Hollywood by the Board: Royal George for Sale Again
Sources familiar with the effort to transform the Royal George Theatre complex at 1641 N. Halsted into “Hollywood by the Lake” say the investor group has withdrawn its bid to purchase the property. Barry Schain, front man for the group, admitted there was a “snag in the deal,” and Chris Hansen, an asset manager at First National Bank of Chicago, which owns the property with its subsidiary First Chicago Bank of Ravenswood, declined to comment.
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The apparent collapse of the deal leaves First National back at square one in finding a buyer. The current tenant, theater producer Robert Perkins, who had been trying to renegotiate his lease on the theater space, last winter made an offer to buy the property. First National went with the Hollywood by the Lake bid because it promised a higher return, although hard-nosed business types in the theater industry never believed the consortium could come up with a tenant mix that would justify their reported bid.
Checking in at the Oak Theatre
After two months of booking the Oak Theatre, promoter Brad Altman and Q Promotions are still working to establish the former porno movie house as a viable concert venue. Altman admits concertgoers are not in the habit of venturing west to the corner of Armitage and Western, and the varied attendance figures for the 13 acts presented thus far reflect that fact. “You can advertise all you want,” says Altman, “but the best advertising is word of mouth.” As promised, Altman and Q Promotions have presented a range of acts from Todd Rundgren, one of the Oaks most successful concerts, to Sandra Bernhard, who presided at two sold-out shows. Even so, there are only five firm bookings to come. In addition to familiarizing audiences with the theater, Altman and Q are trying to convince owner Andy Janusz that it is in his best interest to exchange his tavern license for an incidental liquor license. The current license does not allow the theater to sell liquor when the audience includes minors; an incidental license would permit such sales. A source familiar with the situation said it’s tough to book a good mix of viable acts in a theater that excludes potential audience members under 21.
