Ep 256 Rialto Square Theater
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Coming to you from the studios at the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66, it's the Rock
and Roll Chicago podcast. Hey everybody, it's Ray the Roadie. And this is Hollywood Mike.
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Hello Hollywood Mike. How are you? I'm good. I'm doing fantastic.
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Great. Yeah, yeah, this is, you know, I'm excited for this episode because it's something
different. It is something different.
I like different. Yeah, we don't, we don't have musicians or I don't know, they could be
musicians. I don't know.
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They're not like a tribute theater, are they? No, they're, it's not a tribute theater, no, or anything
like that. I mean, they're a real theater. Cover theater.
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No, not a cover theater. A real theater. Yeah, a real theater.
Real, real, real. Real. Rialto, Rialto.
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Rialto. That's what it is. Oh, the Rialto.
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The Rialto Theater, just down the street and around the corner. That's right. Absolutely.
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You can see the sign from here. You can, you can. A very historic theater.
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And what we, the people that we have in the studio with us are Lou and Leanne. And let's, there
you go. You know, they brought their groupies as well.
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That's right. And I'm not, you know, I'm not going to do it justice. So I'm just going to, you
know, introduce them.
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We're going to let them introduce themselves. Sounds good to me. Lou and Leanne, how are
you guys doing this evening? Welcome to the show.
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I'm doing really well. Thank you so much for letting us be here. Talk right in the microphone,
guys.
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You got it. If you, if you get lazy and lean back like this, you can see how it kind of looks like
that. So stay right into it like that.
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Anyway, we're here. We're trying to take over the podcast here at the Illinois Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame. We're, we're going to be talking about a show that we're putting on.
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It's a fundraiser for the volunteer organization of the Rialto. And it's, we're going to have it on
November 14th. And it's in Corrigan's, formerly known as Scooters in Shorewood.
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We have the whole back room. It's in Corrigan's. It's, it's now a Irish pub.
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So if you're looking for some good food, get there early. And try some of that stuff that they've
got there. They've got some really good food.
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We're going to have a band playing called Cadillac Groove. Who are those guys? I don't know. I
don't think anybody's ever heard of them.
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But that's not the one I want. That's not the one. Anyway, before we get, before we get deep
into our event that we're trying to promote at Corrigan's.
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I'd like to talk about the Rialto. I don't know if everybody knows. It's going to be 100 years old
next May.
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Well, May 24th, exact. Yep. In May 24th, 1926.
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What do you got, hairs there? Yeah. Somebody with a long white beard was using this
microphone. That's gross.
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May 24th, 1926 is when the place first opened. It's just one heck of a fabulous theater. Did you
also know you can take tours on Tuesdays? You go online or call the box office and set up and
take tours.
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This is one beautiful palace. In fact, I think at some point, some newspaper said, it's the palace
for the people. So when the place opened, was it like, was it on the vaudeville circuit? I wasn't
there.
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For a specific reason? Yeah. You couldn't make it that day? I was missed. I was sick that day.
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It was a vaudeville. It was a vaudeville movie palace when it originally opened. So it was, it was
movies.
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Yes. Okay. Yes.
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And that's why we have a Barton Grand Theater pipe organ. We're actually one of the only
theaters left in the area that has a Barton Grand that's original because it used to accompany
all the silent movies. I mean, the, the decor, if, if, if you haven't been there, the decor, when you
walk in, you feel like you're walking into a cathedral.
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Absolutely. Theater. Was it always that way? It was.
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The architects and the Rubens brothers, there were six Rubens brothers, local businessmen,
and they wanted to bring Europe to the people of Joliet and the surrounding areas that would
never get to Europe. It didn't really take, did it? So our esplanade or our grand hallway is
inspired by the Hall of Mirrors and the Palace of Versailles. Okay.
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The archway is inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and the rotunda is inspired by the
Pantheon in Rome. Wow. Okay.
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So it's one of the 10 most beautiful theaters in the nation. It was the Ruben brothers. They had
a lot of theaters around Chicago.
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They did. Yeah. Yeah.
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I just learned something very interesting. I just learned when an esplanade is... Big hall. Yeah.
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Big hall. Oh, I thought she said empanada. Yeah.
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I was getting hungry. Yeah. That's right.
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No, I didn't mean to cut you off. No, you're fine. Completely goofy.
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But Ray and I were literally just there a couple of weekends ago. We saw Blackberry Smoke. I
walked in and I mean, you just kind of look up and you just spin around in a circle and you look
at everything that's going on there.
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It's a beautiful building. That's how we know first timers, right, Lou? When they look up. Yeah.
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Well, it wasn't my first time, but every time I go there, I see something different. That's the
thing. I've been there numerous times.
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Every time I walk in, I just, I'm taken aback by how gorgeous it is. Yeah. One of the things I think
people miss when they come to the Rialto, when you walk in, you've missed something.
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You got to go across the street and look at the above the canopy or what would you call that?
Above the marquee. The marquee. The niche.
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Yeah, the niche. It's how they've grooved that out. It's just one heck of a theater.
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Just so you know, the Herald News Reader's Choice for 2024 rated it the best entertainment
venue. Then in 2025, it was also awarded the same thing. I just saw that one on the webpage
the other day.
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I think we're also the best, excuse me, sorry. I think we've also been awarded the best live
entertainment venue too for 2025. Oh, I think so.
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Yeah. And I tell you what, it's not just the theater, it's the people in the theater. Absolutely.
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The people that work with you guys, the performers in the back, Zach, I think is the guy that is
now the stage manager and he runs everything. Tech director. Okay.
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And all of those people. Then you've got security. Then you've got the house managers.
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And then you've got the people that really help make it a fun place is the volunteers. We greet
everybody from the first person walking in the door with when we take your tickets, we're
greeting you, we're talking to you. And all along the line, you have to interact with one of us.
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So the people that are there wearing the black and white uniform, those are volunteers? Those
are volunteers. The bartenders do wear a black uniform, but the bartenders are not volunteers.
That's their paid staff.
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But anybody else in a black and white uniform, affectionately known as the penguins, because
of their black and white uniform is a Rialto volunteer. So has the theater been operational all
100 years? Pretty much. Yes.
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There was one period of time where I believe it was dark for some renovation. But other than
that, as far as I know, it's been operational the whole time. That's pretty good.
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I do remember that. And it was relatively recent. Right.
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I remember the renovations. It was closed down and being renovated. There's a lot of theaters
that closed down and just sat there and decayed.
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Right. So who owns the theater now? The theater is actually owned by, if I can get this correct, I
believe the WCMEAA, which is known as the Will County Metropolitan Exposition and
Auditorium Authority. And they're the governing body of the Rialto.
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We're actually managed by a company called Venue Works. It's a third party management
company and they're out of Ames, Iowa. Okay.
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Thank God. I thought she was going to say John Bayes. Yeah.
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So the theater is technically, is it property of the state or property of the city then? It's a
government agent. It is. Yeah.
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Okay. It's a government thing. Yeah.
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When you're an authority, you're basically your own city. Okay. For lack of a better way to put it.
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Right, right, right. Hence the volunteers, because I was thinking to myself, okay, who owns this
theater? And they've got their staff just going, ooh, I'll work here for free. I mean, because
that's a pretty amazing trick to pull off.
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But that makes sense now that if it's actually owned by the state or whatever it is, or it's a
government operation or a function of the government, then that makes sense to me. And we
actually have a very small staff, actual staff. Without the Rialto volunteers, we couldn't open our
doors.
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We wouldn't be able to pay enough staff. And part of my function there is to actually be in
charge of the volunteers. And I'm very proud of the volunteer organization because before I
became on staff, I actually was a volunteer.
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So very near and dear to my heart. So you're on staff there now? I'm actually on staff. Yes.
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I've been on staff now for 18 years. Wow. Okay.
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So is it a non-for-profit? Yes, we're 501c3. Gotcha. Okay.
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All right. And hence the fundraiser and everything. But I'm learning everything about this
theater.
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So I can write, we can write off our tickets to Blackberry Smoke. We can. I'm not sure how that
would work because the government changed writing off tickets.
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We'd have to figure out what portion of the ticket goes to the Rialto. Right. That's what.
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No more two martini lunches. Yeah, yeah. I can't do that anymore.
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The volunteers were formed in the 80s. Okay. And right around the same time, I believe there
was a complete renovation.
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And that might've been when it was dark for a little bit. And one of the key people I wanted to
bring up, I've known her before personally, Lynn Lichtenauer, and I'm not sure I'm pronouncing
the name properly. This woman was really a big push to help the Rialto.
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She also had a radio station program called Lynn, Marilyn and Natalie. It was an AM talk show.
Lynn, Mary and Natalie.
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Lynn, Mary and Natalie. I was honored a couple of times and they were just fun people to be on
the radio station with. Lynn for years was one of our members of the cast when we did It's a
Wonderful Life live radio program.
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And actually this year will be the last year that we're performing it. And we've done it for, oh my
gosh, probably over 25 years. And she was one of the instrumental performers in it every single
year up until the time that she was unable to perform anymore.
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But yeah, she used to be the former executive director at the theater and was a big force in
promoting the Rialto and always trying to make sure that it stayed open and active and part of
the community. So was this a popular show? It's a Wonderful Life? It's a Wonderful Life. It is.
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It's a very popular show. We actually do it like an old time radio show. So the actors have their
scripts on stage and we perform all the sound effects in front of the audience and there's
audience participation.
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And it's actually broadcast live on a local radio station. And then on Christmas day, they usually
play it on a continuous loop from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. So why are they going to stop its run? I don't
know, actually. That was not part of my decision, so I couldn't tell you.
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But maybe something new will be coming in its place. I don't quite know. Right, right.
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So that's how I that's not how I not that particular performance. But the first several times I
went to the Rialto was not for concerts. I think a lot of people think of it more as a concert
venue now.
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But you can't really call it a concert venue because I've seen like one act plays. I've seen stand
up comedy acts. You know, I think I saw a symphony orchestra there one time.
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I mean, going back, you know, like 25 or 30 years or so. And it was only recently that I actually
started going there and seeing concerts there. You can you can go and see different types of
performances.
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You're not just going there to see concerts. Absolutely. That's why people should check the
schedule and see what's actually going on.
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I I'll go through a few of the things a little in a little bit of the different shows that are coming.
It's it's just mind boggling the stuff you can do at the Rialto. To to kind of finish up with the
volunteers, what we do, I believe the first place you meet us would be the front door where you
come in.
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We take your tickets. We talk to you and send you on to the next person that's going to handle
you. We'd have been nicer to him if we knew they were working for free.
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Yeah. It wouldn't it wouldn't be bad if you come in there and say, hey, thanks, guys. Yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah.
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Once in a while. Well, now now we know now. Now it's just like, why are you stopping me? I got,
you know, turning into my seat.
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Well, that is the way it is, too. Sometimes people are very defensive. Can I help you? No.
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Yeah, yeah, I got it. And then they usually got the wrong spot, but that's OK. Then we have at
the common doors, common doors, am I saying right? We have another two or three people
standing there so that you've made it past the front door and now you get to this spot and we
need to tell you what aisle to go down.
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And that's very important. We also need to check your tickets because you think you're in row A
center. You are, but you're up in the balcony, you know, or I have double A, so I'm really close.
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No, you're way back here. So those are the people that tell you what aisle to go down. Then you
have the ushers that actually will take you down to your seat, which a lot of places don't do that.
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They just kind of direct you down to wherever it is you're going to be. If they even do that. Yeah,
right, right.
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Our volunteers will take you right to your seat. And then we have 50-50, someone selling 50-50
all the time. And I'm not saying you could make millions, but you can make some money if you
win the 50-50 pot.
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That helps us. What happens is the Rialto volunteers, we do fundraisers throughout the year.
And Leanne pretty much sets up all of that.
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And the money that we raise, just so you know, since the 80s, tell me if I'm wrong, we've raised
about a million dollars. We've raised actually over a million dollars. OK, that's that's pretty good
for people that are working for free.
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Right, right. We're bringing in some money. It's about $300,000 every decade.
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You went to private school. Holy cow. Overachiever.
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Yeah. Wow. So some of the things that we've bought, we have gifted, is I guess the correct
word, from our volunteers to the Rialto are things like one lady, Colette, was instrumental in
getting all of the couches throughout the place reupholstered.
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That may not sound like anything of importance. I mean, when you think about it, it's not
cheap. All right.
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This is old furniture and it needs to be done a certain way. And whoever, I can't remember who
she got. SNK, custom upholstery on Ruby Street and then Gilded Age Furniture Restoration,
also on Ruby Street, both in Joliet, did the restaining and reupholstery of all of the furniture.
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And they, I highly recommend them. They did a phenomenal job. Well, if SNK and Gilded are
listening, the Rock and Roll Chicago podcast is always looking for sponsors.
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Wait, I was going to say that for the Rialto volunteers. Sorry, it's our show. But he said he's
going to take it over.
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Yeah. Which he didn't bring anything shiny. So that's... Yeah.
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No guns today. Oh, you know, you just need the dangles, like a key or something. Oh, okay.
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That's all. A couple other things that we've purchased were, we gave to the Rialto all new digital
radios, which work crystal clear compared to... And that doesn't sound important either. But I
tell you what, when you're having issues with problems with customer seating or something,
somebody happens, somebody falling, you really need good communication.
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Right. We bought bar coolers to hold the beer and all that other stuff. Thank God.
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Warm beer. We put new... That's why the beers are like, you know, $12 a can. That's right.
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Got to pay for those freezers and refrigerators and stuff. Yeah. New lighting for the stage and
lighting board and lighting upgrades, which you guys will probably appreciate that if we got
some good stuff there.
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We purchased new rigging motors and motor controllers. That's for the lifting up of whatever
the stuff the stage guys do. I don't know.
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We put better speakers in the balcony or under the balcony. All new banquet chairs. We
purchased the Chicago Street digital sign.
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Apparently, we've paid for most of that. We did. We paid for most of that.
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Yeah, that's what you see that running constantly. Right, right, right, right. It's the one that's
over the doors.
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It's not the big marquee. Not the big marquee sign. Right.
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I don't know what we're looking to purchase next, but I'm on my own crusade. I'd like to see
and I talked to Zach about it. I have pictures and you might understand this stuff of instead of
having the big snakes running from the soundboard, that stuff just drives me nuts.
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It's big black cables in the way all the time. Well, they have newer stuff, maybe not fiber optics
and maybe not wireless, but what do you call it? Cat five cables, cat six cable. It's that big, can
be run anywhere, can be hid, can go from soundboard.
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I don't know if I'll go anywhere with that, but that's something that I pay attention when I go to
different clubs and whatnot. And that seems to be the way to go rather than having all these
huge snakes. Well, I know a guy that does those types of installs.
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So if you need to talk to somebody, I'll be more than happy to pass his name along. I don't
know how far that'll go because I think I overstepped my bounds a few times. Yeah.
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No, you know, you got an idea. You got to bring it forward. You have not because you ask not.
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Yeah, exactly. You always ask for more and you get less. That's right.
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Right, right. But, you know, being at the Blackberry Smoke concert and that was, I mean, that
was a rock concert, you know, Ray and I are both musicians, you know, have experience with
sounding a little bit. I thought the setup was pretty clean.
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Where'd you sit? We were like right by the soundboard. Okay, just to the left. Just to the left of
it.
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Yeah, we were. Yeah, we were very close to it. Like I could throw a beer can and hit the guy.
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Really, that's probably one of the best spots for sound in most theaters. I think our theater has
good sound almost everywhere. It really does.
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In most theaters, if you sit by the soundboard, you have the best sound. Yeah. But our theater
is pretty darn good.
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They've replaced the speakers, if I recall. I don't know what you call them. The ones that hang
from the ceiling.
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Right, the mains. Can I tell you a little story? Yeah. So when Tony Bennett was alive, Tony
Bennett, from what I understand, used to do this at other theaters that were in the same era.
(20:08 - 20:29)
Excuse me. And whenever he would perform at the Rialto, he would take one of his songs and
he would shut off all of the amplification. And he would sing it completely a cappella and you
could hear it perfectly all the way up to the very top row of the balcony because our theater was
built to have really good acoustics.
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And most people, when they come there, say how good the acoustics are. Now, some shows, it
might not be our sound people running the board, so that could make a difference. But usually
the sound is actually really, really good.
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Yeah, yeah. I think I was there for his last show. I had somehow I got front row seats.
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Oh, wow. It was just phenomenal. Yeah.
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You know, I was I was going to make the same exact comment. Theaters that old, they were
built specifically for that. Oh, sure.
(20:59 - 21:07)
Because, you know, there were plays and musicals would go on there. Absolutely. They weren't,
you know, they weren't mic'd up with wireless microphones like that.
(21:07 - 21:21)
You were relying completely on the voices of the actors on that stage to carry the sound all the
way to the back, farthest point of that theater. And they were built and designed specifically
that way. Now, you know, new venues that are going up, they're built as all purpose venues.
(21:21 - 21:26)
There could be a basketball game in there one night. There could be a rock concert the next
night. There could be a play the next night.
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There could be a craft fair the next day. So they're not specifically built to carry an actor's voice
or a singer's voice all the way to the back of the facility. But the Rialto was one of them.
(21:36 - 21:39)
And it sounds great. There is not a bad seat in the house. There's not.
(21:39 - 21:44)
There really isn't. There's not. You're listening to the Rock and Roll Chicago Podcast.
(21:44 - 21:58)
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(21:58 - 22:15)
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(22:40 - 22:57)
Then again on Thursdays at 7 p.m. you can hear our most current episode brought to you by
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(22:57 - 23:09)
From Chicago blues born on Maxwell Street to today's rock and roll and everything in between.
24-7, all music with its roots in Illinois. What else? Let's see.
(23:09 - 23:16)
Let's talk about, we've been talking about volunteers. We need more volunteers. Yeah.
(23:16 - 23:23)
You don't have to be my age. I'm 72. You can be 18 years old, 16 years old.
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You can be 85 years old. We have some volunteers, I believe three of them, that have been
there for 40 years. Wow, wow.
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40 years volunteering. Marie? I think Marie, no? I don't think Marie, but definitely Carmen and
Eva. Carmen and Eva have been there and these are two people that have been there for 40
years and they can do anything and they do everything.
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They will help with decorations. If you go to either one of them and say, hey, I got a question,
how do I handle this? They are just unbelievable. So there must be something to volunteering
at the Rialto if someone's been there for 40 years.
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Carmen and Eva actually met at the Rialto. I don't think you know this, Lou. They actually met at
the Rialto, fell in love, and eloped.
(24:13 - 24:16)
Wow. Wow. No kidding.
(24:16 - 24:29)
We actually have had probably three or four couples meet at the Rialto and either become live
together partners or actually get married. Wow. See, there's a song waiting to be written.
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There is. There you go. Wow, that's amazing.
(24:33 - 24:41)
Rialto romance. We need John to write that? Yeah. We can call it the ballad of Carmen and Eva.
(24:41 - 24:46)
Yeah. Something like that. And Carmen is actually one of our union stagehands.
(24:46 - 25:02)
Our stagehands are IATSE local number 124. I believe it's the second oldest stagehand union in
Illinois. And they are, in my opinion, the best bunch of guys and girls that are out there that do
the job and do it well and do it on time.
(25:03 - 25:06)
And nobody can beat them. Excellent. Excellent.
(25:06 - 25:28)
They definitely know how to set it up, get you in the door. And that back door is, if you've been
there, the back door is, we had the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee ceremony. The acts that
were getting ready to go on stage were 25 feet into the parking lot at the stage door.
(25:28 - 25:37)
Right. And we're talking about different people that, mobility issues. We had the Shilites.
(25:38 - 25:40)
Oh, wow. 65 years together. Yeah.
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And they were in, I think it's Shelton. Is it Shelton? The lead man. He was in a wheelchair.
(25:49 - 26:06)
And it just is amazing how our stagehands and people were able to keep that moving smoothly.
And there wasn't an inch of stage on stage right or whatever you call that. When you walked up
those steps, there was so many people waiting to go on stage.
(26:06 - 26:09)
It was, it was crowded. Wow. It was amazing.
(26:10 - 26:17)
To become a volunteer, I'm sure in your part time, Mike, you could, you could spare a day or
two. Both of you. Yeah.
(26:18 - 26:30)
What do you think? Do you need volunteers from 2 to 6 a.m.? You never know. See, if you're
going to sleep at that time, you're wasting those hours. I'm telling you right now.
(26:31 - 26:46)
Anybody that would be interested in being a volunteer, you can go to rialtosquare.com, right?
Rialtosquare.com. And then when you get into there, you go to support. And then I'm not that
computer good. Then you figure it out.
(26:47 - 26:58)
Then you go to the volunteer section under the support tab, and you can fill out an online
application right there. And then it will come to me probably within a day. Okay.
(26:58 - 27:04)
And Lou, you're the director of the volunteers? No, no, no. I'm a board member. Board
member.
(27:04 - 27:08)
Of the, of the volunteer. I'm on the board for the volunteer. Okay.
(27:10 - 27:14)
Leanne is kind of the director of all of us. Okay. Yeah.
(27:14 - 27:19)
Right. He's the Pied Piper over there. He's trying to get rid of the, oh no, that's St. Patrick.
(27:19 - 27:21)
Yeah. Trying to get rid of the snake. That's what it is.
(27:21 - 27:29)
Yes, that's what it is. Yeah, yeah. So you guys, you, you have both obviously seen a lot of
excellent performers there.
(27:30 - 27:40)
Who's your favorite performer? Oh my gosh. There's been too many to pick one. So could I give
you my top three? Sure.
(27:40 - 27:45)
Carol Burnett. Carol Burnett. And I was fortunate enough to actually meet her.
(27:45 - 27:47)
Wow. Okay. Glen Campbell.
(27:47 - 27:59)
Oh, of course. When he was coming through when he unfortunately had been diagnosed with
Alzheimer's and it was one of his last concerts. And probably Tony Bennett because he's a
legend.
(27:59 - 28:01)
Right. Right. Yeah.
(28:02 - 28:11)
So that's amazing. And people don't understand and realize that names like that, people like
that have performed at the Realtor. They don't realize that.
(28:11 - 28:25)
Lou, what about you? Well, my favorite would probably be the band Chicago that played a
couple of years ago. Who, who's that? It's a small band. We had front row seats in the orchestra
pit.
(28:25 - 28:34)
And when, I don't know his name, but when he came by with that trombone, I mean, you had to
move your head. I mean, James Pankow. Yeah.
(28:34 - 28:42)
Is that his name? Okay. That was a great show. I was thinking that Leanne's favorite person
probably was Engelbert.
(28:42 - 28:54)
Ah, Engelbert. What's his dink? Engelbert Humperdinck, who is actually coming back to the
Rialto on December 5th for his Winter World of Love, A Night of Holiday Classics and Greatest
Hits. Wow.
(28:54 - 28:58)
Okay. It's amazing how she just, off the top of her head, she knows this. There you go.
(28:58 - 29:10)
And she said, say Engelbert Humperdinck 10 times fast. That, I don't know if that could get
broadcast after probably the fourth time. So, so real quick, true story about Chicago for me.
(29:10 - 29:19)
I, I'd always wanted to see Chicago. When I was in high school, I had a friend with an older
brother who was a trombone player and he kept saying, oh, I love Chicago. You know, love
Chicago.
(29:19 - 29:27)
You got to go and see Chicago. So there's, there'd been about a dozen times over the course of
my life where I tried to see them. And I was always a day late and a dollar short.
(29:27 - 29:32)
Couldn't get a ticket. Couldn't get a ticket. I believe I even tried to see them the last time they
were at the Rialto.
(29:32 - 29:37)
Couldn't get a ticket. Right. Then it was about, about a year after the height of COVID.
(29:37 - 29:44)
So I'm going back maybe about four years or so. And I got called to go out of town. I ended up
in San Diego, California for a, for a convention.
(29:44 - 29:57)
And one of the guys that I was there with says, hey, did you hear that, that Chicago is playing at
the amphitheater here in San Diego? And I was like, no. He said, well, you got to check them
out. I said, I've been trying to see Chicago for like 12 years.
(29:57 - 30:07)
So I walked over to the amphitheater, walked right up to the box office, bought a ticket. I had to
go all the way to San Diego, California to see Chicago. And it was a great show.
(30:07 - 30:10)
I'm sure. Great show. And a theater very similar to the Rialto.
(30:10 - 30:21)
It was, I mean, old theater, very ornate, very, you know, the outside of the theater looked like
an old, like a, like a Hacienda. Oh, wow. But the inside of the theater was decorated very much
like the Rialto.
(30:22 - 30:38)
They, they put on an unbelievable show. I, I, I was going to the Rialto like probably 20 years, 15
years now. We had a business in town, so I would take my customers here and we sold the
business.
(30:38 - 30:45)
And then Peg and I says, well, what are we going to do? Let's become volunteers. We reeled you
in. Yeah.
(30:46 - 30:53)
But it was, it was worth it. My very first concert ever that I ever went to was Chicago and the
Poynter sisters. No kidding.
(30:53 - 30:58)
Oh, wow. At the great sounding international amphitheater. Oh my God.
(31:00 - 31:04)
The echoes in that place. That was my first show. Yeah, no kidding.
(31:05 - 31:12)
Wow. Wow. So, so are you, you got your script there? Do we get to the end of that yet? I want to
make sure you hit all your talking points on there.
(31:12 - 31:22)
Well, no, I wanted to talk about, you know, she mentioned one of the shows, Leanne mentioned
one of the shows. Our place, if you ever think of getting married again. Okay.
(31:23 - 31:35)
Is an unbelievable place to see or to have your wedding with those rich Corinthian columns.
People rent the Rialto for their weddings. They do.
(31:35 - 31:50)
And it's the lady that runs that, I believe is Nancy. You should see her running around with her
little headset and her microphone. I mean, she has, she has it down to a science and you can't
get better pictures than the ones.
(31:50 - 31:54)
Of course. In the rotunda or on the stair, on the grand staircase. I guess you have to call it that.
(31:54 - 31:58)
Or the esplanade. Yes. Eating empanadas.
(31:58 - 32:04)
Yes. And then I'm not good at this word. I'm not Spanish, but I worked one.
(32:05 - 32:08)
Quiseñera. Quiseñera. There you go.
(32:08 - 32:20)
Okay. I'm very, I wrote it down and I tried to learn how to say it, but I've been, I worked one of
them. And it's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen is these young girls.
(32:20 - 32:23)
And it's as they're becoming. I would agree. I would agree.
(32:23 - 32:28)
The most beautiful thing you'd ever see are the young girls. Yes. Okay.
(32:29 - 32:40)
That's another show. But they, they dress up and they have their, it's almost like a wedding.
That's the kind of party atmosphere it is.
(32:40 - 32:46)
So the place to go for a good wedding or a good. Quiseñera. Okay.
(32:47 - 32:53)
The young kids these days just call it a quince. Oh, okay. They just call it a quince.
(32:53 - 32:59)
They shortened it. Good to know. But it's, it's just one beautiful place to do that.
(32:59 - 33:10)
And speaking of weddings at the place, I believe on October 17th and October 25th, there's a
wedding show. No, no. They're actual weddings.
(33:11 - 33:18)
Oh, these, oh. But coming up in February of 2026, we will be having our wedding expo. I say we
crash the weddings.
(33:19 - 33:23)
Yeah. Okay. Scratch my comment on the date.
(33:25 - 33:41)
When I saw that, I thought those were, was expos, but if you want to have a wedding there,
come there in February and go to this expo. Different people are there. Different food vendors,
I'm assuming, flower vendors, maybe bands.
(33:41 - 33:45)
I don't know. You guys probably are not a band, a wedding band. Oh, sure we are.
(33:45 - 33:52)
Oh, yes, they are. Absolutely. If you guys are looking for a band for a wedding at the Rialto, we
would be more than happy to do that.
(33:52 - 34:00)
Well, get the date from Leanne and come and set up a booth and you'll be fine. We'll connect
you to Nancy. That's a pretty good idea.
(34:00 - 34:03)
We'll talk after this. Okay. Yeah, absolutely.
(34:03 - 34:15)
Well, some of the shows coming up are Sweet Caroline starring Jay White. Unbelievable. What
do you call it? Neil Diamond tribute.
(34:16 - 34:20)
Neil Diamond tribute. Just fabulous. Staying Alive, a BG tribute.
(34:20 - 34:23)
Another one that I've seen that's good. That's not good. It's great.
(34:25 - 34:30)
Meatloaf, obviously not the real one. But it is his band. Is it? It's Meatloaf's band.
(34:30 - 34:32)
Okay. Wow. Okay.
(34:32 - 34:42)
And they're doing a tribute to Meatloaf and Rocky Horror because a lot of people don't realize
Meatloaf was actually in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. He played Eddie. Exactly.
(34:43 - 34:50)
What else we got? We got Yachtly Crew coming. Good Yacht Rocks type of stuff. Yachtly Crew.
(34:50 - 34:53)
Oh, wow. I love Yacht Rock, but that name, wow. That's fun.
(34:54 - 35:11)
And it's actually SEAS, S-E-A-S, Seas the Night Tour. Steve Hackett, Music of Genesis. It's just,
they don't get any better than these people that are coming there.
(35:11 - 35:20)
I'm not too interested in this Elmo and Friends, but if you got kids, come on down for Elmo. It's
a fun show for Elmo. Clint Black is coming.
(35:22 - 35:28)
Yeah. He is old time royal country. He's like on a comeback tour.
(35:29 - 35:39)
I saw that. It's called something like Back on the Blacktop. I just saw that because he went away
for a long time and he's starting to play again.
(35:40 - 35:47)
We also have Swan Lake coming. It's a ballet. Those are not my favorite, but I've seen a couple
of the ballets there.
(35:48 - 36:00)
They're beautiful. We just had Great Gatsby Ballet, which was just phenomenal. And then we
also have the one from, is it Croatia? The State Ballet of Ukraine.
(36:00 - 36:02)
Ukraine. Oh, wow. Unbelievable.
(36:03 - 36:13)
Then we have a Motown Christmas coming. The guys from Motown are just fabulous. If you
want a show that's going to make you get out of your seat and move, it's Motown Christmas.
(36:14 - 36:26)
Now, are they the actual Motown artists or are they just a bunch of, are there four guys up
there and they're calling them the Four Tops? No, they're not called the Four Tops. They're not
called the Temptations. It's the Motown.
(36:26 - 36:32)
Okay. So I'm sure you are familiar with it. Most bands might have one.
(36:33 - 36:37)
Temptations have Otis. Right, right. I don't know who Four Tops have.
(36:38 - 36:54)
Most of the bands have one guy left in the band, but these are people that are filled in on every
single band out there that's played. So it is the Motown artists. It's not just a bunch of people
that auditioned for a play called Motown Christmas.
(36:54 - 36:57)
No, correct. It is Motown artists. I was getting at.
(36:57 - 36:57)
Yeah. Okay. All right.
(36:58 - 37:11)
Then we've got comedy shows coming up. And if you like, not paranormal, what would you call
Teresa Caputo? Teresa Caputo is known as the Long Island medium. So it would be paranormal.
(37:12 - 37:18)
So if you like paranormal things, she'll be- Yeah, she's the lady with the big blong. Right, right,
right. And the six inch stiletto heels.
(37:19 - 37:36)
Yes. So if you like anything with paranormal, she'll be coming down and she'll be reading
people out of the audience and things like that and going through and stuff. And today or
yesterday, we just announced, I hope I pronounced this correctly, the Perdoni Stunt Dog
Experiment, I believe is what it's called.
(37:36 - 37:56)
And it's a bunch of stunt dogs that I think were on one of the local, not local, one of the talent
show contests. I believe that's where they're from, but it's going to be a whole bunch of stunt
dogs doing a bunch of really amazing things. So if you like dogs, come on down for that.
(37:56 - 38:02)
Right, right. As volunteers, I don't want to clean up after that. Someone else has that job.
(38:03 - 38:06)
We better get paid for that one. Yes. So you guys do movies too.
(38:06 - 38:10)
We do. Since it was a movie theater, yeah. We do.
(38:10 - 38:31)
We have coming up towards the end of this month, part of our Reels of the Rialto, Reels at the
Rialto, excuse me, series, we will be showing Young Frankenstein. And then we have three
holiday movies that will be put on by our foundation. We'll be showing Home Alone, the Polar
Express, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
(38:31 - 38:34)
And all that information can be found on our website. Right. Very cool.
(38:34 - 38:41)
Excellent. You have movies year round, correct? We do. We have a whole Reels at the Rialto
series.
(38:41 - 38:48)
So once a month, we do show a movie. Nice, nice. So before we run out of time, I've enjoyed
talking with you guys a lot.
(38:48 - 38:57)
Um, we want to push this fundraiser because this sounds like it's really important to you guys.
What is the date again? I should know because I'm going to be there. You're going to be there.
(38:58 - 39:03)
That's right. That's right. What is the date of that? It is Friday, November 14th.
(39:03 - 39:15)
Yes, November 14th. It'll be at the Corrigan's Pub, 700 West Jefferson in Shorewood. Now, is it
going to be at the, in the back banquet and performance? So it holds a lot of people back there.
(39:15 - 39:24)
There's a bar and everything available back there. Um, what's, so it's $20 a ticket. So what's all
included in the $20? It just gets you in the door.
(39:24 - 39:30)
It gets you in the door and getting to see one of the best bands. Cadillac Groove. I agree.
(39:30 - 39:40)
The lead singer is kind of an ass though. He really is. No, I am really, I am absolutely looking
forward to, uh, to, to doing this with you guys.
(39:40 - 39:52)
So, um, I mean, is there going to be food, you know, beverages available? Okay. The deal with
beverages, there will be a bar in the back there that'll be open. And, uh, you'll be able to get
whatever you want from the bar.
(39:53 - 39:59)
Okay. It's cash bar. And when it comes to food, we recommend that you get there a half an
hour to an hour ahead of time.
(39:59 - 40:10)
So you can go into the restaurant portion and, or eat there, or you can carry it into the back.
Right. Um, the food is phenomenal.
(40:10 - 40:19)
Uh, shepherd's pie, uh, uh, you, I can go on and on the stuff that they have there. It's just good
food there. Right.
(40:19 - 40:34)
Right. Um, but you, you can get whatever you want up front and bring it to the back. One of the
other things that we're going to be raffling off a guitar, that is it possible for the first set you
could be playing that guitar? We plan on doing that.
(40:34 - 40:36)
Excellent. Absolutely. Yeah.
(40:36 - 40:42)
I just noticed here, I'm donating a guitar. It's on the flyer. Yeah.
(40:42 - 40:48)
It's going to be signed by Cadillac group. Yeah. So Cadillac group is donating the guitar.
(40:48 - 40:58)
Chances are, um, our lead guitar player, Scott Evans, he's probably going to be playing this
guitar for maybe up until the point that you raffle it off. That'd be perfect. That'd be great.
(40:59 - 41:09)
Um, I, you actually gave it to me last year. I won it. You won the guitar and you really that's so
you're so, okay.
(41:09 - 41:11)
So obviously it didn't mean anything. He's given away the guitar. Right.
(41:13 - 41:24)
No, I went for lessons and, uh, I realized that I didn't know which way to hold the guitar. So, um,
the only thing I would like is I'll make sure I bring a marker. Okay.
(41:24 - 41:27)
We need to add Donna's name to it. We do. Yes.
(41:27 - 41:37)
Yeah. Donna has to be added for those that don't know Cadillac group added Donna. Um, I
guess I can't call her a lead singer.
(41:37 - 41:48)
That would piss somebody off here. Uh, female lead, female lead vocalist, female lead vocalist.
And she does an excellent job there, which I guarantee you will like her.
(41:48 - 41:53)
Um, so I will bring that guitar. Maybe I'll bring it ahead of time. Yeah.
(41:54 - 42:01)
Uh, to one of your next shows so that your gentlemen can tune it. So it's, it was tuned before I
got it. I've never really played it.
(42:01 - 42:05)
I mean, we can, I mean, it takes a minute. We can do it. Okay.
(42:05 - 42:16)
It's not, it's not a big deal, but yeah. I mean, yeah. So this is the one did, did you win it at the
fundraiser that we did for here, for here back in October at the Renaissance.
(42:17 - 42:25)
Okay. And so, and you won the guitar that day and decided, well, I'm going to give it to the
Rialto now or whatever to, to, to raffle it off. That's great.
(42:25 - 42:28)
That's great. We're going to, we're going to extremely generous. We're going to re-raffle it.
(42:30 - 42:35)
That's great. And speaking of raffles, don't forget, we're going to be doing 50, 50. Right.
(42:35 - 42:43)
Yeah. Yes. And we'll have people going around where we're going to do our best to raise funds
for the Joe, for the Rialto.
(42:44 - 43:03)
Right. Speaking of raising funds, anybody that would like to see all these shows that we just
talked about at the Rialto, you can become a star member. A star member gives you the ability
to buy tickets before they go on sale to the open public, not for this show.
(43:03 - 43:21)
I'm talking about for all the shows at the Rialto and you can as a person, you can buy it and buy
the different levels. And as a corporation, you can buy your level and then write that off as a
donation as we are a 501. C3.
(43:22 - 43:33)
Yeah. You get, you get special treatment at the Rialto when you become a star member, you get
to go in your own door to get in. You get.
(43:34 - 43:38)
That's a lot of doors. About 10 minutes before the general public too. That's right.
(43:38 - 43:55)
We let you into the theater before the general public gets in. You get a wristband for those of
you, Mike, did I say that? That drink a lot or would Mike want to drink? You get a, your own line
to get to the bar so that you can get your drinks faster. Wow.
(43:56 - 44:02)
Priority bar service. What about an IV? IV service? Not yet. We might be working on that though.
(44:02 - 44:03)
Perfect. Perfect. Yeah.
(44:04 - 44:24)
I have a service. Nevermind. So this fundraiser, the idea is, is we're trying to raise some more
funds and raise the ability to get more volunteers to come to work at the Rialto and to show
that it's a lot of fun.
(44:24 - 44:36)
With our money for this, I can't say what it's going to go for just because I have an idea of a
different sound system. That doesn't matter. We may need new, we may need new seats or
something at the Rialto.
(44:36 - 44:46)
We may need new light bulbs or something, but our idea is we can, we help the Rialto. Right. So
I see on here, there is a barcode that you can scan to order tickets.
(44:46 - 45:08)
Where can people find this online? Because I mean, we're not going to walk around Juliet and
start handing people a flyer, right? So where can we go online to find all of this? They can find it
on a website. And if you give me a moment, I'm sorry, I have to turn my phone back on to get
the actual address for the website. So it'll give me a moment.
(45:08 - 45:14)
Or they can go to the Rialto Square Theater Volunteers Facebook page. Okay. And they can find
it there.
(45:15 - 45:21)
But my phone is being very slow with turning on. I'm sorry. Ray's got his computer right here.
(45:21 - 45:22)
Let's see. He's a whiz. Yeah.
(45:23 - 45:34)
Come on. Or can't they call this number too, Lou? Yes, you can call that number on the bottom
or text that number. And if you're within a 10 mile radius, I'll actually deliver the tickets.
(45:34 - 45:48)
Well, we can tell them this because I'll tell you, because I mean, I'm holding a piece of paper
here. And if people, for some reason, can't find you online. So the number you can call is 815-
693-9343.
(45:48 - 45:55)
And you can order tickets. They're $20 a piece, right? Right. And that gets you to the fundraiser.
(45:55 - 46:00)
Correct. Right. And then did you find it online? I'm really close.
(46:00 - 46:07)
I found something else that I just saw a few weeks ago. You have this thing, a 1926 campaign.
Tell us what that's about.
(46:07 - 46:36)
The 1926 campaign is actually a fundraiser for the Rialto that has actually technically ended, but
people can certainly always donate to it. And we just asked that people would give $19.26 in
honor of our 100th year because we opened in 1926. And that money goes right to, I believe,
the Rialto Square Theatre Foundation, who is the fundraising arm of the theater.
(46:36 - 46:44)
And that helps them also with fundraising and giving back to the theater. Excellent. Excellent.
(46:44 - 46:51)
That's not pulling up. I'll tell you what, we'll find it. We also have a fan page for the podcast.
(46:51 - 46:57)
Yeah, we'll put it up on there. Post whatever you want to it. And isn't it also on the Cadillac
Groove page? It should be.
(46:58 - 47:05)
Well, we created an invite to it. So everybody that likes the Cadillac Groove page is going to get
an invite to come. Wonderful.
(47:05 - 47:11)
And we're pushing it. But our page is the Rock and Roll Chicago podcast friends page. Right.
(47:11 - 47:19)
You can post anything you want up there. The word might get out to a few people that are not
fans of the Cadillac Groove page. Well, they should be.
(47:19 - 47:22)
Everybody should be a fan of Cadillac Groove. They should be. I agree.
(47:23 - 47:43)
I agree. Now, for getting the tickets, if you use our barcode or go online, which Leanne's going
to find the online location, you save $5 by doing it. If you text me that 815 number, you'll give
me your address and whatnot.
(47:44 - 48:11)
And I'll actually deliver the tickets if you're within about 10 miles from this area. Prefer cash
because I don't carry a card reader on me. And if they want to go online, they can go to Rialto-
Square-Theater-Volunteers.Square.Site. Say that again.
(48:13 - 48:19)
I knew you were going to do that. You are so mean. Okay.
(48:19 - 48:32)
Or if nothing else, they could actually call the Rialto Square Theater at 815-726-7171. And call
my extension, which is 2106. And they can order their tickets through me too.
(48:33 - 48:36)
All righty. And sign up for an email from the theater. Absolutely.
(48:36 - 48:39)
I get my emails all the time. That's how I know who's coming. That's right.
(48:39 - 48:42)
That's right. Well, all right. I think we're good.
(48:42 - 48:45)
I think we've covered everything. Yeah. Well, thanks a lot for coming out.
(48:45 - 48:52)
It was a pleasure having you guys out here tonight. Yeah, absolutely. It was so refreshing not
having just a band in here.
(48:52 - 48:54)
Yeah. Something different. Something different.
(48:54 - 49:06)
All the time. We love doing it. At some point, I'd really like to be able to come back with Leanne
and have a big thing regarding the Rialto itself.
(49:06 - 49:20)
We only touched the surface of this place. The Rialto has got so much history that it would be
good if we could sneak back in and commandeer this place again. We'd have to do like a threepart
documentary.
(49:21 - 49:23)
Okay. Okay. Right.
(49:23 - 49:25)
That's right. Fabulous. Keep Paulie busy.
(49:25 - 49:32)
Yeah, that's right. I'd like to thank Ray and Mike for allowing Leanne and I to come on your
podcast. Oh, our pleasure.
(49:32 - 49:34)
Quite welcome. Thank you so much. Thanks, guys.
(49:35 - 49:45)
The Rock and Roll Chicago podcast is edited by Paul Martin. Theme song courtesy of MNR Rush.
The Rock and Roll Chicago podcast does not own the rights to any of the music heard on the
show.
(49:45 - 49:47)
The music is used to promote the guests that are featured.