“Ensemble: An Oral History of Chicago Theater”

[rating=5] I am not an avid reader. I do enjoy a thriller from time to time and in my younger days, I was a huge fan of the Luis Mendoza mysteries by Del Shannon. Since most of my time is spent at the theater or preparing for my radio show, my time is limited for reading, so when I do find something that captures my mind, I dig right in. If the book is about my “Cubbies” or “theater”, I am a captive audience.

Mark Larson has done this with his captivating book, “Ensemble an Oral History of Chicago Theater”. where he captures our Chicago theater history by talking to those who truly are the community that we see on our area stages. The actors, writers, directors, musicians, artists and even some of the notable critics are interviewed in this 674 ( easy reading though) page  history from the early 1950’s to the present.

While many think of New York as the “theater capital”, I believe with all my heart that the true theater scene is right here in Chicago and its multitude of theaters. Yes, we have the Broadway In Chicago theaters that are larger and more glamorous than the smaller Broadway theaters, but we have more storefronts and smaller venues as well as suburban venues dotting the area.

The book, written by Mark Larson, who is an educator who holds a doctorate in educational leadership and has two prior books dealing with education. He is local to the community and is a very experienced interviewer. Larson went into the trenches to dig deep into the heart of our theater community interviewing over 300 artists. In this book, we learn about the Compass Players, Second City, Steppenwolf and many of our storefronts. Interviews with people such as Tracy Letts, Ed Asner, George Wendt, Gary Sinise, Michael Shannon, David Schwimmer, Alan Arkin, Jim Belushi, Laurie Metcalf and almost 300 more.

If you are a lover of theater, or know someone who talks about theater on a regular basis, this might be your primer allowing you to look at the theater from “backstage” learning from those who started some of our companies as to the hows and wherefores that made us the place where young actors can spread their wings and truly fly. As I say in many a review of our local venues, we attract some of the best talent because they know they will find work here. Not just work, but excellent work with theater companies that care and audiences that love what we have on our stages.

Many names that you recognize from stage, film and tv began here in Chicago. Mostly in our little storefronts and local venues. Joyce Piven, mother of Jeremy ( and the woman responsible for  many career actors) was where Larson started. Playwrights Theatre Club and their roster was part of the start. Imagine seeing a list of players like this: Paul Sills, Ed Asner, Fritz Weaver, Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Barbara Harris, Sheldon Patinkin and many others. This was his starting point and from there he just kept learning and discovering more. Each person he interviewed gave him additional people that he should contact. A true domino effect that brought this wonderful book to life.

“Ensemble: An Oral History of Chicago” by Mark Larson, a one of a kind anthology that is must -read for theater lovers is published by Agate and is available at local bookstores and Amazon. Mark will appear with me on my radio show (WCPT 820 AM) on Sunday, August 25th to talk about the book and take calls from listeners.

The book number is 978-1-57284-234-2 and the retail price is $35