“Her Honor Jane Byrne”

Highly Recommended ***** 21 months ago, I was scheduled to attend a new play, written by J. Nicole Brooks, a Lookingglass Theare Company’s “Black Box” venue on Michigan Avenue. I had missed the opening night due to a conflict and I was excited to see this work about the first woman mayor of Chicago, “Her Honor Jane Byrne”. Here it is almost two years later, and at last I can tell you about this eye opening look at what she meant to the city. We all know that a little thing called a pandemic got in the way of the running of the production- well, theater is back, and Lookingglass , like a few others is starting where it left off.

“Her Honor Jane Byrne” is the story of  this woman who became mayor due to snow ( another story) and back in 1981 this was something special. Taking on this position back then turned out not to be an easy task. Most of the politicians, who felt their turf was theirs, did not appreciate her stepping in and making changes that would not benefit them at all. Byrne (played to perfection by Christine Mary Dunford) decides to get lots of publicity by doing something that seems to be crazy- move into the “projects” at Cabrini-Green Housing. If you are young, you will only know this project by reputation. Other will know it as a dangerous spot just west of Old Town. “Old Town ( Wells Street from Division North to Eugenie was a thriving tourist destination.  Cabrini Green, again just a few blocks west was an area where people driving from the Kennedy would lock their doors and roll up their windows. One might hear gun shots at any time of day.

Each of the high-rise buildings was a community and the gangs of the city made sure that the leaders of each had protection for their families. The original concept of the “projects” was to give the African American population of Chicago a nice clean place to live. To take them out of the slum-lords apartments and give them a clean upscale place to live. I remember when this all took place. The headlines were powerful! The news had a daily update about Mayor Byrne and how brave she was ( although she had bodyguards and police protection, something residents never had).

This was 40 years ago and some of the same problems that our society had still exist. In fact in the last 21 months we have seen no indication that people getting shot is going away. In this two hours and twenty-five minutes of history, you may see things that will shake you up. Many people who were not around at that time did not know why she made the move. Did she really want to clean up the “projects”? Did she really care about the people’s  lives inside these “towers”?

Brooks, who also directed this tight look at history on a wonderful set ( Yu Shibagaki) almost creates the atmosphere  and the feeling that we are on Division just east of Halsted. The audience is placed on three sides overlooking the entryway, court of the building where she resided for three weeks. The walls of the “project” spin and become the interior of the apartment, and again her office on the 6th floor of City Hall, and even to the bedroom. The cast of players is small, but very powerful , playing several roles with great wigs (Megan Pirtle) and costume changes that are amazing. Costumes ( Mieka Van der Ploeg) look just like I remember for that period. Dunford truly looks as if Her Honor has come back to life for this production.

The cast is composed of Emily Anderson, Sydney Charles, Robert Cornelius, Raymond Fox ( in a multitude of roles), Nicole Michelle Haskins, Frank Nall ( as Jane’s second husband, Jay McMullen and others), Josh Odor, Renee Locket  and Willie “Prince Roc” Round as ” Kid”.  Ten talented actors making this hi”story” lesson come alive. The tech crew is long but a few standouts that should be mentioned are the sound by Christopher M. LaPorte, the lighting by Christine A. Binder and the projections by Rasean Davonte Johnson. The music by Michael Huey also adds to the telling of this story and as always, I commend the prop person Amanda Hermann for the authenticity of each and every one.

Even the stage crew are part of the show- they are choreographed into many set changes.

If you love history ( or as I call this one  hi”story” or perhaps even better her”story”, this is one to see. It will continue thru December 19th with performances as follows:

Her Honor Jane Byrne Performance Schedule
Wednesdays 7pm
Thursdays 2pm* & 7pm
Fridays 7:30pm
Saturdays 2pm & 7:30pm
Sundays 2pm and 7:30pm*
*Thursday Matinee and Sunday Evening performances alternate. Please see the performance calendar on the website for full calendar and details.

To order your tickets and chance to learn about this powerful lady, call 312-337-0665 or visit www.lookingglasstheatre.org

The theater is located at 821 N. Michigan Avenue ( the old Water Tower). and there are several area garages that offer discounts. Make sure you validate with the correct one. They are strict.

The Lookingglass Theatre follows all the CDC Covid rules ( mask are worn by audience members for the entire play). There is no food or beverage in the theater and all patrons must show their ID and proof of vaccination of test results showing negative.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Her Honor Jane Byrne”.