You’d think that a small theater in Glenview would attract only a local audience and it’s true
that 40% of the audience members at the 60-seat Oil Lamp Theater come from Glenview.
But the other 60% come from a wide range of other places.
“From 2023 ticket-buyers, we had people from 238 different towns and cities, with our second-highest demographic coming from Chicago,” reported Executive Director Jay Pastucha.
That’s quite a statistic considering the company’s humble beginnings.
The theater company was originally founded in an apartment in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood in 2005, Pastucha said. “We incorporated as a nonprofit and moved to Glenview in 2012.”
Artistic Director Elizabeth Mazur Levin said that the original concept of the theater was “based on the idea of gathering friends and family and doing actor dinner/theater in your home a la ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show.’”
With the move to Glenview, Oil Lamp Theater became a more traditional theater, Levin
observed.
“Over the years, we have diversified our offerings,” Levin noted. “Originally it was mostly living room comedies and dramas. We have diversified greatly over the years to draw in larger audiences.”
Keith Gerth was the founding executive and artistic director. “He had that role until he retired and moved out of state in 2020,” Levin said. That was the year that Pastucha took over as executive director. Levin became artistic director in 2022.
The nonprofit theater has a 13-member board of directors.
“We have some community partnerships but we are still on the prowl for some great partners in the community who value not just the arts but what it does for the economy,” Pastucha said.
Recovering from the pandemic has been a challenge for Oil Lamp Theater, as it has for other theaters across the country, but the two theater leaders believe they are going in the right direction.
“We’re doing great work that’s really connecting with a wide range of people,” Pastucha noted.
“The cost has gone up. It’s been an all-consuming time figuring it out but it really has been a welcome challenge. We prioritize quality and the people and connecting and I think that’s really aided in what we’ve been doing these last two years.”
Levin added, “We firmly believe that art is experiential and community-building. During the
pandemic, when you were able to bring art into your home and sit and watch Netflix, people got out of the habit of going out and experiencing art. It’s been our mission to bring people back to that communal experience that is the theater.”
The executive director admitted that getting the audience back after the pandemic was a
challenge but there are some bright signs. The theater was profitable in 2023 and its current production of “First Date” has been such an audience favorite that the musical romantic comedy was recently extended to Oct. 27.
“We have people coming back to see it again,” Levin said.
Pastucha said the play selection is a large part of the way audiences are lured back to the
theater. Additional marketing and public relations are also helping to attract people back to Oil Lamp.
In terms of play selection, that task starts with Levin as artistic director. “I spend about a year looking at the next year’s season to create what I think is going to be the most balanced experience for our patrons,” Levin said. “After we’ve whittled down to what I think will be a good season, my colleagues jump in. We talk about what the best plan is going to be.
”That includes discussing the proposed season with former directors and ensemble members to get their feedback.”
The next production after “First Date” will be a live radio version of “A Christmas Carol,” Nov. 21-Dec.29.
Next season’s shows will include “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged),” “The Lifespan of a Fact,” “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” and “Side by Side by Sondheim,” followed by a show to be announced, and a holiday show to be announced.
Pastucha reported that they have big plans for the theater, which they can’t talk about yet.
“We have a very bright future ahead of us where we are going to be looking to retain exactly who we are with the intimacy and that personality that comes with Oil Lamp Theater but to have a way to impact more lives,” he said.
Theater-lovers with a sweet tooth will be happy to know that the theater company will
continue its long-term policy of giving free cookies to audience members.
“We are very proud that we partner with Misericordia Sweet Shoppe for our cookies,” Pastucha said. “It’s another nonprofit that does a whole lot of good.”
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
