Return of Da Mayor
Neil Giuntoli must be doing something right -- or nothing terribly wrong -- as he resumes his acclaimed portrayal of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley on a Northwest Side stage.
City inspectors under current Mayor Richard M. Daley have not papered the theater building with "violations," the actor-writer is happy to report. And so his play "Hizzoner: Daley the First" - a showcase for Giuntoli's explosive, but nuanced performance as Daley's father -- continues its latest run through Dec. 16 at Prop Thtr.
"I knew there were people from the Hall who came to see the play and probably reported back, 'It's not hostile to your father,'" Giuntoli, a veteran performer with film and television experience, said last week. "You know Chicago. If it was hostile, some left-wing rant against the late mayor, you think we'd still be running? No."
He added: "I'm not an apologist for (the elder Daley). I wanted to present an honest, credible portrayal of a very complicated, very clever, very forward-thinking politician."
"Hizzoner" debuted in March 2006 and became a surprise hit, leading to tours in north suburban Skokie and Chicago's Beverly district, closer to Daley's South Side neighborhood of Bridgeport. Now back at the 95-seat Prop Thtr space, the cast is nearing the benchmark of 300 performances.
Giuntoli said audience members tend to be over the age of 50 -- people who were alive when the first Daley ruled Chicago. The older crowd is a potentially risky demographic, yet some people have come back a second or third time.
"I wrote the play that I wanted to see, and they came," Giuntoli said.
The 47-year-old North Side native said he spent about a year writing the play for Prop, the storefront theater group he joined in the 1980s before launching an acting career in Los Angeles. In Hollywood, Giuntoli found work, if not stardom, in television productions such as "The Jeff Foxworthy Show" and films like "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Waterworld."
He also appeared in a memorable 1996 "Seinfeld" episode as a video pirate who coerces Jerry Seinfeld into filming a movie at a theater. But Giuntoli seems embarrassed about that role and others he has played in Tinseltown.
"For so long in L.A., I have been playing bad guys or freaks of the week, and that's not me," he said. "This role (Daley) I love because it's closer to who I am personally."
The first Mayor Daley held the city's top post from 1955 until his December 1976 death at age 74. His tenure is remembered today largely for the ambitious capital projects, including O'Hare International Airport, that modernized Chicago. But the authoritarian head of the Democratic "Machine" is recalled less fondly by critics who say he ignored the plight of minorities. Also, Daley's administration was racked by corruption scandals.
"Hizzoner" focuses on the turbulent year of 1968, when Daley grappled with race riots and cracked down on protestors at the Democratic National Convention. Giuntoli acknowledges the mayor's character flaws but said he also admires the politician for his religious piety and work ethic.
Daley "was as complex a person as anybody has ever been," said Roosevelt University President Paul Green, who is writing a book on the late mayor. "He also was by far the best-prepared mayor, governmentally, that the city of Chicago - or perhaps almost any city - has ever had."
Green said he visited Daley's inner sanctum at City Hall twice in the late-1960s as he studied urban affairs at the University of Chicago.
"He's got it down cold, from my perspective," he said of Giuntoli's performance. "He captured his personality, he captured his mannerisms. God only knows, he captured his way of speaking."
With his slick-backed hair and tightly buttoned suit, the thickset Giuntoli channels Daley's volcanic temper eruptions, which were often directed at newspaper reporters. But the actor also finesses several quiet moments. Near the end of the play, his Daley tearfully remembers a day at Comiskey Park with one of his children.
"I'm him," Giuntoli said of the role immersion and its physical toll. "It's like going through five family fights in two hours."
He currently is looking for a theater venue closer to the Loop. Provided the audiences keep coming, the actor said, he estimates he has another 600 performances as Daley in him.
"I love portraying this man," Giuntoli said. "It's my favorite role ever."
Mike Ramsey can be reached at (312) 857-2323 or ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net <mailto:ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net> .
COULD RICHARD II MAKE A CAMEO?
CHICAGO - Several notable public figures - including Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and former Gov. George Ryan -- have come to see actor Neil Giuntoli become the late Mayor Richard J. Daley in "Hizzoner: Daley the First."
But so far, current Mayor Richard M. Daley has not turned up.
The junior Daley told Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass earlier this year that he was aware of the show and had heard its portrayal of his father is balanced. The mayor, however, was quoted as saying it might be emotionally difficult for him to see a performance.
Giuntoli said he understands why the son is reluctant, given that "Hizzoner" begins and ends with the elder Daley's last moments in December 1976 (he died of a fatal heart attack while in office). But he hopes to meet Richard the Second.
The closest he came was at the Chicago White Sox's opening day in the spring, when he sat near Daley, Giuntoli said.
"He's looking over at me and I'm looking at him," he said.
Giuntoli said he gave the mayor a "low-key" wave.
Daley's response?
"He looked away," the actor said.
--GateHouse News Service
Mike Ramsey
Chicago reporter
GateHouse News Service
100 W. Randolph St./ 9th Floor Pressroom
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 857-2323
ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net