Mike Royko is a seminal influence on—and expression of—Chicago culture. Even today, if many locals might not know who Royko was, millions across the country do—his column was syndicated in 600 newspapers. The Pulitzer prize-winning columnist published non-stop for 30 years, starting at the now defunct Chicago Daily News, moving to its surviving sibling Chicago Sun-Times, and finally going to the Chicago Tribune to escape working for Rupert Murdoch when the media titan acquired the morning tabloid.
Royko’s columns were both fearless in tackling those in power, and immensely funny. So is “Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago,” the excellent one-man show now playing at Chopin Theatre. “Royko” is the brainchild of writer and performer Mitchell Bisschop, whose script artfully draws from the spectrum of Royko’s work. Those columns were serious and wry, courageous and, occasionally, sentimental, but the subtext remained throughout—calling out injustice, and for righting wrongs, especially from the powerful and politically connected.
While Royko’s own words power much of the script, for Bisschop, building a dramatic storyline, and selecting from so much material, was probably the greatest challenge. And he has succeeded in spades. As a performer, Bisschop captures Royko the man, and we have no trouble buying in. While there isn’t much movement on the stage—we see Royko at his desk, and at the tavern—he was a writer and talker first.
Some of the scenes include multimedia production: split screen projections and videos from original source, or recreated with Bisschop playing Royko on camera in moments that wouldn’t have been captured. Or reading from his own writing, like the scene early on in which Royko questioned why Frank Sinatra was getting 24-hour Chicago police guards while in town, even as ordinary citizens fended for themselves on streets and subways.
Never one for understatement, Royko also cited Sinatra’s mob ties, said he punched an elderly drunk, and claimed Sinatra wore a toupee. That May 1976 column earned Royko an angry retort from Sinatra, which came in that period’s equivalent of a flaming post: a letter to the editor. Sinatra told Royko his sources were wrong, called him a pimp, and offered a $100,000 if he could prove he punched an elderly drunk. Sinatra also challenged Royko to pull his wig off.
A Chicago high school graduate with Polish and Ukrainian parents, Royko was funny, irreverent, and always remained a self-empowered voice for the average Joe on the street. Royko was a burr under the saddle of Mayor Richard J. Daley, who barred him from the City Hall pressroom. Royko’s best-selling 1971 book on Daley, “Boss,” was also banned at certain retailers in the city, but remains the definitive exploration of the Chicago democratic political machine at its time. Royko’s notoriety in the political class may be one reason we saw a packed house opening night, which included Royko’s son Sam, who ran for alderman last cycle, and former Illinois governor Pat Quinn, among numerous political influencers and forces.
Royko wrote in a sophisticated yet colloquial style that embodied Chicago argot, the same language that succeeding generations of immigrants adopt as the influences of their native tongues dissipate. That speech is parodied on Saturday Night Live during the heyday of Dan Akroyd and John Belushi - “Da Bears” - the latter is a nephew of Royko. Like other journalists, Royko hung out at the Billy Goat Tavern, the subterranean Wacker Drive burger joint also made famous by Belushi.
Bisschop includes many key Royko-isms—his love of 16-inch softball; the fictional Slats Grobnik, an earthy tavern-dweller that voiced bald remarks even Royko dared not speak— and his ineffable characterizations of the Chicago political scene. Royko suggested Chicago change its motto from Urbs in horto (city in a garden) to “Where’s mine?” He noted the steadfast loyalty of Chicago politicians. “When someone takes a bribe here, they stay bought.”
At times he could soar, and Bisschop includes Royko’s column after the assassination of Martin Luther King, and exploration of the responsibility we all carry for harboring or passively assenting to the sentiments that led to the shooting. Another, about a woman running a dry cleaning shop that doubles as a neighborhood hangout, and is threatened by a national chain, is truly moving.
Royko’s influence was strongly felt by comedians and producers at a local humor factory, Second City, the Wells Street institution. That list includes Bisschop, and also Beth Kligerman, a producer of this Royko show who for 25 years was casting director and producer at Second City. (Also producing is actress Lecy Goranson, a Chicago-native and well-known for her role as the daughter Becky on the “Roseanne” TV series.)
Compared with other one-man shows, “Royko” has a tendency to be static. Bischopp perhaps could move around the stage a bit more. Some technical matters need adjustment. When we hear the other side of a phone conversation, the amplification overpowers the non-amplified Royko. Overall, director Steve Scott (more than 25 years with Goodman) elicits a strong performance from Bisschop, and blends the multimedia elements well into the production.
Highly recommended, “Royko: The Toughest Man In Chicago” runs through September 29, 2024 at the Chopin Theatre in Chicago.
