What happened to that retirement, Hollis Resnik? The veteran Chicago stage actress says she's still on track.

Jul. 30--There was a kid next to me at Chicago Shakespeare Theater's "The Wizard of Oz" on Navy Pier, booing the Wicked Witch of the West.

I turned and frowned.

"What you doing, you pint-sized witch hater?," I wanted to ask. "That's Hollis Resnik up there. Before you were even a concept, she was Fantine in "Les Miserables."

Do you even know at whom you shake your little fist?

Yet more remarkably, although unappreciated by my seat mate, it was possible on this hot summer morning to experience all that is Resnik at the unsavory hour of 11 in the morning.

Most divas don't make any public appearances before noon as a matter of honor. You don't find Patti LuPone strutting around in a cape at that hour. Not without a bloody mary, anyway. And certainly not on the so-called People's Pier, for goodness sake.

Something else was strange. The last time I talked to Resnik, maybe a year ago, she had said she was retiring. Yet there she was with the Munchkins and the pooch, pulling the early-morning jeers with a cackle. This assignment fell hard upon an appearance at the Northlight Theatre as Celeste Fielding in George Brant's "Into the Breeches," which fell hard upon an appearance in "Nell Gwynn," also at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Plus, come this fall, Resnik will take on no less than Norma Desmond in the upcoming Porchlight Music Theatre production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Sunset Boulevard."

What happened to that retirement? It does not seem to going as planned.

"I'm still on that track," Resnik insisted when I reached her during one of the few daytime hours she is not visiting Oz. "I'm 64 years old, you know. And my voice is not what is used to be."

I demurred at that.

"You know, I haven't got my social security yet. I am waiting until I am 66 and can also get my Medicare. These are the things that a journeyman actor has to think about. I'm single. I'm not a wealthy woman by any stretch of the imagination."

Few would call Resnik a journeyman performer. She has had, is still having, the most distinguished of careers in the American theater, mostly in Chicago, typified by playing leading roles in scores of musicals at theaters like the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire and the Goodman Theatre, along with a number of national tours, most recently "Sister Act."

Among the highlights? How much time do you have? Eva Peron in "Evita" at the Candelight Theatre (1985); Audrey in "Little Shop of Horrors at Candlelight (1986); Edith Piaf in "Piaf" at Interplay (1992); Charlotte in "A Little Night Music" at the Ravinia Festival (2002); Aldonza in "Man of La Mancha" at Court (2005); Edith Beale in "Grey Gardens" at Northlight; and, for sure, her spectacular Fraulein Schneider in Katie Spelman's 2018 production of "Cabaret" at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora.

Resnik's work as Fantine, a role she played for about 20 months in various road companies during the glory days of the musical (recently again in Chicago) was perhaps the high point, but this has been an enviable career.

Then again, as several Steppenwolf ensemble members have found out, it is challenging for women to find sufficient acting work in their 60s. Many quit the business. Many wouldn't want to hit the Yellow Brick Road, two shows daily, for a summer. But when you need to make your weeks for insurance, a summer gig is a summer gig. Plus projects like "The Wizard of Oz" can be attractive: you don't have to work nights and, at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, you can be assured of being treated reasonably well.

A first outing as Norma Desmond, though, is another matter entirely. "Michael Weber has been wanting me to play that role for years," Resnik said. "I don't want to let him down. I just hope I can sing in tune."

That's a pretty good bet.

Resnik arrived in Chicago when she was 23 years old. "That's more than 40 years ago," she said, "not that I want to sound like I am complaining because I have met the most wonderful people and been able to do the most wonderful things."

So what's after Norma Desmond, if that's not enough to need a rest?

"I've been auditioning," Resnik said. "Haven't booked a thing. Already panicking. Used to work all the time. Now I sit around for three or four months. That never used to happen."

Sitting around? Come on, I said, you know it will all come up roses.

Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.

cjones5@chicagotribune.com

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