Site marries passions, moves forward with new design, high hopes and great gratitude

By Barry Reszel
A little more than two years ago I created ChicagolandMusicalTheatre.com, a website commingling two life passions—writing and musical theatre.

Today it sports a nifty, fresh new look. I hope you’ll like the bold, visual, online magazine approach and use the site to learn about musical theatre happening in our city and suburbs.

I hope you’ll consider contributing, too. Because that’s the point of this space—a new communal blog we’re calling “Compositions.”

This is the place to share stories, ideas, questions, wisdom, challenges among those who are passionate about this genre. If you’re writing more than a paragraph on Facebook, then share it here, too. This year, more than 20,000 people will visit this site. Use the platform.

There’s just one rule: Respect.

Send your contributions via email to Producer@ChicagolandMusicalTheatre.com.

All said, I’ll begin with a story of my own that, if you know me, you might already know because I love to tell it.

It was Dec. 28, 2010, when my 12-year-old daughter Christina and I went to see Wicked at the Cadillac Palace (Christmas gift).

Following the show, after buying her purple Oz T, we went to hang out by the alley stage door under the Wells Street ‘L’ tracks (doesn’t everyone?), hoping to get a few autographs. Upon rounding the Randolph/Wells corner, the Wonderful Wizard, Gene Weygandt, walked toward us—on his cell phone. Upon seeing my daughter, Gene did what every adoring fan hopes their idolized celebrity would. He spoke one short phrase into the phone; snapped  it shut; engaged us with kindness, humor and appreciation; signed Christina’s shirt; posed for a photo; and left saying he looked forward to the next time our paths crossed.

Those two extra minutes Gene took for my daughter and me that night planted the seed that bloomed into ChicagolandMusicalTheatre.com in 2014 and grows stronger today.

My simple goal is to gather this remarkably kind and talented community of participants and patrons of Chicagoland musical theatre (why “just” musicals is a topic for another day) to share information, insight, commentary and friendship.

Visit often, make yourself at home, and send in a story of your own.