Galati’s Year? Not at the Box Office
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
It appears that Pablo was a colossal miscalculation on the part of the Kennedy Center, and also to some degree on the part of Goodman Theatre management, which decided to send the show to Washington, D.C. In a year when audiences seem more than ever to be spending their hardearned theater dollars on pure entertainment, Pablo and Galati’s other acclaimed production The Grapes of Wrath demand considerable mental application while offering precious little joyous uplift. And ticket-buying audiences have not been fooled by the mixed message of critics who heap praise on Galati’s work while sending out a warning about what’s in store. In his review of Pablo, drama critic David Richards of the Washington Post said: “Not since the days of Peter Sellars [a director noted for his difficult-to-fathom productions] has the Eisenhower Theater ventured out this far on a stylistic limb. For some that will be cause for jubilation. Others will be tempted to run as fast as they can in the other direction.” Clearly there was more running than jubilation.
Speaking of the Soviet Union, Diane “From Russia With Love” Olmen, executive director of the League of Chicago Theaters, was on vacation last week in that country with which she has forged such close and loving ties on behalf of Chicago’s theater industry. Sources say Olmen opted to spend her own money and vacation time organizing an August environmental conference and arts festival in Siberia, part of the League’s pact with its Russian counterparts. Though she has visited the Soviet Union several times in recent years on League business, Olmen is expected to be spending considerably less time there since the League board of directors recently decided to set up new guidelines for its executive director.
Singer Turns Saloon Keeper
