Actors Seeking Influence
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The performing arts center had been touted as one reason to go with Arthur Hill over another developer, Adler says, but apparently neither the city nor the developer was serious about it: “It just died.” To the scattered members of Evanston’s performing arts community, it was another sign that their craft is slighted in a town that prides itself on cultural vibrancy but, says producer and director Linda Solotaire, “tends to focus on the visual arts.” Frustrated by the limitations of an arts council that’s merely an offshoot of the Evanston recreation department, and without any other means of taking action, a few of them came together to start a grassroots organization.
Caution: Falling Art
So only the union is taking it seriously. Of the 26 shows eligible (everything from Fiddler on the Roof to The Vagina Monologues) 4 are nonunion. Actors’ Equity is urging its members to log on and vote for anything but that gang of four: Annie, Chicago, Show Boat, and The Sound of Music. Subscribers “pay the same price,” says the union’s bulletin to members, but “are not aware of the difference between Equity and non-Equity tours. Merging them into the same categories is confusing. It’s a quality issue.” The league could be in for some major Chicago-style voting, but “winners” will be announced May 21 at a publicity-generating New York gala and that’s the show that counts.
