Wisdom Bridge Unmoored Again
After surviving two seasons without a home, Wisdom Bridge Theatre was expected to settle down later this year at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, a $16 million entertainment complex now under construction in Skokie. But the theater’s precarious existence has now prompted the arts center to look elsewhere for a new tenant.
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Once a premier off-Loop company, Wisdom Bridge has been an itinerant troupe since shutting down its Howard Street location more than 18 months ago. Following a difficult season at the Ivanhoe Theater, Wisdom Bridge has increasingly staged catch-as-catch-can shows, running for short periods at irregular intervals. Ortmann cut a deal with the Harold Washington Library Center to host the 1995-’96 season, and he strengthened the theater’s ties to Roosevelt University, where he also teaches. But mounting a full season has proved difficult. The theater’s last production, the well-received Louisa May Alcott in Little Women, ran for only two weeks and featured student performers.
While village officials had originally planned to have only one theater company in its performing arts center, Hansen says he now hopes “there will be several.” Centre East, a not-for-profit presenter of live entertainment, is the other principal tenant, scheduled to mount at least 114 performances a year on the main stage. Last week Centre East executive director Dorothy Litwin said her arrangement had not changed, though she indicated her group is flexible and could add more dates if needed.
Both Barnes & Noble and Crown open at 9 AM and close at 11 PM, and managers at both stores say they have no plans to stay open later. But some other changes may be attributed to the arrival of Borders. Barnes & Noble says it’s added about 10,000 new titles in recent months, and it has temporarily shut down its cafe in order to expand it. Borders has a spacious cafe with a window facing the Century Mall across the street. When the Barnes & Noble cafe reopens in late January, it will still be situated in the center of the store, but it will seat more customers and be stocked with a wider selection of snacks.
