Hershey Felder, who seems to have single-handedly turned around the economic fortunes of Chicago’s Royal George Theatre, is about to replace Gershwin with Chopin. But despite the romantic, melodious output of old Frederic, he doesn’t exactly pack the obvious box-office oomph of patriotic, sing-a-long George.
So if Felder–who kept his solo “George Gershwin Alone” show going in Chicago for nearly a year–can also make a profitable, long-term go of his newest one-man endeavor “Monsieur Chopin,” then he’ll be defying a lot of conventional wisdom about the Chicago theater in general and the Royal George in particular.
Felder will take his paying customers into Chopin’s salon during 1848. “You have come for a lesson in Chopin’s Parisian home,” he says. “The show will take you from what it is to be a pianist to what it is to be a musician to what it is to be Chopin himself.” Within that frame, Felder will tell Chopin’s story and (since his main calling card is his prowess on the piano) play many of Chopin’s greatest hits, to the extent that Chopin has greatest hits, in the populist sense of the term.
So will Felder sell without Gershwin’s name on the marquee?
As you might imagine, he is optimistic about his new show, which begins preview performances on Tuesday. “We have 100,000 names on our mailing list,” he says, arguing that the Gershwin crowd is itching to return to the George for Frederic. “And we never had a losing week.”
Before Felder arrived here last fall, the George mainstage couldn’t get a moneymaking hit to save its life (its cabaret space, the home of the endless “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” is a different story).
Over the last year or two, a string of shows on the George mainstage underperformed at the box-office–“Art,” “Comfortable Shoes,” “Bleacher Bums.” It’s a long list. Various producers at various times have kvetched about the George’s problems. At 450 seats, it’s too small a capacity to attract expensive New York shows like, say, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” But the rent also has been far too expensive for little shows from Chicago non-profits.
A lot of us were expecting the place to be razed for condos.
But for the last year, Felder has turned the place around. And he says he has no intentions of letting go of his lease. In fact, Felder has pretty much moved to Chicago full time (he lives at the Four Seasons). He’s become involved in Roosevelt’s conservatory programs in music and he’s even talking about presenting other viable shows at the George when he’s back on the road himself. Margaret Cotter, who owns the George, says that “Hershey wants to option some other shows and we’ll be taking a look at them.”
In part, Felder has benefited from a turnaround in the neighborhood. The Steppenwolf Garage has become more visible. There are a new Borders and other retail operations down the street, including a plush new Fey & Co. jewelry store.
And this fall, the long-vacant restaurant space in the George finally is getting a new tenant–titled “Landmark,” the new eatery is from the same people responsible for “Boka,” just down the block. That addition–assuming it flies–should make an enormous difference to the venue’s long-scruffy exterior. In short, the Royal George actually looks like it’s getting its act together and Felder is largely responsible. “Hershey,” says Cotter, “has brought more than 100,000 people into the theater. It’s a show that clicks with an audience.”
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For “Gershwin,” Felder worked the concierge angle. “If you couldn’t get a ticket to `Wicked,’ or you weren’t into that,” he says, “you came to `George Gershwin Alone.'” And indeed, early in the evening at the North and Clybourn “L” stop, one often now sees ambitious tourists–hotel maps in hand–trying to find their way from the station to the Royal George.
So is Broadway in the offing for Monsieur Chopin, as channeled by Felder? “George Gershwin Alone” had a run there (as it did in London’s West End).
But this time? “My expectations for this are to see what happens,” Felder says. “I’ll know pretty quickly whether or not it is connecting with its audience. And then the numbers will tell the tale.”
“Monsieur Chopin” begins Tuesday at the Royal George Theatre Center, 1641 N. Halsted St.; $35-$39.50; 312-988-9000.
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