Victory Gardens Theater fires 18 workers; staff say they were trying to unionize

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The future of a venerable Chicago theater is in doubt, after 18 employees were fired.

The staff members say they were let go after trying to unionize. Without them, the fabric and the future of the famed Victory Gardens Theater is a big question mark.

The marquee at Victory Gardens Theater was blank on Friday, with no coming attractions; a season cut short, because the staff was cut loose.

"Sadly, I don't think there'll be a future for the theater. I think that what they're trying to do is end Victory Gardens," said  former marketing manager Bo Frazier.

Victory Gardens is a Tony Award-winning theater, located near Lincoln and Fullerton Avenues in Lincoln Park since 1974. It has a history for showcasing young playwrights.

"Bring in all of these people from around the community, and have their stories be told; people who are just now getting started, giving them a chance to actually have their work be presented on stage," Frazier said.

Now its staff – all 18 members – speak of the theater in past tense. All of them were terminated, and they said none of them have been given a reason why.

"The timing of our firing came before we were able to finish the process of unionizing," said former new play development coordinator Katzuk Aitis.

The staff wanted to be part of a union.

Then their latest show – Cullud Wattah – ended two weeks early.

"It was about three generations of black women facing the Flint water crisis," Frazier said.

The playwright said the values of the board did not align with her own.

So who's working there now?

"No one. Bob," Frazier said.

So we went to see Bob Hingsbergen, the theater's new executive director, but he said he wasn't ready to talk.

Victory Gardens later issued a statement saying that, going forward, the theater will "bring productions to our stage by theaters that do not have a permanent home." The theater also said, because they won't be producing plays in the near future, they had to reduce their workforce:

"On September 5, 2022, the Victory Gardens Theater Board of Directors voted to transition the organization to a foundation aimed at supporting theatrical endeavors aligned with the organization's mission to nurture relevant, new theater work reflecting the diverse stories of our world and contributing to the vitality of the American Theater. While we are still working through the details, the hope is that we can achieve this goal through financial and in-kind support to bring productions to our stage by theaters that do not have a permanent home. 

This was a difficult decision following more than two challenging years amid the pandemic with cancelled or abbreviated seasons, low audience turn-out and staffing gaps as more and more workers have left the nonprofit theater. This decision was not taken lightly. Unfortunately, a consequence of this decision was a reduction in workforce given that the theater will not produce its own plays in the near future. As a long-time equity theater, this decision was based solely on these operational realities and the challenging market we face. 

While the organization's operations will change, Victory Gardens Theater will endure. We remain committed to our vision to bring stories to the stage that help ignite social change for a better world. We hope to have the support of the community in these efforts as we near the theater's 50th anniversary. Additional information regarding the foundation and its future direction will be released later this fall."

Their fired staff said that means a move to rent the space out, rather than developing their own content.

"We have no idea why they are completely tossing away this theater," one of the fired workers said.

The former staffers set up a GoFundMe while they look for new jobs, which has already raised more than half of its $20,000 goal.

Still the only victory for the former staffers was looking for was being at Victory Gardens as a unionized group.