Auditorium Theatre 2019-2020 Trinity Irish Dance Company

12 | AUDITORIUM THEATRE 2019-20 | January 18 - March 8, 2020 This year, the Auditorium Theatre celebrates the 15 th anniversary of Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz-Gospel Messiah in Chicago! This cherished production, held over the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend, brings audiences from across Chicagoland together by celebrating Dr. King’s vision of “beloved community.” It also brings together some of the Auditorium’s most faithful friends. The Auditorium’s Friends of Too Hot , a dedicated group of people who financially support the production annually, have played an unequivocal role in championing Too Hot and the powerful message of tolerance, peace, and understanding it spreads throughout our community. From this generous group of donors, two people in particular are going above and beyond to ensure the future of Too Hot at the Auditorium: Darrell Windle and Dave Samber have generously agreed to support the production with a five-year Presenting Sponsorship! Darrell and Dave, life partners for over 42 years, are no strangers to the Auditorium. In fact, Darrell remembers coming to The Auditorium right after its late 1960s renovation: “I especially loved the production of Hello, Dolly! with Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway in 1971. Phantom of the Opera was also a huge favorite of mine. Imagine how the architecture here added to its drama and spectacle!” Something to Celebrate: Too Hot Presenting Sponsors Darrell Windle & Dave Samber Dave Samber and Darrell Windle Darrell was also a founding member of The Saints, Chicago’s corps of volunteers for the performing arts (a Saint probably helped you find your seat in the theatre today!). It was as a Saint that Darrell first started serving as a volunteer usher at the Auditorium in the 1980s. His favorite memory of the Auditorium was celebrating his 70 th birthday here. Darrell shares, “In lieu of gifts, my guests surprised me with a donation to the Auditorium Theatre to purchase the Too Hot to Handel conductor’s podium. It now bears my name!” Dave has supported Too Hot in a very different way. Dave is owner of The Polo Inn Bridgeport U.S.A. and continues to be one of Chicago’s most celebrated top chefs. He generously hosted the 10 th anniversary party for Too Hot in 2014 with performers Rodrick Dixon, Alfreda Burke, Karen Marie Richardson, and many others in attendance. This winter, the Too Hot 15 th anniversary party will also take place back in The Old Eagle Room at The Polo Inn. When asked why he chooses to support Too Hot , Dave shares, “I can think of no grander way of spreading the important messages of unity and peace than through Handel’s great Messiah through the lens of Dr. King’s contributions to our society. After hearing Too Hot in the splendor of the Auditorium Theatre, I wonder why Handel didn’t compose it that way in the first place!” Darrell and Dave’s act of generosity not only promises that the two public performances of Too Hot continue to grace the Auditorium stage — it also guarantees 2,000 students will come annually to our National Historic Landmark to experience the Too Hot Student Matinee, connecting this concert and its message of “beloved community” to their classroom curriculum. Additionally, their support helps ensure that the Auditorium’s Too Hot correctional facility and youth center engagement continues for the fourth year in a row. This year, residents at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, LA will see a live-stream of the Darrell Windle and Dave Samber have generously agreed to support Too Hot with a five-year Presenting Sponsorship!