Andrea Prestinario likes to think of herself as a “proud mama of the Paramount,” with good reason.
The New York actor, who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and whose family has strong ties to Aurora, was the first star of the downtown theater’s Broadway Series, playing the lead role of Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” back in its 2011 inaugural season, and returning in 2014 for the role of Maureen Johnson in “Rent.”
Prestinario is back again, this time in a starring role in the Paramount’s hit show “Come From Away” that is running through Oct. 12. And its this professional journey that makes the 43-year-old native of Palos Hills an up-close-and-personal witness to how the Paramount Theatre has evolved, not to mention how it has contributed to the success of the city itself.
Prestinario is, of course, well aware of Mayor John Laesch’s controversial efforts to dramatically cut funding to the Aurora Civic Center Authority, which in turn cancelled its Bold Series at Copley Theatre, raising plenty of angst about the future of the Paramount, which ACCA oversees.
She’s also well aware of how much downtown Aurora has changed over the years. Prestinario can vividly recall the pessimism surrounding the 2011 opening of the Broadway Series, when “a lot of people” in her profession saw it as a “terrible idea.”
After she was booked to play Eliza Doolittle, Prestinario even overheard a director telling someone about that “new theater doing ‘My Fair Lady,’” then quickly adding, “Yeah, good luck with that … that’s going to fail.”
“Everyone thought it would be a bomb,” she said of the notion talented Chicago actors would go all the way to Aurora to perform on a stage no one had heard of.
“There was so much pressure on that production to be successful,” Prestinario remembered, also mentioning her own misgivings when she found out on the first day of (an early rehearsal) that when she asked for a “ditty bag” – a standard theater item that holds an actor’s personal belongings – “they did not even know what that was.”
Of course, no one felt that pressure more than Paramount President Tim Rater, who will never forget how nervous he and Creative Director Jim Corti were at that Wednesday afternoon matinee when an audience got its first look at “My Fair Lady.”
Making matters worse, the final dress rehearsal the day before had been an absolute disaster, with everything from wardrobe to set issues.
And so, he and Corti – knowing the risk they had taken and what was at stake – sat next to each other behind the not-so-large audience in total silence.
“We did not say a word to each other,” even after the thunderous applause at intermission, Rater told me, “because we thought we would jinx the second act.”
The audience, it turned out, loved the entire show. And so did the critics.
The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jones used the word “gloom” while also describing Aurora as a “struggling Midwestern downtown” in that 2011 review. But he went on to praise the “very auspicious debut for the Paramount,” as a “fully professional and beautifully created rendition of a grand Broadway musical.”
And if this kind of quality could be sustained, he added, it could usher in a “thrilling new era for Aurora.”
Jones also had nothing but praise for Prestinario, writing that “she acts and sings like she’s been waiting for this chance for years.”
Which she had. And which is why the actor, who moved to New York City a couple years after “My Fair Lady,” feels she owes much of her successful career to Rater, Corti and company.
“We pulled ‘My Fair Lady off,’” she told me, but what followed is “a testament to the brilliance” of the Paramount “visionaries” and their staff.
Rater goes further, however, adamantly stating “Andrea saved my career” because of her stellar performance in “My Fair Lady.” And that first show, in turn, set the tone for the kind of high-quality performances audiences have come to expect at the Paramount – the number one subscription-based theater in the country.
“It’s been incredibly difficult but also rewarding,” said Rater of the “time, resources and energy” that have gone into building the Paramount’s reputation.
“People expect high-quality shows so we will protect that branding at all costs going forward, no matter what happens in the coming months,” he insisted, referring to the crucial budget discussions that will soon begin at City Council meetings.
From her front and center position, Prestinario, now playing the role of American Airlines captain Beverley Bass in “Come From Away,” wonders how the city could even think about cutting back financial help for a theater that has put it on the map. Even the growth from that 2011 show to 2014 when she came back for “Rent” was “unbelievable,” she said.
“When I was here for ‘My Fair Lady,’ there were like two or three restaurants to go to after a show. Now there are so many, not to mention bookstores, thrift shops and other businesses …”
Downtown Aurora “has turned into such a charming district,” added the actor, who also returns to the area to see family, many of whom still live in the Fox Valley and other Chicago suburbs.
“I’ve worked all over the country and I’ve never seen a theater so on top” of things, she noted. “They cross their t’s and dot their i’s … not all theaters are operating on that scale.”
From an audience perspective, her mother agrees.
Not only has Pam Bohr Prestinario, born and raised in Aurora along with five siblings, been a longtime subscriber to the Paramount, she has season tickets for Drury Lane, Marriott and TimeLine theaters. And she’s convinced the Paramount has “raised the bar” for other venues to “keep up with the production value” that has come to define all its shows.
“What the Paramount did for downtown Aurora is phenomenal,” said Pam, noting that at each show she’s attended, whether those big-stage musicals, Copley Theatre’s now-cancelled Bold Series or “Million Dollar Quartet” at Stolp Island Theater, “a group of about 14 or 15 of us always have dinner” at one of the restaurants downtown.
“Downtown Aurora is now so clean and bright,” she said. “It’s just so inviting to come here.”
For daughter Andrea, this latest professional stint in town has been “such a beautiful homecoming,” with so many family, friends – even her sixth-grade reading teacher – who’ve been in the audiences to enjoy her performance in “Come From Away.”
“I’ve watched the Paramount growing exponentially,” said Prestinario. “This moment in time is critical for the city of Aurora, for the Paramount, for its subscribers” as well as for the entire community.
dcrosby@tribpub.com
