Nothing is more therapeutic than a good night's sleep on an American Adjustable Bed. 4017*.i .J hrbk. kb Okikt CHICAGO: WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE WINDY CITY Raising Second City Curtain And National Jewish Theater — '31 /,' Joyce Sloane spreads the gospel of Jewish theater from her home in Chicago. ‘_ EMILY SOLOFF SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS The American Adjustable Bed comes in sizes that meet every need, go with every decor and are doctor recommended. See them soon and improve the quality of your life. • Doctor Recommended • Free Massage • 20 Year Warranty • Electrical Control SALE SAVE UP TO 60% SALE $1550.00 $1795.00 REG $2505 Queen Dual King $J244.5 SALE REG $14344 $995.00 $2-144 $1150.00 Twin Full American Adjustable Bed Co. 28580 Orchard Lake Rd., Ste. 110, Farmington Hills Call For Appointment 737-0116 • 800-478-8070 Hours: M-F 10-6, SAT. 10-2, After Hours by Appointment ARE YOU LOOKING FOR AN ENERGY SAVING AIR CONDITIONER? 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A woman with an idea for a new production will have to wait. One of the most recognized names in Chicago theater circles, Ms. Sloane, as she almost always does, is sandwiching time for new ideas into a day that is jammed with responsibility to existing in- stitutions. Chicago Academy of the Arts, the International The- ater Festival, Victory Gardens and Wisdom Bridge theaters are among them. Since October, some of each day is devoted to that eight-year-old enterprise. A heart attack two years ago has hardly slowed her pace though Ms. Sloane does say she is thinking of taking a few weeks off this summer. No one close to her believes it. Ms. Sloane did not get her ti- tle of "Earth Mother to Chicago theater" by sitting around read- ing books. A founding member of Na- tional Jewish Theater, Ms. Sloane beams with pride at the excellent reviews much of the the- ater's recent work has received. One well-respected reviewer told her NJT outclassed the New York production of Sight Unseen, by Donald Mar- gulies, an important, upcoming American Jewish playwright. Last season, three of NJT's four plays were nominated for the prestigious Joseph Jefferson awards. Two of the productions won awards. One of them, Puttin' on the Ritz, won in sev- eral categories. 'The magic we are making in that theater is just amazing," said Ms. Sloane, with obvious pride at the skill of set and lighting de- signers who turn a non-descript auditorium stage into a theatri- cal masterpiece show after show. `The quality of work is as good as is being done anywhere," she added. Ms. Sloane should know. Typically she attends to three theater performances a week, every week of the year. "I'm dying to get more (I.B.) Singer produced," said Ms. j Sloane, waving her hand at a poster of Singer on her office wall. "I'm a great fan of his. But you have to adapt his work. This takes time, you have to workshop it." Nurturing, whether actors, writers or audiences, is some- thing that comes second nature to Ms. Sloane. She understands time and work, building and cre- ating from scratch something that may endure. She also un- derstands the vagaries of theater and the fickleness of audiences. Every theater enterprise "has its bumps along the way," she said Joyce Sloane: Spreading the word of the National Jewish Theater. when reminded of some of the rockier seasons for NJT. Ms. Sloane, 63, got her start at Marshall High School on the Jew- ish West Side. Producer of the school's major theater event, Ms. Sloane endeared herself to class- mates by calling many re- hearsals. "I always managed to get everyone out of classes," she said with a mischievous grin that lights up her deep brown eyes. Her interest in theater was piqued by a cousin who was an entertainer in the Yiddish the- ater in Chicago. It was through the cousin that she first met ac- tor Joel Grey's father and the young Mr. Grey himself playing in what might be called an ear- ly Yiddish Cabaret. Mr. Grey is redoing that show, Borscht Ca- pades, and Ms. Sloane likes the return-to-roots feeling that gives her. Her own start in profession- al theater was tied to Borscht Ca- prides initial run in Chicago. Her connection with Second City started in 1961 in ticket sales as well. Founder Bernard Sahlins told her to sell out the opening night performance and she did — twice. In the mid-1960s, Ms. Sloane took a one-year leave of absence from Second City/Chicago to try her handing producing musical theater in Canada. With the title of producer emeritus, Ms. Sloane has relin- quished some of the day-to-day detail work that absorbed her time at Second City. From pro- ducing shows to hiring actors and negotiating contracts, to basic hand-holding, Ms. Sloane has done everything and with such panache that she was given a special award in 1980 by the the- ater community for "dedicated service as a counselor to all and as Earth Mother to a host of Chicago actors." Ms. Sloane does not allow nos- talgia to blind her to the realities of theater. One of the toughest re- alities for NJT is audience de- velopment. While the audience is growing and now stands at about 4,000 annual subscribers, the general demographics for atten- dance are weighted toward an older, more staid audience. "They love musicals, but we want to do more than that," she said. While Ms. Sloane wants to see plays by Jewish writers, she does not see NJT as a haven for Jew- ish actors. "I think the casting has to be done strictly on who is best for the role," she said. "We have to be true to the work. The im- portant thing is the final prod- uct." As chairman, Ms. Sloane was able to get money for NJT to hire a marketing consultant for audi- ence development. That has to in- clude younger members, non-Jews as well as Jews. While Ms. Sloane is one of NJT's biggest boosters, she ad- mitted that she can't persuade everyone to go. "The only thing that bothers me is when I hear people say they don't want to go to Yiddish theater," she said. "Like Levy's bread, you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy NJT. We are very good theater." ❑ Emily Soloff is a free-lance writer based in Chicago.