“We have to invest in ourselves out here,” producer-director Jonathan James shares, tossing the words over his shoulder as he winds his way through the inner labyrinth of Chicago’s Athenaeum Center. “People need art out here just as much as they need it in New York or LA. Maybe more.”
Outside the theatre, a typically gray Midwestern day has coated the city in rain, leaving the streets all but bare save for a few brave souls sprinting from their homes to their cars. Inside, however, is teeming with life. Since 1911, the Athenaeum has been a wellspring for the Chicago theatre scene, serving as the city's oldest continuously operating theatre outside of the downtown district.
“Out here, everyone is wearing multiple hats, even the actors,” James shares from a quiet corner backstage of his current production, Christopher Sergel’s The Outsiders, based on the S.E. Hinton novel (and not related to the current Tony Award-winning Broadway musical). “If you’re going to make a living in theatre out here, you have to diversify.”
Born and raised in Elgin, Illinois (less than 40 miles north of Chicago), James is one of the many regional producers who are pouring their energy into keeping the independent tier of American theatre alive. A child actor, James performed in more than 100 productions before pivoting to his career behind the scenes, stepping into a wide variety of roles as is required: In the last year alone, he has served as a music educator, a vocal and acting coach, a director, a producer, a music director, a microphone technician, a props master, and even a transport supervisor. “It’s a lot!” James laughs, his knee bouncing with excess energy prior to the beginning of a two-show day. “But hey, someone has to do it.”
James’ production of The Outsiders, which is playing until October 13 to sold-out crowds, initially started as a community theatre production up in Elgin. “People rag on community theatre, and I’ve never understood that. When audiences left, they’d say to me, ‘That was not a community theatre production.’ But it was! Being a community show doesn’t mean it can't be great. It just means we have different resources.” That initial Elgin run was so successful that calls were made to transfer the production to a bigger venue, leading them to the more centrally located Athenaeum with the help of the non-profit The Home Creative Co.
James’ production of The Outsiders possesses a purity of heart that could soften even the harshest of critics. Although somewhat incorrectly labeled as an immersive production (said physical immersion is limited to the interior confines of the theatre and its seats, although there is some endearingly atmospheric prop and paint work out in the lobby that does bring to mind 1967 Tulsa, Oklahoma), the show, and its young and energetic actors, unfold the story of Ponyboy, Johnny, and their motley crew of Greasers with unvarnished clarity. No fancy rain machines or onstage quick changes here, folks; just good old-fashioned theatre that prizes the story above all else.
Adapted by the late Christopher Sergel in 1990 during the groundswell of interest following the hit Francis Ford Coppola film adaptation, the play version of The Outsiders has bounced around regional theatres for decades. A master adaptationist, Sergel wrote a number of acclaimed book-to-stage adaptations throughout the latter half of the 20th century that elevated modern American classics to the stage. But in the decades since his death, his estate has had to fight tooth and nail to preserve his work—which most pointedly came under fire in 2019 when Scott Rudin, the producer behind the Broadway production of To Kill a Mockingbird, and the estate of the late Harper Lee took Sergel’s estate to court. They didn’t want Sergel’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel to compete with the Broadway production, which was written by Aaron Sorkin, and were attempting to shut down any productions of Lee’s story that were not their own.
Thankfully, Sergel’s estate won that case, setting a precedent that allows numerous adaptations of a work to exist concurrently, provided the licenses don’t directly conflict. While The Outsiders musical currently holds the first-class musical rights necessary to produce the show on Broadway, Sergel’s play is still open to license outside of the New York market, although the groundswell of interest in the property has caused the rights to more than double in cost.
“I’ve been obsessed with all things Outsiders since my brother introduced it to me in school,” James recalls. “I had always wanted to do this play, but finding enough boys who are the right age to put it on is hard. Out here, the theatre industry is 80 percent girls, 20 percent boys, and I’m being generous. But when I heard whispers that a new show was opening up on Broadway, I was worried that the rights might be restricted, so I applied immediately. Last year, when I applied, those rights were only $90. This year, when I called to reapply for the transfer, they had shot up to $200, because now The Outsiders is a big Broadway show, so they’re pulling more money out of us. But look, I won’t lie. Part of the reason I figured out how to make it work now is because I knew, the second I heard the musical, that there would be a lot of hype around the show, and that kids would actually be excited to do it. People love The Outsiders, but this is a whole different level of momentum. And we’re able to benefit from that out here now, too.”
It’s hardly a coincidence that both The Outsiders and The Great Gatsby, two mainstays of the American public school English curriculum, have adaptations running on Broadway right now. As generational literacy rates decline, and the concept of reading-for-fun dips lower and lower in the list of preferred hobbies, the books people read in school have become the foundational cornerstones of how they engage with the world. Both stories are true American classics for very different reasons; whereas The Great Gatsby teaches students something foundational about America and the American Dream, The Outsiders teaches students something about themselves, and their moral principles. Ask any middle grade teacher, and they’re likely to have an endless well of stories from students who emotionally identify with characters within The Outsiders, expanding their empathy and helping them to define their own sense of right and wrong. If The Great Gatsby is a macro story about America, The Outsiders is a micro story about Americans. And in Middle America, that kind of zoomed in storytelling can be a lifeline.
“Life is hard. It’s really hard for boys right now,” says James. “There is so much of society that wants to crush them. Acting is about being vulnerable, and you can't be good at it if you're not willing to cry in front of other people and wear your heart on your sleeve. In a society that tells boys to be tough and don't show emotions, it's nice to have another narrative for them that says, ‘No, it's okay to cry. In fact, it's actually healthy to let that out and to talk about how you feel. That's what it is to be human. And look at these tough Greasers. You can put on that tough guy persona, but they're soft underneath, in the story.’ And that's exactly how these boys are in real life, too. This story, they flock towards it. They need it. They crave it. It is needed in our society.” James leans back, wistful.
That sort of sensitive masculinity is wholly embraced by the company of actors James has assembled, who laud James Dean as their hero in excited tones while displaying photos of the icon backstage. Liam Pietrzyk and Julian Rus are James’ Ponyboy and Johnny, respectively. Best friends since early childhood, Pietrzyk is a former child actor, but Rus is relatively new to the craft, having poured himself into study over the last seven months. It has paid off. When the pair, who are very close to the fictional duo’s teen ages in the books, embrace each other in fear, joy, wild abandon, and reckless bravery—honesty underpins every moment. “You can’t teach or train that kind of brotherly love,” James states. While the duo are very much performing in the shoes of individuals different from themselves, “that they get to go on this journey together every night is so, so special.”
Rus recognizes that too. Running high on adrenaline after a successful performance, he cheerfully exclaimed that "Honestly, this is some of the most fun I've ever had, and getting to do it with this guy"—thrown over his shoulder to a retreating Liam—"makes all the work worth it" Rus isn’t sure if he will ever do another show again after The Outsiders (although he should; even green, the depth of his talent is visible). But he will always have done The Outsiders, and the experience he has had on this production will influence him for the rest of his life.
The act of doing theatre, even once, can be a turning point in a person's life. As educational arts funding is slashed to ribbons, it falls to community and regional producers like James’ to bridge the gap, scraping together the time and space for transformative experiences to happen for performers and audiences alike.
It’s part of the reason James helped create the Chicagoland Theatre Fund, a private investment firm dedicated to supporting theatre productions, films, events, and complementary industry ventures within the Chicago metropolitan area. “I put in a decent chunk of change to help create this lifeline. We invest in different projects, with a focus on supporting producers here in Chicago. But we have also done national tours and Broadway [including the recent Broadway runs of Life of Pi and Peter Pan Goes Wrong]. And then from there, we've launched other subsidiary funds that invest in different shows to help them get off the ground. Right now, I’m working with Lourdes Lane on Super You the Musical, which is coming to London’s West End,” James shrugs, putting on a show of faux humility. “Still, I’d argue that, in Chicago, you’re getting some of the best actors in the world. I love Chicago as a theatre city.”
James abandons his humble pretense and leans forward, energized.
“I love Chicago as a theatre city because, me, some music teacher and acting coach, can save up his money for a few months, and can then produce their own version of The Outsiders in a storefront theatre at a caliber that will have total strangers saying, ‘I am so glad I spent $40 on these tickets, and put this money toward a night out.’”
James and his trusted collaborators have been able to finance The Outsiders by themselves. Like much of the Chicago scene, the production is non-union, but everyone involved is being paid a stipend and creating professional-level work. While the producing team are on track to make more than their money back in ticket sales, James isn’t sweating it; the amount of money at play won’t ruin anyone's life if the show somehow doesn’t break even.
“There's 250 registered theatres in the city of Chicago, and that doesn't include all of the community theatres,” James leans back, but his movements are more engaged than ever, his fingers thrumming against his thigh in an intense rhythm. “But, of course, there is a flip side. It's hard to be a full-time actor, director, or producer in Chicago. You can do it, if you land Chicago Shakespeare or Steppenwolf, but most of the theatre in Chicago is non-Equity. And even if it is Equity, it's only a few months, and then you're on to the next thing. We don't have long extended runs, the way New York does. Almost everyone in Chicago theatre is working a day job. But you can work just one job, and not be a starving artist. You won’t be rich, but you can make your art. I don't know any other place in the world that would let me do what I do the way Chicago lets me do it. And you know what? Until someone convinces me otherwise, I'm here to stay.”
