“Going Bacharach: The Songs of an Icon” closes Sunday at the Apollo Theater. I’m told that impressive early momentum in ticket sales has not been sustained, and the commercially produced show is no longer continuing with its previously announced extension, but is looking at other cities showing interest. This week offers Chicago audiences the last chance to see this very classy off-Broadway revue of the songs of Burt Bacharach; it deserves to go out with a bang.
More Top Picks Tire Inflator
Sharp-eared viewers noted that Laurie Metcalf, triumphant at the Tony Awards on Sunday night, thanked the individual actors with whom she worked during Steppenwolf’s early days, but not the storied theater company itself. Much mishegoss resulted from the theater’s decision not to collaborate on “Little Bear Ridge Road” with the producer Scott Rudin, who also triumphed Sunday with “Death of a Salesman.” Steppenwolf did eventually release the rights to the Tony-nominated show at Metcalf’s request. Chicago audiences are hoping that the dispute is over and that Metcalf soon will be back on Halsted Street.
The Broadway production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ “Purpose,” which began at the Steppenwolf Theatre, has announced the recoupment of its $5.25 million capitalization (a relatively small sum for Broadway these days). The show said, “the recoupment was achieved with the aid of the New York State Tax Credit, as well as the operating profits from ‘Purpose’s’ record-breaking Broadway run.” All investors got their money back; Steppenwolf was listed as a producer.
Carrie Coon, now a star of Broadway and television, did not win a Tony herself for her nominated work in “Bug” (also from Steppenwolf), but she did take the stage to announce the Regional Theatre Tony Award win for American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, a big favorite of Chicago audiences. Including me.
Most theaters get to pick their own boards of directors, or at least their own boards are able to make that decision. But in Aurora, the Paramount Theatre is now facing wholesale changes to its board, and the newcomers are not necessarily being chosen for their interest in the theater. The Tribune-owned Aurora Beacon-News reported that Aurora Mayor John Laesch has announced new board members designed to further the mayor’s goals of moving the Paramount to offer “more diverse programming” to reflect the community and provide more “financial stability” (not necessarily the same thing). His new appointees (kicking existing board members off) include Juan Sifuentes, the chair of the East Aurora School Board; Diane Lantz, a municipal finance specialist; Natasha Prunty, president of Gospel Morale and Entertainment; and Christopher Childress, co-founder of Progressive Business Solutions. It’s not known how good the mayor’s appointees will be at raising money, generally a board’s primary task. Paramount CEO Tim Rater is on vacation and could not be reached for comment. But it’s clear that mayoral involvement in the Paramount’s operation is intensifying.
The League of Chicago Theatres has announced the return of its “Thank You 5” summer promotion (a phrase that makes sense only to theater people). Between June 18 and July 3, audiences receive a not-so-whopping $5 off at the Hot Tix box office for numerous shows around town by using the promo code THANKYOU5 at checkout.
Writers Theatre has added another block of tickets for the fast-selling “Leopoldstadt,” which is in previews and opens in Glencoe on Friday. The show will now play at least through Aug 9. I’d expect the Tom Stoppard masterpiece to run yet longer.
Meanwhile, TUTA Theatre has gone big with a six-week extension of its production of “Crime and Punishment,” regularly selling out its 25-seat theater since its May opening. You can now learn again that “pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart” through Aug. 23.
Along with “Leopoldstadt,” this weekend also sees the opening of “Untitled Vampire Play” at Lookingglass Theatre, and “Catch As Catch Can” (featuring Gary Cole) at Steppenwolf.
Chris Jones Recommends
“Theater of the Mind” in an open run by the Goodman at the Reid Murdoch Building; “Going Bacharach: The Songs of an Icon” through Sunday at the Apollo Theater; “Job”
More Top Picks Best Cooling Eye Masks For Headaches
through July 5 at Writers Theatre; “Octet” through June 28 at Raven Theatre; “Pandemonium, Please Hold” in an open run on the Second City Mainstage; “An Enemy of the People” through June 27 at TimeLine Theatre; “South Pacific” through June 14 at the Paramount Theatre; “Damn Yankees” through July 5 at Theo Ubique Theatre.Chris Jones is a Tribune critic