Civic Center Exec Seeks Greener Pastures
A troubling sense of uncertainty hangs over the Civic Center for Performing Arts in the wake of news that Randall Green will leave his post there as executive director to become managing director of the fledgling Ballet Chicago on June 1. Green’s decision was a big surprise to most of the local arts community; few could have expected that anyone would jump at the chance to join an organization with such a troubled past as Ballet Chicago’s. For his part, Green says he wants “to create something from scratch” and “see a resident classical ballet company succeed in Chicago. But talks with sources close to the situation suggest that circumstances may have been closing in on Green at the Civic, which he has headed since 1983. Dino D’Angelo, the Civic Center’s owner and chief financial backer, first issued a terse “no comment” when asked about future plans for the complex, then released a carefully worded statement indicating that “planning continues” for the 1990-’91 season. D’Angelo appears to have grown concerned about financial losses during Green’s tenure, and there’s speculation that he’s contemplating getting out of the business of presenting performing arts groups altogether; he might do better, the reasoning goes, by simply renting the facility to outside producers during the six or so months of each year when the Lyric Opera isn’t ensconced there.
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Catwalk Goes Down: Park West Spruces Up
Catwalk, the club that sprang quickly last February from the ashes of Clubland at the Vic, is history. The swift closing surprised few in the nightclub biz. “It was a six-week wonder,” says one observer. “The public clearly wasn’t going to buy a paint job.” Meanwhile Jam Productions honcho Jerry Mickelson last week unveiled the new Park West, which he is pushing both as a party and concert facility and, initially on Fridays only, as a nightclub. New carpeting, new banquettes, and new video equipment have given the place a fresh look, but observers still question how much of the trendy River North night crowd Mickelson will be able to attract.
