Nightingale Theater has been cool figuratively, now literally
MICHAEL SMITH World Scene Writer, 08/11/2003
Many theatergoers have been to the Nightingale Theater on an August evening when the climate inside was remarkably hot. How hot? Warm water came out of both taps in the restroom.There have also been plays at the Nightingale Theater in December when it was inexcusably cold inside the building. How cold? You could hear the actors' teeth chattering backstage.
In the past three years, some people have gone back again and again to the Nightingale, a little theater at 1416 E. Fourth St., one block east of Peoria Avenue and tucked away in a warehouse district.
They've done this despite its having neither air conditioning nor heat, to witness "The Laramie Project," "The Vagina Monologues" and several other outstanding productions at this tiny black-box theater.
But one has to wonder: How many theatergoers attended these same shows, only to swear they'd never return under these same conditions?
Well, things have changed at the Nightingale Theater. No longer is it only safe to attend plays there in spring and fall. The Nightingale is cool, and not just because of the progressive, alternative shows staged there.
"It's almost utterly silent. It's very, very quiet," said Amber Whitlatch of the recently installed air conditioning keeping the temperature at a non-hostile level. "It's working great, but of course we haven't gotten a bill yet, so we have no idea what it costs to run this thing. But if we're just running it during shows and maybe a couple of rehearsals, it can't be that bad. Can it?"
Whitlatch, her husband, Jeff, and John and Sara Cruncleton, own and operate the Nightingale Theater. They've wanted to install air conditioning for a long time, but funding was limited.
They recently broke down and refinanced their mortgage on the property to complete this major purchase.
"Nobody was giving us any money to do it. We've written grant after grant after grant, and nothing, so we just did it our gosh-darned selves," she said.
"We got all the equity we built up the last couple of years and put it right back in to the theater. We're going to have heat this winter, too. We got out from under our plumbing and sprinkler system debt, and now we're sitting pretty, ready to have year-round climate control. It'll be great. People won't be afraid to come here anymore."