Lookingglass Theatre Thrilled About Regional Tony
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company is the proud recipient of this year's top Tony Award for regional theaters.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Lisa Fielding reports, Lookingglass becomes the fifth Chicago company to win the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre.
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Executive director Rachel Kraft said the award took the company by surprise.
"It just wasn't on our radar that this was even possible here," she said.
Kraft says the award really puts Lookingglass on the map.
"We're 23 years old – relatively young compared to some of the other more recognized theaters," she said. "It's just great – it's great for Chicago."
The Lookingglass was founded in 1988 by a self-described group of "ambitious college graduates" that included David Schwimmer of "Friends" fame.
The Goodman, the Steppenwolf, the Victory Gardens, and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater have won the award in past years.
The award was announced along with the 2011 Tony nominations for Broadway shows. The award ceremony is set for June 12 in New York, and will be broadcast live on CBS 2.
The 2010-2011 season at Lookingglass included productions of "Peter Pan," "Ethan Frome," and "The Last Act of Lilka Kadison."
Coming for the 2011-2012 scene is "The Great Fire," written by Lookingglass ensemble member John Musial, and coinciding with the 140th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
Also coming are "Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting," set in 1947 when Brooklyn Dodgers manager Branch Rickey called up Jackie Robinson to break the color barrier in baseball, and an original musical "Eastland," written by ensemble member Andrew White, and based on the 1915 disaster in which 800 people died when a ship capsized on the Chicago River.
The Lookingglass is located in the Water Tower Pumping Station building, at 821 N. Michigan Ave. across Pearson Street from Water Tower Place.
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