Billie Howard, Nancy García Loza, Isaac Gomez and Steven Wang/Photo: Joe Mazza, Brave Lux
When we created the Players Hall of Fame this year, this list (always a bear to compile, deciding who to include and, moreover, who not to) opened up like the first deep breath of spring. And, as with spring, we found fascination in the vibrant shoots of grassroots projects nourished, but often overshadowed by the mighty oaks. As we surveyed the landscape of who is influencing theater in Chicago behind the scenes, a few themes emerged. One is decentralization; great theater doesn’t just thrive in the Loop, it runs through Chicago like a mycelium, and those dedicated to cultivating its growth in all corners of the city and from artists of every background, appear throughout this list. Another is collaboration; in an age when funding for the arts has thinned to a pitiful trickle, cooperation is a matter of survival. It’s also turned out to be a font of creative abundance. Names and organizations appear on this list more than once alongside peers who co-present, consult, serve on each other’s boards, and have made wildly beautiful and daring work blossom through creative cross-pollination. And the third theme we see is cultivation of the next generation, the nurturers of the future of Chicago theater. Thanks to their vision, it’s a future that looks more like our diverse city; a future more politically engaged, more richly nuanced and humane than ever before. So it is with great honor and optimism we give you the 2019 Players. (Sharon Hoyer)
Players 2019 is written by Kevin Greene and Sharon Hoyer with additional contributions by Erin Shea Brady, Hugh Iglarsh, Ben Kaye and Kelsey McGrath.
All photos by Joe Mazza/Brave Lux with photo assistance by Susan Ask
The Hall of Fame
These folks, or the roles they inhabit, are so well-established and foundational to the theater, dance, opera and comedy worlds of Chicago that they are always near the top of the list.
Jackie Taylor, Founder, Executive Director
Black Ensemble Theater
Lou Raizin, President, Suzanne Bizer, Vice President and Eileen LaCario, Vice President
Broadway In Chicago
Lane Alexander, Co-Founder, Director
Chicago Human Rhythm Project
Barbara Gaines, Artistic Director and Criss Henderson, Executive Director
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Charles Newell, Artistic Director
Court Theatre
Robert Falls, Artistic Director and Roche Schulfer, Executive Director
Goodman Theatre
Glenn Edgerton, Artistic Director
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Charna Halpern, Producer, Co-Founder
iO
Greg Cameron, President, CEO and Ashley Wheater, Artistic Director
Joffrey Ballet
Deb Clapp, Executive Director
League of Chicago Theatres
Anthony Freud, General Director
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Andrew Alexander, Co-Owner, CEO
The Second City
Heather Hartley, Executive Director
See Chicago Dance
Anna D. Shapiro, Artistic Director and David Schmitz, Executive Director
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
PJ Powers, Artistic Director and Elizabeth K. Auman, Managing Director
TimeLine Theatre Company
