The “New” Wisdom Bridge
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Careful readers of Stagebill will note that a “new” theater company is presenting Lanford Wilson’s Redwood Curtain, now playing at the Ivanhoe Theater. “Wisdom Bridge Theatre Chicago Company” is one of two entities quietly incorporated last spring as part of what Wisdom Bridge staffers are calling a reorganization of the company long known as Wisdom Bridge Theatre. Though Wisdom Bridge Theatre has not formally filed for bankruptcy, the reorganization appears to have been carried out in a manner that absolves the company from paying debts accumulated during the late 1980s and early 1990s at its former home, 1559 W. Howard St. “We wanted to end operations on Howard Street and start out with a fresh, new life,” explains John Conlon, former chairman of Wisdom Bridge’s board of directors and an attorney who oversaw some aspects of the reorganization. Conlon has since left the Wisdom Bridge board and has no formal affiliation with the theater company. When asked about details of the reorganization, Wisdom Bridge Theatre Chicago Company board chairman Joyce Sloane referred inquiries to Wisdom Bridge producing director Jeffrey Ortmann.
One source familiar with Illinois statutes governing not-for-profit corporations questioned the propriety of dissolving the Wisdom Bridge Theatre Center, saying, “The law clearly states you cannot dissolve a not-for-profit entity until all the debts have been paid.” One creditor who has an unpaid claim of several thousand dollars against the Wisdom Bridge Theatre Center said he was never formally notified that it was dissolved, though Conlon claims all creditors were informed of the action.
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