American Theater Company gets the special Trib Treatment

The Trib had an excellent profile Sunday of what is arguably my favorite theater company in Chicago, the American Theater Company. Along with Timeline and the Hypocrites, the ATC is at the forefront of a new generation of Chicago theater, one that began in the late 90s and is growing at a pace the mirrors that of the Steppenwolf and the Victory Gardens 30 years ago. Two of best productions I've seen in Chicago both came from ATC: their 2005 production of Orpheus Descending at last season's particularly audacious production of Oklahoma! Damon Kiely was one of the better artistic directors in this city, and now he has stepped down to teach at DePaul. In his place comes PJ Paparelli, who had previously headed the Perseverance Theater Company in Juneau, Alaska.

Now if you're like me, you're initial thoughts were "Alaska?!?!" But in fact, he is incredibly qualified, and then some. As the face of theater in Alaska, he actually had a budget twice the size of ATC's current budget, and had a contact list that puts most thespians to shame. In fact, he held the premiere of the new show by the prides of UT, Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann, creators of Urinetown, which is slated for the 2008-2009 season, and may be on the fast track to Broadway.

As if that's not enough, there are plans to open up a $4 million space in Logan Square. I was dumbfounded by what ATC was able to do with a show like Oklahoma! in their less-than-modest space, so I can only wait with eager anticipation what they'll be able to do with more resources in hand.

ATC is the only theater in Chicago that I've seen a show from each season since I've been a student at the U of C, and am looking forward to seeing one of their upcoming shows. It'll be interesting to see if Paparelli is as successful as Kielly, but so far, all signs are positive.