodman Theatre (1992) and Victory Gardens Theater (2001) are the previous recipients. All of them have flourished since winning the award. Victory Gardens recently moved into a new home at the renovated Biograph Theater. (The Biograph is best known as the place where the infamous gangster John Dillinger was shot to death.) The Goodman Theatre is working to build its national credentials. According to Chris Jones of “The Chicago Tribune,” “Goodman Artistic Director Robert Falls recently announced that he intends to take the Goodman Theatre in an internationalist direction.” His production of “King Lear” starring Stacy Keach is headed to the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. next year. Of the four recipients, the Steppenwolf Theatre arguably has the best claim to being the most important Chicago theatre on the national scene at this time. The Steppenwolf produced Frank Galati’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” in 1988. It went on to win the 1990 Tony Award for Best Play. This year, the Steppenwolf’s production of “August: Osage County” is nominated for seven Tony Awards, including best play.
In the end, the success of Chicago Shakespeare’s plans will largely come down to its ability to cultivate donors, attract top-flight talent, and work with community groups and government agencies. Big ideas require big money, solid community support and a superior organization to make them happen. If the Chicago Shakespeare Theater is successful, it’s possible the city will become a national center of Shakespearean education and performance.
The American Theatre Wing’s 2008 Tony Awards will be broadcast in the U.S. on June 15 on CBS beginning at 8/7c.
Web Resources:
Chicago Shakespeare Theater website
Tony Awards website
Fast Facts: 2008 Regional Tony Winner Chicago Shakespeare Theater
