Why did our Artistic Director choose DOGFIGHT?

DIRECTOR PETER MARSTON SULLIVAN REVEALS WHY DOGFIGHT MOVES HIM

"The first time I listened to Dogfight, I was on a road trip on my own, listening to potential musicals for our 2015 season. When I finally popped in the cast recording, I listened to it three times in a row, each time growing more confident that this show was perfect for BoHo.

Dogfight starts as a party – dynamic full-cast numbers bursting with energy. The music is melodic and funny, driven and exciting. As I listened, I found myself caught up in the fun of the soldiers… then I slowly began to realize that this “fun” was misguided. I almost felt guilty for enjoying it at the start. But as the songs became increasingly haunting and heartbreaking, the show revealed itself to be an awkward yet charming love story. One woman, Rose – an ungainly, naive wallflower - has such purity in heart and spirit that she trusts, forgives, and ultimately loves unconditionally. Though perhaps not gorgeous in a conventional way, it became very clear to me that she is by far the most beautiful person in the show.

Peter Marston Sullivan leads the Dogfight cast in rehearsal

The response from our Dogfight audiences so far has been overwhelmingly positive. Yet there are still many people that have been wary of the show because of its central premise: a dogfight. One of BoHo’s staunchest supporters told me, “I knew what a dogfight was and found it repulsive.” And she’s right - it is. What I found so profoundly moving about this show - more so than the fantastic music and script - was how there was pure beauty to be found amongst this backdrop of repulsion. At a time, the 1960s, when we were so sure, so proud, and ultimately so naïve, when dogfights were commonplace and over 50% of the population had never heard of Vietnam, amidst all of that, there is one sole spark of beauty that contrasts all of the ugliness. The fact that it comes from someone that these Marines characterize as “a dog” is, in its own way, ironic and powerful.

In case you’re wondering what that same supporter felt after watching the show, her words may say it best: "Vietnam is part of my history, my era. Dogfight was sometimes outright painful to watch – even without the dogfight. Recalling how very certain all of us were, whatever our beliefs, it’s just heartbreaking. BoHo never flinched from that. It takes immense art and sensitivity to tell this story. You helped the audience find beauty [in it.]”

When you see BoHo’s Dogfight, what awaits you is a story that grabs you right from the start with energy and enthusiasm, laughter and immensely likable characters. What you leave with, I hope, is a feeling of beauty and love, comfort in the fact that even when there is ugliness all around us, there is always beauty to be found. This is why I love this show. This is why I wanted to tell this story.”


Peter Marston Sullivan
BoHo Theatre Artistic Director

BoHo Welcomes New Company Member: Meg Love

At the opening night party for The Rainmaker, Peter Sullivan asked me why I wasn't a company member yet. I remember quickly scanning my brain- Why wasn't I a company member yet? I've been hanging around BoHo so long, I already felt like I was one of the family. I just hadn't made it official.

I started my journey at BoHo with the remount of Songs for a New World at The Theatre Building (now the site of Stage 773) in 2008. When the show remounted at Theatre on the Lake, I was excited to be a part of it. After that, I jumped at the chance to work with BoHo any time I could. After stage managing Bernarda Alba, La Cage Aux Folles, The Glorious Ones, Hello Again, Dirty Blonde, Icarus, and Tartuffe, I accepted The Rainmaker. While I have been very proud of every single production I've been a part of, I have to say that Rainmaker took the cake. Every show has been a step up in some way. Each time, new goals have been set and BoHo continues to exceed them.

So in the midst of the celebration of the opening of the Rainmaker, it dawned on me that this is where I belong. Between the aforementioned artistic integrity and the fact that I adore the company members and others that BoHo surrounds itself with, I knew that I couldn't go wrong. I said yes and I was home.

It is almost needless to mention that the next show was Floyd Collins, which once again went above and beyond the bar that had been set. Gaining national acclaim from critics, I, once more, could not be prouder to be a part of this company and it only cemented my decision to officially hop on board!

Before joining the company, I was only able to work on so many shows per season due to the time demands of stage managing a show. Now, I get to do every show! I'm sure that you'll all see me around - house managing, papering the town or running around at special events, but fear not, you will still see me in the booth. I'll be stage managing The Spitfire Grill and Kiss of the Spider Woman this season and I can't wait to see where another year will take us!

Please join us in welcoming Meg Love to the BoHo Family!

BoHo Begins Season With Fresh Face And a New Venue

BoHo Theatre is kicking off its seventh season in September with bold new changes, including new Artistic and Executive Directors, a new performance space, and an expanded season!

Founded by Artistic Director Steve Genovese and Executive Director Tom Samorian, BoHo Theatre began as a small storefront theatre in 2003 inspired by the idea of theatre that embraces the arts as a whole and produces art for art’s sake. This philosophy lead to the introduction of their four-show season, in which each production represents one of the four pillars of Bohemian philosophy: Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love. After six years of inspired vision and leadership under Genovese and Samorian, BoHo has grown into one of the most beloved and award-nominated non-Equity theatres in Chicago. Last year alone, BoHo Theatre was nominated for 11 Jeff Awards, including eight for the regional premiere of The Glorious Ones, which received a revival at this summer’s Theatre on the Lake. In his time with BoHo, Genovese has helmed seven Jeff-recommended productions, winning best director for 2006’s SideShow, as well as created scenic and sound design for numerous shows. Samorian meanwhile, has served as Production Manager for 18 out of BoHo’s first 21 shows, and brought productions to audiences at Theatre on the Lake, Theatre Building, Illinois High School Festival, and the Heartland Studio in Rogers Park.

Stepping up into the Artistic Director position is BoHo company member Peter Marston Sullivan. Sullivan has also been at the helm of some of BoHo’s most critically-acclaimed shows, including Playing with Fire, Ghosts, and the Jeff-nominated productions M. Butterfly and I Am My Own Wife (which he co-directed with Genovese). “I couldn’t be more excited to be taking over the artistic leadership of BoHo right now!” says Sullivan. “We are at a point of tremendous growth, adding new company members and moving to a new space. The groundwork that Tom and Steve have given this company is amazing, and we will all be working hard to continue to expand and grow the vision they started.”

The Executive Director position will be filled by new company member Peter Blair. Blair has worked as a stage manager, director, producer, and production administrator at venues such as Drury Lane, Porchlight, Bailiwick, and the Marriot Theatre, as well as the downtown run of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Genovese and Samorian will remain actively engaged with BoHo Theatre in advisory positions, which will allow them to focus their talents on further artistic endeavors. “One thing we’ve always wanted to do is create immersive environments for our productions,” says Genovese. “We had success doing things like popping fresh popcorn before each performance of SideShow, so the smell of the circus permeated the space and extended the ambience of the scenic design beyond just the stage. We haven’t been able to do as much of that recently, and it’s something I’ll be helping create in the future.” Samorian will be curating lobby art exhibits for each show to help expand the artistic reach of the productions and promote individual artists. He will also be looking for new works to develop, as well as developing a few original pieces of his own.

Also beginning this season, BoHo will be stepping up from its long-time home at the 27-seat Heartland Studio in Rogers Park to become a resident theatre company at the new Theater Wit space. Theater Wit is located at 1229 W Belmont Avenue, formerly the old Bailiwick space, and features three newly-renovated theaters—two traditional 99-seat stages, plus a 79-seat adaptable blackbox space—as well as a state-of-the art box office, a refreshment bar in the spacious lobby, and valet parking in a vibrant neighborhood.
BoHo’s new season kicks off September 10th with Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score. Based on Mark Twain’s classic take and written by William Hauptman with country music legend Roger Miller, whose classic hits include “King of the Road” and “Dang Me,” Big River is a theatrical journey of pure Americana. The production will also feature a photography exhibit of panoramic views of the Mississippi River by Midwest photographers, Dr. Abdul Sinno and Rafic Sinno, curated by Genovese and Samorian in their new advisory roles. Big River is directed by new Artistic Director Sullivan, fresh from directing BoHo’s Ghosts (“Absolutely stunning” –Hedy Weiss, The Sun-Times), and marks BoHo’s very first show at Theater Wit. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at www.bohotheatre.com or by calling the Theater Wit box office at 773-975-8150.

BoHo isn’t leaving its home at the Heartland Studio forever, though. For the first time ever, BoHo Theatre has expanded its season beyond its traditional four production to include a holiday show. Striking 12, dubbed the un-holiday holiday show, is a unique hybrid of musical theatre and live concert. Combining pop-rock, musical comedy, and old-fashioned uplift with a healthy dose of 21st-century skepticism, Striking 12 is a feel-good musical show in which the musicians and actors are one and the same. Striking 12 opens in the Heartland Studio on December 16.

Subscription packages for BoHo’s entire new season are now on sale for $80. Subscriptions include a discounted ticket to each of the mainstage shows at Theater Wit, as well as a free ticket to Striking 12! For more information or to order subscriptions now, visit www.bohotheatre.com.

May We Live In Interesting Times

Last night, I saw a performance of Mike Daisey's provocatively titled one-man show How Theatre Failed America. If you've heard the hype, then believe it. Daisey weaves together rants and observations of the business of American theatre with thematically resonant personal stories from his own theatrical past. The man held the entire theatre enthralled for two full hours just by sitting behind a desk and speaking.

But this was merely the first act. I was fortunate enough to attend on one of the two nights which also featured a round-table discussion with members of the Chicago theatre community, including Roche Schulfer, executive director of the Goodman; Amy Morton from Steppenwolf; Michael Halberstam, artistic director of Writers’ Theater; and Ann Joseph, Artistic Director of Congo Square. This hour-long back-and-forth exchange between the panelists and eventually the audience became at times passionate and heated, but it was never dull. In all, the evening was an almost three-and-a-half hour celebration of and exchange of ideas about art. In short, it was what I'm looking for every time I go to the theatre.

I bring up this Mike Daisey experience for two reasons. The first concerns community and art spaces. There was much debate over Daisey's claim that the decline of much regional theatre in this country is due to the exultation of decadent theatrical spaces rather than of the art form itself. The panelists pushed back against this idea, citing Chicago as being different because Chicago theatre is very community-centered. Now, as the new Media Director for BoHo Theatre, I am very excited about our upcoming residency in the new Theatre Wit space (formerly the old Baliwick space). This new venue will include three working theatres as well as a coffee and wine bar. I find these kinds of arts spaces very exciting and the antithesis of the problem Daisey is talking about. I find having several theatre companies working side-by-side under one roof to be an inspiring experience and a fantastic opportunity for cross-germination among different types of audiences. These are the spaces where you can be exposed to something you might never have sought out. I have worked at the Greenhouse Theater Center and the Center on Halsted (which is especially cool for having the Whole Foods ajacent and the community area on the ground floor). With this in mind, I can see nothing but good things and opportunity on the horizon for BoHo in the coming season.

My second point coming away from the show last night was one of funding, and this is where I'd like to hear anyone else's ideas. Most of the panelists and audience at How Theatre Failed America lamented the paltry wages that actors in general receive (if they are paid at all). Full-time actors who work exclusively in acting and artistic pusuits are refered to as "the lucky few," and even the most talented and successful artists still live a life of day-jobs, temping, and cobbling together a mosaic of different odd jobs.

At the same time, there was grumbling over ticket prices to the theatre. Roch Schulfer admitted that no non-profit theatre can survive competely on ticket sales, which for the big theatres can run $30-60 per performance easy. Other cultural institutions, such as museums, are not expected to do so, he pointed out. One audience member later commented that even though we may seek to inspire children to love the theatre and thereby cultivate a renewable patron base, it won't matter if they can't afford to attend! So the question becomes: if artists deserve fair pay and stability for their hard work, and a theatre cannot sustain itself on its tickets sales alone, no matter how popular they are, then where does the money come from? Must American non-profit theatre always be on the look-out for wealthy donors and benefactors, always applying for endless grants, and always cutting corners? Is it a fact of life that there will just never be enough money to go around when it comes to the arts, especially in Chicago, which is packed with more theatre per square inch than another other American city?

These are my thoughts. Do you have answers, or questions of your own? Have you seen Mike Daisey's show and want to comment on it? (And if you haven't, why not? All self-respecting theatre artists owe it to themselves to do so.) Drop us a comments below and let us know what's on your mind!
-Charles Riffenburg
BoHo Theatre Media Director