**** Recommended I knew about Mike Royko, but only in a visceral way. I’ve never lived in Chicago – except for two years in a college dorm – so I can’t say I knew a lot about him. That said, I thought that Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago, an anecdotal portrayal of a fearless journalist, written and performed by Mitchell Bisschop and directed by Steve Scott, was fascinating. 4 Spotlights
Eric Luchen’s set was simple – a desk on one side of the stage, a bar at the other, with multiple screens at the rear. As he told the story, Bisschop shifted between his desk, a stool at the Billy Goat Tavern, or simply stood between the two. Wherever he was, the multiple screens reflected the background or the story. Bisschop talked about Royko’s personal life, his love for his wife, and how he got started in journalism.
While sitting at his desk, he reflected on his career and all the columns he wrote (more than 7,500), he mentioned that he’d never even get in the door today because he’s ‘not qualified.’ He made sure to include Royko’s opinions on what he thought was important – newspapers, politics, the Cubs and hot dogs
While sitting on his stool at the Billy Goat Tavern, he recounted the story of the Cubs’ Billy Goat curse, but he attributed the team’s bad luck to tight-fisted management rather than a curse. He also explained why mustard is the only condiment allowed on a Chicago hot dog – although on that point I must disagree!
Many of Royko’s columns were about the corruption of the Daley machine and the 30,000 jobs the mayor controlled, but Bisschop concentrated most of his attention on the chaotic demonstrations outside the 1968 Democratic convention and Daley’s handling of the situation. After Daley died, one of his lieutenants, Mike Bilandic took over, at least until an epic snowstorm shut down the city. Royko practically crowed over Bilandic’s loss to a complete unknown, Jane Byrne. In fact, he congratulated the voters for the result!
Royko started at the Chicago Daily News, staying there until it folded. He moved to the Sun-Times and stayed there until Rupert Murdoch bought the paper. He said that apparently his former bosses didn’t know he’d quit since they were running old columns while his new ones were running every day in the Tribune.
Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago runs through September 29th at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago. Since parking is hard to find in this neighborhood, I suggest using a parking app.
Running time is approximately two hours including an intermission. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3:30 pm with added performances on Saturdays September 21 and 28 at 2:30pm. Tickets are $60. FYI https://royko.brownpapertickets.com/.