Gambling on the Green
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The result is a two-and-a-half-hour amalgam of high-energy music and dance presented with lush lighting and evocative backdrops. A huge hit in both Ireland and London, where it enjoyed long runs, Riverdance received scant attention in the U.S. until it had eight performances last March at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. That engagement quickly sold out after it drew raves from the ordinarily jaded New York critics.
A native of Liverpool, Orchard initially saw Riverdance in London and was immediately convinced it would prove popular in Chicago, provided that he set the stage properly for the show’s arrival. He decided to initially target Chicago’s large Irish community. “I knew we would have to front-load a run here with the Irish audience to stimulate word of mouth,” he says. But when Orchard and the show’s producers got down to the final details, his plans hit a snag.
Less Room for Chamber Music
