Day 318: The Day that the Stars Aligned

     The year is 1988. The Chicago Cubs are 4 years removed from their first postseason appearance since 1945, the Cubs Convention has been going on for 4 years, later that year Wrigley Field will be under the lights for the first time ever, and Harry Caray is well on his way to becoming a local legend. The Chicago Bears are 2 years removed from their Super Bowl win, which has vaulted the entire team to knighthood, and practically made Ditka a saint. The Chicago Bulls have just started to make a splash with their new point guard Michael Jordan, but he will soon lead the team to the promised land six times over.hj

     Anyway, in that year, the Chicago Times contacted local photographer Marc Hauser with a crazy plan. They wanted him to get a picture of Andre Dawson, Michael Jordan, AND Walter Payton all together in the same room.  Now technically, this feat had already been accomplished partially when Jordan and Payton rolled up together at the 1987 Auto Show.  But, the shot of the three of them would have to wait until then.   And so in January of 1988, it happened. The three biggest names in Chicago at the time all came over to Hauser's studio. And they weren't the only ones either. Needless to say, the media caught wind of this and were converging on Hauser's studio in droves.

     Once the shoot started, the tomfoolery began in earnest. Jordan and Payton were trading insults like it was going out of style, Payton was engaging in classically impish behavior(including running up behind Hauser and playing numerous pranks to throw him off focus), and Dawson was just kind of standing in the background out of the way. According to Hauser, "[Dawson] was kind of ignored. But they both were saying "You're the quiet guy, but you're as up there as we are." He was just as big as them." In general, the day was not soon forgotten. "It was just amazing energy in the room. Everybody in the room was in awe. They just couldn't believe that these three guys were standing right there. You know, all of these people are just regular human beings...but...they have a thing about them. There's an aura, I'm telling you...When Walter Payton is in the room, you know it."

Day 305: The Crown Jewel of Chicago-Theatre Week Day 5

     In 1921, the city was in the midst of a theater-building frenzy.  The Shubert Theatre had been built in 1906, the Oriental and Palace Theatres were 5 years away from going up, and the Balaban-Katz conglomerate was filling theatres as fast as they could build them.  To accomplish their next goal, the pair enlisted the aid of Rapp & Rapp, the famed duo who had already worked on many different theaters throughout the city and country.  This was to be their first foray into the realm of Neo-Baroque French-Revival style buildings.  The arch motif on the front of the building is said to be inspired by the l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris.  Once you make your way inside the theater, you can see the coat of arms of the Balaban-Katz chain laid into a Tiffany stained glass window. Much like the Palace Theatre would be 5 years later, the main lobby took inspiration from Versailles.  Many of the accessories were supplied by Marshall Field & Company.  The main centerpiece at the opening was the Grande Wurlitzer pipe organ, which had arrived in July of 1921.

     After spending $4 Million, the theater was finally ready to open up on October 26, 1921.  The 3,880 seat theater was stuffed to the gills for its entire opening week, as Chicagoans rushed to see what had been labeled the "Wonder Theatre of the World".  The throngs were so impressive that mounted police were needed to maintain order(or was that to maintain disorder?), as was depicted in the Chicago Tribune's account of the opening, reported upon by a reporter named Carl Sandburg.  One of the biggest draws that the new theatre had?  Air Conditioning.  Aside from the new and unusual world of A/C, the other claim to fame of the venue was its live jazz, which started out in September 1922 and would go on for more than 40 years.  When the 1933 World's Fair came to town, the theater was redecorated.  In 1949, the original marquee was supplemented with an additional board displaying the name of the theater, and until 1969, the names Balaban-Katz.

     The 1970s brought many different changes to the Theatre.  First off, the Wurlitzer Pipe Organ was restored in 1970.  Then, an economic downturn caused the fortunes of the venue to wane.  Eventually the venue was bought in 1984 by the Chicago Theatre Protection Group.  Attempts at re-purposing the space failed, and the theater closed in 1985.  The next year a reservation project commenced, which restored the theater to its 1930s luster.  Frank Sinatra performed at the reopening concert.  In its new life, the theatre has hosted many different events, such as the opening of the Chicago International Film Festival as well as a stop on the Beach Boys' 50th Anniversary Tour.

Day 304: The Palace-Theatre Week Day 4

     In 1926, the firm of Rapp & Rapp opened up the Oriental Theatre.  At the same time they were also prepping to open up another Theatre in the city.  Later that year, the New Palace Theatre was opened up for a total cost of $12 Million.  After constructing both the Oriental, as well as the Shubert(Bank of America) Theatres, the Rapp brothers had experience with building theatres, experience which carried over to this latest project, which was to erect a new theater to host the Orpheum Circuit, which played host to such luminaries as Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny, Mae West, and even Bob Hope.  The interior design of the theatre was intended to be an homage to the look and feel of the Palace of Versailles, what with its huge decorative mirrors, violet interiors, and white marble.  The walls themselves are bedecked with decorations of wood and gold leaf, plus many examples of brass ornamentation(which will come into play later).  In response to the wane of the Vaudeville era, the theater was converted to a movie house in 1931.

     Fast forward to World War II.  At that time, the government was frantically cannibalizing all sorts of material to aid the war effort, including all the brass that they could lay their hands on.  When the feds came by the Palace, the quick-thinking owners painted all of the brasswork in the theater white, so that the government would not confiscate it.  The ploy worked, and the G-men walked off empty-handed.  Of course, one major drawback of this was that the brass was apparently forgotten about for several years.  In 1984, the place was renamed the Bismarck Theatre and was turned into a rock venue.  In the late 90s, the venue was shut down for an extensive renovation, at which point the original brass fixtures were finally uncovered from under the paint.

     At the completion of the renovations, the venue was reopened in 1999 as the Cadillac Palace Theatre, in deference to the naming rights bought by Cadillac.  The renovated theater has a capacity of 2,344 people and has played host to many different pre-Broadway shows that have opened in Chicago, including Aida, The Producers, The Pirate Queen, The Color Purple, Mary Poppins, and Shrek the Musical.  Additionally, when Wicked came back to town for the first time, they played their engagement at the Cadillac Palace.

Day 303: Wickedly Awesome-Theatre Week Day 3

     On October 30, 2003, the patrons of Broadway's George Gershwin Theatre were treated to the premiere performance of the Wicked, the highly acclaimed musical prequel to The Wizard of Oz(interestingly enough, the Gershwin was built on the site of the former Capitol Theatre, which had hosted the NYC premiere of the 1939 Wizard of Oz film).

     In 2005, the show came to Chicago, where it took up a residence at the Oriental Theatre.  Originally, the stay was only to be for a few months, as part of a larger national tour.  But then public response proved to be quite overwhelming, and the production received its very own open-ended sit-down production in the Windy City.  The performance proved to be so open-ended, that it ran all the way until January 25, 2009.

     After that, Wicked finally left Chicago, only to return in December of 2010 for a limited engagement at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, before leaving once more at the end of January 2011.  Finally, on October 30, 2013, Wicked came home to the Oriental Theatre for a limited run through December 12.  For the next several weeks, audiences will be treated to the timeless stories once again, and even those first-timers will still enjoy themselves.