A Great Week

I feel like saying it’s been a great week here in my hometown. But that would be stealing. But it has been a great week here in Chicago where the women are strong and the men are good looking and all the theatres are above average. Lookingglass Theatre has brought home our 5th!! Tony award for best regional theatre. When we had four, that was extraordinary and unprecedented, but now we have five, I don’t even know what to say except we are most definitely above average.

Our friend Michelle Boone has been named the new Commissioner of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and I can’t think of a better person for the job. Michelle has been a great friend to all of us and will do the job admirably. And, I’d like to thank all of you for your advocacy. The Mayor elect did not have to name a cultural transition committee and in fact, he did not have to name a new commissioner. He clearly cares about arts and culture, but you can all be sure that by letting him know that you and your constituents care deeply about what happens in the arts in Chicago, you helped further the agenda.

But back to the Tony, not only is it great for Chicago and for Lookingglass and for our cause, but it is incredibly inspirational. If you don’t know how these companies got started, go look at their histories, one performed above a bar, one in a church basement, one a group of recent Northwestern grads, another had $1000 and a lightboard (there has to be a song there) and one started as a school and theatre to memorialize a playwright. We are amazing.

Deb