WBEZ | Alison Cuddy

Robert Sickinger dies, brought grassroots theater to Chicago

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:58:00 -0500

When Robert Sickinger came to Chicago in the early 1960s, Chicago had great theater. But most of it - think The Goodman Theater - was largely confined to the Loop.

Sickinger, who died Thursday at the age of 86, was hired to be the director of the Hull House Theater, on Chicago’s North side. When he arrived in 1963, the theater was still at the corner of Broadway Street and Belmont Avenue - the building’s an athletic club now.

Donna Marie Schwan was Sickinger’s assistant, and, eventually, his friend.

She said Sickinger, along with Paul Jans, the new executive director of Hull House, were looking to the past to do something new in theater.

“They were basically trying to do something like what Jane Addams originally had in the community. So he went out in the community and had open auditions. I mean, sort of the original ‘Chicago’s Got Talent’.”

Those open auditions not only drew people who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity or venue in which to perform or sing, they were a pipeline to Chicago’s talented actors. Through them, Sickinger uncovered talents like actor Mike Nussbaum and Jim Jacobs, who eventually wrote Grease.

Those are some of the same people who went on to build Chicago’s network of neighborhood theaters, to create spaces like Steppenwolf. And that, said Schwan, is how Sickinger transformed the city’s theater scene.

Schwan said “He basically brought grassroots theater to Chicago.”

At Hull House, Sickinger developed a reputation for his fresh adaptations of classic plays.

But he was also known for the number of contemporary works he staged. Playwrights like Edward Albee, Eugene Ionesco, Harold Pinter and LeRoi Jones had Chicago premieres thanks to Sickinger.

Sickinger’s tenure in Chicago was brief. He left for New York in 1969, after things went awry at Hull House. At the time of his death, he and his family were living between New York and Florida.

But Schwan said Sickinger’s influence can still be seen in places like The Goodman Theater.

“Chicago was very formal culturally. And what he did is he said ‘let’s bring in these wonderful works, these new works that are being done by our contemporaries, and see what they look like when they do them.’ And that was a phenomenon.”

Still Schwan thinks his greatest gift was his ability to inspire everyone - theater owners, actors, and regular people like herself.

“What happens when you create that kind of inspiration, where people have that kind of opportunity, it’s an energy that is irreplaceable, you can’t get that kind of energy going. That’s why these tv shows about auditioning and talent are so popular, because people are discovering themselves and what they can do in a way they otherwise would never have had.”

Join WBEZ's digital Oscar party

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:13:00 -0600

I love a good awards show (by which I mean I love a really, really bad one). So I’m looking forward to the 85th annual Academy Awards with my usual anticipation. But also a fair bit of head-scratching.

Like, how could Hugh Jackman’s performance in Les Miz possibly be the biggest threat to Daniel Day Lewis winning an Oscar for his portrayal of Lincoln? That’d be like me trying to block a Michael Jordan slam dunk. Come on!

Or how has favored son of Hollywood Ben Affleck become the plucky underdog? Sure Argo’s good movie fun. But Best Picture material? Nah.

Or whose teeth will create the greater solar flare: Supporting Actress nominee (gag) Anne Hathaway? Or host Seth MacFarlane?

Well, we’ll have plenty of time - hours of it! - to resolve these burning questions. And I do hope you’ll spend them with WBEZ at our virtual Oscar party.

I’ve invited a couple of people to my place to watch the show. I’ll be serving cocktails and live tweeting their reactions - and mine. WBEZ blogger Leah Pickett will weigh in too.

Share your surprise, disappointments and snark (and maybe a few sentimental sobs?) at #wbezoscars to join our conversation. We'll pull our favorite moments into this page too.

Week of Art coming to Chicago in Fall 2013

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:14:00 -0600

Expo Chicago, the city's latest effort at an international art fair, took place over a few days last September.

But for their second go-round, organizers are thinking more is more.

They've announced plans to wrap their fall art fair into a week-long festival of art and culture: Expo Art Week.

Expo Art Week will take place September 16-22 in 2013. Expo Chicago will host its vernissage at Navy Pier on September 19 and run through the 22.

Tony Karman is the Director of Expo Chicago. He says a week-long art festival will meet the expectations of art patrons everywhere.

"They're coming for the art fairs," Kalman said. "But they're also coming to experience our great theatre, our great dance, our restaurants. That's really the takeaway for the international art collector or art enthusiasts."

Also on board for Expo Art Week is Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Choose Chicago, which is the tourism and marketing wing of the city.

Kalman says he hasn't asked city officials for outright financial support, but does say it is a "huge facilitator" in terms of "organizational and messaging" support.

Karman has also snagged some of Chicago's blue ribbon cultural institutions as collaborators.

Participants include: The Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, and Joffrey Ballet.

Karman promises there will be many more institutions on the list come September.

In far shorter supply, at least so far, are details about how the art week would actually work.

Organizers did say that ACRE, a local art collective and residency, will lead tours of "alternative and apartment based galleries" in neighborhoods like Garfield Park.

And some participants are cooking up other ideas.

Gail Kalver is Executive Director of River North Chicago Dance Company. She hopes her troupe will put on performances at the Expo, or she may just send dancers in some of the company's costumes.

"There’s a particular piece that has a huge red train," Kalver said. "We have some beautiful costumes and I think they would go well at some of the public events."

Spectacle is a draw, but so is the prospect of money.

Northern Trust, which helped fund the Expo last year, has now signed on as the event’s leading sponsor.

"Frankly arts and culture is something for our clients are very interested in," said Steve "Mac" MacLellan, Executive VP of Wealth Management. "It’s a way for us to give back and is recognized by our clients as well."

Launching a new art week right as Chicago's fall art season gets underway means an even busier cultural calendar for many locals.

But Gail Kalver of River North Dance Chicago isn't worried. "I'm the Pollyanna. I think it is a really extraordinary opportunity to be able to highlight your group before you open your season. So I think any arts organization would welcome being part of it."

R.I.P.: Art Chicago

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:48:00 -0600

After thirty years, a venerable art exhibition in Chicago has come to an end. The Merchandise Mart has pulled the plug on the latest incarnation of Art Chicago. The three-decade-old show was once considered one of the world's most important art exhibitions.

It was founded at Navy Pier in 1980 as the Chicago International Art Exposition.

WBEZ’s Alison Cuddy shares the details of the exhibition's lasting significance. Tony Karman, the vice president and director Art Chicago from 2006 to 2001, also weighed in.

Women getting in on the action at the box office

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:47:00 -0600

Filmspotting co-host, and editor or ThinkChristian.net Josh Larsen joined Eight Forty-Eight to review the new Steven Soderbergh action film Haywire. And WBEZ culture reporter Alison Cuddy joined the conversation to discuss some other films with strong female characters.

Will new Oscar rules mean more love for Chicago documentaries?

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:41:00 -0600

Like many movie hounds I both love to watch and love to complain about the annual Oscars. But the rules governing how and why a film qualifies "for your consideration" are still kind of foreign territory to me (ironically, especially when it comes to actual foreign films).

Oscar rules have been shaken up in recent years. For example: Until this morning's announcement, no one was sure how many "best picture" nominees there'd be. Nor, as far as I can tell, does anyone know why the number of films selected should be as big a reveal as which films were selected. (don't get me started on their quality.)

But the biggest brouhaha is over very recent changes to documentary selection. In brief, as of the 2013 awards, non-fiction films will now require not just a theatrical release, but also a review in either the New York Times or L.A. Times to qualify.

Some doc fans view this development with suspicion. Does this give too much clout to a top-flight but small group of newspaper film critics and their editors? Others argue the new rules are a vast improvement on the previous system. The man charged with the changes - documentarian Michael Moore of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Roger and Me fame - hopes they'll at least prevent a "Hoop Dreams [from] happening again."

That would no doubt be welcome news for Steve James, who didn't make it to Oscar prime time with Hoop Dreams in 1995 and whose critical hit The Interrupters was overlooked by the Academy this year. Not surprisingly, James' take on the new system for documentary selection is as subtle as his film's view of Chicago violence.

You'll hear more from him on this morning's Eight Forty-Eight - I'm curious to know whether he thinks the changes mean real transparency for what sounds like a terribly convoluted process.

The harder question to answer may be this: Why can't Hollywood, the epicenter of movie production world-wide and the host of an annual awards ceremony that largely celebrates that fact, figure out how to put on an awards show that is actually good? Then again, maybe running rough shod over the usual space-time conventions of prime time television (over 3 hours long - really?) and putting your talent through the mill is real Hollywood style?

So, if you want to dish about the Oscars - including which films did and did not get the nod - join me and a group of local film critics at the Gene Siskel Film Center today at noon. Leave the gown/tuxedo at home; bring lunch (cannoli welcome).

Hear Eight Forty-Eight's Tony Sarabia's conversation with Steve James here:

Worldview 1.12.12

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:28:00 -0600

Before Kim Jong-il's death the United States offered to provide food aid to North Korea if it halted its uranium enrichment program. North Korea has indicated it may be open to negotiations on such a deal. And, the Obama administration says it plans to shift its military policy toward Asia. Worldview talks with University of Chicago professor Bruce Cumings about what it all means. And WBEZ's Alison Cuddy tells Worldview about a host of French film initiatives in Chicago, including “The Tournees Festival of New French Cinema,” at the University of Chicago. The latest film in the series, A Screaming Man, shows Friday night. The film explores the personal and political fall-out of civil war in Chad.

Chicago film festival offers a view of civil war in Chad

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:00:00 -0600

If you, like me, have francophile tendencies when it comes to movies then Chicago’s the place to be. Sure they have an amazing movie culture in Paris – you can see films at all hours of the day in some amazing theatres.

And the Franco-American movie alliance (putting aside that whole freedom fries episode) is alive and well – most recently we have Martin Scorsese to thank for putting early French cinema back in theatres with Hugo, his homage to French film pioneer George Méliès.

But Chicago represents in its signature big shoulders style - the city has a surprising number of festivals dedicated to French cinema.

There are long-standing series, like Facet Cinematheque’s Festival of New French Cinema. The Music Box Theatre entered the local French fest scene with last year’s Chicago French Film Festival. This winter the Gene Siskel Film Center is doing a great series on Robert Bresson. And the Alliance Française has its Ciné-Club which includes a lot of family-friendly movies aimed at children and teenagers.

Most involve collaboration with either the local Consular General or other cross-cultural organizations, including The Tournees Festival of New French Cinema. That series is currently underway at the University of Chicago’s Film Studies Center – it runs through February 3rd.

Jerome McDonnell and I talked about A Screaming Man, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s 2010 take on the strains of civil war and global capital on modern day Chad.The film follows the travails of Adam, an amazing portrait by Haroun regular Youssouf Djaoro. Adam not only loses his post as a pool attendant at a posh resort, he's replaced by his son Abdel. The deal with the devil Adam makes to win back his job - and his wounded manhood - has deep repercussions for his family.

Haroun's film points to the political and spiritual reckoning Chad must undertake in response to its endless and complicated war. But in limiting his view to the life of an ordinary, work-a-day family he raises questions that resonate well beyond the film's specific context.

Trekking 1,000 miles around Lake Michigan

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:47:00 -0600

Ready to walk 167 miles this year? Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn plans to cover that distance over the course of 2012--and he wants Illinois residents to do the same in the name of health. How about 1,000 miles? That’s what Loreen Niewenhuis did: She trekked around Lake Michigan starting near WBEZ's home at Navy Pier and then wrote a book about it. The author spoke with WBEZ’s Alison Cuddy; she began with some of her childhood memories of the great lake.

Loreen Niewnhuis is the author of A Thousand Mile Walk on the Beach: One Woman's Trek of the Perimeter of Lake Michigan.

Music Button: Rick Rizzo & Tara Key, "Rizzo Starts", from the CD Double Star, (Thrill Jockey)

Reviewing the headlines of 2011

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:55:00 -0600

All week, Eight Forty-Eight presented special encore editions of the show--on Friday, producer Eilee Heikenen-Weiss closed out the week with a final Year in Review. Before gearing up for 2012, Eight Forty-Eight wanted to say goodbye to 2011.

It was a busy year around Chicago—residents got a new mayor, a new City Council and plenty of severe weather. The year was marked by labor issues and continued budget challenges--and lots more for the history books, too!

A panel of esteemed journalists joined Eight Forty-Eight's Alison Cuddy to weigh in on the highs and lows of the year: WBBM Newsradio reporter and co-host of the Noon Business Hour Kris Kridel, Chicago Reader senior writer Mick Dumke and Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell, who started off by sharing her choice for the significant story of the year.