Dennis Začek Archives - Chicago Reader

Frank Galati, an older balding white man with a full beard and glasses, is seated and photographed at a rehearsal. He is wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled above his elbows, and his arms are crossed over his chest. There is a big smile on his face.

In the room with Frank Galati

by Mark Larson January 17, 2023January 19, 2023

Actor, director, playwright, screenwriter, and professor Dr. Frank Galati died on January 2, 2023, but his impact on those he worked with and loved (they were one and the same) and his legacy are imperishable. He won two Tony Awards in 1990 for adapting and directing The Grapes of Wrath, and was a nominee in […]

A street scene featuring the exterior and marquee of the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater

Arts & Culture

Will Victory Gardens ever bloom again?

by Kerry Reid December 21, 2022December 22, 2022

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected since it was first published to reflect that Erica Daniels never served as executive artistic director for Victory Gardens. Chay Yew’s tenure was slated for the end of June 2020, and Daniels resigned before assuming the planned new role. The biggest story of the year in Chicago theater […]

Two photos. On the left a young white man in a gray sweater sits on the floor. A white woman in a burgundy dress kneels behind him, embracing him. The photo on the left is of playwright James Sherman, an older white man in a blue suit, shirt, and tie. He has graying darker hair.

Arts & Culture

Chagall’s Camelot

by Jack Helbig August 31, 2022August 31, 2022

James Sherman began his career as an actor; he joined the Second City in the 70s, while he was still a student at Illinois State, appearing in the shows Once More With Fooling and East of Edens with the likes of George Wendt, Tim Kazurinsky, and Miriam Flynn. But starting with his 1982 backstage play, […]

Mark Larson seated left with notebook, talking to Richard Christiansen, seated right

Arts & Culture

A time that was wonderful

by Mark Larson February 14, 2022February 14, 2022

I didn’t meet the revered Chicago Tribune theater critic, Richard Christiansen, until 2016 when I started interviewing him for my book Ensemble: An Oral History of Chicago Theater. He was 84 years old and living at The Selfhelp Home, an assisted living facility for older Jewish adults where a caregiver he particularly liked would sit […]