'Live And Wonderful': Local Theater Brings Passion Alive In Skokie

SKOKIE, IL — Nestled in an old, 1912-era movie theater in Downtown Skokie, the Skokie Theater is showing the community that nothing compares to the thrill of live entertainment.

"Nothing compares to live theater," theater co-producer Wayne Mell told Patch. "It's not like a CD, it's not like a TV, it's not like anything like that. It's live and wonderful. You don't have to be a Broadway star to be wonderful. There's something about the fact that we're doing it live that makes it wonderful."

Self-described "Broadway brat" and owner Wendy Kaplan bought the theater in 2014 after years of dreaming to have one of her own. After Kaplan's son got his PhD, she decided it was time for her to retire and realize her dreams.

When she visited the Skokie theater for the first time in 2010, she fell in love and knew it was what she was looking for.

The Skokie Theater first opened in 1912 as a movie theater before it was shut down in 2004 for lack of business. It quickly opened back up in 2006 after a $1.5 million makeover with better seating and better acoustics for live performances.

As time has gone on, Kaplan said she has enjoyed watching the community at the theater grow. One of the first performances the theater hosted, a local symphony, drew a crowd of six. Nowadays, the theater's 140 seats are more full of loyal audience members.

The theater contains many stories, some from past productions and some of the paranormal variety. Mell said the theater's ghost, whose name is Melissa, is less malevolent than other haunts but does love a bit of attention.

Melissa's chosen domain is the women's restroom, Mell said, and when she feels like she hasn't gotten enough love she'll jam the toilet in the third stall. The water will swirl inside the bowl until Mell is made aware of the jam, then it'll stop 10 minutes later, Melissa satisfied with the notice.

"When I'm the first one here, I'll stick my head in there and say hello, just see how she's doing," Mell said.

Right now, the theater is preparing to put on its production of Pippin, which opens Friday. From rehearsals to paperwork, it takes a lot of work to make each show look effortless, Kaplan said.

The process starts a year in advance, when Kaplan starts building the next season. The preparation really takes off a week before the show, when rehearsals take over the stage and the set comes together.

The day of a show consists of tests of different aspects of the show from lighting, costumes and sound to carefully choreographed fight and intimacy rehearsals. Mell said the theaters puts a lot of work into even a simple show.

"Everything you see was invented just for this moment, everything for the two to two and a half hours you're sitting in there, every light that turns on, every piece of clothing, every inflection in every word," Mell said.