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Chicago Tribune
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Paramount Theatre cancels its Bold subscription series due to Aurora funding cut
In an uncharacteristic retrenchment, the growth-oriented Paramount Theatre in Aurora has canceled one of its two theater subscription series for 2026, its board of directors announced on social media late Monday, citing an anticipated large reduction in city funding. The cancellation means that the previously announced Chicago-area premiere of 'Covenant' by York Walker, which was to be directed by Malkia Stampley, and a new staging of the cult musical 'Ride the Cyclone,' not seen here since its world premiere in 2015, are now off. The theater said it would refund the money of those who bought tickets for the stagings at the city's Copley Theatre. The current production of 'True West' by Paramount in the Copley, recently reviewed in the Tribune, will be allowed to complete its run at the end of the month. Aurora has seen political change in recent weeks. Former mayor Richard Irvin, who had staked much of the city's future on downtown Aurora becoming a long-term hub for arts and entertainment, was defeated by John Laesch, who is now in office and has said Aurora now faces a gap between revenue and expenses. As the Tribune has reported, Laesch already has canceled plans for the proposed construction of new 4,000-seat music venue to be known as the City of Lights Center, and has said at a public meeting both that the city faced a 'significant hole' between revenue and expenses and that the city's subsidy of the existing historic theater was 'too much.' The Aurora Civic Center Authority operates (and largely does business as) the Paramount Theatre and has an annual budget of about $31 million. The board of directors is appointed by the mayor. Its CEO Tim Rater said that he had anticipated a flat budget for the coming fiscal year but that the city now has signaled that it was going to significantly reduce the level of its annual support to the theater, which represents about 20% of the Paramount's budget. 'The city has indicated they have a shortfall in their budget and are not going to provide the full $7 million we were anticipating, so we have to look at various ways in which we can save money,' Rater said. 'We are sure we will not be the only community organization that will face these reductions.' Rater said the main subscription season of Broadway musicals at the theater, the Paramount's theater school and a sit-down production of 'Million Dollar Quartet' currently are unaffected.
Chicago Tribune
04-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Paramount officials believe new Broadway Series season to offer ‘just the right mix' of old and new
Consider yourself a fan of the Paramount Theatre? Then you are probably like a kid at Christmas when you open up that email around this time of year that announces the schedule for the upcoming season. This will be number 14 for the Broadway Series, and so far the Paramount has yet to disappoint. The lineup for the 2025-26 Broadway Series is notable in that the musicals are a remarkable contrast between old school and new(er) works. And Paramount President Tim Rater is extra-enthused about this season for that very reason. 'It feels like just the right mix,' he said on Monday, soon after the new season was revealed. 'It feels like one of the best, if not the best (schedule) we've ever had.' Which is saying something, considering the success of this downtown Aurora venue has made it the number one subscription-based theater in the country. 'We have two legitimate classics, time tested and proven to be crowd pleasers,' Rater said, 'and two contemporaries that have not been performed anywhere in the region.' The classics he refers to are, indeed, iconic. Irving Berlin's 'White Christmas' will, of course, be that family-friendly holiday show, running from Nov. 12, 2025, to Jan. 11, 2026. It's particularly 'tricky' finding the right show for the holidays, he said, when I pointed out that, unlike most of those previous productions that are kid-focused fantasies ('Frozen,' 'Cinderella,' 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'Mary Poppins' to name a few), 'White Christmas' is an old-fashioned love story from 1952. 'But people have been asking us to do it for a long time,' Rater said, reassuring me there will be plenty of magical moments – think about all that snow, for example – sure to delight kids as much as adults. 'South Pacific' – playing from April 26-June 14, 2026 – is equally time-honored. Even though the musical, which premiered on Broadway in 1949, is older than most folks in the audience, 'it's been a long time' since this show has played anywhere in the Chicago area, Rater pointed out. Absence, they say, does make the heart grow fonder. Nostalgia aside, Rater seemed more excited about the two contemporary shows on the schedule, particularly 'Dear Evan Hansen,' which runs Feb. 4-March 22, 2026. 'This might just be the one I'm most looking forward to,' he said of this compelling tale of teen angst that took home six Tonys in 2017, including Best Musical, and likely 'would still be playing on Broadway' had COVID not come along. 'It is a powerful story, and the (Grammy winning) music is beautiful,' Rater said. 'When I saw it, it just wrecked me … it is so moving, so special.' Certainly the relevancy of this production – Evan Hansen is a lonely, anxious high-schooler looking to fit in – can't be overstated. In fact, Paramount staff just reported to Rater that since the schedule was released, 'we're getting all these calls and emails' from schools inquiring about ticket prices for student groups. Rater also expressed plenty of praise for the other Chicago-area premiere on the Broadway Series schedule: 'Come From Away,' running Aug. 20–Oct. 12, 2025, tells the true story of Gander, Newfoundland, welcoming 7,000 stranded passengers after American airspace closed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Both those shows are so powerful, 'they will become classics,' he confidently predicted. 'They are not going away.' And all four, whether new or old, Rater added, 'we get to do the Paramount way.' The same can be said for the three BOLD Series productions in its new season across the street at the Copley Theatre. Rater described 'True West' – running July 16-Aug. 31, 2025 – as a Sam Shepard 'American masterpiece' about two siblings' cutthroat rivalry. Playing Oct. 1-Nov. 16, 2025, is the regional premiere of 'Covenant,' a southern gothic horror play; followed by 'Ride the Cyclone,' – March 18-May 31, 2026 – a 'quirky' hit comedy about a group of teens dying in a roller coaster accident who get a second chance by singing their way back to life. Now in its fourth season, the BOLD series has gone from six- to seven-week runs, and as you can probably gather, strives to live up to its name. Of course, I couldn't end this interview without checking in on how thing are going at the Paramount's newest venue, Stolp Island Theatre, where ticket sales are now into June for 'Million Dollar Quartet' that opened last summer. Impressive, to say the least. But even with the popularity of this rock and roll hit, Rater says he and the Paramount staff are 'already actively discussing what is next' for this more intimate immersion theater. No matter what the venue, no matter what the season, he insisted, 'the ball is always rolling.' And, all fans can agree, gathering momentum as it goes.
