Attention, Chicago theater fans! It might be a very long time before you see out actor/musician/choreographer Patrick Andrews on or around a Chicago-area stage after the holiday season. That's because the auburn-haired Andrews plans to leave the Windy City in an attempt to make it in the Big Apple.
Andrews is bound to receive some big-time exposure in New York reappearing in the role of Don Parritt opposite Tony Award-winners Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy in director Robert Falls' 2012 production of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. That critically acclaimed Goodman Theatre production is set to play off-Broadway at the Brooklyn Academy of Music starting in February.
"I'm going to stick around afterwards and just see what happens. I think it's a good opportunity to water some of the personal and professional friendships I have in New York and hopefully it's the start of an exciting new chapter," Andrews said. "What is also great is that I have such strong roots here in Chicago that I don't feel like I'm leaving and that I can never come back."
But before Andrews goes, he's prominently featured in two Chicago holiday shows: The Goodman Theatre's 37th annual rendition of A Christmas Carol and the About Face Theatre late-night cabaret revue Big Red and the Boys: A New Home for the Holidays! Andrews has also been a member of the queer electronica pop band BAATHAUS for the past five years.
"I'm very grateful for everything that Chicago has done for me as an artist," said Andrews, who has made his mark in diverse productions like Steppenwolf Theatre's American Buffalo, TimeLine Theatre's The Normal Heart, The House Theatre of Chicago's Dorian, Cabaret at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace and The Pride and The Homosexuals, both for About Face Theatre ( of which Andrews is an associate artist ).
Andrews actually assumed the high-flying role of The Ghost of Christmas Past from his fellow diminutive About Face associate Elizabeth Ledo in a gender switch that had them both laughing at the notion that the Goodman Theatre was "getting the small queer people to be the Ghost of Christmas Past." Andrews collaborated with director Henry Wishcamper to reimagine the role as an angel warrior doing battle in heaven over Ebenezer Scrooge's soul.
"The ability of the spirit to be commanding and terrifying and then switch immediately to show very sincere compassion was the basic idea," Andrews said, though he added that a friend joked that his winged-warrior costume looked like "The Ghost of Circuit Party 1994."
On top of the physically grueling run of A Christmas Carol, which sometimes has a nine-performance-a-week schedule, Andrews also scheduled in five late-night shows of Big Red and the Boys at Theater Wit. Andrews and his boyfriend, fellow About Face associate and musician John Francisco, are big fans of the cabaret singer Meghan Murphy.
"She's a fantastic and incredible performer who also sings as a powerhouse angel in her cabaret persona of Big Red," Andrews said of Murphy. Andrews added that the current show actually grew from Francisco request for them to join her four years ago her holiday revue initially at Mary's Attic.
"We were just getting such an incredible response from people who saying that it was becoming part of their holiday tradition and that it was a breath of fresh air," said Andrews about the queer-friendly acoustic holiday show that is currently being produced by About Face Theatre on the set of The Santaland Diaries at Theater Wit. "It's something that's not the traditional holiday music that you're inundated with and it talks about the community you create in the city."
Alas, Chicago won't be the city that Andrews will be creating new work for a bit, though he still will keep ties to the Windy City. For example, Andrews is currently collaborating with About Face associate Kelli Simpkins on a documentary-style theater piece on ageism and identities in the LGBTQ community, while he says a debut album with BAATHHAUS is forthcoming.
"I have all of this work that I'm passionate about and I want to be able to maintain that work and also pursue financial stability and new horizons," Andrews said. "I think Chicago has put a really good head on my shoulders, and I still want to make good art.
A Christmas Carol continues through Sunday, Dec. 28, at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St. Remaining performances are 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday ( No evening shows Dec. 24 or 25 ); 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays ( no evening show Dec. 28 ); Extra 2 p.m. matinees Dec. 23, 24 and 26. Tickets are $31-$101. Call 312-443-3800 or visit www.goodmantheatre.org .
Big Red and the Boys plays at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. Remaining performances are at 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 19 and 20. Tickets are $20. Call 773-975-8150 or visit www.theaterwit.org or www.aboutfacetheatre.org .
The Iceman Cometh plays the Brooklyn Academy of Music Harvey Theater in New York City Feb. 5-March 15. For more information, visit www.bam.org .
Follow the band BAATHHAUS www.baathhaus.com .
