The city’s arts scene has suffered much over the last three years as it struggles to recover from the economic decline caused by pandemic shutdowns.
Lookingglass Theatre, among Chicago’s very best, is the latest victim. The theater last week announced big staff cuts and said it won’t offer any productions until late spring of 2024.
“While the pandemic has been declared over, theatres in our country are still feeling the effects of needing to shut down for so long,” Lookingglass artistic director and ensemble member Heidi Stillman and the theater’s Board of Directors Chair Diane Whatton said in a letter to donors and supporters.
“Since re-opening, audiences and donations have not returned to 2019 levels, and the American Theatre is struggling to survive,” the letter said.
Theater is as critical to Chicago as are its sports, politics, restaurants and architecture. And that’s true whether it’s the important work of Lookingglass, Steppenwolf and the Goodman, or the equally worthy theatrical efforts across the city, such as ETA Theater in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood, Silk Road Rising, Teatro Vista and many more.
What’s happening at the Lookingglass must now serve as a wake-up call for City Hall, the business elite and the philanthropic community to rally together to make sure theater remains vital in Chicago.
Entertainment yes — but jobs too
Financial problems detailed by Lookingglass provide a glimpse into the fiscal impact that theater has on Chicago.
Stillman told the Sun-Times that the theater’s pre-pandemic operating budget was between $5 million and $6 million per year.
It’s down to $3 million now.
“We hire seamstresses, carpenters, electricians,” Stillman said. “That can add up to 250 to 300 jobs for local craftspeople and artisans in the course of a season. So the job opportunities by not just us, but all theaters on a local scale, is enormous.”
A 2019 study by the Chicago Loop Alliance found downtown’s 11 major performance arts venues generated $90 million a year in ticket sales and put nearly 6,000 people to work.
And out in the neighborhoods beyond downtown, small theaters have also been impactful in their communities.
A 2019 report by the small theater funder Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation found the city’s storefront venues had a combined audience of 267,400 in 2018.
The study also found that 56% of the theaters “have dedicated educational programs or initiatives in their communities, with more than 12,800 students served annually.”
Whether downtown or in the neighborhoods, theater is vital to Chicago.
Role for Mayor Brandon Johnson
But keeping it that way will require a lot of work — and more than a little money.
Steppenwolf Executive Director Brooke Flanagan told WTTW last year that the theater’s yearly operating budget has taken a $17 million haircut since the pandemic.
The station also reported the Goodman took an $11 million hit, and Black Ensemble Theater lost a staggering 90% of its income.
Lookingglass had to lay off more than half of its full-time employees. And instead of presenting three shows a season, the theater will now present one.
Founded in 1988 by a group of Northwestern University grads, including David Schwimmer, star of the TV show “Friends,” Lookingglass last week did announce a $2.5 million fundraising effort.
“I don’t think any theater can ever go back to the way it was before the pandemic,” Stillman said. “I think we have to all rethink how we’re doing it.”
True. But the theaters shouldn’t be left to figure things out catch-as-catch-can. The organizations need the city’s help.
Yet we are not at all moved by last week’s statement from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
“We’re going to continue to encourage our neighbors and visitors to get back in the habit of experiencing live shows, rallying to drive ticket sales, and employ a cohesive strategy that will support all of our theaters …” DCASE Commissioner Erin Harkey said in that statement.
That sounds more like good wishes and vague promises than a real plan of action.
We think it’s time for Mayor Brandon Johnson to sit down with the city’s high-powered movers and shakers, major cultural players, theater companies, and funders to figure this thing out.
Same as Mayor Harold Washington did in the 1980s, thus saving the Chicago Theater from demolition and laying the foundation for the downtown theater district.
Same as Mayor Rahm Emanuel did in 2019, when his administration created the Year of Chicago Theatre.
The play is the thing. And to make sure it’s kept alive in Chicago, the mayor must now take the stage and get to work.
Send letters to letters@suntimes.com.
