Fred Solari; Chicago theater powerhouse
Hyfler/Rosner
If you ever attended a dance or theater event at the
Athenaeum Theatre -- that beehive of performing arts
activity at 2936 N. Southport -- it is a sure bet that you
encountered Fred Solari. He was the gentle man with the
large, dark eyes and hangdog expression who might have sold
you your ticket, torn that ticket, handed you a program or
directed you to one of the many performance spaces in the
three-floor complex.
Mr. Solari, who had been involved with the Athenaeum in one
way or another since the 1970s, served since 1994 as the
invaluable executive director of the Lake View center, which
houses a 900-seat mainstage theater, three studio theaters
and the offices of a slew of nonprofit arts organizations.
But he was not one to stand on ceremony. He took care of the
Athenaeum as if it were his own home. And in a sense, it
was, with his wife, Joan, sometimes pitching in at the
concessions table, and his son Peter (who died at age 22
last year) often working in the box office.
Mr. Solari died in his sleep Thursday. He was 55. He is
survived by his wife and two sons, Dan and Andrew. And he is
being mourned by all those in Chicago's theater and dance
community who worked with him over several decades.
"For Fred, the theater meant family," said Susan Lipman,
former head of Performing Arts Chicago, who first met Mr.
Solari 25 years ago when he was working in management at the
Civic Opera House. The two later collaborated as producers
of many local and international arts events.
Highly successful musicals
"He was so attached to his wife, his children, his parents
and to that theater," said Lipman. "And they were all part
of the same thing -- his love of family. To Fred's credit,
he established the need for that theater and he gave it a
future, and I am sure there will be an Athenaeum for years
to come."
Born and bred in Chicago, Mr. Solari was a cum laude
graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Loyola
University Law School. He arrived at the Athenaeum in 1970
as a member of the Summer Comedy Theatre, where he and such
other young artists as Michael Maggio (the late artistic
associate of the Goodman Theatre) staged a series of highly
successful musicals.
"Fred initially got involved in the arts because that's what
Joanie was interested in, and in the process of chasing her
down, he got hooked on theater, too," said John Schmitz,
artistic director of Dance Chicago.
'Curmudgeon and a cupcake'
For the last 11 seasons, Mr. Solari and Schmitz co-produced
Dance Chicago, the monthlong showcase of Chicago dance
companies and independent choreographers.
"What was interesting about Fred was that he was both a
curmudgeon and a cupcake," said Schmitz.
"I saw him dealing with tough union crews at the Civic Opera
House on the one hand, and then, in recent years, making
very generous contracts with struggling companies at the
Athenaeum. He had a good heart and was always fair to
people, and even if his delivery was not always polished, he
was unfailingly honest."
Mr. Solari's career in theater management took him to the
Apollo Theatre, the Woodstock Opera House and the Shubert.
But it was at the Civic Opera House and Civic Theatre that
he spent most of the 1980s and early '90s, ultimately
serving as chief executive officer of Civic Stages Chicago,
the management team for what was then the three theaters in
the Civic Opera building. Civic Stages also was the
presenter of the Spring Festival of Dance, a major downtown
event for some years.
"He was a man who loved the Chicago arts community and knew
how to make things happen for it," said Gail Kalver,
executive director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago who knew
Mr. Solari for 25 years. "And when he moved to the Athenaeum
Theatre in 1994, he devoted himself completely to bringing
that building to life, to filling it with activity, and,
more recently, to renovating it."
A memorial wake will be at Malec & Sons Funeral Home, 6000
N. Milwaukee, from 3 to 9 p.m. Monday. A memorial mass will
be Tuesday at 10 a.m. at St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic
Church, 1429 W. Wellington, next door to the Athenaeum.
Chicago Tribune March 12, 2006 Sunday
By Sid Smith, Tribune arts critic.
Fred Solari 1951 - 2006;
Invigorating force for arts
He was a lawyer by training, lured away by a love of the
arts and an innate talent for backstage management.
Fred Solari, 55, who died in his sleep early Friday, March
10, at his home in Skokie, revitalized the Athenaeum
Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., as its executive director
for the last 11 years. No cause of death has been
determined, his wife Joan said.
He co-founded the theater's groundbreaking Dance Chicago
festival, which celebrated small troupes every November.
Under his management, the Athenaeum became a galvanizing
force, contributing to a local dance renaissance and
fostering countless artists in dance, theater, music and
opera.
Though blunt, plainspoken and dry, he exuded warmth,
determination and humor.
Gail Kalver, executive director of Hubbard Street Dance
Chicago, recalled Friday, "He took everything seriously, but
with a light touch. Fred was the one who'd always say,
`Don't worry. We'll make it happen.'"
"What he really cared about was making the Athenaeum work,"
said John Schmitz, co-founder and director of Dance Chicago.
"He wanted it to be a serviceable place for the arts, a
vital place where ideas could be exchanged."
"He was relentless behind the scenes, and he wasn't out for
anything, other than to get work produced," said Roche
Schulfer, executive director of the Goodman Theatre. "He
made the Athenaeum a gem."
Under his leadership, the Athenaeum became a welcome home
for the tiny, the experimental and the neglected, attracting
a loyal audience. At first, the venue operated as a barely
disguised school auditorium. Now, after an $800,000
renovation completed in 2004, it boasts a beautiful marquee,
an elevator, remodeled dressing rooms, a new orchestra pit
and improved lighting.
Mr. Solari ran the operation with a family feel, both
literal and figurative. "For years, you'd buy your tickets
from his son, give them to Fred at the door and buy treats
from his parents at the concession stand," Kalver said.
Mr. Solari's son Peter, who was box office manager at the
Athenaeum, died last year.
Born and raised in Chicago, Mr. Solari was a graduate of the
University of Notre Dame and Loyola University School of
Law. He ran SCT Productions, which produced musicals at the
Athenaeum in the 1970s and once featured, among other
directors, Robert Falls, now Goodman Theatre artistic
director.
"The selfless way in which he extended [the Athenaeum] to
artists here was a model of collaboration in the Chicago
spirit," Falls said Friday. "He was an unsung hero who will
be deeply missed--and never forgotten."
Mr. Solari worked at the Apollo Theatre, the Shubert
Theatre, the Woodstock Opera House and the Civic Opera
House, where he helped present an annual spring dance
festival as chief executive officer of Civic Stages Chicago.
In 1997, the Tribune cited Mr. Solari as one of the 100 most
notable contributors to Chicago arts in the last 150 years.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Solari is survived by two sons,
Dan and Andrew. A memorial wake will be held from 3 to 9
p.m. Monday at Malec & Sons Funeral Home, 6000 N. Milwaukee
Ave.
A memorial mass will be said at 10 a.m. Tuesday in St.
Alphonsus Catholic Church, 1429 W. Wellington Ave., next
door to the Athenaeum.
GRAPHIC: PHOTO: Fred Solari worked at various Chicago
theaters in his career.