Out director David Cromer admits that he once numbered among the chorus of colleagues who derided the hit 1996 Broadway musical Rent.
"Anything that was about cool kids and was really, really popular, I just automatically turned up my nose at it," Cromer said.
But recently, Cromer and some of his friends begrudgingly admitted that they secretly loved it, especially when they were moved to tears when they saw the current off-Broadway revival of Rent last year.
"I had never seen the show before, I had only listened to the CD," Cromer said, adding that amid the tears he realized that he wanted the chance to get his hands on the material.
"I hadn't come to terms with how it related to me and how it related to that period in my life," said Cromer, identifying with the musical's "struggling artist" aspect of its young characters throwing themselves into danger to be true to their lives and creative work. "I fell in love with it 15 years after the fact."
In the years before Cromer became one of the country's most sought-after theater directors following his revelatory productions of Adding Machine for Next Theatre and Our Town for The Hypocrites (both of which went on to be produced respectively in 2008 and 2009 off-Broadway in New York), he lived through tough periods of making ends meet while honing his craft as a director around storefront theaters in and around Chicago.
Originally American Theater Company artistic director PJ Paparelli and About Face Theatre artistic director Bonnie Metzger were announced to direct their companies' current co-production of Rent, but they gave Cromer the job when he called and asked if he could have a crack at it.
"It all happened sort of overnight," Cromer said. "That's the great thing about ATC and About Face and about Chicago—that I've always been able to get into a conversation with artistic directors and producing directors and say, 'Hey, you guys want to do something?' and they go, 'Yeah, fuck it, let's do it!'"
Although many professional doors have opened up for Cromer in recent years, he's also had to deal with a few artistic bumps along the way. Cromer's 2009 Broadway debut helming a double bill of Neil Simon revivals of Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound was cut short when the first show abruptly closed before the second play even opened. And a few productions that were Broadway aimed with Cromer named as director either fell apart (stars Nicole Kidman and James Franco were at one time announced for a revival of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth) or are still waiting to materialize (like the gay musical Yank! A WWII Love Story).
Cromer's recent work on Rent also had its issues, since many previews had to be cancelled and the opening night was slightly delayed due to technical issues. The show's critical reception wasn't all rapturous either, with some reviewers taking Cromer to task for not casting more secure vocalists in many key roles while others had issues with the amplification system.
"We were going for a thing that was going to be constantly changing parameters of the theater and trying to change parameters of the show," Cromer said about Rent's preview hiccups. "It's a point of honor to open your show on time, but it's also ultimately your job as an artist to present it when it's ready."
The fact that Cromer hasn't abandoned directing in the Chicago area after relocating to New York in 2009 should make local theatergoers grateful. Mixed in amid Cromer's recent directing triumphs in New York (like Lincoln Center Theater's When the Rain Stops Falling in 2010 and the current critically acclaimed off-Broadway hit Tribes for Barrow Street Theatre) have been wildly acclaimed Chicago-area productions like A Streetcar Named Desire for Writers' Theatre and Cherrywood for Mary-Arrchie Theatre Company.
"I'm not as much in Chicago as I would like to be probably, but I've got to go where the work is and I've got to go where I can make a little more money," Cromer said.
Still, Cromer is really excited to be making his Goodman Theatre debut this fall with Sweet Bird of Youth, even if Hollywood stars (at this point) aren't attached to his production.
"I've wanted to that play for some time," Cromer said. "So when I go to meetings and places over the years and people ask, 'What do you want to do?' and you always have a certain play you want to do and one of them has always been Sweet Bird of Youth."
About Face Theatre and American Theater Company's co-production of Rent directed by David Cromer continues through June 17 at American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron St. Performances are at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $45-$50. Call 773-409-4125 or visit www.atcweb.org .
David Cromer makes his Goodman Theatre directorial debut with Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth from Sept. 15 to Oct. 21, to open the theater's 2012-13 season at 170 N. Dearborn St. Season tickets are now on sale, and individual tickets go on sale in August. For more information, call 312-443-3800 or visit www.goodmantheatre.org .
More ATC news
Ayad Akhtar's drama Disgraced, which opened the 2011-12 season for American Theater Company (ATC), will be getting a New York production as part of Lincoln Center Theater's LCT3 program. Chicago director Kimberly Senior is attached to the show, which will be one of the first productions staged in the new Claire Tow Theatre which was recently built on the roof of the Vivian Beaumont Theater on the campus of Lincoln Center in New York.
